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: geoff@pmafire.UUCP (Geoff Allen) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Trouble passages in the SOM Message-ID: Date: 13 Sep 89 08:21:24 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: WINCO, INEL, Idaho Lines: 108 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article alfalfa!fullmer@dover.sps.mot.com (Glen Fullmer) writes: >A number of passages in the Sermon on the Mount bother me: Then at the end of the article: >Any true followers like to respond? I'll bite: >1. Speaking of lust, Jesus says "And if thy right eye offend thee > pluck it out, and cast it from thee ... I believe Jesus is trying to point out the seriousness of sin here. You'd be better off blind and lame if you could avoid Hell. He is not saying that this is what you should do. It's impossible to prevent yourself from sinning. The only solution to sin is Christ's sacrifice on the cross. > 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? All of us would be severely maimed of we followed this truthfully. > 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? Jesus is only illustrating one example here. Any sin will suffice to make the point. >2. "But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, > saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit > 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? God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). The Biblical concept of marriage is of an entity that is different from the individuals ("The two shall become one flesh"), thus divorce is the killing of this one flesh. Jesus allowed divorce for fornication (I believe), because the fornication has already killed the marriage. I don't think that there is any sexism in the passage, because it goes both ways. A woman marrying a divorced man is as guilty as a man marrying a divorced woman. >3. "Resist not evil" > > Does that mean that only pacifists are Christians? > "Onward Christian Soliders" seem an oxymoron. No. C. S. Lewis said it better than I can (quoting from _Mere Christianity_): It is, therefore, in my opinion, perfectly right for a Christian judge to sentence a man to death or a Christian soldier to kill an enemy. ... When soldiers came to John the Baptist asking what to do, he never remotely suggested that they ought to leave the army: nor did Christ when He met a Roman seargent-major -- what they called a centurion. ... We may kill if necessary, but we must not hate and enjoy hating. We may punish if necessary, but we must not enjoy it." I think the point is that we should not be seeking our own interests. >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? No. We just shouldn't center our lives on the material. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21) In fact, II Thessalonians 3:10 says, "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." >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? I John 5:14 says, "This is the assurance we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Note the condition. God is still supreme, and He will not make you independently wealthy tommorrow unless He wants to. >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. A true follower of Christ would be a thinking, hardworking, happily married man or woman who's willing to defend others with his or her life if necessary, and who recognizes the incredible gift that God has granted in the sacrifice of his Son to pay the debt owed for our sins. Hope this makes some sense and helps to answer some of your questions. -- Geoff Allen {uunet,bigtex}!pmafire!geoff ucdavis!egg-id!pmafire!geoff "May the God of Peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." -- Hebrews 13:20,21 (NIV)