Jesus and the Chamber of Commerce [View all]

[cthulu2016]

Jesus said:

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God"
—MARK 10:25

Do you know what this passage really means?

Well, any number of right-wing propagandists will be happy to explain it for you. There have been many explanations of it promulgated over the years to explain away Jesus' seeming antipathy to the rich. People have made their living speaking to rotarys and chambers of commerce about what Jesus' plain antipathy toward wealth "really" meant. It has been claimed by many commentators that "the needle's eye" was a narrow mountain pass, or that it was the name of a security gate on a walled city. See, to get through the low gate the camel has to kneel... that's all. The passage only means that a rich man needs to be humble before God and that's difficult for him because he is so obviously superior!

It's all made up. There was no Judean mountain pass or city gate called "the needle's eye."

Now first, the irony that the Bible is literal when describing Adam and Eve and Noah's flood but obviously figurative when speaking against the rich is pretty damn funny.

But more to the point, since Jesus also told everyone to give away all of their possessions it is hard to see why any explanation of MARK 10:25 was ever needed.

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for X to happen" is an old saying in the Middle East, pre-dating Jesus, and post-dating Jesus. It means that something is impossible. (The saying is even used in the Koran, long after Christ, using the Arabic word for "sewing needle.&quot

Jesus said that it is impossible for a rich man to go to heaven. Period. That doesn't mean a currently rich man cannot find salvation. He can... if he first gives away all of his possessions.