Romans considered Christians a branch of Judaism. Second temple Judaism split into rabbinic and Christian.
Nothing dumb about the Jewish prophets:
They stare at me and gloat; they divide my garments among them;
for my clothing they cast lots.” — Psalm 22:18-19
And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, ‘They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots’. – Matthew 27:35
Or the writers of the gospels ![]()
You’ve got a point. Matthew was a tax collector before he became an apostle.
Well it was in Mark, which we know Matthew relied on heavily as a source. I think we can presume the writer of Mark read the Psalms!
Ecclesiastes in three easy steps. (Not my ideas. Just summarizing a good article and providing corresponding Bible verses.)
Problem: Life is meaningless.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2
1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
Solution 1: Enjoy life.
Ecclesiastes 5:18
This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot.
Solution 2: Fear/revere God.
Ecclesiastes 12:13
Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
Psalm 5:12
Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
Imputed righteousness is a concept in Christian theology proposing that the “righteousness of Christ…is imputed to [believers]—that is, treated as if it were theirs through faith.” It is on the basis of Jesus’ righteousness that God accepts humans. This acceptance is also referred to as justification.
Luke 10:25-29
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
At this point, Jesus goes on to tell the “expert in the law” the Parable of the Good Samaritan. We all know the story. A guy gets mugged and is left for dead by the side of the road. A priest, who should know better, passes by without helping. A Levite, who also should know better, goes on past without lending a helping hand. A Samaritan (Samaritans were hated by Jews and the feelings were mutual), on the other hand, stops and helps the injured man. He goes way out of his way, as a matter of fact, to help this person in desperate need of help.
Preacher Haddon Robinson does a superb job of summing up the moral of the story, which he does something like this: Who is your neighbor? Your neighbor is anyone whose need you see, whose need God puts you in a position to meet. It’s as simple and profound as that.
Service to the larger community is crucial for civilization to persist. It’s a good story for sure, but the fact that it has to point out the opposing immoral behavior is where I get lost. But that’s just me breaking from dualistic thinking.
I spoke with a colleague in NY yesterday and mentioned in passing that I missed being involved, which is the same as being of service to me. I can’t even give blood here yet. ![]()
I’m no Bible scholar, but I believe it was a brilliant dig by Jesus of the Jews at the time. The two who passed by the Samaritan without helping were religious Jews. They had to stay ceremonially clean, some point out, and so wouldn’t have been able to help this bloodied up Samaritan. Jesus was mocking this teacher of the law. In the parable of the good Samaritan, when Jesus asks this teacher who did the right thing, the Jewish teacher couldn’t even say the"Samaritan" (the hatred ran deep), but replies instead something like “the guy who helped.”
Yeah, Jesus didn’t write much of anything. The Biblical scholars did though, later on. ![]()
The point is simple. Assist those in immediate need, regardless of ideology.
We are one humanity.
Karma prevails.
Oh for Christ’s sake. ![]()
The old adage ages well.
What comes around goes around.
Seems like wishful thinking to me.
Human existence is an inside job, not what we think we can project.
But back to the point, civilized people are helpful and thoughtful, easier to manage and less prone to violence. I like the Good Samaritan allegory because it trends in that direction.
“Blessed are the meek” is my favorite Jesus story though.
A precursor to a better world, prayerfully.
Define “world.”
The rock we adhere to, regardless of will.
You think humanity is bettering the earth? Have you seen an ocean up close? The beaches in Matsu are drowning in plastic shit.
What would Jesus do? Clean shit up, I hope! ![]()
