An eye for an eye
06 Sep '05 06:031 editAs I read these forums (spiritual, but especially the debates forum) I frequently stumble across the right-wing collectivly hiding behind the "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" bible passage to justify their evil ends.
When you retaliate: "But surely the bible states: Thou shallt not kill..."
They answer: "You can in self defence. An eye for an eye..."
Obviously I always look up the ten commandments, and lo and behold, I never find this nuance written anywhere within 100 pages of the commandments...
This morning, up early and as fresh as the little insomniac I am, I decided to look up the "eye for an eye" quote instead.
And now I'm really shocked!!
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'[g] 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."
Well! How about that?
Everywhere I search, I get roughly the same answer:
"In the times when the bible was written, 'an eye for an eye' was the prevailing attitude with extremities such as blood-revenge being very popular. The only method to actually break this vicious circle would be to behave in the exaxt opposite way, and that's what the paragraph means. Do not behave in an 'eye to an eye' manner, but forgive and give. Only then do you open up new oppertunities."
Well! How about that?
Obviously being as religious as cross between Karl Marx and Bertrand Russel, I've never really looked into this matter before. But I PRESUME that Bush and his ilk, being very religious people, have.
So not only do I hear them abusing one of the fundamental corner stones of Christianity to futher their private little wars, I hear them actively mis-quote Jesus and lie to get you on board.
Don't you think that if there's a hell, then Bush has a first class ticket downwards?
EDIT:
And what's even more shocking to me is that after 9-11 I constantly argued that agression towards al qaeda and the Taliban were not going to solve the problem and would only lead to further escalations of the ongoing situation.
And now it seems that Jesus and me are on one line on this issue. How about that?!?!
When you retaliate: "But surely the bible states: Thou shallt not kill..."
They answer: "You can in self defence. An eye for an eye..."
Obviously I always look up the ten commandments, and lo and behold, I never find this nuance written anywhere within 100 pages of the commandments...
This morning, up early and as fresh as the little insomniac I am, I decided to look up the "eye for an eye" quote instead.
And now I'm really shocked!!
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'[g] 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."
Well! How about that?
Everywhere I search, I get roughly the same answer:
"In the times when the bible was written, 'an eye for an eye' was the prevailing attitude with extremities such as blood-revenge being very popular. The only method to actually break this vicious circle would be to behave in the exaxt opposite way, and that's what the paragraph means. Do not behave in an 'eye to an eye' manner, but forgive and give. Only then do you open up new oppertunities."
Well! How about that?
Obviously being as religious as cross between Karl Marx and Bertrand Russel, I've never really looked into this matter before. But I PRESUME that Bush and his ilk, being very religious people, have.
So not only do I hear them abusing one of the fundamental corner stones of Christianity to futher their private little wars, I hear them actively mis-quote Jesus and lie to get you on board.
Don't you think that if there's a hell, then Bush has a first class ticket downwards?
EDIT:
And what's even more shocking to me is that after 9-11 I constantly argued that agression towards al qaeda and the Taliban were not going to solve the problem and would only lead to further escalations of the ongoing situation.
And now it seems that Jesus and me are on one line on this issue. How about that?!?!
