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Janice

Janice

2008-08-22

I read a fair bit of that blog and all I can say is there’s not much evidence there of the fruit of the Spirit.  What I do see is a contemptuous attitude comparable to the ones shown to Don on the Touchstone site.
Matthew 5:21-22 (You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment’. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council.)
Gill’s Expositor says that ‘raca’, “is expressive of indignation and contempt … and denotes a worthless, empty headed man; a man of no brains; a foolish, witless, fellow”.

(Doofus, anyone?  Sanctimonious cretin?  On your blog sweetie?  Completely clueless?  AIRHEAD?  Just “plain stupid”?)
What Jesus is saying in verse 22 indicates that those who are angry with another person without cause are in danger of the judgement, i.e., will be condemned as murderers by God (because those who did not kill with their own hands were left to the judgement of God) but those who treat others contemptuously shall be condemned as murderers by human judges, (i.e., in Jesus’ day, the sanhedrin).  I presume that’s because whereas anger is in the heart and can only be seen by God, treating another person with contempt is something that can be witnessed and testified to by other human beings.
Now it’s all very well and ordinary to get upset with other people.  What matters is how you respond.  This person’s response is so sub-Christian that it can’t be regarded as Christian at all.  That’s not a good position to be in if you want to take the high moral ground.
I think the best thing we can do is pray that s/he will learn how to respond lovingly to people with whom s/he disagrees.

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