Does Tower of Babel story show that God is against human progress?

[AgnosticBoy]

Imagine today, that all of mankind is united. There are no wars, no fighting over land, we're all a true and respected democracies, etc. Then, we start planning to work together to build all of these great technologies, and then God says, no, this is bad. He then breaks it all up. I believe that's what we find in the Tower of Babel story.

Genesis chapter 11 tells a story of mankind having the same language and coming together to accomplish some monumental project.

Genesis 11:1, 4-7

1 Now all the earth [a]used the same language and [b]the same words.
4 And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.”
5 Now the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the [f]men had built.
6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have [g]the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be [h]impossible for them.
7 Come, [i]let Us go down and there confuse their [j]language, so that they will not understand one another’s [k]speech.

It's the parts in bold that gets me. The author or God rightly acknowledges that when man is united that there is nothing that they plan that can't be done. But then God's response is to confuse them. Does that sound reasonable?

For Debate:
1. Is God against human progress?
2. Would it rival God in any way or was that a concern?

 

[Scooter]

God is not against human progress. The story about the Tower of Babel is not about human progress but about humans reaching Heaven on their own. There is no way a person can get into Heaven without coming through Jesus Christ. These people wanted to reach Heaven without God and make a name for themselves. We see the same thing today among the self-righteousness. They want to get to Heaven on their own merits and are filled with self-righteous pride.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

@Scooter

I think there's a couple ways the "reach the heavens" part can be taken. I used to think about it as man trying to get to literally get to God by building some massive structure that could reach into outer space. But now I lean towards that wording being about having something iconic.

I went to one of my go-to websites for an explanation - GotQuestions:

They decided to build a gigantic tower as a symbol of their power, to make a name for themselves (Genesis 11:4). This tower is remembered as the Tower of Babel.

After the Flood, God commanded humanity to "increase in number and fill the earth" (Genesis 9:1). Humanity decided to do the exact opposite, “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 and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth’” (Genesis 11:4).

God confused the languages at the Tower of Babel to enforce His command for humanity to spread throughout the entire world.

I honestly don't like that answer. It seems like a minor reason to confuse the languages of the people. Scooter's explanation sounds something more serious, perhaps bordering on idolatry or just simply following God his way. Maybe there's some pride going on in humanity at that time?

But most importantly, what do you think about the observation that when man is together, nothing is impossible for them? I think that's an important observation. Could we invent medicine for every illness if man was together, all of our interests like no conflict in interests like we find with Pharmaceutical companies profits vs. interests of the sick.

 

[Scooter]

Pride is not a minor offense. Pride caused Satan’s fall. Pride is one thing God absolutely hates in mankind. When God said nothing will be impossible for man, I honestly believe He was speaking about sinful things. Rebellion against God is simply disobeying Him. That’s what the people of Babel were doing.

God is the source of all knowledge that man has. God reveals things to man in His own time. As an example think of all the medical advances man has achieved. And yet, there’s still no cure for the common cold. That’s because God has not revealed that information to man yet.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Pride is not a minor offense. Pride caused Satan’s fall. Pride is one thing God absolutely hates in mankind. When God said nothing will be impossible for man, I honestly believe He was speaking about sinful things. Rebellion against God is simply disobeying Him. That’s what the people of Babel were doing.

God is the source of all knowledge that man has. God reveals things to man in His own time. As an example think of all the medical advances man has achieved. And yet, there’s still no cure for the common cold. That’s because God has not revealed that information to man yet.

Yes, I think pride is the best explanation. Perhaps the tower symbolized pride. They weren't trying to reach God, but were probably thinking they don't need him.