Yeah. Uh-huh.
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| Jerusalem, big for then, small by our measure, tough on crime. |
Roman tough, really tough. Wikipedia -
A common interpretation is that Jesus was reacting to the practice of money changers routinely cheating the people, but Marvin L. Krier Mich observes that a good deal of money was stored at the temple, where it could be loaned by the wealthy to the poor who were in danger of losing their land to debt. The Temple establishment therefore co-operated with the aristocracy in the exploitation of the poor. One of the first acts of the First Jewish-Roman War was the burning of the debt records in the archives.[19]
Pope Francis sees the Cleansing of the Temple not as a violent act but more of a prophetic demonstration.[20] In addition to writing and speaking messages from God, Israelite or Jewish nevi'im ("spokespersons", "prophets") often acted out prophetic actions in their life.[21][page needed]
According to D.A. Carson, the fact that Jesus was not arrested by the Temple guards was due to the fact that the crowd supported Jesus's actions.[22] Maurice Casey agrees with this view, stating that Temple's authorities were probably afraid that sending guards against Jesus and his disciples would cause a revolt and a carnage, while Roman soldiers in the Antonia Fortress did not feel the need to act for a minor disturbance such as this; however, Jesus's actions probably prompted the authorities' decision to have Jesus arrested some days later and later had him crucified by Roman prefect Pontius Pilate.[23]
But in a small town - same source . . .
Interpretation of John 2:15
In 2012, Andy Alexis-Baker, clinical associate professor of theology at Loyola University Chicago, gave the history of the interpretation of the Johannine passage since Antiquity:[24]
- Origen (3rd century) is the first to comment on the passage: he denies historicity and interprets it as metaphorical, where the Temple is the soul of a person freed from earthly things thanks to Jesus. On the contrary, John Chrysostom (v. 391) defended the historical authenticity of this passage, but if he considered that Jesus had used the whip against the merchants in addition to the other beasts, he specified that it was to show his divinity and that Jesus was not to be imitated.
- Theodore of Mopsuestia (in 381) – who answered, during the First Council of Constantinople, to the bishop Rabbula, accused of striking his clerics and to justify himself by the purification of the Temple – and Cosmas Indicopleustes (v. 550) supported that the event is non-violent and historical: Jesus whips sheep and bulls, but speaks only to merchants and only overturns their tables.
- Augustine of Hippo (in 387) referred to cleansing of the temple to justify rebuking others for their sinful behavior writing, "Stop those whom you can, restrain whom you can, frighten whom you can, allure gently whom you can, do not, however, rest silent."[25]
- Pope Gregory VII (in 1075), quoting Pope Gregory I, relies on this passage to justify his policy against simoniacal clergy, comparing them to merchants. Other medieval Catholic figures will do the same, such as Bernard of Clairvaux, who justified the Crusades by claiming that fighting the "pagans" with the same zeal that Jesus displayed against the merchants was a way to salvation.
- During the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin (in 1554), in line with Augustine of Hippo and the Gregories, defended himself by using (among other things) the purification of the temple, when he was accused of having helped to burn alive Michael Servetus, a theologian who denied the divinity of Jesus.
And John Calvin did that IN a small town. Go figure.
UPDATE: John Calvin must have been the Ron DeSantis of his day. "My way or the fry-way."
FURTHER: It amazes, the number of versions of the same thing. Spliting hairs can be a vocation. Knowing that, blog.
For further variety, should you be able to handle it, try this, but if you try it, don't take yourself too seriously. For example, when you get to saying 3, be careful to not say to yourself, that's Rasta. I and I. (And now Minnesota has legal sacred herb to assist you.) You can spin your wheels endlessly, getting nowhere but where you are. As you read on from the link. remember this link is for the item atop the left sidebar. There is more. But, also, learn from the site's preamble, in light of the earlier things in this post, the preamble saying, "For some reflections on the potential meaning and significance of Thomas' Gospel for us today, see my book, The Gospel of Thomas: A New Translation for Spiritual Seekers. Note that Luminescence, L.L.C. earns commissions for purchases made through links in this post."
Moreover, don't try that link in a small town. If you do, repercussions await. Otherwise: Enjoy.
FURTHER: This post is a gift that keeps giving.
FURTHER: Back to here,
"Saying 7: The Lion and the Human
Jesus said, "Blessed is the lion that's eaten by a human and then becomes human, but how awful for the human who's eaten by a lion, and the lion becomes human."
Isn't that what Elon Musk and others are saying these days, about AI? These chat bots, they're lions, show care. In one example Crabgrass encountered online which was bringing the consideration into a focus; pharmaceutical design via AI is one thing, now being pursued by several venturers, but quite similar code could be written to catalog new potential molecules for chemical warfare, leaving us where (besides in the belly of the lion)?