The Joseph Theory
Introduction: God
"Our God is not an ogre."
God is not an ogre.
He does not require blood sacrifice to forgive sins.
He is not bought, bribed, or seduced.
Even Jesus spoke against blood sacrifice.
Jesus simply forgave sin.
There are numerous scriptures that tell us this.
I Samuel 15:22 – "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry."
Psalm 40:6 – "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire; my ears have you opened; burnt offering and sin offering have you not required."
Psalm 50:12 – "If I were hungry, I would not tell you: for the world is mine and the fullness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?"
Psalm 51:16 – "Thou desirest not sacrifice, else I would give it; thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
Isaiah 1:12 – "I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. My gut is full of blood. When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of your hand, to tread My courts? Bring no more vain oblations."
Hosea 6:6 – "Therefore have I hewed them by the Prophets; I have slain them by the Words of My mouth; and Thy Judgments are as the Light that goes forth. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they like men have transgressed the Covenant; there have they dealt treacherously against Me."
Exodus 32:20 – Moses "took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strewn it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it."
Isaiah 66:1 – The heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool, where is the house that you would build me? where is the place of my rest?….. he that kills an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifices a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offers an oblation as if he offered swines blood; he that burns incense as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their obominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called none did answer; when I spake they did not hear; but they did evil before my eyes and chose that in which I delighted not."
This is all discussed in the Addendum "Blood Sacrifice." It will explain the origins of the ritual of blood sacrifice, the reasons why it became indoctrinated into religion, and the reason why it still continues to be believed. There are many instances in which doctrines are in direct contradiction with scripture… and with God Himself.
Much of what we understand about the scriptures has been filtered through a group of doctrines that serve as the "automatic translator" for us… or
"this means this because that means that."
But… what happens when those doctrines are set aside to take an unprejudiced view of the words themselves?
What has emerged in this case… is an entirely different story, indeed.
It is a story within a story… and it is a beautiful story. If you have found the scriptures tedious and hard to grasp, this treatise will give you a new view of them… so that they become a new joy. Even if you cannot accept the theories presented to you… you will be able to view all that you read in a new light.
To complement this theory is an Addendum with charts, references, histories, and other materials that this research has produced. Whatever your beliefs may be, these will be a source of interesting information.
This treatise begins with… proof of the existence of God.
http://www.starlightgazette.,,,,,com/Joseph/IntroductionGod.html