3 ms·
>No, I have come to divide people against each other! 52 From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and thr
by everdrive 6y ago
>No, I have come to divide people against each other! 52 From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against."
This is somewhat oblique to the point you're making, but I find a lot of bible passages totally incomprehensible. What is Jesus saying here? That families will likely be for or against him, and that families will consist of 5 members, and each family will have an uneven split? (2-3 vs 3-2) It seems like a very pedantic and odd way to make the point I believe the author is trying to make. Does this rely on an old colloquialism? Is there some reason it's phrased so strangely? Would it not have sounded strange to contemporary ears?
I actually had a bit of a shock when I finally read old Greek writing: Herodotus, Plato, etc. Everything they write is meant to be clearly an precisely understood. Depending on the translation, the writing feels simple and modern. I had naively expected all old writing to be like the bible: incomprehensible, metaphorical, nonsensical.
- cogman10 6y agoBecause you are comparing the best and most well known authors of the period to the writings of a crazy underground offshoot of a minority religion. Masters of the craft vs that guy that believes in lizard people. If you want a fascinating case study, look at what happened with the "book of mormon". It's a hot mess of gobbledygook and plagiarized stories yet to mormons it's the best book ever written. Meanwhile, you had literary giants like Charles Dickens and Victor Hugo writing time honored classics in the same time period which are still very readable and accessible today.
- amanaplanacanal 6y agoI’ve been listening to the “secret history of western esotericism” podcast, and some of the writings of those guys is just as incomprehensible as anything in the Bible.
- DanBC 6y ago> 49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” To me it feels like this is encouraging cult like behaviours. Support Jesus even if it pits you against your family. Losing your family is bad, but not following Jesus sends you to hell.