You are correct, I did not read your tag line. We agree more than we disagree.
My argument is that Islam is not a religion — a belief system that calls for the death or conversion of all the peoples of the world is hardly a religion, irregardless of whether it is my opinion.
Last time I checked, Jews and Christians are not murdering people just because they refuse to convert to Judaism or Christianity!
Please provide a reference to your “pivotal book” re: Exodus 23.
My reading of Genesis 16 does not seem to be applicable in this instance.
I am glad that we agree that Judaism and Christianity are not death cults.
Please provide a reference to your “pivotal book” re: Exodus 23.
My reading of Genesis 16 does not seem to be applicable in this instance.
Of that I have little doubt. It takes delving into the lexicography of each Hebrew root. Effectively, Genesis 16:13 contains a strong suggestion that Islam is of Satan, particularly if one contrasts the symmetries in the visit of G_d to Sarai with that of the messenger of G_d to Hagar. The key distinction is that Hagar worships the angel and calls him by "the name of god." No other angel than Lucifer would have taken that without correcting her (think back to Revelation 22:8-9).
As to the prophecy about the "wild ass of a man" well, you'd have to understand a bit about the behavior of the desert wild ass to get a sense of that. One key is the name of Irad in Genesis 4. That root translates to either "wild ass" or "conceals oneself." The unifying attribute is that wild asses in that region seek shade from the noon day sun; they 'hide from the light,' in this case, the light of the Lord. Then there's the bit about how he will be after every man and shall dwell in the presence of his brethren. If you look at that sequence of roots, and particularly "yada" it means that HIS FEATURES will be in every man. How? Well, you do know that "yada" is the root for conception in all those genealogies. When he "dwells" in their tents, that could be pretty nasty, particularly if you recall the Arab trade in European girls for the slave trade.
Our problem is that our translators were spiritual men seeking spirituality in the Word. They were not the desert shepherds who wrote it. The more I study the Hebrew, the more I find that makes no sense at all, yet has a perfectly understandable rationale once one assumes the perspective of a pastoral culture.
I recommend to you using the Interlinear Scriptural Analyzer coupled with the Strong's number search of the Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon.