“The words contained in Mathew 7:1-9 are often misinterpreted by people who want to be left alone to live in darkness.”

 

Well, aside from the fact that anyone who is truly walking The Way of Jesus Christ – a Way composed solely of Light & LOVE – cannot ever “be left alone to live in darkness”, there are several other very important facets of the biblical texts that this statement either ignores or decries … Please consider the following illuminations thereof:

 

Firstly – and probably most importantly – you & yours are doing to homosexuals exactly what the condemnatory crowd was doing to the adulteress in John 8:1-11; and thus to you & yours I repeat what Jesus said to them then: “[Only those] without sin may cast the first stone.” (John 8:7) … Dan, by your own admission, you are just as much of a sinner as Oliver Clyde Allen ever will be, and as such it is not for you to publicly correct him or criticize his inborn nature in any way!  … Indeed, in the section of John’s Gospel just mentioned, Jesus even wrote on the ground before the arrogantly hypocritical Pharisees to show them that he understood the Law just as well as they*, and indeed to show them that he comprehended the truer depths of the Law as well; namely, that they were just as guilty and just as worthy of punishment under the Law as the adulteress they were lustily desiring to condemn … And how ironic it is that I am now providing you & yours with similar “writings in the sand” in this thread; “writings” of The Way of Christ that for some reason you are stubbornly refusing to notice with either eyes that See or ears that Hear …

[*The equally binding oral legal tradition of Jesus’ day (see Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah Shabbos 11:9–17 & 23:12–19; along with Jacob ben Asher’s Orach Chayim 340) did not allow for Jews to engage in the act of writing on the Sabbath.]

 

Even more poignant here is the fact that the “crime” (for which the woman in John 8 was openly & gently forgiven by Jesus, by the way) was adultery, a sin that is – in all likelihood (at least according to Jesus Christ, whose opinion should be quite important to you & yours; see Matthew 5:27-28) – being committed regularly by every single heterosexual pastor in the world; pastors – unlike the non-adulterous Oliver Clyde Allen — to whom you apparently have no trouble going to hear preach … Ahhh, the hypocrisy of it all!

 

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged … Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own? … You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbor’s … You hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup [of others], but inside are full of greed and self-indulgence … First clean the inside of your own cup, so that the outside might also become truly clean … Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Whoever becomes humble like this young child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven … Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” ~ Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:1-2 + Matthew 23:25-26 + Matthew18:3-4 + John 8:7)

Secondly, as I have pointed out to you quite clearly over & over & over & over again in this thread, there is a drastic difference between the “judgment” of who people ARE (&/or the sins they are committing that have no immediate victims – a “judgment” that Jesus clearly denounces in Matthew 7:1-2), and the “righteous judgment” of sins that others are DOING (specifically those sins that are causing immediate harm to others – a “righteous judgment” that Jesus clearly supports in John 7:24) … Just like your homophobic slander of gays in this thread, it was wrong of the Nazis to condemn Jews merely for being born into (& even choosing to remain in) the Jewish culture (an obvious Matthew 7:1-2 violation).  Conversely, just like my efforts to stand between you and your intended homosexual victims (and defend them from your condemnatory attacks & false accusations), it was very Right of those who opposed Hitler & his clan to publicly do so (an obvious upholding of Jesus’ call for “righteous judgment” in John 7:24) … How can you not understand this very simple, yet extremely important distinction, my Friend?  I am frankly starting to become a tad astounded that you still cannot comprehend it – much less See how the latter is as noble as the former is immoral …

Thirdly & finally, Jesus’ own “Fruit of the Tree” test wins the day for gays (as if there was ever any doubt) … For it simply must be clear to anyone with even a shred of humility and even an ounce of decency that publicly denigrating homosexuals – by openly supporting Bible passages that appear to condemn them to be “mortal sinners” (destined for eternal torment, no less) – always brings the horrible fruit of terror, &/or sadness, &/or anger, &/or hatred, &/or discrimination, &/or abuse, &/or self-loathing, &/or even suicide …

 

On the other hand, walking The Way of Christ by extending humble acts of Kindness to homosexuals (even if one believes that they are “living in sin”) always bears the Good Fruit of Love & Joy & Peace & Harmony & Justice & Compassion & Self-Respect … It really is a no-brainer which way (i.e. The Way) one should be choosing during such encounters!

 

 

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my Love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his Love … And this is my commandment: that you Love one another just as I have Loved you.” ~ Jesus Christ (John 15:10-12)

Filed under: Burnishing Bigotry by Scaughdt