Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: alfalfa!fullmer@dover.sps.mot.com (Glen Fullmer) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Trouble passages in the SOM Message-ID: Date: 11 Sep 89 06:54:48 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Motorola, Inc., Semiconductor Products Sector Lines: 65 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu A number of passages in the Sermon on the Mount bother me: 1. Speaking of lust, Jesus says "And if thy right eye offend thee pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." He continues with the same wording replacing eye with hand. Does that mean the Jimmy Carter is not a true follower of Christ because he still has sight in his right eye? Or has his right hand? How many of you would be missing an eye or hand? Why only the right eye, or hand? Why not the left? Why only man lusting after woman? Can't women go to hell for lusting, too? Was Jesus a sexist? 2. "But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery." Why only fornication? Aren't there worse things that happen in a marriage? (like lack of trust?) Does Jesus want people to remain in a very bad marriage? Is the happiness of his followers important? Does anyone else see the sexism in the "marry her that is divorced committeth adultery" passage? 3. "Resist not evil" Does that mean that only pacifists are Christians? "Onward Christian Soliders" seem an oxymoron. 4. "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)..." It seems from this passage that we shouldn't work for a living. Is that what He really wants? 5. "For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seekth findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Dear Father would you make me independently wealthy by tomorrow. Sort of like a Santa Claus in the sky, no? In summary it seems that a true follower of Christ would be a blind faith bum who's missing his right hand and eye, unhappily married, male pacifist. Other than these passages, I enjoy the Sermon on the Mount. Any true followers like to respond? BTW, SOM = Matt 5-7. -- ___ _ "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence" {__/ // "over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." \ // _ ___ Dick Feynman, Appendix F of Shuttle Disaster Report {__/