Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!uwm.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!haven!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: ilw%chem@ucsd.edu (Ivy Blumberg) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Trouble passages in the SOM Message-ID: Date: 13 Sep 89 08:19:16 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Chemistry Dept, UC San Diego Lines: 19 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu I believe Jesus' sermons are best understood when taken in context of the whole Bible--not just isolated verses. Many of the things he said were not meant to be taken literally, i.e. plucking out your eyeball. He said this to get across an important principle: Sin is terrible. God hates it and we need to have a radical attitude about getting it out of our lives! God also hates divorce. Marriage is meant to be for life and we need to do everything in our power to make it work. This is a command, not an option. Usually, at least half the problems in our marriages are our fault, so if we get rid of the resentments, pride, lack of love, and selfishness we probably wouldn't need a divorce! God wants us to work hard and be productive (read Proverbs), but he doesn't want us to worry (phil.4:6) and be consumed with worldly treasures. Matt.6:21 Jesus was NOT a pacifist.(John2:13-17) but we are to love our enemies the way he did. He never backed down from the truth but he gave his life up for it.