From: johnson@offroad.chem.wisc.edu (Arthur Johnson)
Subject: Re: Rich men and Heaven
Organization: Physical Sciences Lab, UW-Madison
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 92 22:39:59 GMT

In article <ksand-010992182825@wintermute.apple.com> ksand@apple.com (Kent  
Sandvik) writes:
> OK, I got the Bible on my hard disk, an On Location created a 
> really nice index so I could look up things fast. Bliss.
> 
> Here's the full cite from Matthew about rich men and heaven:
> 
> MAT 19:20  The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept  
from
> my youth up: what lack I yet?
> 
> MAT 19:21  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell  
that
> thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven:
> and come and follow me.
> 
> MAT 19:22  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away
> sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
> 
> MAT 19:23  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you,  
That
> a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
> 
> MAT 19:24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go  
through
> the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of  
God.
> 
> MAT 19:25  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed,
> saying, Who then can be saved?
> 
> MAT 19:26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is
> impossible; but with God all things are possible.
> 
> 
> So, what do we learn. Rich men will hardly enter into the kingdom of
> heaven.
> And that it's easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle,
> than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And that the young
> man  went away sorrowful, because he didn't want to sell all he had
> and gave it to the poor.

     I don't think that this is quite the point of the story. I believe  
that the problem was that the wealthy young man's first love was his  
possessions, i.e. not that he didn't love God and God's Law (I think he  
did), but that he loved his possessions even more. This is why, according  
to Jesus, it is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven,  
i.e. rich people very often set their sights and their desires chiefly on  
material possessions, because that's where their treasure is, and also  
their heart.
 
> Which leads to the really insane (in my humble opinion) statement
> that with God all things are impossible equals God allows suddenly rich  
men
> into heaven. It would destroy all the statements Jesus did earlier.

     I don't think Jesus means by that statement that if a rich person  
can't enter the kingdom of heaven, that God just suddenly opens the door  
for him/her. If that were so, then all Jesus' earlier statements would  
indeed be destroyed. I believe that Jesus was thinking about the "heart"  
of a rich person when he made that statement. So while a rich person can't  
effect a complete change of heart in himself/herself, God can (according  
to Jesus). Once the rich person has undergone this change of heart, then  
s/he becomes able to enter the kingdom of heaven, even though s/he still  
is rich.
    
> I'm still amazed that the fundamentalist Christians don't sell all
> their belongings, give it to the poor, and  follow Jesus. In other
> words they don't follow the advice of their religious leader.
> 
> Or I would assume "they would go away sorrowful: for they have 
> great possessions".
>
     I think that it is important to keep in mind that Jesus' statement  
about selling everything that one has and giving it to the poor was  
addressed specifically to the wealthy young man (as a test, IMO), and not  
to everyone generally, i.e. I don't think that Jesus was ordering all his  
disciples to impoverish themselves.   
> Cheers!
> Kent
> ....private comments...

Arthur Johnson
johnson@offroad.chem.wisc.edu