Elizus

The Bible puts the episode before the birth of Benjamin. But logically speaking, how old should a girl be to be sexually desired; and how much older was Dinah than Benjamin, knowing she was only about 1 or 2 years older than Joseph, who was about 6 years older than his brother Benjamin. Could she have been raped, and asked for marriage, around the age of 8/9?

For the more than 40 years of my life, I've always seen this phrase in Bibles of different languages, and for almost the exact same period of my life, I've met with arguments that there's no such thing as Palestine and that it's all about Israel and Judea. Why then, if it were so, is the name Palestine used to refer to the Holy Land in the holy history book of that land? Is that not some sort of historical deed (or proof) to the legitimacy of the Palestinian claim to the land?

It's a song title by the late Israeli diva Ofra Haza, and I'd greatly appreciate an accurate translation. Thanks in advance.

I hate to use the word "religion", because it refers to several and all too different belief systems; I prefer to use the word "Faith", because it is the thing that is really required of us, by whatever god that we worship.

I speak from a Christian viewpoint, and I ask, why did all people and cultures throughout history follow the burnt offering practice; things that they found necessary to appease a higher entity responsible for their lives; their very existence?

Whereas today, we find that so many people (let's call them "modernists") choose to keep God (any god) entirely out of their equation. And when we come to speak of a redemption deed; of a divine grace, we're faced by those who speak of self righteousness that requires no redemption; no salvation; no grace; nothing.

They see the world as 'the time and condition we live in"; nothing else - nothing before, nothing after; nothing of higher value; nothing of divine essence that we are to strive after and realize; none. They simply see the world as a pile of flesh and bone living on this tiny rock floating in a space that either keeps them in a scientific perplexity or simply tells them nothing.

In short, why is it so hard for those to accept and coexist with the fact that it's all, not what they're trying to make of it, and that there's a lot more to this existence than their "scientific" brains and their senses tell them?

Judging by the final results that those uprisings and revolutions are getting at (like the seizing of power in Egypt), it's getting clearer exactly where the Arab world is heading: surely, anywhere but forward -- or upward. Tunisia; Egypt; Yemen, and soon Syria joins the club, where Islamic Brotherhood and Salafi and Wahhabi Islamists have and are clubbing for power. In Kuwait, where Shiites are on the rise, Sunni extremism is beginning to drive non-Muslims away for a start. In Lebanon, Sunni Muslims who feel a serious Shiite threat -- due to the enormous armor that Shiite Hizbullah keeps, along with the support it enjoys from Iran and the dwindling Syrian regime -- are now on a kind of rise to somehow equalize forces, demanding a handover of Hizbullah armor to the state. It is feared that if this doesn't happen, and Sunni extremists take over power in Syria, those latter would extend their backup to Sunnis in Lebanon, and then we'll have a bloody Sunni/Shiite scenario ready to rumble. How 'bout that for an Arab spring in THE Arab country best renowned for Christian-Muslim coexistence, let alone Muslim-Muslim? What kind of spring can anyone see in that chaotic rise of Islamic extremism?

Please elaborate on your reasons, each according to the level of belief and patriotism.

Please elaborate on your reasons, each according to the level of belief and patriotism.

Please elaborate on your reasons, each according to level of belief and patriotism.

Is it because they fear that Palestinians would then be able to pursue cases against Israel at the international criminal court? Is it because they fear they would no longer have the majority in opposing the rise of such a nation, internationally? Or is it because they initially did not want a Palestinian state all along, and all their mediation and fostering were only stalling until Israel took the country entirely under its control, then there would be no land for a Palestinian state to speak of?

Because frankly, the way things have always gone and are now going, is clearly for the benefit of Israel who goes on and on, snatching land, encompassing more regions into its territory and expanding its settlements and building new ones, that recently there's almost no access available for Palestinians into East Jerusalem anymore, keeping in mind that land snatching and settlement always were faster in pace when negotiations were in process, that is, since the early 1990s. So what are America's intentions, and what have they truly been all along?

Christian holy sites in Israel obviously have their parishes, and are not simply historical religious monuments. The Israeli demand that the state be recognized as purely Jewish, certainly must have its implications upon the non-Jewish minorities within the state. Therefore, besides Muslims and their holy sites, what status would that of the Christian minority and its holy sites and places of worship be? This, knowing already that non-Jewish citizens of Israel are second class citizens. And, would that still be the same state with whom America's ties and relations are "inseparable"?

While some would choose a comical comment, that some brains are naturally slow, I ask those with a serious analytic sense, how would you describe the difference?

I believe that thought is much faster; for, while light travel is measurable by a certain distance per second, and certain light years to get to certain stars, thought, is outside the boundaries of the very universe in an instance. I wonder how many of you would agree to this.

While it may seem impossible for man to develop travel techniques to suit this speed, it is believed that it's the manner of travel of ethereal bodies like angels and demons; spirits in generall; which is why they tend to suddenly appear and disappear.

This is simply my opinion in the matter; probably not too accurately scientific.

While some would choose a comical comment, that some brains are naturally slow, I ask those with a serious analytic sense, how would you describe the difference?

I believe that thought is much faster; for, while light travel is measurable by a certain distance per second, and certain light years to get to certain stars, thought, is outside the boundaries of the very universe in an instance. I wonder how many of you would agree to this.

While it may seem impossible for man to develop travel techniques to suit this speed, it is believed that it's the manner of travel of ethereal bodies like angels and demons; spirits in generall; which is why they tend to suddenly appear and disappear.

This is simply my opinion in the matter; probably not too accurately scientific.

Nations with an abundance of this resource, are prone to the often eventual result, seen mostly in the Arab world: Turmoil. It is concluded therefore, that investment in oil, can only go along with an equal investment in turmoil. This is most accurate where politics is more complicated. Take for instance Nigeria; it differs a whole lot from Iraq; KSA or Venezuela. While there's the question of rebel movements in Nigeria, rising every now and then against the foreign and domestic exploits of the nation's riches, things are so different in Iraq, where the country is being contested by its own people while others plunder. Saudi Arabia on the other hand, is kept on alert by the sustenance of regional threats, mainly the Iranian one, to keep its purchase of Western arms in the high; this of course, counting for prices of Saudi oil going west.

Venezuela? The U.S. has for years now been so worried about "democracy" there; no wonder why. Today on Yahoo homepage, it is reported that "Venezuela's proven crude reserves have risen to 296.5 billion barrels, surpassing Saudi Arabia's more than 264.5 billion barrels, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its annual statistical report issued last week."

Now two Arab countries rise to the forefront: Libya and Lebanon. Libya's oil has long been going westward in well-discounted prices (which may well go even lower after the issue of Gaddhafi is exhausted and he's gone). Lebanon, however, steps in as the newest member of the oil club. For this, we're yet to see the consequences, once the rigs start drilling - if at all they'll be allowed to, as now Israel contests the Lebanese rights to marine fields within Lebanese waters. With Syria now in the violent chaos of bloodbaths, we're yet to see how this turmoil is to be devised in the obvious Western approach for the new Mediterranean oil.

So, preoccupy them with turmoil, and get their oil. Is this not how the deal goes?

Strange indeed, how a domino effect seems in motion, since the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions began to rock the Arab world. Several Islamic sacrosanct laws have been defied and openly demanded ammendment of and sometimes even abolishment. Look at Saudi Arabia now, where women are on a daily rendezvous with violating the law against women driving. Look at this headline on Yahoo homepage: "Iran's intense crackdown on fashion. The Islamic morality squads expand the watch list beyond women's headscarves".

The question goes for Muslims rather than others. Will Islam withstand dramatic ammendments or abolishment of some of its basic laws that rule daily life? What credibility will Islam retain once so many of its basic laws are reconsidered and adjusted or annuled? In short, what is it that will keep Islam standing?

We all see what's happening in Egypt. The same has happened in Iraq and other Islamic-majority nations. Christians in Egypt now cry out for help from the "Christian world" as they never before have. Hundreds of Christian girls have long been snatched away from their families and made to marry Muslim men and forced to convert to Islam, while their Christian communities have helplessly and hopelessly tried to get them back, in vain. Now Muslims burn churches and attack Christian neighborhoods for one Christian lady (a priest's wife) whom they claim she's converted to Islam and is being held captive by the church, despite her lengthy appearance on the Christian "Al Hayat" channel a couple of weeks ago, where she utterly and entirely denied the allegations.

Christians are beeing slaughtered like sheep, and being made to hold responsibility for all the unrest, being arrested and humiliated, while the assailants always walk free. What is the "Christian West" doing about it? Have any Egyptian or any other Arab diplomats been summoned to answer to what's going on against Christians in the wretched Islamic world?! Personally, I've heard of none; who has?

The concept of BELIEF seems to be growing all the more irrelevant that for so many individuals of our time it's almost extinct; a thing of the past; prehistoric; no longer relevant to the sophistication of our progressive minds. Is the concept of belief a thing of relativity, a selective notion, or is it something that humanity should rid itself of entirely?

What's the truth of the matter? Is it really the way things are going, or is it just the way things appear to me?

If you should ask what I believe in; I believe in Jesus Christ and the grace of salvation through His redeeming sacrifice of death on the cross and consequent resurrection. I know it is one of the issues most argued as to the concept of belief; but is this not what BELIEF is all about: to put one's faith in that which is not physically visible or palpable? I BELIEVE it is.

So many things in our lives we do not see, but know for certain they're there. Our interns for one; how often does anyone see one's interns, or know how they look like, or function? Yet we know they're there; responsible for our continuity. How often do we see our spirits? Never; yet we know we're spirited creatures, and the majority of us know, it's the part of us that's undying. Wind is neither visible nor touchable, yet it's one of the most powerful forces of nature.

How's all that possible, and how's it all acceptable by our sophisticated minds? Is this not where BELIEF steps in?

A few days back, a close friend of mine came to me with a somber mood; he was unusually down. As I enquired he let his burden out - he asked me: "What would you do for someone for whom you've been the major brotherly support, emotionally; financially; on the ground on a daily basis; someone for whom you are the son they've never had, and the brother anyone would only dream of having. Someone for whom you sacrifice hours of your day, and stay on the alert 24/7 for any urgency or mishap. Someone who tells you all the good things you should want to hear, but shows none at all in actions; in other words, there are no jestures whatsoever, and when their own biological kin are there, you see with your own eyes the kind of treatment you expect, but never get. You are supposedly one of the family - of their home, but you're often surprised to find that there are limits, which surprisingly, others from the outside don't seem to heed, or even have to.

"This is becoming so confusing, and enraging, and I fear it might at some time sever our relationship for good. So what do you suggest I do; have it laid open on the table, or simply walk away? I understand one walking away on one's acquaintances; one's sweetheart; one's work mates...but on one's own family? For Christ's sake, we're family, man!!!"

I listened with great surprise, knowing exactly who he was referring to, and frankly, couldn't believe there were such invisible things within that relashinship which I thought I saw so clear and beautiful before my eyes. I hate to see it over, to tell you frankly, and so I thought of asking your opinion and advice. They're both very lovable people, so I think we all should give them a hand.

Scientific research now puts it, that if Greenland Ice (which is only 10% of the total world Ice shelves) melts away, sea levels world round will rise by seven meters (23 feet); which eventually means (if accurate) that if the poles melt entirely, sea levels will increase by 70 meters. No joke; really scary; something to reflect seriously upon.

This would really be the first chapter of the end of the world as we know it. Indeed! The continental coastlines we've always known haven't changed for at least 4000 years; i.e. even before the days of Abraham, and it seems we're destined to be the generation that witnesses the kind of changes of the proportion that probably last occurred in Noah's time. I find this as equally honoring as it is troubling.

Now that we know this is a presently irreversible process, owed to whatever factor; what are your fears, and what precautions do you suggest that individuals and governments take, well in advance of the inevitable results?

Some insist that Palestine never existed, at least not as an independent nation. But then, why do all Bibles have this phrase on top of the map of...Palestine?

I've been all over the net looking for ancient Canaanite and Phoenician names, and so far I only got a few. I need a place that lists them by tens and hundreds, both of male and female. Anyone knows a place?

Note: please give clear and specific names and paths.

Thanks in advance.