How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

 

 

The story about the rich man inquiring of Jesus how to have eternal life lives rent-free in the mind of today's man of West, who is the richest in the history of the world, and who turns himself into a pretzel to make the story say anything but what it actually says.

Just today: 

A Camel Through the Eye of a Needle

J.T. Young, RealClearReligion

 

... What Jesus was saying about the camel and the eye of the needle is not that riches prevent a person from entering heaven (as many who seek to twist the scriptures for secular purposes insist); it is that riches can prevent a person from seeking heaven. ... 

This is just laughable. 

In all three versions of this story from the gospels riches do not prevent the rich man from seeking at all.

In each version the rich man actively comes to Jesus to ask a question about eternal life. In Mark's the rich man actually runs to Jesus. Riches do not prevent him from seeking. 

But in all three versions of the story riches most certainly do prevent the man from following Jesus, who went away sorrowful because he was very rich and had great possessions. It's the whole point of the story. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Talk about scripture twisting.

The rich man has much to which to say goodbye in order to become a disciple. We find that very interesting. The poor man has little to which to say goodbye. But by now we just take it for granted that the Twelve also had to say goodbye and have lost sight of the fact that the cost of discipleship is the same for all, whether rich or poor:

So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

-- Luke 14:33  

This is the easy yoke of Jesus! This is why his burden is light! You come to the strait gate with nothing in your hands and nothing on your back preventing your entry. 

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

-- Matthew 11:28ff. 

 

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

-- Matthew 19:16

And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

-- Mark 10:17

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

-- Luke 18:18 

 

Cave art all over the world shows digits may have been ritually removed, rendering Christian gospel accounts calling for self-mutilation less exceptional

In a paper presented at a recent meeting of the European Society for Human Evolution, researchers point to 25,000-year-old paintings in France and Spain that depict silhouettes of hands. On more than 200 of these prints, the hands lack at least one digit. In some cases, only a single upper segment is missing; in others, several fingers are gone. ... Four sites in Africa, three in Australia, nine in North America, five in south Asia and one in south-east Asia contain evidence of finger amputation. “This form of self-mutilation has been practised by groups from all inhabited continents,” said Collard. “More to the point, it is still carried out today, as we can see in the behaviour of people like the Dani.”

More. 

 

The Christian gospel accounts have been dismissed perennially as mere hyperbole:

And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 

-- Matthew 5:29f.

Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

-- Matthew 18:8f.

And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

-- Mark 9:43ff.

 

This older tradition is remembered in stark contrast to the miracle working Jesus of resurrection imagination who is wont to undo some of these extreme expressions of repentance:

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 

-- Matthew 11:5

And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:  Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel. 

-- Matthew 15:30f. 

And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. 

-- Matthew 21:14 

And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.

-- Luke 7:21f.

Learn of me . . . my burden is light

Engraving by Jan Luyken of the narrow gate which leads to life

 

 

 

 

In days of poverty his heart was light;

He sung his hymns at morning, noon, and night.

-- Walter Harte

If the gospel is good news to the rich, why doesn't it say so?

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

-- Matthew 11:5

He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

-- Luke 1:53

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

-- Luke 4:18

But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

-- Luke 6:24f.

Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.

-- Luke 7:22

Laying your burden down is not about your angst . . .

. . . it's about all your junk!

My yoke is easy, my burden light.

 

-- Matthew 11:30

A Brief Catechism of the Copula

In which no questions are posed, and no answers required of thee:

Ye are the salt of the earth (Mt. 5:13);

Heaven is God's throne (Mt. 5:34);

Earth is His footstool (Mt. 5:35);

Wide is the gate that leadeth to destruction (Mt. 7:13);

Narrow is the gate which leadeth unto life (Mt. 7:14);

John is Elias (Mt. 11:14);

Whoever shall do the will of my Father is my brother and sister and mother (Mt. 12:50);

The tares are the children of the wicked one (Mt. 13:38);

This (bread) is my body (Mt. 26:26);

This (cup) is my blood (Mt. 26:28);

My meat is to do the will of him that sent me (John 4:34);

John was a burning and a shining light (John 5:35);

For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven (John 6:33);

I am the bread of life (John 6:35);

The bread that I will give is my flesh (John 6:51);

My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed (John 6:55);

The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life (John 6:63);

One of you is a devil (John 6:70);

I am the light of the world (John 8:12);

I am the door of the sheep (John 10:7);

I am the true vine (John 15:1);

Ye are the branches (John 15:5);

Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia (Gal. 4:25);

The church is his body (Eph. 1:22-23).

Now reach up with both hands and touch your ears, and feel that they are the long furry ears of an ass.