A confusing picture

 Which book of the Old Bible states that one should not profit from landlordism or lending money...is it the Book of Ezra,Sirach or Baruch or another Old Testament book...in any case,this is a sad reflection on the Jewish people...

The doctrines of the New Testament prescribe bank lodgement and innkeeping and partaking of alcohol and St. Paul paid for his keep in Rome while condoning slavery (Letter to Philemon)..

..Real contradictions..real contradictions exist therefore in the Bible...Perhaps,in the Old Testament we can see traces of True Communism...

27.6.2021

Did Jesus not in the Parable of the Disobedient Servant sanction lodging a talent in a bank and gaining "interest on it"...

In terms of " going surety for someone else's debts"(Ecclesiastes) which the Old Testament book describes as something " only a fool would  do". How do we evaluate that with the Parable of the Good Samaritan where the outcast tells the innkeeper,"Take good care of him and when I am back this way,I shall pay you the balance" not as glaring a contradiction perhaps as interest-bearing capital,but still somewhat at odds with not going surety for someone else's debts...

Perhaps,if we understand the duty to be an assiduous guardian of what does not belong to us leavened with what Pope Francis calls the Seven Works of Mercy,sadly absent from the doctrines of the " by-faith-alone" outfits and there are at least 30 000 of those but sometimes evident  in their approach to others and yet often,all so often,and so sadly absent from the lives of those who make constant repetitive allusion to "do works of kindness and treat others charitably". Such a sad and bitter reflection on the Catholic Church and,above all,on its earthly clergy and the many "worthies" attracted to it who should be told,sternly and in the most strident tones,"Away from me,I do not know you..." regardless of their pious imprecations and pleas for understanding and eternal life. These people do not heed the call of the poor and dehumanised and like the Rich Man whose door Lazarus suffered by  are only cognisant of the eternal ruin they have brought on themselves when it is too late to consider the harm they have caused or their poverty of good works.

..who then is "destined to be saved and who is destined to be lost" (and to have no need of central heating where he is bound)...WE DO NOT KNOW from earthly standards and God alone knows that..

3.8.2021.22.8.2021.

Acclaim?

Another bone of contention for self-seeking hypocrites like Paisleyites is their icon,St Paul,as distinct from the Son of Man and his foremost follower in 1916 was Padraig Pearse who wrote,

"What care have I,

"For my fame in other men's eyes"

something patriots and Provos find repulsive...but I digress,the point of the matter being that St Paul called on people to "get the credit for their good works" whereas Jesus scorns "the hypocrites who wear long robes and philacteries and like to be greeted with respect in the market place"-he tells people to "go into their private room and pray"-and he relates the Parable of The Poor Widow who puts one little copper coin worth two pennies in the Temple Treasury whereas the Rich Man puts in 10% of his (ill-gotten) gains but he who walked the hills of Galilee and preached in the Decapolis and mixed with tax-collectors,sinners and publicans and scribes,dwarves and loose women and Nicodemus the Pharisee says that "this was all she had to live on whereas the Wealthy Hypocrite gave from what he had left over" and to clinch the "deal", Jesus impeaches us to " go into our private room and pray"....

...How should we pray?..Pray the Our Father and when in a church,"Stand at the back" and let the hypocrites go to the front, something the political tub-thumpers will always do...Remember the lesson of the Humble Sinner who stands at the back of the church and mutters quietly to himself,"Lord,have mercy on me a sinner", whereas the Pharisee proudly marches to the front to thank God for all his blessings and excoriate the penitent,"Thank you,God,for not making me like this miserable sinner behind me" and it should be remembered that the Pharisees were lay preachers who had other occupations.