Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!bcm!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: murphy@mips.com (Mike Murphy) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: A first cut at Tolerance (long - sorry) Message-ID: Date: 6 Mar 91 05:15:45 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: MIPS Computer Systems, Inc. Lines: 16 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article mib@geech.ai.mit.edu (Michael I Bushnell) writes: >If you read Genesis, you learn that Joseph went into Egypt somewhat >voluntarily. He became a helper of Pharoah (a prophet as later ages >in Israel would call such people) and was there quite happily. The >Bible makes it clear that the Egyptians enslaved Israel after they had >voluntarily entered Egypt. I hesitate to criticize mib after his eloquent plea for understanding in another post, but his description of Joseph "voluntarily" entering Egypt is different from the one that comes to my mind. When I read Genesis, I see Joseph being sold by his brothers into slavery, and that is how he entered Egypt. It is true that he accepted his situation and became happy there, but I think that's more of a statement about how God can turn even bad circumstances into good than about Joseph's desire to go to Egypt. Also, Israel (i.e. Joseph's family) only came to Egypt because there was a famine in their land and Egypt had food.