Re: What to say to true believers
Mariah said:
Ask them to consider (and to try and explain away) the following passages:
A man wanted to follow Jesus, wanted to be his disciple, but first wanted to go bury his dead father, and Jesus dissed him for this, telling him to come now or forget it. (Luke 9:59) What would this be like in today's time? Let your relatives pick out the casket and plan the funeral which you won't even attend because you've gone off to follow your guru?
If you are to be a true Christian, you must follow Christ first in all things. Had the man consented, he may very well have then been instructed by Christ to go and tend to his father's funeral, but he must first submit to the will of the Lord. Remember Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac? You must come to salvation on God's terms, not your own.
How about his saying, "Woman, what have I to do with thee?" at a gathering when his mother ran to him and told him they were out of wine. (John 2:3) Would James Dobson approve of this kind of smart mouthing of one's mother?
It is not Dobson's place to approve of Jesus, but to be approved of by Jesus. Mary made the presumption that as Jesus' mother her desires were necessarily a priority to Him. But Mary was no more important to Jesus, as God, than any of us. She had no right to butt to the front of the line, so to speak. God will attend to all of us, each in His own time.
And how about his telling potential followers that anyone who would follow him must hate his father, mother, brethren, and children? (Luke 14:26--however they may try to explain away the term "hate" it is the way the original Greek is translated in every translation listed in the Parallel Bible, which I take to mean the original term must have been pretty close to "hate.") Still, even if he did not literally mean you must hate your family, what did he mean? You must neglect them? Let them fend for themselves? Leave them, but be nice about it? What? What kind of family values is that?)
God is not interested in your concepts of family values. The answer to this is pretty much the same as the answer to your first question. If you are not ready to forsake all for the Lord, why should he give you the gift of salvation, which Jesus sacrificed all for?
How about when a Caananite woman came begging Jesus to heal her demon possessed daughter and he refuses her by saying "I have come only to the lost sheep of Israel." But she falls on her knees, begging him and he says, "It is not right to take the children's bread and give it to dogs." (Matthew 15:26) It is not until she flatters him by saying "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs take the crumbs from the master's table!" that he tells her "great is thy faith!" and heals her daughter.
God is not allowed to test the faith of humanity? What presumptuousness is this? It is not flattery she gives, but willing acknowledgement that Jesus isn't just some faith healer. He is the Master. Without such acknowledgement, a man or a woman--even a child--is not deserving of the gifts of God.
And what about his cursing a fig tree for not having a fig on it when he wanted one? (Matthew 21:19)
All things must be in service to God's will, from the lowliest ant, up through the fig tree, to each and everyone of us. The story is intended as a metaphor to show us God is angry, and righteously so, whenever we ignore His perfect will.
