My viewpoint is more along the lines espoused by Jim Taggart :
> The minister in my church suggests that perhaps Christ came when he did
> because the world conditions were "right" for receiving his message:
> 1. There were distributed nuclei around the known world who could
> understand the message in light of the Old Testament teachings [due to
> the dispersion of the Jewish people]
> 2. The world was stable enough so that people could travel between
> these distributed nuclei [due to Pax Romana] so that the word COULD
> spread, and
> 3. Travel was easier than it ever had been [due to Roman engineering].
>
> Christ came when he did because it was the first time in history that
> his message could reach the _whole_ world.
This invovled technological advances that man originally did not have.
Also, I Firmly back what bill hamilton said that in all this God is in
control of everything.
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Back to Janet's question God is God and He is unchanging. Yes, genocide
is not something that we can look upon as one race to another and say it
is ok. BUT remember, God is just and perfect, we are not. When God
declares war on people it is for just reasons, when man commits genocide
we do it out of anger, greed, being afraid, jealousy, etc.... God
wished to destroy certain nations because of their sins and their
unwillingness to seek forgiveness. God punishes on the individual and
national level. However, his punishment is always just.
John Misasi
jmisasi@engc.bu.edu