Originally Posted by Alek
Originally Posted by Ray E. Strode
Am I greedy. Of course I am. Greed makes the world go around.


We all are greedy, we (Christians) forget this:

Bible.Matthew 19:24

"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."


The verse you quote is concerning a camel entering a city through a "needle gate" which was a short opening in the gate to protect the city. A camel could indeed enter through it but...it had to get on it's knees to be able to pass through the gate.

Jesus was talking about humility concerning the rich young man who came to Him asking what good thing he could do t that he could have eternal life. Jesus answers him, telling him to obey the commandments. But Jesus only quotes the commandments that deal with interpersonal relationships. The young man says he has obeyed them since his youth. That would indicate he was without sin. He wanted to know what good work he could do to have eternal life. There is nothing we can do to merit it...It comes by faith in Jesus through his death, burial and resurrection. Jesus tests him by telling him then to sell all he owns, give it to the poor,follow him and he would have treasure in heaven. The young man went away sorrowful because he had great possessions. He valued his possessions more than he valued God. That's the point of the story, not that being rich was sinful in and of itself. You can't take scriptures ala carte. You need to read in context with the verses preceeding and coming after a particular verse. The original transcripts of the Bible were not divided into verses. That came much later to make it easier for reference reasons.

The diciples asked him who could be saved then. Jesus said that with men it is impossible but with God all things were possible. Read the rest of the chapter in Matthew.

I could add more but I'll leave it at that.

Stevie

I'm the only person here who is not unique.