this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2024
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Anything that makes you apply your hand to your face.
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No, see, you can do it because you have nothing to lose. If they actually read and understand the Bible, then they have to start living according to it, and that would suck. "For I say to you it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven?" No thank you sir, that would ruin my prosperity gospel!
To be fair to the camel, God hadn't heard of the Byford Dolphin incident yet.
Well that was a horrible read.
There was a translation error, IIRC. It's not a camel but a rope.
From the theologians I've read on the topic, it's not so much a translation error as a context issue. Apparently "the eye of the needle" was the name for one of the gates going into Jerusalem. It was very narrow, and a fully laden camel would never get through there. The only way to make it through was to first unburden the camel of its load. The theory goes that Jesus is presenting a metaphor; the rich man must unburden himself of his wealth, in the same way that the camel must be unburdened of its cargo.
Not vouching for that as the absolute truth of the matter, it's just the version I've been given to understand.