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Therapy. Wealth and success is one of the most massive crutches there is. It can make it almost impossible to be truly in touch with your insecurities and pain

Therapy. Wealth and success is one of the most massive crutches there is. It can make it almost impossible to be truly in touch with your insecurities and pain because its simply too easy to hide in your victory. Your toughest challenge now is to, despite your wealth, find a way to contact the pain that drove you to your hunger for success. As the bible said, it's easier for a camel to get through the head of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. I interpret that metaphorically.

ipaddr 2y ago
"eye of the needle" refers to a small gate or passage in ancient city walls, used after the main gates were closed at night. A camel could only pass through this narrow opening if it was unloaded of its baggage and possibly crawled through on its knees. Not as hard or impossible as it first appears but still harder.
- smokedetector1 2y ago
  Even better, thanks for that explanation
  - krainboltgreene 2y ago
    Except it’s not true, that’s a myth.
    - gosub100 2y ago
      [flagged]
      - coldtea 2y ago
        No, more so.
      - krainboltgreene 2y ago
        The line absolutely exists in the Bible.
  - coldtea 2y ago
    It's not true though (and no evidence that such a gate existed with that name). It's more likely exaggeration referring to actual camel (the large animal of the area) and the eye of a needle (an example of the smallest hole one would be readily familiar with at the time). If it was reffering to a named place, the very capable in both Jewish and Greek authors of the New Testament wouldn't have translated it as "τρυπήματος ῥαφίδος" (needle's opening) or "τρυμαλιᾶς ῥαφίδος" (needle's hole), as opposed to something like "narrow gate" or similar that would convey to people unfamiliar with Jerusalem the point.
- krainboltgreene 2y ago
  This is categorically false: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTYveLPTC/ https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTYveLPTC/ Also it just doesn’t make sense.
  - gosub100 2y ago
    there are better citations than tiktok, please.
    - ksenzee 2y ago
      In this case the video is a bona fide Biblical scholar who does public outreach on TikTok. It's a good source.
      - Trasmatta 2y ago
        Oh yeah, I just clicked the link and it's Dan McClellan. Maybe TikTok isn't the best place to cite, but he's highly credible in terms of Biblical scholarship and history.
    - krainboltgreene 2y ago
      No one asked for your opinion on TikTok.
    - vFunct 2y ago
      The source is Dan Mccllelan, not TikTok. TikTok didn’t publish this, Dan did. TikTok is the medium, not the author. Otherwise it’s like complaining about citing “words printed on paper” when citing a book or journal.
      - gosub100 2y ago
        It's just an unsuitable, attention-zapping, toxic format for sharing information. It would be best to link to an article that can convey the full message. not a 15 second jolt which is what TT is all about.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- WarOnPrivacy 2y ago
  > "eye of the needle" refers to a small gate or passage in ancient city walls, There's a lot of discussion on this verse. Apparently, the gate interpretation didn't exist until the 11 century. It was rethought to be Rope for a while but this blog post discredits that. https://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2023/11/camel.html https://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2023/11/camel.html
- Trasmatta 2y ago
  From what I understand, this is actually highly debated among biblical scholars. This idea that he meant "it's hard but not impossible" seems to generally be pushed by wealthy religions and "prosperity gospel" types. Reading everything else Jesus said, I find it more likely that he literally meant the "eye of an actual needle". He did not seem to be a fan of the rich or powerful in any way.
  - BalinKing 2y ago
    Yeah, Jesus clarifies as such a few verses later: > Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26, CSB, emphasis mine)
  - saulpw 2y ago
    It's not impossible for a rich person to develop spiritually and attain heaven. They just have to give up all their riches. So functionally it is easier for a camel to do this other equivalent nearly-impossible thing.
    - swat535 2y ago
      In a Catholic and the way those verses are interpreted is that it’s not that you have to give up all your money but give up greed, it basically means that you should not worship your wealth but place your highest of high towards God, then and only then you can use your wealth towards the Good as you have no more attachments. I think Protestant have similar interpretations but I could be wrong as they have many denominations.
      - astura 2y ago
        >I think Protestant have similar interpretations Lol, I see you've never heard of the prosperity gospel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology "Protestant" is such a broad group of beliefs it's nearly impossible to make any sort of board assertion.
    - bccdee 2y ago
- relaxing 2y ago
  Jesus literally told his followers to give up their worldly possessions, but… sure. He intended to give a free pass to those who came after, that hinged on a quirk of city planning that would not exist until centuries later.
  - antifa 2y ago
    No when he said "worldly possessions" he mostly just meant funkopops.
- cushychicken 2y ago
  I never knew that. Makes the metaphor a lot more applicable.
- bccdee 2y ago
  A common myth! No, no gate or passage was ever referred to as "the eye of the needle" in antiquity. [1] That verse is intended to be taken literally. Jesus Christ was quite outspoken on his feelings about the wealthy, but of course, wealthy Christians need a way for him to have meant something figurative when he told them to surrender their worldly riches. [1]: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studies/article/origin-of-the-needles-eye-gate-myth-theophylact-or-anselm/51F6B1FD504C36C42D6201F6D87F83C3 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studie...
- aitchnyu 2y ago
  There is a hypothesis the Greek word means rope instead of camel, that the parable means we cant thread a rope through a needle. Arabic word for camel and rope are same in a similar verse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_a_needle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_a_needle
fuzztester 2y ago
Angels dancing on the head of a pin is another related one. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_many_angels_can_dance_on_the_head_of_a_pin%3F https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_many_angels_can_dance_on...
- martinpw 2y ago
  This one was originally used to mock scholars who debated such seemingly obscure minutae at the expense of more pressing issues, the canonical example being theological debate during the fall of Constantinople. But I remember reading somewhere that this debate was actually for a good reason since Constantinople were looking for help from fellow Christians against the Ottomans but needed to convince the potential helpers that their beliefs were closely enough aligned enough to warrant them giving aid. Hoping someone here might know more (and apologies for derailing the thread even further...)
BalinKing 2y ago
> it's easier for a camel to get through the head of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. I interpret that metaphorically. I agree that there's a parallel between what Jesus meant and your comment—in both cases, wealth is dangerous because it distracts from what's important. To my understanding, Jesus meant that one's heart will be focused on money rather than wanting to follow God. And, like you said, it's really easy to be distracted by material success (money, degrees, fame, etc.). But, none of these things will follow us to the grave. IMO this sort of tunnel vision is really pernicious, because it's so, so easy to fall into. If you'll allow a personal rant: I recently heard someone say that failure is—somewhat paradoxically—a crucial part of finding happiness, because it loosens our grip on things that are ultimately unimportant. I've been thinking about all this a lot recently myself. Last year I hit a bump in the road w.r.t. my career, due to factors outside of my control. So, for the first time, I was suddenly failing my subconscious goal to climb the ladder of achievement. I started feeling adrift and demotivated, and the obvious solutions (therapy, medication, more regular exercise) didn't help. It eventually forced me to really sit down and take a hard look at my priorities in life. Speaking concretely, this meant 1) accepting that I might not get what I had wanted out of my career, and because I'm a Christian, 2) focusing instead on how I can serve God every day (love others more, be much more open about my faith, volunteer at church and elsewhere, etc.). That's much easier said than done, of course, but I've just gotta take the baby steps that I can and trust God with the rest. It's only been a few months since I came to this conclusion, but I feel like it's changed my life. I've become much less stressed, and I feel much more fulfilled. Honestly, it's like I have hope again in my future. Naïvely I want to say something like "therefore, everyone should try to find whatever brings them this fulfillment." But this might be too weak of a statement, because I really think there's only one true answer to this question. P.S. As for the verse you quoted (Matthew 19:24), I'd be remiss not to point out what Jesus says a few verses later: "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." :-)
- smokedetector1 2y ago
  I'm not Christian but I definitely resonate with what you're saying about failure sometimes being a gift, if you can make use of it. I wish I could be more religious, in a sense, but I just can't get my head around the concept of "serving" or "fearing" god. It's not how I relate to "the divine" at all. Power to you, though.
akomtu 2y ago
A rich man won't be attracted to heaven in the first place, for it's a place for people who enjoy giving something to others and rarely think about themselves. Hell, on the other hand, would mesmerize a typical man of ambition for it's a world of selfish might and power.
- giraffe_lady 2y ago
  This is pretty close to ancient eastern christian views on heaven and hell. In that view heaven and hell are the same situation: full exposure to the unattenuated light of god. A righteous & repentant person will experience that as love and mercy, and an unjust person will experience it as fear, shame & torture. But all get the same "treatment" so to speak.
hnmullany 2y ago
Therapy = Exactly. He thinks he has freedom and agency but he's just being puppeteered by conflicting subconscious forces he doesn't understand and seems to have no insight into. This is a man who's in a self-driving car turning a steering wheel that's connected to nothing.

ipaddr 2y ago

"eye of the needle" refers to a small gate or passage in ancient city walls, used after the main gates were closed at night. A camel could only pass through this narrow opening if it was unloaded of its baggage and possibly crawled through on its knees. Not as hard or impossible as it first appears but still harder.

smokedetector1 2y ago
Even better, thanks for that explanation
- krainboltgreene 2y ago
  Except it’s not true, that’s a myth.
  - gosub100 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - coldtea 2y ago
      No, more so.
    - krainboltgreene 2y ago
      The line absolutely exists in the Bible.
- coldtea 2y ago
  It's not true though (and no evidence that such a gate existed with that name). It's more likely exaggeration referring to actual camel (the large animal of the area) and the eye of a needle (an example of the smallest hole one would be readily familiar with at the time). If it was reffering to a named place, the very capable in both Jewish and Greek authors of the New Testament wouldn't have translated it as "τρυπήματος ῥαφίδος" (needle's opening) or "τρυμαλιᾶς ῥαφίδος" (needle's hole), as opposed to something like "narrow gate" or similar that would convey to people unfamiliar with Jerusalem the point.
krainboltgreene 2y ago
This is categorically false: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTYveLPTC/ https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTYveLPTC/ Also it just doesn’t make sense.
- gosub100 2y ago
  there are better citations than tiktok, please.
  - ksenzee 2y ago
    In this case the video is a bona fide Biblical scholar who does public outreach on TikTok. It's a good source.
    - Trasmatta 2y ago
      Oh yeah, I just clicked the link and it's Dan McClellan. Maybe TikTok isn't the best place to cite, but he's highly credible in terms of Biblical scholarship and history.
  - krainboltgreene 2y ago
    No one asked for your opinion on TikTok.
  - vFunct 2y ago
    The source is Dan Mccllelan, not TikTok. TikTok didn’t publish this, Dan did. TikTok is the medium, not the author. Otherwise it’s like complaining about citing “words printed on paper” when citing a book or journal.
    - gosub100 2y ago
      It's just an unsuitable, attention-zapping, toxic format for sharing information. It would be best to link to an article that can convey the full message. not a 15 second jolt which is what TT is all about.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
WarOnPrivacy 2y ago
> "eye of the needle" refers to a small gate or passage in ancient city walls, There's a lot of discussion on this verse. Apparently, the gate interpretation didn't exist until the 11 century. It was rethought to be Rope for a while but this blog post discredits that. https://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2023/11/camel.html https://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2023/11/camel.html
Trasmatta 2y ago
From what I understand, this is actually highly debated among biblical scholars. This idea that he meant "it's hard but not impossible" seems to generally be pushed by wealthy religions and "prosperity gospel" types. Reading everything else Jesus said, I find it more likely that he literally meant the "eye of an actual needle". He did not seem to be a fan of the rich or powerful in any way.
- BalinKing 2y ago
  Yeah, Jesus clarifies as such a few verses later: > Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26, CSB, emphasis mine)
- saulpw 2y ago
  It's not impossible for a rich person to develop spiritually and attain heaven. They just have to give up all their riches. So functionally it is easier for a camel to do this other equivalent nearly-impossible thing.
  - swat535 2y ago
    In a Catholic and the way those verses are interpreted is that it’s not that you have to give up all your money but give up greed, it basically means that you should not worship your wealth but place your highest of high towards God, then and only then you can use your wealth towards the Good as you have no more attachments. I think Protestant have similar interpretations but I could be wrong as they have many denominations.
    - astura 2y ago
      >I think Protestant have similar interpretations Lol, I see you've never heard of the prosperity gospel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology "Protestant" is such a broad group of beliefs it's nearly impossible to make any sort of board assertion.
  - bccdee 2y ago
relaxing 2y ago
Jesus literally told his followers to give up their worldly possessions, but… sure. He intended to give a free pass to those who came after, that hinged on a quirk of city planning that would not exist until centuries later.
- antifa 2y ago
  No when he said "worldly possessions" he mostly just meant funkopops.
cushychicken 2y ago
I never knew that. Makes the metaphor a lot more applicable.
bccdee 2y ago
A common myth! No, no gate or passage was ever referred to as "the eye of the needle" in antiquity. [1] That verse is intended to be taken literally. Jesus Christ was quite outspoken on his feelings about the wealthy, but of course, wealthy Christians need a way for him to have meant something figurative when he told them to surrender their worldly riches. [1]: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studies/article/origin-of-the-needles-eye-gate-myth-theophylact-or-anselm/51F6B1FD504C36C42D6201F6D87F83C3 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studie...
aitchnyu 2y ago
There is a hypothesis the Greek word means rope instead of camel, that the parable means we cant thread a rope through a needle. Arabic word for camel and rope are same in a similar verse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_a_needle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_a_needle

fuzztester 2y ago

Angels dancing on the head of a pin is another related one. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_many_angels_can_dance_on_the_head_of_a_pin%3F https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_many_angels_can_dance_on...

martinpw 2y ago
This one was originally used to mock scholars who debated such seemingly obscure minutae at the expense of more pressing issues, the canonical example being theological debate during the fall of Constantinople. But I remember reading somewhere that this debate was actually for a good reason since Constantinople were looking for help from fellow Christians against the Ottomans but needed to convince the potential helpers that their beliefs were closely enough aligned enough to warrant them giving aid. Hoping someone here might know more (and apologies for derailing the thread even further...)

BalinKing 2y ago

> it's easier for a camel to get through the head of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. I interpret that metaphorically. I agree that there's a parallel between what Jesus meant and your comment—in both cases, wealth is dangerous because it distracts from what's important. To my understanding, Jesus meant that one's heart will be focused on money rather than wanting to follow God. And, like you said, it's really easy to be distracted by material success (money, degrees, fame, etc.). But, none of these things will follow us to the grave. IMO this sort of tunnel vision is really pernicious, because it's so, so easy to fall into. If you'll allow a personal rant: I recently heard someone say that failure is—somewhat paradoxically—a crucial part of finding happiness, because it loosens our grip on things that are ultimately unimportant. I've been thinking about all this a lot recently myself. Last year I hit a bump in the road w.r.t. my career, due to factors outside of my control. So, for the first time, I was suddenly failing my subconscious goal to climb the ladder of achievement. I started feeling adrift and demotivated, and the obvious solutions (therapy, medication, more regular exercise) didn't help. It eventually forced me to really sit down and take a hard look at my priorities in life. Speaking concretely, this meant 1) accepting that I might not get what I had wanted out of my career, and because I'm a Christian, 2) focusing instead on how I can serve God every day (love others more, be much more open about my faith, volunteer at church and elsewhere, etc.). That's much easier said than done, of course, but I've just gotta take the baby steps that I can and trust God with the rest. It's only been a few months since I came to this conclusion, but I feel like it's changed my life. I've become much less stressed, and I feel much more fulfilled. Honestly, it's like I have hope again in my future. Naïvely I want to say something like "therefore, everyone should try to find whatever brings them this fulfillment." But this might be too weak of a statement, because I really think there's only one true answer to this question. P.S. As for the verse you quoted (Matthew 19:24), I'd be remiss not to point out what Jesus says a few verses later: "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." :-)

smokedetector1 2y ago
I'm not Christian but I definitely resonate with what you're saying about failure sometimes being a gift, if you can make use of it. I wish I could be more religious, in a sense, but I just can't get my head around the concept of "serving" or "fearing" god. It's not how I relate to "the divine" at all. Power to you, though.

akomtu 2y ago

A rich man won't be attracted to heaven in the first place, for it's a place for people who enjoy giving something to others and rarely think about themselves. Hell, on the other hand, would mesmerize a typical man of ambition for it's a world of selfish might and power.

giraffe_lady 2y ago
This is pretty close to ancient eastern christian views on heaven and hell. In that view heaven and hell are the same situation: full exposure to the unattenuated light of god. A righteous & repentant person will experience that as love and mercy, and an unjust person will experience it as fear, shame & torture. But all get the same "treatment" so to speak.

hnmullany 2y ago

Therapy = Exactly. He thinks he has freedom and agency but he's just being puppeteered by conflicting subconscious forces he doesn't understand and seems to have no insight into. This is a man who's in a self-driving car turning a steering wheel that's connected to nothing.