Being Catholic Means Taking Your Lumps

If you understood Jesus' parable(s) you would never say that.....Jesus' parables were always about the kingdom of God and God's invitation to man to enter it.

 

So He is saying that the Master is going to be a conniving a$$hole in the coming Kingdom?
Can't wait!

 

How could you come to that conclusion?

 

Because he admits to being one in the parable.

 

He's using his servant's own words against him. In the parable that Jesus told the one that is wicked is the servant that did not invest the money his master gave him. The point that Jesus is making is that Christians are to be doing something with the gifts He has given them and develop more as a result. Because when He comes back He expect to see some results of what we have done. Jesus is coming back to reward His people with more authority but those who sit on their gift will lose out.

 

Read it again.
He says "you knew that I reaped where I did not sow...."
"You knew...."
Everyone glazes past this. It makes it a very problematic parable.

 

But you are missing the point......it is a parable about the kingdom of God......all the parables in that verse is about the kingdom of God. But then again, not everyone is given to understand Jesus' parables this is why He used parables to the people to describe what the kingdom of God is like, to hide the truth from them. So to you it is problematic just as it was to the masses He spoke it to.


Luke 8:10 (ASV)
10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to the rest in parables; that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

 

So enlighten us. What does including that detail about the Master in the parable tell us about the coming Kingdom? Why is it important for us to know that the man was an unethical, unscrupulous abuser?

 

I touched on that in post #220. Jesus gave His people various gifts (some have one dominate gift and some have two or more gifts that stands out in the character.) But nevertheless, Jesus expects His people to be using them. These gifts are not things we do in Church because if you pay attention to what Jesus said in the parable, they are to go out and invest the money, meaning that the gift must benefit those outside the Church and as a result gain more money or gift than what they had when they started out. It means that whatever a child of God engages in they should seek to use it for the benefit of other or to help others.

Take Jesus as an example, His mission was preaching the gospel but He also healed the sick and raised the dead. In other words Jesus was an asset to the community……the people experienced firsthand what God is like or what the kingdom of God is about. These are things that He did to those who for the most part were not His disciple. One of the things that Jesus told His disciples before He left is to occupy till He comes back.....Christians are to have influence over those they come in contact with (and I’m not talking about voting for politicians that share ones Christian views)....and the more they are able to accomplish in life the more influence they will have over others. So a Christian with financial wealth will have far more influence than poor Christian.....a poor Christian cannot help much of anyone.....they need help from others.

But a Christian that is wealthy will have the ability to employ others and influence his employees so that they will experience what the kingdom of God is like. So when Jesus returns that Christian who was about doing His Father's business will be rewarded with even more authority influence. Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed of all vegetables but when it is grown all the birds come and make their nest in it. God's people are to be a refuge and shelter and provide hope for others.

But the problem is that the vast majority of Christians today are religious they are not kingdom minded.....they think that God is into religion but God does not have a religion, He has a kingdom and a kingdom and a religion are two different things. For example, why is Jesus called a King of kings? That is not a religion. Or why is the gospel called the gospel of the kingdom? The more you get into religion the farther away from God you will get because His is not there.

 

Long, but it didn't address my question at all. It avoided it completely.
Why is it important to the author of this parable to include the detail that the Master was an unethical abuser in business practices?

Did you think the length would divert attention away from the fact that you have no idea why he is portrayed as an a$$hole and yet you think he represents Christ?

 

I answered that already few post back but let me shed a little more light on it.

Thou knewest …—This should be understood, and might have been translated, as a question. If you knew that I was Such a man you ought to have acted accordingly, so as to have escaped punishment. Didst thou know that I reap, etc.? Then thou shouldst have given my money to the exchangers, etc. This is not intended to "admit" that he was such a man, but to convict the slothful servant of guilt and folly in not having been prepared to meet him.
— Barnes' Notes on the New Testament

Below is how the GW and the MontgomeryNT translated what Jesus said. Since there is no question mark after an sentence of someone asking a question, or whatever like we have in English. For example it is not always easy to get the full meaning if one is not sure if a question is being asked or simply making a statement in the Hebrew or Greek.

But as you should be able to see Jesus was not saying the rich man in the parable was unethical, the rich man in the parable is saying is if you believe what you say about me, then why did you not invest my money so that I could get back what is mine with interest? Below both are the same scripture but one ends with a question mark and one without.

So again, like I said, the rich man is using the servant's own words against him. I can't explain it any simpler than that so if you still don't get it I can't help you.


Matthew 25:26-27 (GW)
26 “His master responded, ‘You evil and lazy servant! If you knew that I harvest where I haven't planted and gather where I haven't scattered,
27 then you should have invested my money with the bankers. When I returned, I would have received my money back with interest.

Matthew 25:26-27 (MontgomeryNT)
26 "‘You wicked and lazy slave,’ said his master. ‘You say you knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not scattered?
27 "‘Then you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my property with interest.

 

So we know now: Jesus used parables to hide the truth and later he was crucified for the truth on the cross. Perhaps you should do something with your talent. By the way: Two important forms of the ways we are thinking today were not used from the people in the bible. They did not think like Aristotle showed to us and they did not think like Descartes showed to us. Try to read the story with your heart in the moment you need it - that's more easy. If you have some questions - go to a priest or a monk whom you are able to trust and speak with him/her about your spiritual problems if you have the feeling you are in danger to lose the way to heaven. Better you would speak even just for fun with a priest or a monk - but perhaps not about the bible because not everything is human language. The serios christian church[es] are in general not a community of lone wolves.

http://youtu.be/X-z3JPfJNI4

 

Don't put word in my mouth.....not everything Jesus said was in parables. The religious people did not like the things He was doing Jesus did not fit into their mold and He was too popular among the people they despised.

This has no relevance or importance.

 

Your Barnes Notes quotation says it should be understood as a question, but doesn't give any justification for why that should be so. In either event, the Master does not deny the accusation, whether by inquiry or proclomation. Barnes chooses to sidestep a very sticky problem, and so do you.
Why would the parable be unnecessarily complicated with this detail about the ethics of the Master? If there is no point to it, why is it there?

You are right about one thing.
You can't help me.

 

That's i'm not going try and bang I have said into your head if get it.

 

Si, si, seniore Borg. Sure your own talents are not relevant and important for you as long as you are able to speak about teh badness of others. That's why I always have the feeling you are a babysatanas and not a Christian. The book "How to become a god in five minutes" subtitle "bible" was not worth the money you paid for it.

http://youtu.be/d6idPaGqvV8

 

What does that abortion of a sentence mean?

 

Abortion of a sentence??? I have no idea what that means.....that's the first time I have ever heard that.

 

It seems like there is a great deal of English that you are attempting for the first time.

 

Is that the best you can do?

 

That's a question I think you should be asking yourself.

 

Olivia Chevron

Weather Report

La météo dit ‘assez beau’.
Alors, voilà, ziezo!

The weather prediction for today in all the major cities in the country where I live, is 'assez beau'. I found this hilarious, and wrote a short poemette .

http://youtu.be/_FvE-z8xV1g

 

Why should I do that? Are you in the habit of asking yourself questions and answering yourself back?

 

That question asked of oneself is a key to self improvement.
Read that first sentence. Can you make any sense of it at all? Is that the best you can do?
That's why you should do that.

 

This is all a distraction and still no one has even attempt to tell what Abortion of a sentence is. But don't about me not improving myself.....I'm way ahead of you. While most are contented in working for someone else I'll be one of those who work for myself. The educated are the ones that work for those who are less educated than they are. So what good is that if at the end of the day you who are more educated can hardly pay their bills and the ones you despised is living better then you?