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The Party of Christian Values
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this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2024
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To be honest, this is something that really bugs me; people using the Bible for their own benefit. They say, "we love Jesus!" and then go and keep doing exactly what they were doing before. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep ny commandments" (John 14:158), and James said, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." (James 2:26, but there's more in James 2:14-26). Yes, they might say that there's too many commandments-- but Jesus also said "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.". That is a summary of every single law/commandment in the entire Bible, all of the others are just more specific instructions on how to do that. All that stuff about turning the other cheek and going the extra mile-- it's not saying to just put up with abuse, mistreatment, and injustice. It's talking about what people like Martin Luther King and Gandhi did, using oppressors violence and mistreatment against them. The third commandment, "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." (Exodus 20:7) isn't just talking about saying "ooh mah gawd" when you stub your toe, it's talking about using God's inapropriately or disrespectfully in any way, including for personal gain.
Doesn't it? I think when Jesus said "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also." Matthew 5:39 he meant put up with abuse, mistreatment, and injustice - do not resist an evil person and do not retaliate when attacked.
I think when Jesus said "love your enemies [...] Be perfect" Matthew 5:44, 48 he meant love your enemies and be perfect.
I think when Jesus said "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor" Matthew 19:21 he meant sell your possessions and give to the poor.
A lot of supply-side Jesus followers say Jesus supports the troops, and that the eye of the needle the camel needs to go through isn't actually the eye of a needle - but a gate.
I think the above quotes are good things to do, eventho I'm not an ethical enough person to do them. I also think all the supernatural things Jesus is quoted as saying is bullshit, and that it's better to be honest than to repeat a bunch of stupid fairy tales.
This one takes a bit of cultural context, I have a book at home that has a good section on this but I'm traveling now so I'll type this part when I get home. But the gist of it is that don't just 'put up' with it, but be kind to them. Fight violence and oppresion with kindness. draw attention to them. Force them to treat you (even if just to fight you) as an equal. Like it says in Proverbs 25:21-22, "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you."
yep, that's what He meant: "Love your enemies, pray for those who curse you". I think this ties in a bit with the cheek turning.
This is what He said just before the bit about the camel going through the needle eye. A man came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to be saved. Jesus told him to keep the commandments, and the man said that He'd done that all his life. Then Jesus said "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.". The man then walked away sadly because he had a lot of stuff and Jesus said it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.
yeah He meant that it would be easier for a camel (like the animal, camelus, this one) to ge through the eye of a needle (like the hole in the end of the sewing tool, the bit in the top right corner of the main picture of this article). Also lol for Supply Side Jesus.
Same here, but with God's help I come to Him, He pulls me closer, and I become more like Him. And when I fall (or jump) He comes and gets me and picks me up again.
I'll have to disagree with you here, I firmly believe that Jesus is God come to earth as a human.
(sorry it took me ages to reply, I've been busy and I wanted to sit down and think about this reply)
Which English translation do you prefer and recommend? I like NET because of it's less-rights reserved copyright, but for ease of understanding I prefer translations that use contemporary language instead of just footnotes.
I think this characterization of turning the other cheek is more complete and supported by the nearby text, even for someone like me who prefers Jefferson's eliding.
Re: "do not resist", are there other nearby passages that expand it to more than just refraining from violence, into actually resisting evil persons? I ethically agree with your expanded position of trying to overcome injustice in this world - but doesn't the quotes of Jesus in the canonical books rely instead on waiting for justice in heaven and hell, and not on Earth?