Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!bloom-beacon!gatech!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian
From: dg@lakart.uucp (David Goodenough)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Hating one's parents
Message-ID: <Sep.23.04.31.19.1989.17560@athos.rutgers.edu>
Date: 23 Sep 89 08:31:21 GMT
Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu
Lines: 33
Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu

[David was commenting on 
> Luke 14:26 "If any man come to me and hate [1] not his father and
> mother and wife and children and ....."
> Matt 15:4 "..... Honour thy father and mother ....."
...
> [1] I don't know anything of the original Greek, but I'd guess there
> ought to be a better word here - it's not really hate, more a case of
> "if it ever comes to a choice between Christ and your Father, Christ
> has to come first"
I responded that the Greek word really is hate --clh]

Which promptly blew my socks off. I had added my footnote on the basis
of the translation of that same part in Matthew, which says more what
I said in my footnote. I am humbled, surprised, and a little confused.
Can you provide any insight to try to clear my confusion, for the
Matthew translation makes more sense to me, I find it hard to believe
that I should hate my Father for no reason. I will hate him if he
attempts to forbid me to go to church (this makes interesting insight
into the JW issue :-/ ), but since he hasn't, I see no reason at all to
hate him.

			Yours,
-- 
	dg@lakart.UUCP - David Goodenough		+---+
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AKA:	dg%lakart.uucp@xait.xerox.com			  +---+

[I didn't mean to humiliate you.  In fact I agree with your
interpretation.  I simply wanted to answer the implied question about
the Greek word.  Jesus uses hyperbole in parables on a number of
occasions, e.g. references to a beam in your eye, cutting off your
right hand.  I would assume that's what is going on here.  --clh]