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What Jesus Really Said

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Did you know that Jesus told the Pharisees to kill their own children?

That's what a Facebook friend insists Jesus said.

He proves it by quoting this from Matthew 15:4-7

"For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you."

See?  It's right there in black and white!

How could we have missed it all these years?

Well, I called him a moron for reading that into this passage and he told me I'm uncharitable and using ad hominems to avoid the argument.  I'm surprised he didn't tell me to go to confession and that he'd pray for me.

He also - I am not making this up- bragged about being a product of Catholic Education.

I replied, "No wonder you're a moron."


ADDENDUM

 Apparently you just can't point it out when somebody says something insanely stupid.  You have to explain it.  Which I did on Facebook just now, though it will do absolutely no good.

You know what? I've decided to take a shot at it, not for Miguelito's case (for he seems not to be arguing in good faith), but for the rest of you who may be confused by what he's claiming.

Jesus is saying, if I may paraphrase, "You Pharisees claim to follow the Law to perfection, and yet, while sometimes keeping the letter of the Law you always ignore the spirit. The Law teaches that 'Honor thy father and mother' is so important that a child who curses his parents should be put to death. And yet you Pharisees allow someone to keep for himself money that should be used to support his aging parents, if he claims that money is 'dedicated to God'. You hypocrites!"

This passage is one of a long series of examples where Jesus intensified the spirit of the Law while showing what the purpose of the letter of the Law actually was. And in no way does the passage Miguelito quoted indicate that Jesus wants the Pharisees to kill their children. He wants them to stop being hypocrites and honor God.

And of course the Church has taught (since Peter and Paul) that the Law is fulfilled in Christ and therefore no longer applies to us in its Mosaic form, except as it is written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It's more complicated than that, but it's all in the Gospels and the Epistles, for those who care to read them. Or just take a quick gander at the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

That Miguelito did not learn this in his many years of Catholic education is no surprise. Catholic schools in this country are a joke.


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Comments

Joey Higgins said…
Wow... just when you think you've heard it all. It was a good explanation though.

I'm surprised he knew what an ad hominem was.
July 1, 2013 at 10:55 AM
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