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Wednesday, 28 September 2011

Set a Trap to Catch a Fool

In Psalms 14:1 credulous believers are handed a useful slogan to use in lieu of rational thought: The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.

They're handed another in Proverbs 26:11: As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.

You'll see Christian fundamentalists especially, still using these today, presumably assuming their targets are equally credulous.

And yet in Matthew 5:22 we see: ...but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire

Blimey!

I wonder what possessed God to set this trap to catch the foolish bigots who haven't read the Bible but like to pretend they have.

And not so much as a hint of an escape clause... Nasty! Lucky it's just a story, eh?




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10 comments:

  1. Anonymous29 February 2012 at 17:25

    Note that it says in Matthew that he who calls someone a fool shall be in danger of Hellfire. Along the same lines as when it says that you shouldn't point out the speck in someone's eye until you deal with the plank in your own. Read it properly next time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rosa Rubicondior29 February 2012 at 20:42

      Er... I quoted it verbatim. In what sense of the word is that not 'reading it properly', please?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous1 March 2012 at 01:14

      Sorry! That came across a bit mean. My problem isn't with how you quoted. It's with your understanding of the text itself.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous1 March 2012 at 02:20

      So, in Matthew, it's teaching to not judge others. While in psalms and proverbs, it's teaching us how not to be fools. They are from two different viewpoints, taken out of context. That's what I meant by 'read it properly', rather than pointing out a mis-quote(which there isn't).

      Delete
    4. Rosa Rubicondior1 March 2012 at 08:01

      So which of the words 'but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire' did I misunderstand, please, and in what way in particular do they mean that people who call others a fool are NOT in danger of Hellfire?

      Thank you for your kind help.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous1 March 2012 at 13:15

      I didn't say that at all! Matthew: Whoever shall SAY, Thou Fool - judging others
      Psalms and Proverbs: Counselling on how not to be a fool, not involving other people

      Thank you for your understanding

      Delete
    6. Kenny Wyland23 March 2012 at 16:56

      Anon,

      1) The writer of Proverbs called people fools for not believing in God, so he's in danger of hellfire if the book of Matthew is correct.

      but more importantly...

      2) Many Christians _today_ use the scripture in Proverbs as a basis to call atheists "fools" thereby making those Christians in danger of hellfire according to the book of Matthew.

      This is the "trap" Rosa is referring to. By providing the Proverb that "fools" will claim there is no God, then believers can be expect to quote that... by the book of Matthew then says anyone who tells that Proverb to people will go to Hell.

      Delete
  2. Buffy3 March 2012 at 06:21

    " The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."

    If the fool can figure it out, why can't everyone else?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2 April 2012 at 03:11

    @PLANETSAFER
    If God's creatures too little mind was
    to be a fool to believe in him, why he
    sends it into the Fire?

    ReplyDelete

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