quote:
the gospel writers did not copy from each other, they wrote their own accounts and they did not all write the same details.
The author of Mark probably wrote his own account, but Matthew and Luke relied heavily on Mark and embellished. The author of Luke claims to have investigated everything from the beginning, so I feel it is very significant that he omitted the divorce statement. The author of Luke doesn't always side with the Matthew author. He seems to correct some of the oddities in Matthew.
It is contradictory for a group that claims an understanding and loving deity shows favoritism when it comes to sexual misconduct. If all "works of the flesh" are equally "bad", then those people, accordingly to Paul
Message 64, will not inherit God's kingdom.
So as PaulK pointed out in
Message 65
PaulK writes:
Then you are going to have to explain why many Protestant Churches are willing to support adultery (as in Mark 10:11-12). - but will not show the same tolerance to homosexual behavior.
Christian clergy will tolerate divorced individuals (not due to fornication) within their flock and will perform marriages of such individuals which will cause those individuals to commit sexual misconduct according to the writer of Matthew, but they don't usually (I think there are a few exceptions) tolerate active homosexual couples joining their flock. The Catholics even try to get around the rule by annulling the marriage. (Which seems odd for a group who considers God to be all knowing.)
So the question remains. If Christianity claims that all sexual misconduct is equally disdainful and unacceptable, then why allow and even perform marriages of people who have divorced their mate for reasons other than fornication, but not allow homosexuals to live and marry without being harassed?
Perverse means turned away from what is right or good.
How perverse is it to condemn one, but not the other?
How perverse is it to condemn one, but allow the other to think they are fine in the eyes of God?
"Peshat is what I say and derash is what you say." --Nehama Leibowitz
™ Version 4.2