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#pharisee and tax collector
jessicalprice · 1 year
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not every story is a fable
(reposted from Twitter)
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So in reading Christian commentary on NT parables, and its wild and ugly claims about first-century Jews and Judaism, I often find myself wondering how they got there. And I think I've discerned the process. 
It goes a little something like this: 
Christians receive traditional interpretations of what the parables “mean." E.g. the prodigal son means you should forgive people, the good Samaritan means you should help people in need. These meanings are, generally, banal.
Rather than reading the parables as stories, Christians read them as fables with a moral. They read them through the lens of that moral instead of approaching them without a predetermined interpretation.
Christians also believe that the parables must contain revolutionary, radical truths.
So now, they somehow have to resolve the idea that the stories are radical with the fact that their received interpretations are obvious/banal/the same thing plenty of other people have said.
And that goes a little something like this: 
Since (what they believe are) the morals of these stories don't sound radical to contemporary Westerners, they project that radicalness backward onto the parable's original context and audience. That is, it must have been radical/shocking at the time, to the people who first heard it.
Now they have to resolve the dilemma of how something that sounds so banal and obvious to us could have been radical and shocking and scandalous(!) to the original listeners.
Most of them aren't going to say "Jesus's Jewish listeners were incredibly malicious and/or incredibly stupid," at least out loud. So they move to: Projecting that onto Jewish culture, Jewish law, "religious law," etc. 
So then they need to make up norms/customs/attitudes that would make the parable "shocking." If they can find a source that maybe seems to say something that hints in that direction, they'll claim it says a lot more than it does and that it was normative. (E.g. Ben Sira saying you can tell things about a man from how he walks ends up meaning "the villagers would have stoned the father for running to greet his long-lost son" and of course that running to greet your long-lost son would be S H O C K I N G to the listeners.)
It's why they love throwing "ritual purity" in there so much. 
The father in the Prodigal Son story wouldn't embrace his son because he was ritually impure! (If the father was out doing farm stuff and wasn't going to the Temple any time soon, most likely, so was he.)
The kohen and the Levite in the Good Samaritan story passed by the dying man on the side of the road because they were afraid he would make them ritually impure! (The story is very clear they were headed AWAY from Jerusalem, and thus the Temple, so no.)
The Pharisee in the Temple has contempt for the tax collector and doesn't want to stand next to him because he's ritually impure! (No, if the tax collector is in the Temple, he is in a state of ritual purity.)
An anthropologist friend of mine told me that when anthropologists/archaeologists are confronted with an object from an ancient culture and they don't know what it's for, the default category is "ritual object."
Did you dig up a weird-shaped ax that doesn't seem well-designed for either being a weapon OR chopping things? Ritual object. 
Find a statue with some odd characteristics? Ritual object.
"Ritual purity" appears to be to Christian understanding of Jewish customs what "ritual object" is to anthropologists. Anything that doesn't make sense to you, put down to "ritual purity."
So, anyway, the process goes like this: 
parables must be shocking > 
they're not shocking to me > 
they must have been shocking to Jews > 
make up supposed Jewish customs/laws/attitudes that would have made normal behavior "shocking"
It’s exhausting. 
(Photo credit: Andrea Piacquadio)
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The Parable of the Persistent Widow
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1 And he spake also a simile to them, that it behoveth [us] always to pray, and not to faint,
2 saying, `A certain judge was in a certain city -- God he is not fearing, and man he is not regarding --
3 and a widow was in that city, and she was coming unto him, saying, Do me justice on my opponent,
4 and he would not for a time, but after these things he said in himself, Even if God I do not fear, and man do not regard,
5 yet because this widow doth give me trouble, I will do her justice, lest, perpetually coming, she may plague me.'
6 And the Lord said, `Hear ye what the unrighteous judge saith:
7 and shall not God execute the justice to His choice ones, who are crying unto Him day and night -- bearing long in regard to them?
8 I say to you, that He will execute the justice to them quickly; but the Son of Man having come, shall he find the faith upon the earth?'
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 And he spake also unto certain who have been trusting in themselves that they were righteous, and have been despising the rest, this simile:
10 `Two men went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer;
11 the Pharisee having stood by himself, thus prayed: God, I thank Thee that I am not as the rest of men, rapacious, unrighteous, adulterers, or even as this tax-gatherer;
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all things -- as many as I possess.
13 `And the tax-gatherer, having stood afar off, would not even the eyes lift up to the heaven, but was smiting on his breast, saying, God be propitious to me -- the sinner!
14 I say to you, this one went down declared righteous, to his house, rather than that one: for every one who is exalting himself shall be humbled, and he who is humbling himself shall be exalted.'
Let the Children Come to Me
15 And they were bringing near also the babes, that he may touch them, and the disciples having seen did rebuke them,
16 and Jesus having called them near, said, `Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the reign of God;
17 verily I say to you, Whoever may not receive the reign of God as a little child, may not enter into it.' — Luke 18:1-17 | Young's Literal Translation (YLT) Young's Literal Translation of the Holy Bible is in the public domain. Cross References: Exodus 22:23; 2 Samuel 12:13; 1 Kings 10:5; 2 Kings 20:5; Ezra 9:6; Psalm 88:1; Proverbs 20:6; Proverbs 29:23; Proverbs 30:12; Isaiah 40:27; Isaiah 40:31; Isaiah 58:3; Isaiah 62:7; Isaiah 66:2; Matthew 5:20; Matthew 5:25; Matthew 5:45; Matthew 18:3; Matthew 19:13-14; Mark 10:13; Mark 10:15; Luke 7:13; Luke 11:8; Luke 11:42; Luke 20:13; Romans 14:3; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 9:27; Hebrews 12:9
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preacheroftruthblog · 9 months
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The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.  Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus:  “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I…
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friarmusings · 1 year
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A Parable of Right Relationships
A Parable of Right Relationships
This coming Sunday is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in prayer in the Temple. Culpepper (Luke, 343) concludes his comments with: The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, contrary to some interpretations, is a two-sided parable. To read it as simply a warning against pride, self-sufficiency, or a relationship with God based on one’s…
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silyabeeodess · 2 years
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9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Luke 18:9-14 (NIV)
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she-is-amused · 2 months
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‭‭Luke‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭39‬ ‭
One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on Him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So He sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.
When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”
“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if You say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.
When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.
Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.
In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if You are willing, You can heal me and make me clean.”
Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” He said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”
But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of His power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear Him preach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus.
Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach Him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does He think He is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
Jesus knew what they were thinking, so He asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”
Later, as Jesus left the town, He saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow Me and be My disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up, left everything, and followed Him.
Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?”
Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”
One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are Your disciples always eating and drinking?”
Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”
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portraitsofsaints · 6 months
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Saint Matthew the Apostle
1st century
Feast Day: September 21 
Patronage: accountants, Italy, bankers, tax collectors
Matthew, a former tax collector from Capernaum was called by Jesus to be His disciple.  After his call, Matthew invited Jesus home for a feast. On seeing this the Scribes and the Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. This prompted Jesus to answer, " I came not to call the just, but sinners." Matthew was the first Evangelist and one of the witnesses of the Resurrection and Ascension.
Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)
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koko-mochi · 21 days
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I just finished the first season of The Chosen, here are my thoughts...
For context, I have a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard, and I am a United Church of Christ preacher and member-in-discernment.
Overall I am really enjoying the show, I've cried a few times, and it has made my faith feel deeper and made me feel more connected to Jesus. I can't wait to pick up season two from the library on Monday and keep watching.
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Here's a list, in no particular order, of things on my mind as I finish season one:
I love the show's portrayal of Jesus. He is welcoming, friendly, funny, and sensitive. At the same time he can be strange and uncanny. Jonathan Roumie absolutely crushes it in this role, and it was easy to think "this is Jesus" instead of thinking it is an actor playing Jesus. I do sort of wish Jesus was a little bit scarier, a little more challenging, but I get the feeling that will come later.
Nicodemus as a POV character is an inspired choice. Much like many modern Christians, Nicodemus struggles to believe what he is seeing, yet he longs to believe anyways. It's easy for me to see myself in him, especially as a highly-educated theologian. Additionally, seeing things from Nicodemus' perspective adds nuance and depth to how we see the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin, instead of succumbing to the unambiguous (and grossly antisemitic) villain treatment so many Christians still gleefully participate in on Palm Sunday. And the astute viewer will remember that Nicodemus has a very important role to play at the end of the story, when we eventually get there.
On the other hand, the Romans are cartoonish villains for most of the first season. I started rolling my eyes whenever Quintus appears on screen, eyebrow cocked, wicked sneer on his lips. It sure drives home the point about the Romans being violent colonizers and oppressors, but in a story that presents everyone as redeemable--even tax collectors--the fact that Quintus doesn't seem redeemable stands out. Gaius seems to be quite a bit more nuanced, so I can't help but wonder if we'll continue to see development for him.
I liked the portrayal of Matthew as autistic-coded. To me he doesn't feel like a caricature, I can see myself in him, and I empathize with him. The scene when Jesus asks him to follow really hit me.
Much has been said about this show's portrayal of emotionally-vulnerable masculinity and I strongly agree with it. The men in this show are tender, they're affectionate, they're supportive. They laugh and cry and hug freely. It's probably the best portrayal of masculinity in media that I've seen since Lord of the Rings.
The theology of the show was more progressive than I was expecting, though I didn't agree with everything the writing posits. The show's framing of Jesus' healing miracles as him forgiving the sins of the sick/disabled person grates on me. At the same time, I love how the opening of most episodes present a scene from the Hebrew Bible. It grounds the show's theology and Jesus' ministry in the Jewish scriptures, a thing that I think Christians too often avoid. It also does so in a way that feels connected to the Hebrew Bible instead of being supersessionist.
"Get used to different." What a great line. I wanna use that in a sermon. That's what following Jesus is all about, isn't it? Amen.
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merthwyn · 5 months
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My thoughts about Kat Von D
I had no idea who she was up until all the news came out about her recent baptism. I went to her FB and Instagram account to "get to know her". Needless to say that I did not like either her lifestyle nor her music. And I do see that these two stay the same even after her conversion which I find quite worrying.
HOWEVER
I am sick and tired of the judgemental Christians out there. Dozens of times the effects of being born again take years to actually appear. And even if they do, you can still be a "not Christian enough" for many self-righteous Christians and churches. Personally, unlike Kat Von D, I'm not doing spooky sensual music with vampires, I'm not covered in tattoos, I don't have a controversial lifestyle, I'm not dressed like a witch all the time. Unlike Kat Von D, I am "normal". But GUESS WHAT! I'm still an abomination for dozens of Christians just because I don't "fit in" their church's lifestyle!!! 😱
My point is: Yes her situation is quite worrying. But if you spend more time judging her instead of praying for her, you are part of the problem. You forget that the enemy hates seeing people approaching God so he does his best to stop this. You forget that we are in a continuous spiritual warfare. And you also forget that people coming out from witchcraft (like Kat Von D) need extra care, prayers and warfare. I myself was tempted to get into witchcraft before I became a Christian and I did made my first steps into it. Even today, although in an extremely weak form, the temptation is still here. I do fight it but this doesn't mean it's not here. So, if I am tempted, imagine what happens with people who were completely into witchcraft for their whole life!!
JUDGE LESS, PRAY MORE. And, maybe, study the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. It may say things about yourself.
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lionofchaeronea · 10 months
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Parable of the Pharisees and the Tax Collector (from Das Plenarium), Hans Leonhard Schäufelein (artist) and Adam Petri (publisher), 1517
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jessicalprice · 1 year
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it was about right then and it’s still about right now
(reposted from Twitter)
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(Image: a Tweet by @ ErinGreenbean that says: “Most of Jesus’ parables confront the listener with moving away from self-sufficiency/individualism and toward the whole/community.”)
This is literally what like every Jew who reads the parables has been trying to tell you,  but y'all keep insisting these stories are about how Judaism is bad.
These are stories from a teacher addressing an audience suffering under a brutal and exploitative occupation and they're literally about "you know how the Torah tells us to take care of each other? if we're gonna survive, we have to do that."
We have a text that uses the language of divine kingship frequently to convey a moral imperative if God is truly your leader, you will follow these laws. Jesus talks about the "kingdom of God" and Christians are like HE IS TALKING ABOUT THE AFTERLIFE. 
No, he's fucking talking about a community that existed in his here and now and was suffering and desperate and being militarily and economically and socially pressured to abandon their principles and exploit each other as they were being exploited by the Romans.
And he's reminding them that while the Romans may be occupying them, they don't have to rule them. Resisting hegemony and not letting it reshape you always involves, in a way, creating and choosing to occupy a different reality. 
In a society that--to use the language of the time, which I will be upfront that I do NOT like--acknowledges God as king, no one starves unless literally everyone is starving, because there are laws insisting that we share. Like, that's the whole point of every Jewish law touching on economics: what we have, even if it doesn't feel like much, can be enough when we understand that we are enough for each other. That’s there in the lost sheep, coin, and son(s) parables: you don't leave anyone behind.
There's the two men on the road to Jericho: The Samaritans are actually our family. We remembered that once, when they put Jewish prisoners on donkeys and sent them home with wine and oil. We have to take care of each other.
Then the men named above proceeded to take the captives in hand, and with the booty they clothed all the naked among them—they clothed them and shod them and gave them to eat and drink and anointed them and provided donkeys for all who were failing and brought them to Jericho, the city of palms, back to their kinsmen. Then they returned to Samaria. (II Chronicles 28:15)
All of these stories are about remembering that we're supposed to be family and taking care of each other and upholding a society that's an alternative to the hegemonic Roman war machine. And then Christian exegesis is all: how do we make these stories about how being Jewish is bad? We're in a whole different millennium and y'all are still insisting that Judaism was the problem Jesus came to solve.
Jesus tells a trilogy of stories about noticing when you've lost track of someone or something and Christians are like, "This must be a story about how Judaism hates the idea of accepting someone's repentance." 
Excuse me while I go build a menorah constructed of middle fingers.
Jesus tells a story about the relationship between two men in the Temple in which the real question is What does each of them do next and what is their responsibility to each other? and Christians are like this is about how the tax collector is good and the Pharisee is bad.
Y'all want so badly to make these stories about an us vs. them when the focus of most of them is just about "how can we do better as an 'us'?"
Like look at the parable of the four fates for seeds--what was actually happening to most of the harvest was that people were taking it, but Jesus puts it in terms of natural phenomena to take focus off that and put it on the hardship itself.
Most of the time, when there is an implied "them" to the "us" he's focused on, he tries to portray it as if it's inevitable/natural/etc. 
The focus isn't on "what are they doing to us?" 
It's on "what are we doing FOR each other?"
And you know what we know now, what we have terms and framing and concepts for? We know that in the wake of disaster, human beings get really good at caring for each other. We suck at being a society when things are good, but if a monsoon hits? We fucking get to work. 
But you know what got documented in heartbreaking detail after the Exxon Valdez spill? When the disaster is human-caused, communities tend to fall apart.
So what's the difference? 
Well, we can frame it in terms of human-created versus natural disasters but we can also frame it in terms of the victims' response.
It seems like, if we feel like it wasn't anyone's fault, it was just chance or nature or whatever, we get energized to take care of each other. If, on the other hand, we feel like it was someone's fault, we fracture.
Now, I don't think people around the Mediterranean in the first century CE were thinking in terms of disaster trauma or spontaneous prosocial behavior, but that doesn't mean they weren't thinking about what to focus on when they were suffering. 
To be honest, I don't see a consistent through-line in 100% of Jesus's parables. I don't even believe that all of the parables attributed to him were actually his, if he even existed as portrayed. But I do see a through-line in most of them. And that through-line is a direction of attention toward the needs of others and away from blame. And I genuinely believe that was because he was trying to keep his community whole and hopeful.
And it's ironic to me that even supposedly progressive Christian interpreters are still sitting there being like "he as calling out problems with Judaism.”
No, he was doing exactly the opposite.
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artist-issues · 4 months
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I think the problem is when you say "nothing about you is good" is that a lot of people, young people in particular, afraid admitting leads them to think "Why am I even alive then? If nothing is good about me, maybe I should just die", it leads to despair and sometimes even suicide and the only solution they see is self-love and self-compassion.
Not only that, the powers that be which is modern secular society make it where those who admit this are punished for it. Especially on social media.
You admit you're wrong or not perfect, another person will use that as justification to bully you or use your faults flaunt their supposed moral superiority, not unlike Jesus's parable about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Only the Pharisee is more rooted in secular beliefs.
Modern society has made it that if you admit your no good and be selfless and self-sacrificial, then they get to exploit that to punish you relentlessly and call you a hypocrite when you fight back.
It's kinda social coercion and its despicable when you think about
But too many people just gloss over all this and just try to lecture someone in once again, moral superiority
Not saying you're wrong or what you're doing, but I think understanding the current circumstances, personal, cultural, and societal can help address the issue in a way young people can understand and know what to do.
Could be. I agree with what you’re saying. The thing is, figuring out how to say it in the right way only has so much power. Truth is truth; even if you say it in the perfect way, at the perfect time, there are still people who are just not going to like or accept it no matter how well or carefully it’s presented. My post about Wish got a reblog where someone said, “I like how this person is tiptoeing up to saying they wish Disney was Christian without actually saying it.” Because it’s like, yeah, that is what I meant, and no, I didn’t come out and say it exactly like that—but someone still saw what I meant, and they disliked the truth that was there. No matter how I couched it.
I mean, we can agree that everything Jesus said, He said perfectly, at exactly the right time, in exactly the right way. But people still rejected it. And I certainly can’t do better than He did.
So at some point, it’s not how you say it; the problem’s not with how it’s said. At some point, the problem might just be with the person you’re talking to. It’s like a bridge. One end (speaking truth in the exact right way and right time for the audience you’re speaking to) goes halfway, and that’s great, but the other end has to meet it in the middle (the audience has to accept the truth when they realize it is there) or else the bridge doesn’t work.
But please note; both sides are equally important. I agree with you that the truth has to be spoken in the right way, in the right place, at the right time (and I certainly don’t do that well all the time, or even most of the time.) That’s what the Bible means when it says, “speaking the truth in love.” It’s got the power of a hammer but it’s supposed to be used with the precision of a scalpel.
Anywho, as far as people not wanting to admit they’re broken or wrong or have no good in them—welcome to the human race.
(I’m going to say some potentially triggering things below the cut, but it ends hopefully, so if you’re reading and you’re someone who struggles with suicidal thoughts, proceed with caution ((I know what it’s like, it can be too slippery a slope to chance at certain times in life))—but it ends hopefully, which is why I’m saying it at all.)
And actually, going from “there’s nothing good in me” to “why am I even alive? What’s the point of me, then?” is scary because yes, it can lead to suicide…but that is logical. It is natural. If you stop at “there’s nothing good in me,” then yeah, the conclusion of that thought, alone, is hopelessness. Of course it is. Of course that’s why we shy away from it.
But you’re not supposed to stop there. You’re not supposed to stop at “there’s nothing good in me.” And really, you’re not even supposed to begin there either.
That’s just the middle part.
The beginning part is, “there was supposed to be something good and worthy about me—I was made in the image of God. He bothered making me, and loved me and wanted to make me, when He didn’t have to. He set humans apart and gave them dominion over everything else He created; we were special, we were chosen, and even now we get to have something His other heavenly supernatural creations, angels, don’t have. I was made as His “very” good creation—everything else was just ‘good.’ I am special to Him; He made me special.”
Then the middle part is: “And it’s ruined. And there’s nothing good in and of me, because I reject the very source of Goodness, and I reject what I was made to be, which is good. And I’m not special—because I reject the One who invented “specialness” and gets to decide what that is. And I’m not worthy—“
Then the best part, the conclusion is: “—except that GOD GETS TO DECIDE WHAT “worthiness” IS, and what “worthiness” is for, and HE said having a right relationship with me instead of leaving me as an evil empty corrupt creature of the dirt was worth the ultimate sacrifice. The ultimate sacrifice is what I’m worth, and the ultimate purpose is what I’m worthy for.”
If I didn’t have that last part, that part that has nothing to do with me and everything to do with God, I wouldn’t be here to type this, about ten times over.
There is no hope, no light, no truth, no life, inside of you by yourself. It’s only outside of you. It’s only in God.
But there’s a third point of view here. We’ve established Point of View 1) “I’m worthy because God says I am,” and we’ve established the one that gets stuck halfway, Point of View 2) “I’m evil and there’s nothing good in me.”
But then there’s Point of View 3) “Yahweh doesn’t get to decide what makes me good or worthy or anything because if He did, that would make Him God—in charge—and I don’t want Him to be in charge of me, or to say anything about me; therefore the only thing that matters is what I say and how I feel about myself. Hope, hopelessness, worth, unworthiness; it’s all defined and felt by me, for me, nobody else…(which makes me God.)”
Point of View 3 is the one that most people are actually stuck on. So they reach for it and condemn anyone who has Point of View 1, and meanwhile try to encourage Point of View 2 people to get to Point of View 3 with them.
But Point of View 3 is going nowhere. It’s empty and hollow. Because once you decide you can define good for yourself, and worthiness for yourself, both “good” and “worthy” change to be whatever you want them to be moment-to-moment, and therefore…lose all objective, real meaning. And even if you can fool yourself into thinking that Point of View 3, which does not line up with reality, isn’t as hollow as it is, you’ll still have to deal with the consequences of that eventually.
Read the book of Romans, or the book of John. It’s all there.
Romans 2:11-12:
“…Remember that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
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friarmusings · 1 year
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A Parable of Reversal?
A Parable of Reversal?
This coming Sunday is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time. So far we have looked in some depth at the role played by the Pharisee and that of the Tax Collector. Jesus concludes the parable by saying: “I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14) (more…)
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angellayercake · 1 year
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Eating with the sinners
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Papa Emeritus IV x Father Jim DeFroque | NSFW/MDNI | AO3
When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:16-17
'Blah blah Jim is bad' Yes I am well aware thank you and that is why he is so fun to write. Let the religious corruption kink fandom enjoy some damn good religious corruption please and thank you. If it isn't for you just keep scrolling or click the handy dandy back button. And if it is for you please enjoy :)
He groaned as he felt it dripping down his face, he was so close just needed something, a little bit more. Alone, knelt in the middle of the stadium under a beam of light desperate to find his completion. He heard him before he saw him. His measured steps echoing in the vast empty space. 
‘Seeking absolution Father?’ The Italian lilt of his deep voice never failed to send a shiver down his spine. He thought he had left him at the bar when these nice gentlemen had invited him to join their team building activity but apparently not. 
‘Seeking somethin that's for sure.’ His own voice came out breathier than he liked but given his current preoccupation it was what it was. He let out a moan as he reached down to massage his balls as he continued the steady rhythm on his cock, thumbing the head on every up stroke.
The white eye, unnerving under normal circumstances, practically shone in the darkness as he watched, he always watched, never participated. If there ever was a time Jim wished that would change it was right now. Closing his eyes he whispered a prayer. ‘Let him help me, Lord, find completion in your name. So that I may honour you with my body as I do with my soul.’ 
He was wrung out, his work never over. His days were spent ministering to the faithful, the successful, helping them to the light through their generosity with the guidance of the Lord and his word. But his nights spent reaching out to the damned, thanks to the guidance of this man. To help them he had to understand them, delve into the depths of their depravity and then bring them back to peace. The responsibility was a burden but one he bore gladly if it meant returning sinners to the fold of the Almighty.
And how could he not when he was following the example of Christ himself. When he had first met this man, the Italian with a spark in his eye, an interest in the Lord that rivalled Jim’s own and tight tight trousers, he had questioned why a man of the cloth would spend his time with such company. ‘Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. John 5:31.’ He had told him. He had simply nodded and Jim knew then that they were on the same mission.
‘Our Lord would be so proud of you, Father, bringing all those people to sin.’ His motion stuttered as he heard him speak but he must have misheard. He was so close now, almost close enough that Jim could reach out and touch him. Redoubling his efforts on his own cock he watched the material around his crotch stretch and tighten around his obvious arousal. ‘Ensuring their souls are condemned.’ 
‘To heaven?’ What else could he mean? They were men of God weren’t they? Learning the ways of the sinners so they may deliver them from evil because you can not defeat evil if you do not understand it. 
‘No Father,’ He laughs but doesn’t elaborate instead grabbing the back of his head, fingers clenching in his hair and forcing his head up at an uncomfortable angle until all he can see is eyes. He can feel the hardness now where his chin is pressed into his crotch and he can't help but whine at all the sensation as he continues pulling away frantically at his cock. The pleasure and the high all clouding his mind, the topic of their brief conversation slipping from him. 
‘You have never resisted a temptation in your life have you Father?’ He asks as he pulls back working the laces of his trousers loose to free his erection. It’s thick and red and already weeping and all Jim can think of is tasting him.
‘He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.’ Even as distracted as he is, the scripture slides from his tongue as though he was standing in front of his congregation.
‘Corinthians 10:13? I don’t think this is quite what He meant but if you wish to endure I can help with this.’ He uses the grip on his hair to drag him closer and angle his head so he slides straight into his mouth and down his throat.
‘People like you Father, you are the problem. You preach and you take and you judge and you condemn. You think that because you can quote the bible, because you whisper your silly apologies in prayer that you are good.’ If he could concentrate on anything other than the cock in his mouth he wouldn’t like what he was hearing but he was powerless to reply while getting fucked so thoroughly and he couldn’t resist the urge to swallow around the intrusion taking him as deep as he could. 
‘Forgive me Father for I let a whore give me road head? Forgive me Father for snorting coke off of your book? Forgive me Father for letting eight strapping young men come on my face? Forgive me Father for misleading your so say faithful and using their donations to fund my excess?  He may forgive all of that I suppose, I do not know.’ He punctuated each question with a hard deep thrust that had Jim scratching at his thighs and gagging around his thick cock.
‘Will your God forgive you for letting the Antichrist fuck your face?’ If he could think he would be ashamed of how he came thrusting against his shin as he ripped his face away from him leaving him gasping for air and drooling. He falls to the floor without the firm grip keeping him upright, landing in the puddle of his own spend.
‘What about this one Father?’ He grunts as he takes himself in hand. ‘The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. John 3:8.’ He grunts as he finally comes adding to the stripes painting Jim's already soiled face. He jumps as each stream lands, the words finally sinking in as he scrambles back from the man standing above him, reaching under his shirt for his crucifix but finding it missing. 
‘Looking for this Father?’ The chain is twisted around his fingers, the cross dangling in between swaying in a hypnotising rhythm and as it sways the figure of Christ twists and warps until all he can is a serpent, fangs bared and ready to lunge. 
‘What are you?’ He hisses, voice cracking in fear and from the recent misuse of his throat, hands gripping at himself to try and erase what he had just done as the man laughs at him. He pulls open the collar of his shirt and it is there in black and white, over his heart, the mark of the beast. 
‘I am the Devil, I suppose,’ his pointed teeth glint in the weak beam of light as he leans over, pinning him in place with his gaze, the horrid white eye seeming to pierce into his very soul. ‘Your sinning Father, it was so deviant, so twisted. I had to come and see for myself.’ 
‘No, NO!’ He finds the strength to get to his knees somehow and starts to pray even as he feels the the effects of the night start to take a toll on his body. He will not let the devil take him now. ‘Father in the name of Jesus Christ. I plead with you to break any chain that the devil has on me…’ A loud evil laugh cuts through his prayers and he falters, strength failing as he falls to the floor once more. 
‘And Jesus said unto him, ‘Away from me Satan! For it is written, worship the Lord your God and serve only him’ Matthew 4:10.’ But the devil before him just continued to laugh, the grating sound ringing around the space and echoing in his mind. He presses his hands over his ears to block it out as he staggers backwards and away. 
‘I have not influenced you Father, I am just here to honour one of my most loyal subjects.’ He feels those talented fingers scratch through his soiled hair working through where it has begun to matt and dry and he almost almost succumbs to the touch but no, he is stronger than this he knows and he must never bow to the devil. He pushes the hand away rising to his feet, feeling righteous energy coursing through him. He knew he was right, that he was doing the Lord's work. This was just a test of his faith, a test that he must pass. 
‘Begone, Demon!’ He spits hoping it sounds as full of conviction as he feels. But the other man just laughs once again as he leaves. He laughs and laughs and laughs as he backs away, almost disappearing into the darkness except for that god forsaken white eye. 
‘It’s a little bit late for that, don't you think Father?’ He follows with a measured swinging step so calm even as he makes an obscene gesture at his crotch. ‘Jesus said no before I had the chance to get my dick out.’ He can only shake his head in disbelief. No he would not accept what this foul creature was saying but he runs out of time, his back hitting the wall and then that thing was pressed up against him. He has to suppress a shiver at his proximity, his body not having caught up to what had been revealed this night. ‘You took me so well Jim don’t you want to do it again?’ He feels his voice as much as hears it and knows he must not fail here. This is the true temptation. 
I hope you enjoyed the food @tasty-ribz​ and thank you @ghostchems​ for your help as always 💜
‘I’ll be seeing you Jim.’ He crushes down the jolt of something he feels at the prospect. He has been tested this night and by the Grace of God he has passed. He must continue on his course and bring the light of his Lord to all sinners. Smoothing down his shirt and righting his collar he checks his watch, just enough time to get back for morning mass and to his faithful flock. ‘For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to those of us being saved it is the power of God. Corinthians 1:18.’
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myremnantarmy · 19 days
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𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
Lk 18:9-14
Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
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fictionadventurer · 7 months
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Now that I have some feedback on this year's Inklings Challenge themes, a few suggestions seemed the most popular.
Several voices expressed interest in Gifts/Fruits of the Spirit, which continues to intrigue me, but I shy away from it for the same reason that I have other years, which is that Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, and Self-Control mostly fit fairly closely in with one another, which would make it difficult to single out one as a focus, and could make for stories that fit within a very narrow band.
One possibility that occurs is to make a list of lists: seven themes that are all groupings of their own, though this makes it even more complicated.
However, now that I’m thinking of those lists, I suddenly have a bunch of other ideas.
If this was a strictly Catholic challenge, we would totally be doing sacraments for the theme list.
The Corporal Works of Mercy are also probably mostly a Catholic concept, but they offer very specific yet wide-ranging prompts for stories.
Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Shelter the homeless
Clothe the naked
Visit the sick
Visit the imprisoned
Bury the dead
If I’m willing to expand the list just slightly, we could do the Eight Beatitudes, which also offer very specific story-related prompts.
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for the sake of Christ, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
There was also a lot of interest in letting people pick books of the Bible as inspiration, leaving it up to the author to choose whether to be inspired by plot points, themes, characters, etc.
If I did go with this option, I’d probably do a combination of specific books + categories to cover a wider range. Something like
Genesis
Judges
Kings
Prophets
Psalms
Gospels
Revelation
I do like this idea, but this does leave a burden on the author to dive into the Bible, and with only a three-week writing window, people could get too tangled up in possibilities or the time commitment of rereading to actually write anything in time (and it could suggest we’re expecting retellings, which would not be the case.)
Other Bible-related options that intrigue me included the suggestion to list seven Bible characters to use as inspiration—which could have the same effect of making people think we’re expected retellings instead of just “use this as a spark of inspiration”. One way to avoid that could be to list several categories of characters and let people pick: Fathers, Judges, Kings, Prophets, Apostles, etc. But then we get back to the “requires too much research on the author’s part” problem.
I also loved the idea of using seven of Christ’s parables as prompts. This has a similar benefit to the “books of the Bible” option in that it would allow people to choose plot points, characters, themes, imagery, etc., but it narrows the focus so there’s not so much reading to dive into. It also has a similar drawback—people might think we expect retellings. But in our Christian storytelling challenge, it seems very fitting to tie our work to the idea of Christ as storyteller.
List of possible parables include the well-known story parables:
The Good Samartian
The Prodigal Son
The Ten Virgins
The Unforgiving Servant
The Rich Man and Lazarus
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
The Laborers in the Vineyard
The Ten Talents
As well as some with more abstract imagery:
The Parable of the Sower
The Parable of the Wheat Among Weeds
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
The Parable of the Pearl
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
The Parable of the Friend at Midnight
I understand I have not made my problem easier. I’m just trying to list some options and get more specific feedback.
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