From: HADCRJAM@admin.uh.edu (MILLER, JIMMY A.)
Subject: Re: What is Sex to God?
Organization: University of Houston Administrative Computing
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 12:45:19 GMT
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.20

In <1992Aug17.172854.6645@coopsol.com> gordons@coopsol.com writes:

> <1992Aug14.134746.29912@menudo.uh.edu> HADCRJAM@admin.uh.edu (MILLER, JIMMY A.):
> >  After some effort and confusion, I've finally found the Bible verses Gordon
> >was talking about where Jesus commands his disciples to hate their parents.
> 
> Yes, I apologize for the confusion.  I was referencing Matthew when I
> meant Luke.
> 
> >Luke 14:26 "If any man come unto me, and hate not his father, and mother, and 
> >            wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own 
> >	    life also, he cannot be my disciple.
> >
> >Luke 14:27 "And whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot
> >	   be my disciple."
> >
> > And now the verse I consider crucial to figuring out what this means:
> >
> >Luke 14:28 "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down
> >	    first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish
> >	    it?
> >
> > Luke 14:29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to
> >	    finish it, all that beholden it begin to mock him,
> >
> > Luke 14:30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish."
> >
> > 14:31-32 give a similar example of a king wanting to make war with not enough
> > soldiers.  Finally:
> >
> > Luke 14:33 "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all he 
> >	     hath, he cannot be my disciple."
> >
> >  I read it thusly:  One could not become a disciple without first being
> >prepared to give up all that he had, "counting the cost."  It is not a
> >simple command to "hate your parents." It was a very honest observation
> >that following him was not going to be any kind of cakewalk.
> 
> In your opinion, with your liberal interpretation.  Not only does he
> explicitely tell you to hate your family, but he also commands that you
> give up all that you own.  Note that he didn't qualify that statement by
> saying "give up the things that you like better than me".  He said "ALL".
> 
> If you don't hate your family, and you continue to own possesions YOU
> CANNOT FOLLOW CHRIST, by his own words.  Many Christians twist his words
> so that they can get away with owning things.  Tsk, tsk.
> Gordon

  Gordon, you obviously know nothing about having a flair for the dramatic.
Perhaps you should explain why your interpretation is any better than mine--
all I see is two people reading what they want to see.  You take the absololute
literal words (and if we were to do that all the time, we'd never get anything
done--remember the "duck" example?), without concern for lots of other things
he said.  Christians are also told to love their enemies, forgive them, turn 
the other cheek, and hate sin, not the sinner--commands at odds with your
interpretation.  And that is how I get mine.

  Wondering how the speech would have sounded in Aramaic...

semper fi,

Jammer Jim Miller 
Texas A&M University '89 and '91
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