In chapters 8 and 15 the idea is that the kingdom of god is made up of people who are the minorities in the society. During that time is was mostly women and children. To get into the kingdom you don't have to be smart, rich, or educated, you just have to be willing to help other people. You have to be willing to give up your most valued possessions. In God's kingdom there is no classes. Everyone is treated equally. Also violence is not the way to get into the kingdom. Using violence is like serving an alliance with Satan. Jesus didn't use violence for revenge or say he was the Messiah. He thought that if he did do these acts it would be giving in to the temptation to Satan. Jesus was tempted to use violence when he was with the crowd of 5,000, but instead left on a boat for reflection. Another time was when Peter argues with him and Jesus then said to him "Get behind me Satan. Overall Jesus says that all you need is faith and love to be able to belong to the kingdom. I agree on that you have to be willing to give something up that is important in your life. I think that everyone should have as good of a life as you do. In order to do that you have to give the poor some help. I don't agree on the idea that violence cannot be used to enter the kingdom. I think that if you were being oppressed or hurt by someone else that these feelings would eventually build up to a point where you have to let it go. I think that there is just so many things that a human can handle. I believe that in order to be a part of the kingdom you have to be loving, understanding, and caring. If you are able to do this with out hurting anyone than everything will work out fine for you.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Chapter 8 and 15
In chapters 8 and 15 the idea is that the kingdom of god is made up of people who are the minorities in the society. During that time is was mostly women and children. To get into the kingdom you don't have to be smart, rich, or educated, you just have to be willing to help other people. You have to be willing to give up your most valued possessions. In God's kingdom there is no classes. Everyone is treated equally. Also violence is not the way to get into the kingdom. Using violence is like serving an alliance with Satan. Jesus didn't use violence for revenge or say he was the Messiah. He thought that if he did do these acts it would be giving in to the temptation to Satan. Jesus was tempted to use violence when he was with the crowd of 5,000, but instead left on a boat for reflection. Another time was when Peter argues with him and Jesus then said to him "Get behind me Satan. Overall Jesus says that all you need is faith and love to be able to belong to the kingdom. I agree on that you have to be willing to give something up that is important in your life. I think that everyone should have as good of a life as you do. In order to do that you have to give the poor some help. I don't agree on the idea that violence cannot be used to enter the kingdom. I think that if you were being oppressed or hurt by someone else that these feelings would eventually build up to a point where you have to let it go. I think that there is just so many things that a human can handle. I believe that in order to be a part of the kingdom you have to be loving, understanding, and caring. If you are able to do this with out hurting anyone than everything will work out fine for you.
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I don't agree that violence should ever be used. Hate only spreads more hate and violence is a form of hate. For example, a friend might hurt you, but there is no reason to get back at them. The best thing to do is to try to figure out what went wrong and try to forgive and forget. If they are not willing to do the same,then you keep your distance and hope that they will one day come to their senses. You don't have to like them, but you should always love them. This means we respect them as a human being despite their flaws. Flaws are what make us human, we all have them, and it is easier to see other peoples' flaws than our own. Violence is not how you show love, it only shows hate.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement Jason makes when he says "To get into the kingdom you don't have to be smart, rich, or educated, you just have to be willing to help other people." This is demonstrated when Jesus goes and cures the paralytic(minority). This shows that just because Jesus is some "king" figure that its OK to help some poor paralytic. There are no different social classes in the Kingdom of Heaven....Ray O'C
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jason for the most part. I think he doesn't go far enough when discussing who is accepted into the "Kingdom of God." I think that all that is required for entrance into the Kingdom is faith in God. As long as a person retains their humanity, they have an opportunity for redemption. I also think it must be reiterated that when we help people, we must do so out of genuine generosity because that puts us on an even bar with all other people, rather than simply helping people for acceptance into Jesus' Kingdom
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ReplyDeleteI think the message here is that leading a kind and reflective life is what will gain one entry in the “Kingdom”. For some this may mean giving up a valued possession, but for others this may never be the case. Some will face challenges in a different way, perhaps as a willingness to extend themselves to help others, or by making a decision to stand up to injustice, violence, or oppression. While some say advocate that there are certain circumstances under which violence should be condoned or tolerated, I disagree. I think all violent behavior is self-destructive. Violent behavior can take many forms, while it is perhaps easiest to recognize as physical violence, in our lives it more likely takes the form of being mentally hurtful. In this regard I think about whether my actions have always made others feel included and welcomed, whether my thoughts and feelings have always been those that would genuinely help another rather than making myself feel comfortable at someone else’s expense. Whether I lost my temper when I could have been more patient, lied when I should have been honest, etc. I think the best course of action is always the peaceful one; but we need to reflect on the consequences of our everyday behavior to change it and work toward peace.
ReplyDeleteI think violence is a huge problem in our world today. Jesus was extremely strong that he did not use violence, it truly takes the messiah never to use violence. Violence is a huge part of today's society. War, gang violence, and even robberies are just a few examples of how people lash out and do awful things to get noticed. I think that in a dream world, people would not crave negative attention and try only the positive. This negativity would be forgotten and people could love their neighbor, just as Jesus intended.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jason that violence is not incompatible with Christianity, for different reasons, however. Civil Disobedience and peaceful demonstrations in the style of Martin Luther King and Gahndi only worked because they were working in a system that guaranteed them the right to demonstrate. If MLK had used the same tactics in Nazi Germany, his demonstrators would have been mowed down with machine guns, not fire hoses. And so, violence is sometimes justified. To refuse to intervene in a war like WW2 or to fail to defend a friend who is attacked would surely be a sin of omission. As Mill said, "War, in a good cause, is not the greatest evil which a nation can suffer. War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war is worse."
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