tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16489312.post6325127856611631678..comments2023-07-11T06:13:17.615-07:00Comments on A Thing So Small: Graduate school and convicting versesRosemaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11867502577351038428noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16489312.post-68241803565530852882007-05-30T18:04:00.000-07:002007-05-30T18:04:00.000-07:00Hi, Sarah,I'm very glad you're blog is back. I en...Hi, Sarah,<BR/><BR/>I'm very glad you're blog is back. I enjoyed reading it and have been checking occasionally, to see if you were still updating it. I'm only sorry you didn't share your experiences of the past year. I'm quite curious how you ended up working in a wool mill (not typical, I think, of a Quaker with a college degree), and living in a cabin with no electrity. I'm also curious what, if anything you learned from it. But that's another story, I'm sure.<BR/><BR/>As for the passage from the Sermon on the Mount, I interpret it in context. He is saying, literally, don't be angry, but I'm not a Biblical literalist. Just as I don't think the world was created in six days, so I don't think Jesus actually wants us to pluck our eyes out if we sin with them. It's a rhetorical technique, to wake people up who are languishing in spiritual drowse so to speak. So I'm not sure if Jesus really means we should never get angry. Perhaps he does. Perhaps he means we should never embrace anger; it should come spontaneously, as it were, and blow over quickly. But when I look at the context, all the surrounding passages to me seem to be warning against looking for loopholes. He is warning against keeping the letter of the law while violating the spirit of the law. So I would interpret the passage about anger in the same spirit: Jesus is warning us against letting ourselves off by saying it's OK to be angry with someone, so long as I just don't hit him. That's keeps the letter of the law, but that's not good enough. We aim for a higher standard, perfection ("Be perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect.") We will end up being angry--we all have sin, as Jacquelyn says--but as least we have high standards.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, that's what I make of it.<BR/><BR/>Peace,<BR/><BR/>DavidDavid Korfhagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483910268144751116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16489312.post-24246742839861548162007-05-10T15:32:00.000-07:002007-05-10T15:32:00.000-07:00I think the point Jesus was making according to th...I think the point Jesus was making according to the verses that preceed matt 5:21,22 it is that in order to get to heaven (enter the kingdom of God) you have to have kept the entire law, i.e. never sinned. He is making the point that even those that think they are perfect and good people have sinned in their hearts and therefore have no place in his kingdom apart from repentance.<BR/><BR/>Matt5:19 So if you break the smallest commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God's laws and teaches them will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 "But I warn you � unless you obey God better than the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees do, you can't enter the Kingdom of Heaven at all!<BR/><BR/>This goes along with I John 1:8-10 which says<BR/><BR/>If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.Jacquelynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10952038602431921394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16489312.post-29767101552698453782007-04-20T16:53:00.000-07:002007-04-20T16:53:00.000-07:00One can also specialize as a nurse practitioner as...One can also specialize as a nurse practitioner as well. There are NPs in just about every specialty. I will be specializing in neurology and pain management after I pass the national certification exam in May. Good luck with your studies.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03879069463960748178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16489312.post-42439672919780229542007-04-16T01:50:00.000-07:002007-04-16T01:50:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.SmileSleephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10510975277270826166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16489312.post-85612921795660531552007-04-15T17:13:00.000-07:002007-04-15T17:13:00.000-07:00My two cents. Jesus is talking about the anger or...My two cents. Jesus is talking about the anger or sense of superiority we hold in our hearts. It rather like the "lust in your heart" verse about adultery. Yes, Jesus himself speaks pretty sharply to people. In fact in Mark he seems to have quite a temper. But it is possible to speak sharply to someone without anger or hatred. If a two year old wanders into the street I will yell to get her attention, but not because I am angry with her. So maybe Jesus wasn't really a hypocrite after all. <BR/><BR/>Congratualations on grad school and welcome back to blogging.RichardMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08564152237574253857noreply@blogger.com