The Evolution of God (Before Genesis 1:1)

There was no wind. It was a sound like wind:

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Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

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There was no fire. There were tongues like fire:

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Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

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The mundane images of wind and fire were used to describe an unearthly, unknown phenomenon. Much as you have tried to drag the Holy Spirit down to the level of measurable energy, that's not what the Bible says. There's no indication that there was any "intelligence" imparted. The story suggests that the Spirit spoke through the disciples, not that it "taught" them different languages. Are you familiar with the speaking-in-tongues phenomenon at all? Typically, the speaker doesn't know what he/she is saying and retains no knowledge of the "language". Those two statements are contradictory. The ones who suspected drunkenness certainly were disputing the "phenomenon".

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“Faith moves mountains, but only knowledge moves them to the right place” -- Joseph Goebbels

That's right, a sound like a wind, not an actual wind. Awesome, probably, but an "energy force", no. Both force and energy (not the same, by the way) can be detected and measured. That would make it far less awesome.There is nothing in the text to suggest that it there was any detectable "energy". You're making that part up. Energy is measurable. Nothing in Genesis 1:1-2 backs you up:

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Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

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Neither does Isaiah:

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Isa 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

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Neither does Acts, as I have already shown.There is nothing in any of those passages to suggest that spirit = energy. So I guess that's a "no". The reason I asked was because you claimed that there was some kind of "intelligence" imparted. That's wrong. Speaking in tongues, as in Acts, is more like the Holy Spirit using a person as a puppet. There's no intelligence involved. That's not what it says, though:

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Act 2:12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
Act 2:13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

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The "others" mocked the phenomenon. They wouldn't have mocked if they had heard it themselves, would they? So apparently they didn't believe that the others had heard anything either. But they did explain it - as drunkenness.It isn't particularly important to the discussion. It's just an illustration of how you see what you want to see in the text instead of what's really there.

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“Faith moves mountains, but only knowledge moves them to the right place” -- Joseph Goebbels

If an object moves, we look for a natural force. The writer wrote that there was a sound and that the sound was like a wind. There is simply nothing in the text to suggest that there was any movement in the house. First, your reference is in Message 18, not the OP.Second, a footnote is just somebody's opinion. It has no bearing on the meaning of the text.Third, it has already been explained to you that the "power of God" doesn't mean power in the sense that it's used in physics. You haven't shown that. You've shown the footnote-opinion of one translator and you've misunderstood what "power" means in the literary sense as opposed to what "power" means in the scientific sense. Or.. they didn't say "energy" because they didn't mean "energy". I don't think you'll find anywhere where the Bible says they do. Yes. That's the whole point. It's the Holy Spirit speaking, not the ventriloquist's dummy.Remember Balaam's ass?

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Num 22:28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
Num 22:29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
Num 22:30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.

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If an ass can speak in tongues, how much intelligence is required?

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“Faith moves mountains, but only knowledge moves them to the right place” -- Joseph Goebbels

For @#$% sake, not another @#$%ing @#$hole who doesn't know what a simile is. Here's the quote again:

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Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

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There was a SOUND. It was AS OF a rushing mightly wind. It was like the sound of the tornado in The Wizard of Oz - the SOUND of a wind, not an actual wind in your house when you watch the movie.Similarly, there were cloven tongues like fire:

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Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

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Notice the similarity to the burning bush?

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Exo 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
Exo 3:3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
Exo 3:4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

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The Holy Spirit is described as being like wind and like fire because those were mysterious forces to the ancient Hebrews. The Holy Spirit is supposed to be mysterious. If we understand wind and fire better today, that's all the more reason to not think of the Holy Spirit in those terms.I am really not going to get into elementary school English with you. For @#$% sake, learn what a figure of speech is. Well, no it isn't. It's the opinion of one translator. Since it's only a footnote and not in the text itself, apparently even that one translator understood that the word shouldn't be translated that way. And they attributed those movements to supernatural powers, not observable energies. You really have no clue about the speaking-in-tongues phenomenon, do you? The standard thinking, as I understand it, is that a person has to be willing before the Holy Spirit will speak through him/her. They have already said yes to being used as a puppet. The Balaam story illustrates how your thinking is wrong. God spoke through the ass the same way He spoke through the disciples. That should indicate to you that intelligence isn't the issue.Did you seriously think that the Holy Spirit taught the disciples to speak those languages? Where do you see that in the text? The trouble is that you're not reading the page at all. You haven't looked above the footnotes. When you read the Bible, you have to look at the actual text, not just sneak a peek at the answers in the back of the book.

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“Faith moves mountains, but only knowledge moves them to the right place” -- Joseph Goebbels

The fact is that it is a simile. Do you know of a single translation that doesn't translate it as a simile? That much is blindingly obvious. The table lamp understands that much. The potted plant in the corner understands that much. It was obviously like fire only in the sense that it looked like fire. It was not fire because it didn't behave like fire - it didn't consume fuel. We're not talking about everyday language. We're talking about the language in the Bible, which is obviously a figure of speech. Again, we're not talking about the everyday use of the words. We're talking about how they were used in the Bible. The wind in Acts didn't move anything and the fire didn't cook the disciples. The fire that Moses saw didn't cook the bush.There is no mention of energy transfer of any kind in either story. That ought to be your first clue that the writers were not talking about any earthly energy. Of course I've considered that. Why do you think I brought up the story of Balaam's ass? The phenomenon was the same, but you can't attribute the same intelligence to the ass. Therefore, intelligence is not a factor. Already answered. No. Not if they are willing to temporarily surrender their will to Him. Of course I have. This isn't something I'm making up as I go along. It's the belief of people who believe in tongues. Please do some research on the subject and stop asking off-topic questions about it. I don't give a flying @#$% how you understand it or if you understand it. I'm just hoping there's nobody out there dumber than a potted plant who can't see a simile staring him in the face and thinks there's something to what you're saying. Not in every case. Not in this one. When I break the rules, you'll see a little "suspended" notice by my name. (That too is a figure of speech.)

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“Faith moves mountains, but only knowledge moves them to the right place” -- Joseph Goebbels

No. That's the way the translators translated it. They considered it a simile. Argue with them. No. Sound is not energy in the minds of the Bible writers. If you think it is, show us examples in the Bible where sound is supposed to have "power". That's what it says, pretty clearly - that it wasn't real, earthly fire because it didn't consume anything. I didn't say anything about "conflict" between what the Bible writers meant and what we understand today. I said that you obviously misunderstand. When they use figures of speech, you want to take them literally. No. They gave their consent for God to do whatever He wanted. They didn't use their intelligence, they gave it up, temporarily. They willingly became as unintelligent as an ass - or a burning bush - so that God could speak through them. No intelligence required. And yet you continue to ignore what is written. Why not drop the arrogant attitude and read what other people think? If you have a problem with the rules, there's a whole forum for that.

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“Faith moves mountains, but only knowledge moves them to the right place” -- Joseph Goebbels

Yes you have. You've seen where they put in the word "as". That makes it a simile. In case you missed it, here it is again:

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Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

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As I've already said, they didn't write it into the text, only into a footnote. They're quite welcome to write black=white in a footnote if they want. I'm only talking about what's in the text. Well, roll out those "honest readers" then. Show us anybody who agrees with your idea that there was a lot of "energy" generated in the event. I think you'll find that almost everybody agrees there was spiritual power, not physical energy. No. That formula was thrown out long ago. You've been shown six ways from Sunday how it's wrong. Again, show us anybody who agrees with you, if it's "more reasonable", as you claim.I asked you before and you didn't answer: Do you believe the disciples learned those foreign languages on the spot? Do you believe they could still speak those languages hours later, days later, months later? I've seen the speaking-in-tongues phenomenon hundreds of times and I've never once come across a person who knew what they had said or could repeat it later.Do some research. Ignorance is curable. Then don't make it. There's nothing in the text about jaws moving or tongues swirling or spitting.

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“Faith moves mountains, but only knowledge moves them to the right place” -- Joseph Goebbels

Since the Bible specifically states that the "fire" did not consume the bush, we know it could not have been real earthly fire. There was no change from chemical energy to heat energy. Clearly, there was no earthly energy involved. I'm the one who brought up the "mysterious" aspect. The Holy Spirit is supposed to be mysterious - it isn't just a wind or just a fire. It isn't just a guy with power tools. It's something unlike anything we observe and measure on earth. It is clearly not mundane "energy". Well, goody goody for you with whipped cream and sprinkles - it doesn't.

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“Faith moves mountains, but only knowledge moves them to the right place” -- Joseph Goebbels