It was expected to be about something else, but first of all, I'm sick of politics, this broad, internavigated one, and especially our home one. The second time I don't gain from what I write, the reader group is fewer and I would say essential, so present there will be something from the Gospel, 2 parables. The first is simply a parable of an unmerciful debtor.
‘23 so the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to account for his servants. 24 erstwhile he began to account, 1 was brought to him, who owed him 10 1000 talents. 25 due to the fact that he had nothing to give them away, the Lord had him sold with his wife, children, and all his possessions, in order to recover specified a debt. 26 Then the servant fell before him and asked him, “Lord, have patience with me, and I will give you all things.” 27 The LORD took pity on this servant, freed him, and spared him the debt. 28 But erstwhile the servant went out, he met 1 of the fellow servants who owed him a 100 denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him, saying, "Give back what you owe!" 29 His fellow servant fell before him and asked him, “Have patience with me, and I will give you back.” 30 But he did not want to, but went and put him in prison until he paid his debt. 31 His fellow servants, seeing what was going on, were greatly grieved. They went and told their master everything that happened. 32 Then his master called him before him and said to him, “A wicked servant! I spared you all this debt due to the fact that you asked me to. 33 Should not you besides have pity on your fellow servant, as I have pityed you?" 34 And the anger of his lord had him delivered to the executioners, until he gave him all his debt. 35 Likewise will my heavenly Father do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from the heart.” (Mt 18:23-35)
The second is simply a parable of talent. “14 Likewise [is] as with a man who was about to go on a journey, he called his servants and gave them his wealth. 15 To 1 he gave 5 talents, to another two, three, one, to each according to his ability, and he departed. Next to 16, the 1 who received 5 talents went, turned them around, and gained another five. 17 So besides the 1 who received the two; he besides gained the another two. 18 And he that received 1 went and dug the earth, and hid the money of his master. 19 After a long time, the master of these servants returned and began to account for them. 20 Then came the 1 who received 5 talents. He brought the another 5 and said, "Lord, you have given me 5 talents, behold, the another 5 talents I have gained." 21 The Lord said to him, “Well, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in fewer things, and I will put you above many: enter into the joy of your master." 22 And he besides came, who received 2 talents, saying, “Lord, you have given me 2 talents, behold, I have gained 2 talents.” 23 The Lord said to him, “Well, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in fewer things, and I will put you above many: enter into the joy of your master." 24 And he that received 1 talent came, and said, “Lord, I knew that thou art a hard man: thou wilt reap where thou hast not sown, and gather there, where thou hast not scattered. 25 So I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Here is your property!" 26 And his master said unto him, A servant of evil and dreary. You knew I wanted to reap where I didn't sow, and gather where I didn't scatter. 27 So you should have returned my money to the bankers, and I would have taken my property with profit erstwhile I returned. 28 so take distant this talent from him, and give it to him that hath 10 talents. 29 For all man that has shall be added, so that he may have an excess. Those who have no will take distant even what they have. 30 And cast out the useless servant outside, in darkness. There will be weeping and grinding of teeth." (Mt, 25, 14-30)
I know, reading the Bible, and especially the fresh Testament, and most of all the Gospels are unfashable and even embarrassing in many circles, not only progressive, but besides by the name of conservative and Catholic. Nevertheless, these texts are worth reading and worth reading. First remark on the parable of the debtor. God shows no mercy to an unmerciful debtor. The other of what in theology is called inexpensive grace (cheap grace). The simplification of the Gospel to without an costly pass to heaven and inexpensive insurance from eternal fear. Today, God, and especially Jesus, is made of any moron, and from salvation eternal plant for the mentally disabled, for idiots. It's not adequate to ask or want. Actions have consequences that no plea for mercy can bear. Our Catholicism is simply a tamed “Christianity in slippers”. And for centuries. You can do whatever you want all your life; it is adequate at the right time – preferably at the end of your life, erstwhile sin no longer attracts you – to apologize for your sins, to express your repentance, and the priest will give you absolution and God will forgive and let you into the Kingdom of Heaven. In American Protestantism they have the same thing, but a small different. In theology of success (Prosperity Gospel) – God is an ATM. God wants you to be rich, healthy and successful in business. religion is simply a tool for unlocking blessings and gaining everlasting life. In a vast part of American evangelicalism, salvation was brought into a one-time legal transaction. Just approach the altar (altar call), say erstwhile in your life a short "Sinner's Prayer" (Sinner's Prayer) and admit Jesus as your individual Savior and ready, plus eternal life as an extra free. More, religion was turned into therapeutic treatment, alleged Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD). It is simply a word coined by American sociologists of religion (Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton) to describe spirituality in the United States in dominant churches. The main points: 1. God exists, created the planet and guards morality, 2. God wants people to be kind to each other, kind and just (local virtues), 3. The intent of life is to be happy and to have good feeling (and good digestion), 4. God does not gotta interfere in man's life, you make yourself, unless self-made men have a problem to solve, 5. All good people go to heaven. Are you good? Do you meet the conditions of 1-4? Condition 5: From the vending device you go to Heaven. If any rich man had exchanged our hat of vermin plums for millions, we would have thought him a fool, and despised him as a complete fool. According to modern theologians, God, being wise, “sells” a ticket to Heaven for a fistful of tiny coins. Something's not right, is it?
There are, of course, malcontents, including the improvement movement or fresh Calvinists, but the general consensus is that erstwhile you're good, you're doing well, and in the second life you'll be fine. Simple. What matters is the prosperity of this life, and God is specified an additional silent associate alias of the ATM. You push and you pay. From a business point of view, an unmerciful debtor conducts his business well. First, it receives large relief, e.g. taxation breaks from the state, or large profits, with an highly favourable transaction, which brings large profits, although it destroys, leads to bankruptcy of another entities. At the same time, it is hard to enforce its debts, from suppliers, co-operators or employees. A recipe for financial success. In the financial report, it is simply a masterpiece of effectiveness: gigantic profits and iron discipline, zero tolerance for bad debts (non-performing loans) plus absolute execution of receivables. specified a businessman gains fame, a advanced raise, the “Maneder of the Year” award and an extra bonus: a large share stake as a bonus. And God says, "Holy, holy, I'm not gonna get over this." God's order is different from human order.
There's an even bigger problem with the talent parable if you compare it with our human concept of justice. I remember writing about this parable once. With servant number 1 and two, it's reasonably normal, but unfair. Why did 1 get 5 and the another 2 talents? The 3rd servant is simply a large trouble. In human terms, he behaved well and fairly. The servant wanted to be humanly "good," to fulfill his work and not harm anyone, and God rejects it completely. This is besides the rejection of the full alleged liberation and socialism theology, as a method of doing "good" in this world. You owe me and you are to service me first - says God. Yet these unmerciful words, "For all 1 that has will be added. And those who have no will take distant even what they have." Who's gonna get who's not, they're gonna take the rest. Those words, as a motto, could hang Wall Street sharks, but they won't, due to the fact that the capital you're trading is not yours. You've been in debt since you were born. A complete denial of justice, not just the social one, but the simplest human one! Words that are most frequently erased, forgotten verses from the Bible! The parables of the debtor and of the talents bind the full message of Jesus with 1 buckle. An existential issue. The first parable is the transfer of capital - God's will - down, the second is the transfer of God's will upward. A coherent complementary image. No mercy, no indulgence. The relation of God – a man drawn with 1 line. There's no area for God for idiots.
The word – talent has 2 meanings. First and oldest is simply a unit of weight and money, a talent of silver, a talent of gold. Modern is talent in the sense of ability. Beautiful comparison of soul value with gold, with gold in weight expressed. Today, 2 powerful armies: preachers, priests and psychologists, psychotherapists driven by the worship of mammons effort to blur the meaning of these 2 stories. That's the meaning of the word talent. present everyone has any talent and salvation. Sky for an affordable price. You're great. You're good and wonderful, you have so many talents. uncover them, don't let them limit you. Be yourself. Drop the mask. Abandon toxic compounds and obligations. Wife, is your husband bothering you? search happiness in another relationships. Are the kids teasing? Come on, they're adults. Let them do whatever they want. Friends criticize? Fine, you'll find others to praise you. Father, mother, shame? Leave them alone, you owe them nothing. Don't let another people's opinions limit you, so that another people's evil will corrupt your being. You're the only one, the most important. An army of paid psychologists and psychotherapists has been providing auto-affirmation for an hr without any preliminaries. “You are adequate as you are”, “you do not gotta prove anything”, “your only work is to take care of your welfare.” "The Dream of Life Is in Life alone". The army of pastoralists assures us that God has no right to request of you. God is to hug, rub tears, heal our wounds, pet our heads. They assure you with your hand on the heart that at the end we will all meet at the table together as 1 large happy household and we will eat, and eat, and eat... And it will be like the pictures of Jehovah’s witnesses: a baby will sleep in a tiger and the hind will fall by the wolf. This is how intellectual castration is done. "Leave toxic obligations" means the elimination of faithfulness, obligations and work for others. "Don't let another people's evil corrupt your good being" is simply a denial of the fact about human condition. Evil in this communicative always comes from outside. “You are the 1 and the most important” – the openly placing of your own same in the place of God.
I had a friend in college. He said that he lived in Babylon, in the sense of the river of iniquity. It was a commune, but it wasn't just about the system. His moral attitude was, say... more blunt than his beard, and his soul was dirtier than his body. But he thought evil wasn't him, it was the outside, like wind or rain. The eternal approach of "the repairers of the world": evil is something from the outside, like a river full of dirt and impurity. However, it needs and can be repaired, cleaned, or at least sanitized, civilized. The key word is you can due to the fact that evil is outside. Jesus knew this and answered: “What comes out of man makes him unclean. From within, from the human heart come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, greed, perverseness, deceit, loose conduct, jealousy, insults, pride, foolishness" (Mk 7:20–23). Repairers of the planet of all ointments are terrified of this diagnosis due to the fact that it immediately takes distant their mandate to instruct or educate others.
These 2 parables combine into 1 imagination of the world, God and man. We are like these servants guilty of many talents; or sent to multiply not their talents. The ones they received, smaller or larger, no substance what size. This is our situation. The existential situation, though it is simply a word defiled by French philosophers. We're born guilty and we'll be accounted for all penny. We're not born with a clean slate. You're born on giant debt, debt to God, otherwise ontological debt. And this debt we gotta pay back, pay back with interest, and the natural accountant will settle us down to the penny. Psychotherapists and another psycho-magicians will go crazy! And then they'll rise the hourly rate. "You were born not to live/ you have small time to bear witness" paraphrased Herbert. In the existential dimension, each of us received an invaluable gift like these thousands of talents: life and breath, consciousness and time. Limited time and awareness full of fear and barriers. Our origin and our work is what we will do with this gift. You don't throw pearls in front of a hog? Who knows? Jesus says a simple thing – we will be accounted for. Time is short, and the balance sheet at the end will be closed anyway. It will be not good intentions, intentions, requests, or supplications, but results. A creepy conclusion? Maybe. I'm certain it's unfashable and even cursed by modern theology and psychotherapy.
What do I do about it? You can always change your religion to, for example, an old-fashioned one; carefully number steps, spoons, and sins by affirming yourself all day in a ludicrous belief that you are perfect that is chosen. Become a Buddhist, muslim, rastafarian, a follower of advancement or Aquarius. Or believe in a goat. Doesn't matter. It's a choice of color. If you stay with Christianity, at least take the problem to get out of your slippers – or out of your comfort region by speaking a fashionable language – and read with knowing respective passages from the fresh Testament. There is no and there will be no proof that God exists. If there's a God, he's not the stupid headmaster of the shelter for the mentally retarded. That one's for sure.
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