Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: tblake@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Thomas Blake) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Temptation and Impure Thoughts Message-ID: Date: 1 Apr 91 09:09:19 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: State University of New York at Binghamton Lines: 89 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article brendan@cs.uq.oz.au (Brendan Mahony) writes: >... >Perhaps a little over simplified. The (RC) church would definitely claim that >there is sin in entertaining thoughts or fantacising about a sinful action. >This is referred to as sin by Christ and the ten commandments. Notice >that it is "thou shalt not covet..." rather than "thou shalt not take..." >I wouldn't claim to know all of the reason for this but it does seem >that fantasies are eventually either acted out on some level or else >bring a feeling of unfulfilment and loss when not acted out. >Consider the obvious unfortunate effects of racist and sexist thoughts >and fantasies, even among those who try to lead a Christian life. >In seeking to resist temptation one should really be aiming to clean >your mind of impure thoughts as well as your body of actions. >... Indeed... Matthew 15:1-20 (See also Mark 7:1-23) Then some Pharisees and teachers of the Law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked him, 2 "Why is it that your disciples disobey the teaching handed down by our ancestors? They don't wash their hands in the proper way before they eat!" 3 Jesus answered, "And why do you disobey God's command and follow your own teaching? 4 For God said, `Respect your father and your mother,' and `Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death.' 5 But you teach that if a person has something he could use to help his father or mother, but says, `This belongs to God,' 6 he does not need to honor his father.* In this way you disregard God's command, in order to follow your own teaching. 7 You hypocrites! How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you! 8`These people, says God, honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me. 9 It is no use for them to worhip me, because they teach manmade rules as though they were my laws'". 10 Then Jesus called the crowd to him and said to them, "Listen and understand! 11 It is not what goes into a person's mouth that makes him ritually unclean; rather what comes out of it makes him unclean." 12 Then the disciples came to him and said, "Do you know that the Pharisees had their feelings hurt by what you said?" 13 "Every plant which my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up," answered Jesus. 14 "Don't worry about them! They are blind leaders of the blind; and when one blind man leads another, both fall into a ditch." 15 Peter spoke up, "Explain this saying to us." 16 Jesus said to them, "You are still no more intelligent than the others. 17 Don't you understand? Anything that goes into a person's mouth goes into his stomach and then on out of his body. 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these are the things that make a person ritually unclean. 19 For from his heart come the evil ideas which lead him to kill, commit adultery, and do other immoral things; to rob, lie and slander others. 20 These are the things that make a person unclean. But to eat without washing your hands as they say you should-this doesn't make a person unclean." * his father; some manuscripts have his father or mother. (TEV) My original intent in this citation was to remind us of Jesus insistance about what was in the heart making one unclean. But don't verses 8 and 9 burn in your mind!? How many of the petty squabbles in the church come down to this!? Let's check out Isaiah... Isaiah 29:13-14 The Lord said, "These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized. 14 So I will startle them with one unexpected blow after another. Those who are wise will turn out to be fools, and all their cleverness will be useless." (TEV) Old Isaiah has plenty to say to us today, no doubt about it. I guess we haven't changed all that much in a few thousand years. (Kinda depressing, isn't it?) Tom Blake SUNY-Binghamton P.S. You won't read this until after Easter I'm sure, but a blessed Easter to *all* of you. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not sure when the Orthodox Easter is this year... a blessed Easter to you as well.