- Joined
- Dec 15, 2021
Yeah. Not the best reading of the Gospel, I’ll admit.That’s a poor exegesis which has unfortunately propagated to the extreme, probably as a result of Christians trying to defend against the unfair allegations that priests are inherently pedophilloic. My understanding is that the verse is more about quashing the fledgling belief of a convert. It was aptly applied to pedophile priests because their actions contributed to the apostasy of millions, not merely because they were pedophiles.
IMO Josh’s feelings are probably driven more by his own inability to escape the stink than by his flirtations with Christianity.
“John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.”
Mark 9:38-39, 41-42 NRSV-CI
I still do think that you put down people who are incapable of admitting fault or unwilling to repent on shit as heinous as child rape. The difference between Jericho and Nineveh was that the King of Nineveh was ignorant, not unwilling.
I think Null has a point that many of these people are like the Scorpion and the Frog, they will sting you, the sting being indulging in their paraphilia. It’s not a matter of if, but when.