How do the CHRISTIANS justify this repulsive?

Question

verse of the bible , in -Matthew 18:7-9, Jesus said

'If your hand of your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life
with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell."

Cut off your hand? Gouge your eye? what kind of sick stuff is this?

do not give me those HYPERBOLE EXCUSES, you take verses from teh bible as literal when it suits your need and when it is SICK you use an excuse as hyperbole, metaphore, out of contexts, GIVE ME A BREAK, WE ARE NOT STUPID!

IT DOES NOT MATTER IF IT IS A PARABOLE, OR A METAPHOR IT IS STILL SICK!!!!

Linda, first of all I am not an atheist.
Just because I do not believe in the abrahamic religions does not mean I am an atheist.
Second, Hitler was a catholic. Open a book , it will do you some good.

capekicks , exactly !
A barbaric way to make a point, it is just retarded.
But what can you expect, retarded paraboles for retarded christians.

Answer 1

Yep, Christians will even justify that sickness.
Look at the guy above me , he said " it is not sick that someone suggests to gouge your eye, or to cut off your hand".Signs of brainwashing!
Be ready to hear the usual excuses" but it is out of context, or it is a metaphor", or some other non sense.
They are soo utterly brainwashed they will believe just about anything.

Oh yeah, forgot the"you don't understand "excuse.
Poor sad brainwashed people!.

Answer 2

Pretty barbaric way to make a point.
A problem for Biblical literalists though.
If we are all sinners as the bible says then there ought to be a lot of one armed, one eyed bible thumpers.
Of course consistancy and internal logic are not their mode of thinking and acting.

Answer 3

It shows how important, even to this extreme, that it is that you do not sin and that you be saved through Jesus Christ's gift of salvation. Sin unforgiven will send you to an eternity in the lake of fire known as hell. Eternity is forever, life on earth ends, it is not eternal. Your eternal life begins after you die your earthly death. So it is better to have the listed things wrong in your earthly life rather than to go to hell because of sin. Simple and gracious, not repulsive!

Answer 4

Maybe you should find out more about the bible before you ask such questions.

Jesus taught in many different ways: most commonly he taught in parables, which made complex and confusing issues easier for the avereage person to understand and other times, when speaking to his disciples, he spoke in more literal language.

This verse is not to be taken literally, but it is true that if scuh a situation arises, it would be better to lose something physically in this world than spiritually in the next.

Answer 5

There are 4 rules of Biblical interpretation.
1. Context is king
2. History and culture are queen
3. Absolute truth is prince
4. Poetic language is princess.

The first thing you need to understand about scripture passages is that not everything is literal. First you look at the context of a verse. The disciples had asked Jesus a question about who was the greatest in the kingdom. He explained that the greatest would be childlike- (innocent, trusting, full of faith). Then he went on to say that some would cause those who believed like that to stumble, or throw away their faith. He said 'woe to those who are the stumbling blocks!" That means God looks at those who are innocent and full of faith with great fondness, and will harshly judge those who try to turn people away from the truth.

So Jesus uses poetic language to admonish those who would do such things. Just as you might say to a friend who was doing something you didn't like, "If you do that again, I'll smash your head in". You don't really mean that. You just mean they are in big trouble with you if they keep up the behavior. Jesus is speaking like this. "If your hand or foot causes you to stumble, then cut it off." What he is saying is, "If you find yourself in a situation where you keep stumbling, (like if you keep getting drunk because you hang out in bars) then quit doing that behavior (quit going to bars). It's better to give up something you enjoy that causes you to stumble,then to end up falling away from the faith and going to hell.
If you are going to ask questions about stuff like that, you need to realize Jesus rarely talked literally in his parables.

Answer 6

And what's a nice little atheist like you doing with a Bible? Shame on you! What would Hitler say?

Answer 7

What's wrong with a little self-mutilation? I can't think of a better way to identify fellow Christians than to look for a missing hand or foot.

Answer 8

Yes you are if you having an argument about something that is not your own religion. Thats isnt just stupid its rude.
We live in a free country if you beleive in freedom of speech and religion then mind your own business.
You give nuts more power when you dont ignore them.
NUT is anyone who argues over a metaphor.

Answer 9

The love Christ commands requires a mighty change and great humility. It requires us to forsake pride and to be stripped of envy. It requires that we neither mock our sisters and brothers nor persecute anyone. Christ knew that for us to find any of those characteristics in ourselves would be onerous and would demand our great effort just to look. He said, “If thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee” ( Matt. 18:8).

He was not suggesting our mutilation, but rather showing his awareness of how painful clearing ourselves of such offenses could be. When we have made the changes that only we can make, then, by the atoning blood of Christ, we may receive the forgiveness that only he can bring. The reciprocal nature of those actions suggests the high trust and respect the Lord has for our abilities. Anyone who has had experience with the Lord’s love knows of the sure courage that comes when we keep our part of that trust and honor him by seeking his Spirit and by living the best we can.

Answer 10

If you ever had an experience of what hell is like, and you were faced with the choice of cutting off both of your hands or going there, you would not hesitate to cut off your hands. Fortunately this choice is not likely to occur in every day life.