Why did God divide the people of Babel?

[Greatest I am]

The words and sounds of language are purely subjective and arbitrary. We can use any sound or noise to mean anything, since the association between sound and thing is purely abritrary and subjective. There are not cause and effect rules. Once the sounds are established as a convention, there sort of appears to be cause and effect in any given language. But across different languages, there is no cause and effect, that says a cat has to be called a cat. It is chat in french.

What Babel implied was a movement from an original universal language based on natural objectivity, into multiples languages based on sound subjectivity. Since subjectivity is not rational, there was no rules for cause and effect, allowing anyone to invent their own language.

One example of a universal type of language is visual. If we had 100 people speaking 100 different languages, looking at an apple, they will also see the exact same thing. They may call it 100 different things (subjective) but the visual that appears in the brain is universal. The same can be said of all the other sensory systems. We would all hear the same song of a given bird. But we might each call it by the subjective sounds of 100 languages.

Based on the universal human sensory systems and common input data processing, the very ancient brain, through eons of time, developed a natural universal language called symbolism, which is a type of language that brings all sensory data together. Babel symbolizes the change from this natural universal language, to arbitray sounds which any leader could make up, to attract is own clan. They needed to separate since nobody knew what each other were saying.

I will call that bird wigglerig, since it can be anything. Nobody else will know what that means except me and my clan; we are so cool and this is our secret shake. I can play god this way; tower to heaven. After awhile, each clan group can no longer understand another group, so they all will need to separate to find their own place. The universal language is buried, but still appears; collective human symbolism.

Thanks for this.

So God wanted to create a bunch of diverse tribes or groups that history shows warred against each other thanks to the differences God imposed.

I guess humans killing each other is entertainment to God.
What a dick wad.

Regards
DL

 

[Greatest I am]

A logical reason (pretending that this did happen), for this would be to get people to spread out and separate more. If everyone spoke the same language they would be more comfortable around one another and they would try to stay close together. This is a problem because if one famine or disease or natural disaster hits then everyone will be hit. If people cannot communicate they would link up with those that they could talk to and due to conflicts arising from a lack of communication between the new tribes they would separate ensuring the survival of our species over any one disaster.

Possibly.
This speaks to free will.
If God is willing to interfere with language to protect mankind, it follows that he could and would interfere if your hypothetical disease ever came around.
No points for your theory my friend.
further, God being omnipotent would know about a disease and could preempt it.

Regards
DL

 

[Greatest I am]

if you are gonna ask a question about a specific thing in the bible,it helps to have the relevant verses..



this is the verses i have heard referred to concerning the reasons why God confused the languages..
it speaks of presumption,arrogance and ego..


bold and following verses are kind of irrelevant since that is where we are today and today there is no language barrier per se..



notice they feared being scattered, and that was the consequence..


but i do agree with previous poster about it being just an excuse to explain the different languages..

Thanks for this.

"notice they feared being scattered,"

The story indicates that they did not want to separate. Not that they feared it. A small point in either case.

As to presumption, arrogance and ego, and the punishment it brought them.

I see God as usurping the dominion that he had given to mankind.
He lost the right to punish when he gave up dominion here.

You would not allow me to go to your home to beat your kids. I do not have that right and God does not either.

Regards
DL

 

[Greatest I am]

They were trying to build a friggin tower to Heaven, and they did not all follow the word of God. They were blasphemous, and had to much power. God did what must be done.

Too much power.

Why does God fear man having power.

Do you care how big the ant hill is in your back yard.
That analogy is a poor example compared to God's supposed power as compared to man.

When I first read you I thought you had potential.
Seems I was wrong.
Perhaps you should get back to your old meds.

Regards
DL

 

[Greatest I am]

Just a question that always had troubled me.

Why would god demand praise??

He would not.

Why would god follow a moral compass??

He would not.

Why have faith in something you do not know?

Faith without facts is for fools.

Third party recollections of literature that sounds good is enough? Family? Why are you so positive?

Can we even fathom what an "eternal" being is?? Like once you live a google amount of years wouldent death be the only option left to assign any meaning to life. Why would praise even mean anything to a god in the real scope of things.

Would an baby that died become a baby angel??? Like why is there so many baby angels that scares the hell out of me, they are stuck in there body forms after death or???

Why would god like put us through a test and make it impossible to succeed. Why would there be an after-life where everyone was peaceful and happy all the time?

Start some O Ps for further answers.

Regards
DL

 

[Greatest I am]

Well, according to the Bible, this is why....
God assessed them as having no limits in connecting their imagination to real world production.

Pardon my French but this is quite a good thing. Right?
So why would that piss of God?

Regards
DL

 

[Greatest I am]

I'm sure it all made sense back then. Build a stone tower to heaven? Why not! Lots of stories back then didn't make sense....god creating plants before he created the sun...then in Joshua...the sun stood still for a whole day.

Understood.

Regards
DL

 

[Greatest I am]

“Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law” Matthew 10:34-35

Got it.
This I do not think applies.

This was a division in thinking between members of the same tribe. That is why Jesus challenged some of the laws. Some agreed with him and some not.

Babel was dividing into various tribes. Not various ways of thinking.

Regards
DL

 

[Pineal]

Pardon my French but this is quite a good thing. Right?
So why would that piss of God?

Regards
DL

My personal opinion is that our production of stuff has been both good and problematic, and perhaps it will even be the whole planets downfall - at least the crust of nature on it. But I am not Christian and this is not a Bible based opinion.

I could guess at some reasons: perhaps God wanted people to focus on other things than technological approaches to solving life's issues. More than they were. Perhaps God wanted disunity since this teaches us a lot about who we are and what a good person is.

There a couple of guesses.

 

[Pineal]

Got it.
This I do not think applies.

This was a division in thinking between members of the same tribe. That is why Jesus challenged some of the laws. Some agreed with him and some not.

Babel was dividing into various tribes. Not various ways of thinking.

Regards
DL

I don't know if it applies or not, but I think it is what the other poster was referring to. At the very least it is another example of God dividing people.

 

[NMSquirrel]

So why make God look like a fool in the process?
Or was that the intent?

Regards
DL

maybe because ppl were dumber back then..?:shrug:

(dang it my p keeps getting stuck. I have to pound it to get it to work..)

 

[Me-Ki-Gal]

Assuming that the overall story cared enough about inter-consistency for an answer to be inferred from it, wasn't it because humankind was too defiant, unified, and progressing too rapidly?

Monitoring Angel: "Dagnabbit, look at the engineering feats that those clowns down below are already engaging in now that their population has increased again! You've got to do something to slow them down, God, and fast! Otherwise that end-time you've got slated for 6,000 years after creation is going to get off-target once more!"

Advisory Angel: "And don't forget about the future tribes of Israel project you've got in the works, Elohim -- and a keepin' them Jew folk separate from the gentiles someday. How's that ever going to happen if you don't introduce some cultural bias and prejudice down there to divide these jokers up and make them breed within and stick more to their own? Let'em speak different tongues, that's what I suggest! By gosh, see how fast civilization develops once they're squandering their time a squawking and a feuding and a fittin' each other!"

Oh that was good . You made Me smile . Bless your little heart . I liked reading that . Kiss ! XOXO You would make a great fairy tale writer

 

[Me-Ki-Gal]

Well, according to the Bible, this is why....
God assessed them as having no limits in connecting their imagination to real world production.

that is an interesting thought . Think about it . If humans stayed one language chances are it would be one meganation of degradation . The emotional infancy would be a lot worse than today . Environmental protection I don't believe was in that Babylonian vocabulary , although there are plenty of references in the bible of the prophets whining about the land being all jacked up. Things like You made the Land Desolate . I know sometimes the old poets are talking about child birth yet I do believe they are talking about the land and its ability to grow food just as much . I think went hand in hand . More food more time for nooky

 

[wynn]

Kind of had to destroy the original story to come up with your scenario.

Scripture says not to do that.

My story is like a ladder: once you've climbed it, it has to be discarded, but this doesn't mean it wasn't useful.

As to fighting and war. You mean there could have been more than what the horrible history of the ancients show? Wow.

Sure.
If anyone survived to tell the story - then you know it could have been much worse.

Possibly.
This speaks to free will.
If God is willing to interfere with language to protect mankind, it follows that he could and would interfere if your hypothetical disease ever came around.
No points for your theory my friend.
further, God being omnipotent would know about a disease and could preempt it.

How about a middle way:
God can preempt everything, being omnimax and all that, but to do so would lead the humans to feel like puppets without free will and become suicidally depressed, or make them go crazy with indulging in all kinds of nasty things - so total preemption would be counterproductive for human progress and happiness.
So God allows for some hardship to happen, but not for all.

 

[wynn]

My personal opinion is that our production of stuff has been both good and problematic, and perhaps it will even be the whole planets downfall - at least the crust of nature on it. But I am not Christian and this is not a Bible based opinion.

I could guess at some reasons: perhaps God wanted people to focus on other things than technological approaches to solving life's issues. More than they were. Perhaps God wanted disunity since this teaches us a lot about who we are and what a good person is.

There a couple of guesses.

Interesting. I tend to agree.

 

[wynn]

Too much power.

Why does God fear man having power.

Pardon my French but this is quite a good thing. Right?
So why would that piss of God?

These implications of God fearing mankind to have "too much power" or God being angry at mankind having "too much power" - I never understood that. Perhaps there are parts missing in this story or in how it is usually explained.

Perhaps mankind was about to get more power than they were able to wield safely in relation to themselves and others - and in that sense, they had "too much" power.

1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

this is the verses i have heard referred to concerning the reasons why God confused the languages..
it speaks of presumption,arrogance and ego..

Why is it noted that they used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar? What is the significance of this?

 

[C C]

Oh that was good . You made Me smile . Bless your little heart . I liked reading that . Kiss ! XOXO You would make a great fairy tale writer

You're welcome, Me-Ki-Gal. I did try to venture into this topic without resorting to parody, but it just wasn't possible.

 

[kx000]

Why does God fear man having power.

You will never get it, will you ever even make an attempt?

Do you care how big the ant hill is in your back yard.
That analogy is a poor example compared to God's supposed power as compared to man.

Ants will never become humans, not so with humans...

When I first read you I thought you had potential.
Seems I was wrong.
Perhaps you should get back to your old meds.

Yea sure

 

[S.A.M.]

I don't know the Babel myth but in the Qur'an it says:

"But they have broken their religion among them into sects, each group rejoicing in its belief." Qur'an 23:53 - so the precedent is that even if people begin with one religion, they will break it up into many sects

And:

"If God willed, He would have made you one nation but that He may test you in what He has given you. So strive in good deeds." Qur'an 5:48 . I take that to mean that even though there are different nations [ummah, community, tribe, peoples] whats important is not what you believe but how you act.


And:

"O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you may know one another. " Qur'an 49:13. For example, in this forum, the people who agree with each other rarely have anything to discuss. Its the people who disagree with each other that really explore the thoughts, opinions and ideas of the other.

 

[wynn]

"If God willed, He would have made you one nation but that He may test you in what He has given you. So strive in good deeds." Qur'an 5:48 . I take that to mean that even though there are different nations [ummah, community, tribe, peoples] whats important is not what you believe but how you act.

But how we act depends on what we believe.
Don't you think?