The Wisdom of "Eye for an eye" theology

aikido7

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Frank Ernest said:
Luke 13:2-5 "And Jesus answering said unto them, [jesus]Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.[/jesus]"
Calling sinners to repentance was a common theme in the preaching of the early church. Was Luke trying to make Pilate into a prosecutor? Or trying to predict the destruction of Jerusalem in the 70s?
 

Frank Ernest

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aikido7 said:
Calling sinners to repentance was a common theme in the preaching of the early church. Was Luke trying to make Pilate into a prosecutor? Or trying to predict the destruction of Jerusalem in the 70s?
Huh? :darwinsm: I see you've managed to veer off into yet another universe of your own creation.
 

Hasan_ibn_Sabah

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Frank Ernest said:
Huh? :darwinsm: I see you've managed to veer off into yet another universe of your own creation.

So whats Jesus saying if we dont repent buildings are going to fall on us? What does that verse have to do with the topic? Please stay on topic.
 

aikido7

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Frank Ernest said:
Huh? :darwinsm: I see you've managed to veer off into yet another universe of your own creation.
You're welcome to come on in and help me re-arrange the furniture....
 

Rimi

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eccl3_6 said:
How about forgiving them regardless, telling the offender that they hurt you and then learning from the mistake?

I put my arm in the lion cage.

The lion bites my arm off.

It hurts.

I forgive the lion.

I explain to him that my arm hurts.

Dont put your other arm in the cage.


Its called being the bigger man. Do you really mean that just because somebody else fails to repent I have to keep rebutting him....too much hard work. Forgive and move on.

If you feel better forgiving the rapist, murderer, child molester, fag and Leo the lion, have at it. You're foolish to do so. Except in the case of the Leo. The lion is not a human, doesn't make or understand laws. I'm sure it doesn't understand much but maybe his name, and that's doubtful. All Leo might get is "blah blah blah, Leo, blah blah blah, Leo." Sorry rebuking someone to show them their sin against you is too much like work. Maybe you're right: maybe you're just not worth it.
 

Rimi

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Chileice said:
You forgot to read the thread. That verse has been proof-texted at least a dozen times by people wanting to avoid their Christ-given responsibility to forgive.

You mean like yourself, right? You forgive at the drop of a hat because you feel better instead of doing what God says. You must really have a low opinion of the way He's running things.
 

Hasan_ibn_Sabah

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Rimi said:
You mean like yourself, right? You forgive at the drop of a hat because you feel better instead of doing what God says. You must really have a low opinion of the way He's running things.

You must have a low opinion of Christ and His teachings...Christ commanded us to love our enemies, do you have any problem with that command?
 

SOTK

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Let's look at logic for a minute. Doesn't it make sense to all of you that one should repent before being forgiven? For example, can any of you forgive someone that sins against you on a daily basis? Let's say you have a co-worker that is just nasty and goes out of his way to sin against you on a daily basis. Are you guys saying that it's logical to forgive him on a daily basis. In other words, you forgive him for the same thing day after day. That just doesn't make sense and it's also dishonest. It's impossible to really and truly forgive someone when they continue to remain in their sin and are harming you.

In the above scenario, the loving and logical thing to do is to softly rebuke the person and give him the opportunity to repent. If he doesn't, you treat him as nicely as you can and give the matter to God.

Seriously, some of you are completely missing the boat on this. The way I'm laying it out is Biblical, logical, and loving.
 

aikido7

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SOTK said:
Let's look at logic for a minute. Doesn't it make sense to all of you that one should repent before being forgiven? For example, can any of you forgive someone that sins against you on a daily basis? Let's say you have a co-worker that is just nasty and goes out of his way to sin against you on a daily basis. Are you guys saying that it's logical to forgive him on a daily basis. In other words, you forgive him for the same thing day after day. That just doesn't make sense and it's also dishonest. It's impossible to really and truly forgive someone when they continue to remain in their sin and are harming you.

In the above scenario, the loving and logical thing to do is to softly rebuke the person and give him the opportunity to repent. If he doesn't, you treat him as nicely as you can and give the matter to God.

Seriously, some of you are completely missing the boat on this. The way I'm laying it out is Biblical, logical, and loving.
The wayward son in Jesus' parable we have called "The Parable of the Prodigal Son" was forgiven without repenting. We are talking about grace. If you want to bring in a set of requirements in order to be forgiven, you may do that. But then you are talking about something other than grace....
 

SOTK

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aikido7 said:
The wayward son in Jesus' parable we have called "The Parable of the Prodigal Son" was forgiven without repenting. We are talking about grace. If you want to bring in a set of requirements in order to be forgiven, you may do that. But then you are talking about something other than grace....

aikido7,

Before you received grace from Jesus, did you repent of your past sins? Or, did you feel that you didn't have to repent of anything?
 

aikido7

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SOTK said:
aikido7,

Before you received grace from Jesus, did you repent of your past sins? Or, did you feel that you didn't have to repent of anything?
To be an "insider" in the kigndom one must be an "outsider." That requirement is never rescinded.

A sinner is an "outsider"--from the standpoint of those who thought they were insiders.

In Jesus' vision of the Kingdom of God, Christians may be insiders but they are without privelege. Christians (insiders) are never superior to non-Christians (outsiders).

Christains are not the exclusive brokers of God's grace. The irony is that many Christians claim superiority and monopoly in the name of Jesus who never claimed anything for himself--and who insisted that his disciples ask nothing for themselves.

Jesus did not dispense grace, but spoke of a Father who shed grace on all equally. And Jesus did not demand a quid pro quo for salvation.

"The Father makes the sun to shine on both the evil and the good and sends the rain upon the just and the unjust."
 

Rimi

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aikido7 said:
To be an "insider" in the kigndom one must be an "outsider." That requirement is never rescinded.

A sinner is an "outsider"--from the standpoint of those who thought they were insiders.

In Jesus' vision of the Kingdom of God, Christians may be insiders but they are without privelege. Christians (insiders) are never superior to non-Christians (outsiders).

Christains are not the exclusive brokers of God's grace. The irony is that many Christians claim superiority and monopoly in the name of Jesus who never claimed anything for himself--and who insisted that his disciples ask nothing for themselves.

Jesus did not dispense grace, but spoke of a Father who shed grace on all equally. And Jesus did not demand a quid pro quo for salvation.

"The Father makes the sun to shine on both the evil and the good and sends the rain upon the just and the unjust."

God willnot forgive without repentence. Period.
If unrepentent is still unrepentent, he will not receive forgiveness because he doesn't want it, or else he wants it with no change on his part (ya know, like repentence) He gads about say, "Hey, God, I'm gonna rape/kill/sodomize/steal and You just forgive me. See ya in heaven!" He is still in his sin and enjoys it if he thinks God must forgive no matter what.
The repentent is still "outside" until God forgives and not a moment before.

Step 1.: Repent
Step 2 : Receive forgiveness.
 

aikido7

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Rimi said:
God willnot forgive without repentence. Period.
If unrepentent is still unrepentent, he will not receive forgiveness because he doesn't want it, or else he wants it with no change on his part (ya know, like repentence) He gads about say, "Hey, God, I'm gonna rape/kill/sodomize/steal and You just forgive me. See ya in heaven!" He is still in his sin and enjoys it if he thinks God must forgive no matter what.
The repentent is still "outside" until God forgives and not a moment before.

Step 1.: Repent
Step 2 : Receive forgiveness.
The authentic Jesus behind the gospels teaches a Rule (Kingdom) of God in which rewards and punishments are inherent in the acts and thoughts to which they are related. Jesus seems to be unlike John the Baptizer, who called for repentance and threatened with God's wrath.

Make no mistake--Jesus could be highly critical, sometimes caustically so. But he did not condemn. He advised his disciples to beg God to forgive obligations to the same extent that they forgive the debts owed to them--"Forgive and you'll be forgiven."

In the everyday secular world--now and in the first century--people expect reward for good behavior and punishment for bad. Notions of reward and punishment are all-too-human, and the themes have a fairly prominent role in Matthew--and in Revelations.

The two approaches stand side-by-side--in strong contrast to each other--throughout the Bible. Both cannot represent the same wise mind.

Which one stems from the real Jesus?
 

Rimi

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aikido7 said:
The authentic Jesus behind the gospels teaches a Rule (Kingdom) of God in which rewards and punishments are inherent in the acts and thoughts to which they are related. Jesus seems to be unlike John the Baptizer, who called for repentance and threatened with God's wrath.

Make no mistake--Jesus could be highly critical, sometimes caustically so. But he did not condemn. He advised his disciples to beg God to forgive obligations to the same extent that they forgive the debts owed to them--"Forgive and you'll be forgiven."

In the everyday secular world--now and in the first century--people expect reward for good behavior and punishment for bad. Notions of reward and punishment are all-too-human, and the themes have a fairly prominent role in Matthew--and in Revelations.

The two approaches stand side-by-side--in strong contrast to each other--throughout the Bible. Both cannot represent the same wise mind.

Which one stems from the real Jesus?

They seem to work quite nicely in the mind of Jesus who is God, side by side:

Rewards for good behavior: Deut 26:1-13
Punishment for bad bahavior: Deut 26:14-46
 

aikido7

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Rimi said:
They seem to work quite nicely in the mind of Jesus who is God, side by side:

Rewards for good behavior: Deut 26:1-13
Punishment for bad bahavior: Deut 26:14-46
I don't know the mind of Jesus or God, and I don't claim to. As a Christian, I can only believe what I see of the God incarnated by Jesus in the gospels.
 
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