Isaiah not only speaks out against war. I also truly liked his uneasiness towards the city of Judah. It was the inner state of Judah is filled with confidence, wise men, and a constructive civilization that Isaiah saw right through. Men not worshipping God, men exploiting the poor, and men "devoid of the simple insight with which even an animal endowed- knowing who he is." This one could argue is a direct prophecy of today's society. So often we see our country's downfalls, weaknesses, and errors covered up by something that appears to be okay and accepted. Crooked politicians in fancy suits, technology that seems to be furthering society, commercialization displaying false hope, and war all seem to contribute to covering up some of society's biggest flaws. Isaiah saw this occurring in Judah and predicted the eventual downfall which I found pretty prolific. "How marvelous is the world that God has created! And how horrible is the world that man has made!"
Monday, February 9, 2009
"Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (2:3). Isaiah is a true prophet to me. On page 92 Isaiah is quoted numerous times speaking out against war brutalities and is quoted on his visions of the day that war and fighting won't exist as a method of displaying power or protection. Instead of war, Isaiah chooses to let God secure him. God will wipe away people's tears, God will secure the lands, and God alone is "true protection." I thought that was pretty profound of Isaiah to claim that with God, we do not need war. Among the corruptness and ruthless crimes being committed in Assyria, Isaiah was the one who stood up and claimed how quickly downfall of the Assyrian empire would occur due to the fact that "she perpetrated dreadful crimes instead of manifesting justice." In Isaiah's words and in times like these, God is always with us we are always being protected. Sure, there may be times where it might be justified to go to war, but we as people and as a nation need to be constantly looking for alternatives. For a Christian, look no further to God. For somebody who isn't religious, look no further than love and compassion. There have got to be ways around it, and I liked how Isaiah, as a prophet, stood out against war.
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I loved how Isaiah is against war. With our country at war currently, I feel this is something as a Christian we should pay attention to. I believe I am a Christian, but honestly I've never really had a strong viewpoint on if we should be at war or not. There are the pros and cons... and neither has seemed to outweigh the other for me. However, being in this class has helped me to open up and make me think about how I want to feel about something, such as the war. From this I feel we should be looking to God for help and not trying to fix things ourself. As Troy stated above: "God will wipe away people's tears, God will secure the lands, and God alone is "true protection."' "God is always with us we are always being protected."
ReplyDeleteThough I may not agree with when Isaiah speaks out, I do agree with what he says. If you are already in the middle of a war, it probably isn't such a good idea to try and get out. Especially in those times, you'd probably be taken over, your towns set aflame, everyone put in slavery and the rest in exile.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you should not put yourself in a position of war. If we did what God said in the beginning, and love everyone, then we would not need Isaiah to stop fighting. Because there would be no hatred, there would be no need for swords, and there would be no need for God's judgement.
I really loved the quote that you had at the end, "How marvelous is the world that God has created! And how horrible is the world that man has made!" If we lived in the world the way God created and wanted the world to be everything would be great. There would be love everywhere and there would be no starving children or poor or needy. However, man has continued to make the world horrible. People ignore the problems and the needy. People do not focus on love and wars start.
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