Interesting. I hadn’t had time to look at the links, but I’m gratified that it agreed with me.
I think part of the problem is a prior commitment to the hunch that “the poor” are somehow more “loved” than any other group. That God’s “justice” is slanted in their favor. That position ignores the definition of justice, ignores the entirety of how Jesus and the disciples interacted with “the poor”, and in this case the one direct quote from Jesus. It’s like there is an insistence that a situation must be either/or without even acknowledging the possibility that it’s both/and.
There’s nothing that diminishes the plight or help for the poor by acknowledging that in this situation they weren’t the primary motivation for Jesus violent outburst.
It’s interesting that in a desire to justify the judgmental, vitriol, we see aimed at those that disagree, we see a willingness to abandon the “pacifist Jesus” position. This isn’t about interpreting scripture, it’s about justification for hatful, vitriolic, the ends justify the means tactics to defeat the enemy.
1 comment:
Art,
Interesting. I hadn’t had time to look at the links, but I’m gratified that it agreed with me.
I think part of the problem is a prior commitment to the hunch that “the poor” are somehow more “loved” than any other group. That God’s “justice” is slanted in their favor. That position ignores the definition of justice, ignores the entirety of how Jesus and the disciples interacted with “the poor”, and in this case the one direct quote from Jesus. It’s like there is an insistence that a situation must be either/or without even acknowledging the possibility that it’s both/and.
There’s nothing that diminishes the plight or help for the poor by acknowledging that in this situation they weren’t the primary motivation for Jesus violent outburst.
It’s interesting that in a desire to justify the judgmental, vitriol, we see aimed at those that disagree, we see a willingness to abandon the “pacifist Jesus” position. This isn’t about interpreting scripture, it’s about justification for hatful, vitriolic, the ends justify the means tactics to defeat the enemy.
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