According to the Catholic Church, what was the point of all the plagues?
Upvote:2
The ten plagues corresponded to ten of the major Gods of the Egyptians. The God of the Hebrews wasn't trying to convert anyone, but assert himself as the God above all other gods.
1) God of the Nile, Osiris & Hapi? Your river is blood.
2) Frog-Goddess of Fertility, Heka? You get frogs, you get frogs, everybody gets frogs.
3 & 4) Geb, the god of earth, and Khephi with the head of a fly? Your soil is now lice, with a super size side of flies.
5) Bull god Apis? Livestock struck down. (EDIT: Also, Hathor)
6) Thoth, the god of medicine and cleanliness? Boils everywhere.
7) Nut the sky goddes and Shu the wind god? Storms of hail & fire.
8) Seth, the god of crops and Isis, protector of the fields? Why don't you have some locusts.
9) Sun god Ra? Darkness.
10) Your Pharoah sells himself as a god, and his son will be a god after him? Kill the firstborn... but not just his, but everyone's firstborn.
(The Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia holyspiritinteractive.net/youth/biblegeek/35.asp)
The God of the Hebrews was impacting the whole of the Egyptian society with those plagues, both physically and spiritually. At the same time, he was showing favor to his chosen people, sparing the people from all of the plagues, especially "Passing over" them on the tenth plague. The God of the Hebrews wanted to make a lasting impact on not only the people of Egypt, but everywhere else too - Remember, the reason Jericho wound themselves up tight is because they heard of what happened in Egypt. Following that, the reason the people of Gibeon presented themselves as travelers from far, far away is because of what God did in Jericho.
In our minds, the God of the Hebrews can kinda seem overkill. And it isn't just in Exodus, you also see it in:
- Elijah's highly-successful barbecue in 1st Kings 18, where the prohpet not only placed the offering, but soaked it to the point of filling up the moat dug around the alter... and then YHWH cooks the entire thing, to the point of even boiling the water in the trench.
- When He institutes the cleansing of the land of Canaan, He says to destroy everything of the inhabitants, not only the idols, but the livestock and treasure as well... and when Achan defies this order in Joshua 7, not only does he get stoned and burned, but also "his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had".
- Jesus doesn't politely show out the monylenders, rather making "a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables" in John 2.
And many, many various other places in Scripture. The church response to all this is that God is passionate about his own glory, and will shake anything that stands in the way to the foundations to crush it with his heel, from Babel in Genesis to the Beast in Revelation.
More post
- 📝 God and Satan in the book of Job: how did they know about this conversation?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for carrying out social justice in opposition to the justice system?
- 📝 What arguments do the Church Fathers make for nocturnal emissions not being a sin?
- 📝 What was Augustine's soteriology?
- 📝 How do errantists distinguish the parts of the Bible that are trustworthy from the parts that have errors?
- 📝 Is there a single human nature or there are multiple human natures?
- 📝 Do any Christian denominations prohibit eating rare meat?
- 📝 What parts of Protestantism accept that there are some on earth who 'smite the earth with plagues' till the end of time (Revelation 11:6)?
- 📝 Does Paul ever actually quote Jesus anywhere as a primary source?
- 📝 What is the basis for an omnipotent God allowing imperfect transmission of his Word?
- 📝 What problems, if any, do Oneness Pentecostals have with the Apostles' Creed?
- 📝 Why is Jesus' name pronounced differently in each language?
- 📝 In Didache 16, is the author teaching a perfectionism at odds with Catholicism and Protestantism?
- 📝 In the Bible, have "good men" often set their hand against each other?
- 📝 What are the moral, religious, and promissory obligations of canon lawyers?
- 📝 What is the scope of John 3:16?
- 📝 What do immersionists believe it means to be buried with Christ through Baptism?
- 📝 What general theological framework(s) are represented in the Life Application Study Bible commentary?
- 📝 Are there theological explanations for why God would condition his divine intervention and mercy on intercessory prayer?
- 📝 What is the relation between the First Baptist Church and the Baptist Church?
- 📝 From where do Jehovah's Witnesses derive the doctrine that Jesus was and now is Michael the Archangel?
- 📝 Who was the Blessed Virgin Mary's guardian angel?
- 📝 Proof of the Messiah’s Role?
- 📝 What is the army in Joel 2?
- 📝 Do non-Christians go to hell?
- 📝 Authentic reasons to leave Roman Catholicism?
- 📝 Confusing argument from GotQuestion (Calvinist) about 24 Elders
- 📝 What is the scriptural evidence for Satan "taking hold" of Christians' minds or implanting/whispering thoughts?
- 📝 In Reformed Theology, what are seen as the implications of Traducianism versus Creationism (of the soul)?
- 📝 What is the spiritual significance of a patron saint?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church, what was the point of all the plagues?
- 📝 At what point is a new soul created according to the Catholic Church?
- 📝 Since when did the Catholic church accept Protestant baptism, and what was the original rationale for accepting?
- 📝 What was the stance of the Roman Catholic Church on the Vietnam War?
- 📝 What is meant by the statement of Our Lady to St. Dominic according to the Catholic Church
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church in her recent pronouncements, what is the order of truths to which the believer adheres?
- 📝 What is first time infant baptism was established and commissioned according to catholic church? What does church history say about this?
- 📝 According to Catholic teachings, what was the First Temptation of Christ basically about?
- 📝 What does the Catholic Church think John the Baptist was referring when making the statement on greatness of Jesus?
- 📝 According to the Westminster Confession, what is the Biblical basis for the belief that the guilt of Adam and Eve was imputed to all mankind?
- 📝 What would happen to the Catholic Church if all of the bishops get wiped out?
- 📝 What was the real cause of the split between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church?
- 📝 According to the Catholic church everyone has a Guardian Angel,but what happens when you get married?
- 📝 What does the Catholic church teach about fate of non-Catholic christians?
- 📝 What does the Roman Catholic church teach about those who die having never heard of Christ?
- 📝 What are the consequences of suicide according to the Roman Catholic church?
- 📝 According to the LDS Church (Mormons), what role do secret handshakes and passwords play into a person's entrance into heaven?
- 📝 What happened to the wives of priests when celibacy was first instituted in the Catholic church?
- 📝 How does the Catholic Church understand the priesthood of all believers?
- 📝 What does Catholic Church say about the post-resurrection wound marks of Jesus?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church is it offensive to dress as a Catholic priest and perform “communion”?
- 📝 At what point did the Roman See start self-identifying as the Catholic Church?
- 📝 What was the point of the laws written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia?
- 📝 What is masturbation, according to the Catholic Catechism?
- 📝 What are the requirements for joining the Catholic church as an adult?
- 📝 Why was eating meat on Fridays forbidden in the Catholic Church for so many years?
- 📝 What does the Catholic Church mean when it calls humans co-creators with God?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church teach that it has the authority to change what is morally right and wrong?
- 📝 On what basis does the Catholic Church teach that women cannot be ordained?
- 📝 What was the point of the third article of Remonstrance?