RE: The bible... why take it seriously?
September 8, 2014 at 6:04 am
(This post was last modified: September 8, 2014 at 6:05 am by Michael.)
Well on the ripping out of eyes, I would say that is a rheorical device. So, for example, you'll find the same technique used in the Talmud...
'The pain of humiliation is more bitter than death. Therefore, one should rather fling himself into a fiery furnace than humiliate someone in public' (Talmud, Bava Metzia 59a)
On the giving away of money. Yes, Jesus seems to have much more to say on greed than, for example, about sexuality! Certainly the early apostolic church (described in Acts) held things in common and used their wealth to support the poor. And we know that Jesus and the disciples had a common purse. So we're given a more complete picture that isn't necessarily about giving everything away, but rather holding it in common and using it generously. With the fuller picture we can see Jesus's message about the problem of greed and hoarding, and again we perhaps have some hyperbole to stress that, though Jesus's reality is also much harder than most of us manage to achieve. The holding to a common purse is still the way with Benedictine communities: there is no private ownership but the community do hold things in common. Before the welfare state the Benedictine communities would often provide alms to the poor and the sick. The Benedictine communities perhaps challenge your view that this can only be for the short term; they have been a stable part of history and have seen countries and governments come and go around them.
'The pain of humiliation is more bitter than death. Therefore, one should rather fling himself into a fiery furnace than humiliate someone in public' (Talmud, Bava Metzia 59a)
On the giving away of money. Yes, Jesus seems to have much more to say on greed than, for example, about sexuality! Certainly the early apostolic church (described in Acts) held things in common and used their wealth to support the poor. And we know that Jesus and the disciples had a common purse. So we're given a more complete picture that isn't necessarily about giving everything away, but rather holding it in common and using it generously. With the fuller picture we can see Jesus's message about the problem of greed and hoarding, and again we perhaps have some hyperbole to stress that, though Jesus's reality is also much harder than most of us manage to achieve. The holding to a common purse is still the way with Benedictine communities: there is no private ownership but the community do hold things in common. Before the welfare state the Benedictine communities would often provide alms to the poor and the sick. The Benedictine communities perhaps challenge your view that this can only be for the short term; they have been a stable part of history and have seen countries and governments come and go around them.
