I often feel frustrated by the seemingly endless debates inspired by the Words of God. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are trying to "interpret" a passage of the Bible, chances are that is because you are not pleased with the message and would like for it to say something else to suit your own desires and needs. THINK ABOUT IT!!! I'm no different because I've certainly been there. It's in our nature, just as a child's nature is to want his own way. We are no different than a child in that respect.
With the topic of the "Camel passing through the needle's eye", try to open your mind and consider this. It is not impossible for a camel to pass through a needle's eye, but in order for it to happen the camel would practically have to be liquified and then poured through little by little. (HEAR ME OUT, I HAVE A PROVOCATIVE POINT)
I believe that the camel is a metaphor for a wealthy person. In the desert-like climate in which this parable was told, the camel can store an abundance of water for itself and therefore can easily survive as a large, important creature of its environment. This would qualify the camel as "wealthy". If a camel was to pass through the needle's eye it would need to be destroyed first, losing all that water and all that stamina that it had obtained, just as a wealthy person would have to be willing to lose his wealth before he could be welcome in God's Kingdom.
And in the end, it would be much easier to destroy a camel and painstakingly pass it through the eye of a needle than it would be for a man to willingly give up his own wealth for the promise of everlasting life; and much easier still for that wealthy man to manipulate this parable's meaning to serve of the purpose of that wealthy man not being expected to have a willingness to give up his earthly fortune for the sake of a heavenly one.
[This message has been edited by sharingbrie, 01-08-2004]
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