Sodom - Hosea 11:8 "How shall I give you up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver you, Israel? how shall I make you as Admah? how shall I set you as Zeboim? my heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together."

Does this sound like Romans 1? Absolutely.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Romans 1:22-31 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things. 24 Why God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up to vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

So what happened to Sodom?

Korah - Have you studied the geology of wilderness where the Children of Israel wandered? Do you have any idea what lurks beneath the surface of the ground? It is a very treacherous place with large subterranean caverns. God protected the Children of Israel in many ways. We know what happened with the fiery serpents. God removed his hand of protection, and the fiery serpents bit the people. I see God working the same way with Korah. Now you could say, God executed them. It can also be viewed that God could no longer protect them and had to remove his protection, just as with the fiery serpents.

What about God commanding Moses to kill the unrepentant idolaters in the incident of the golden calf, establishing the death penalty under the old covenant, and commanding the israelites to destroy the canaanite nations?

Only if you never sin, otherwise it's a legal process.

APL,

If God's withdrawal of His protection means He commands angels to strike men with punishing pain and death, it seems we really do have a tyrant God who must always protect us from Himself lest we be destroyed.

If you accept that as the gospel truth, I'd say your genetics are damaged for sure!

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

What about the fire that Elijah called down from Heaven upon three companies of soldiers? What "natural" thing caused that?

Or what "natural" thing caused the angel to pass through Egypt and kill all the firstborn? Or what "natural" thing did God use to strike Nadab, Abihu, and Uzzah dead? What "natural" thing destroyed Sennacherib's army of 185,000 in a single night? Did Satan do all these things? If so, how does Satan survive the very presence of God in the Most Holy Place where Nadab and Abihu were slain? What "natural" thing caused the Flood, in which Satan himself feared for his own life?

We've been round and round on these issues here before. Some people continue to believe these things for lack of understanding God's true character. When God says, "vengeance is mine" He also says "I will repay." That means that God will do something. David, in the Psalms, says He will not keep His anger forever. When the limit is reached, watch out.

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

"Never sin" - is this in act or thought? Is the sin the act, or is the sin in the thought? What drives thoughts? A person can "act" perfect, never "sin". Yet be a vile sinner. If I in my mind want to rape a person, to use an extreme example, but I never do it, have I sinned? I've never acted it out. Have I sinned? Absolutely. Can I be legally charged with rape if I never actually do such a vile act? It is what is in the mind. What drives the thoughts of the mind? Neurons, metabolism, neuronal interconnections, etc. What controls metabolism, nerve growth, and interconnections? The primary determinate is the Genome. But our culture can also influence it. We are born with a given set of genes that code for proteins which create neurotransmitters and receptors. If you want to see a simple example of what can happen with the coding for these things goes wrong, look at trisomy 21. It is called Down's Syndrome. Is the mental activity of the brain "normal" in a person with Down's Syndrome? Did that person choose to be born with Down's Syndrome? Is a Down's person in some sort of legal trouble? Cultivation - people who eat certain foods, will accumulate compounds that can cause low levels of inflammation and can decrease the number neuronal interconnections that can be formed. Simply put, they are dumber, all driven by diet. Does this not affect the function of the brain? Absolutely it does. All these things drive brain function and thought. All this contributes to moral degradation and sin. Where is the legal problem here? Is it not a real problem? A physical problem? You can not divorce the mind from the body. They are intimately tied together. Behavior is only a symptom of the disease of sin.

Sounds like a classic predestinatory excuse to me. "My DNA made me do it!" If true, we have no choice regarding our destiny.

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

Do I have a answer to all your questions? Not yet. The Elijah story is difficult - no question. But the others? I've looked at these. I will take on only one here: The 185000 Assyrians. You need to read the whole account. All the details. They are all important. Would you deny that?

The 185,000 Assyrians, we must read the entire account. 2 Kings 19, Isaiah 37, 2 Chronicles 32

Isa 37:11 You have heard what an Assyrian emperor does to any country he decides to destroy. Do you think that you can escape?
Isa 37:12 My ancestors destroyed the cities of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and killed the people of Betheden who lived in Telassar, and none of their gods could save them.
Isa 37:13 Where are the kings of the cities of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?"
Isa 37:14 King Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went to the Temple, placed the letter there in the presence of the LORD,
Isa 37:15 and prayed,

2Ch 32:13 Don't you know what my ancestors and I have done to the people of other nations? Did the gods of any other nation save their people from the emperor of Assyria?
2Ch 32:14 When did any of the gods of all those countries ever save their country from us? Then what makes you think that your god can save you?
2Ch 32:15 Now don't let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like that. Don't believe him! No god of any nation has ever been able to save his people from any Assyrian emperor. So certainly this god of yours can't save you!"

What did the Assyrians do to their enemies?

http://iraqnow.blogspot.com/2006/08/history-of-wmd.html

600 BC: Assyrians poisoned the wells of their enemies with rye ergot, which affected those ingesting it with sickness or death. The fungus that causes ergot produces ergotamine, a hallucinogen similar in chemistry and effects to LSD. Ergot poisoning causes delusions, paranoia, myoclonic twitches, seizures, and cardiovascular problems that can lead to death. Those affected seemed to go mad, which added the terror element and served to demoralize their comrades.

http://assyria.synthasite.com/assyyria-armee.php

Bioterrorism is defined as "the deliberate or threatened use of bacteria, viruses or toxins to cause disease, death, disruption or fear.
Bioterrorism has been used as a weapon for decades.
In 700 BC the Assyrians poisoned wells with rye ergot.

http://www.cbwinfo.com/Biological/PlantPath/CP.html

The toxicity of ergot was known to Assyrians and the earliest descriptions of infected cereals date from these times. Medical texts on cuneiform tablet from about 600 BC describe a noxious pustule in the ears of grain.

So, what to do you do to prevent an invading army from poisoning your water supply?

2Ch 32:1 After these events, in which King Hezekiah served the LORD faithfully, Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria, invaded Judah. He besieged the fortified cities and gave orders for his army to break their way through the walls.
2Ch 32:2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib intended to attack Jerusalem also,
2Ch 32:3 he and his officials decided to cut off the supply of water outside the city in order to keep the Assyrians from having any water when they got near Jerusalem. The officials led a large number of people out and stopped up all the springs, so that no more water flowed out of them.

This also help deny water to the invading army, but was there not a double purpose?

What happens with the land is poisoned by rye ergot?


2Ki 19:29 Then Isaiah said to King Hezekiah, "Here is a sign of what will happen. This year and next you will have only wild grain to eat, but the following year you will be able to plant your grain and harvest it, and plant vines and eat grapes.

Isa 37:30 Then Isaiah said to King Hezekiah, "Here is a sign of what will happen. This year and next you will have only wild grain to eat, but the following year you will be able to plant grain and harvest it, and plant vines and eat grapes.

What would this be needed? See: http://www.cbwinfo.com/Biological/PlantPath/CP.html


The primary response to infection is cultural rather than chemical. There are no fungicides registered for use against the fungus in the US and there are also no ergot-resistant varieties of cereal crops.. The sclerotium cannot survive for more than one winter in the soil, so planting non-susceptible crops in infected fields for two years will clear them out and when replanted, ergot-free seed should be used. The areas surrounding infected fields should also be cleared of susceptible plants. In severe cases, deep ploughing to bury sclerotia is also helpful.

Two years will clear out the infection of rye ergot mold.


So here is some evidence. Conclusive? Does it prove it? No. But what does the evidence point to?

I'm giving you the source of the propensity to sin. Do you have a better one? I can give you many examples from medicine. Here is one I heard in a lecture - about an extended family of 250 males who have a genetic defect that affects the amygdala? When they get into an argument, they have an very difficult time suppressing anger. Of the 250 males studied with the defect, 80% are in prison for murder. Predisposition to anger? You bet. Determinate? NO! Your genes open you to temptation, but they do not force you to act.

I'll tell you what will give people the rages--and it's not genetics. Doctors and pharmaceuticals are involved in a big coverup over it, so they may even find it useful to put out studies purporting other causes for the sudden anger experienced by those with mercury toxicity. People with a large number of dental amalgams are prime suspects, especially as they age. I've seen it in multiple cases. A person can be talking normally with them, about some neutral topic, only to find that they suddenly begin shouting and getting red in the face, seemingly without provocation.

Genetics do control a lot. They do not make us sin. They are not "sinful." And "sin" cannot, therefore, be transmitted through the DNA. Weakness and sin are two different things. Weaknesses can be transmitted. Sins cannot, by the DNA, be transmitted. If sins were transmitted through the DNA, we should all be equally guilty with our ancestors for every sin they ever committed. Thankfully, the truth liberates us from such a burden!

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.