NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Antithesis of the Law

The Antithesis of the Law (Matthew 5:17-48) is a less well known but highly structured ("you have heard ... but I tell you") part of the Sermon on the Mount, following both the famed Beatitudes and the metaphors of salt and light. It is essentially a deconstruction and reinterpretation of Mosaic Law (compare with Midrash), rather than a literal antithesis, as it is made clear that it was not "to destroy [the law or the prophets], but to fulfil" (KJV) and the teachings themselves are not literal antitheses to the law. Salt and light was a common nickname for the Mosaic Law, and hence the metaphors of salt and light form a sort-of introduction to the antithesis. The chronology of Jesus depicts the traditional chronology established for the events of the life of Jesus by the four canonical gospels (which allude to various dates for several events). ... For other uses, see Jesus (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Jesus. ... For the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. ... The Nativity refers to the birth of Jesus. ... Jacopo Bellinis Madonna and Child Blessing depicts the infant Jesus in the act of blessing the viewer The Child Jesus is a religious archetypal symbol based on the activities of Jesus as an infant up to the age of twelve that recurs throughout history starting from around the 3rd... The Baptism of Christ, by Piero della Francesca, 1449 The Baptism of Jesus is the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. ... In Christianity, the temptation of Christ refers to the temptation of Jesus by Satan as detailed in the New Testament, specifically: Matthew 4:1-11 Mark 1:12-13 Luke 4:1-13 According to these Gospels, Jesus has fasted for forty days and nights in the desert or wilderness... The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch. ... The Twelve Apostles (in Koine Greek Î±Ï€ÏŒÏƒÏ„Î¿Î»Î¿Ï‚ apostolos [1], someone sent forth/sent out, an emissary) were probably Galilean Jewish men (10 names are Aramaic, 4 names are Greek) chosen from among the disciples, who were sent forth by Jesus of Nazareth to preach the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles... The word Transfiguration means a changing of appearance or form. ... This article relates to the events described in the New Testament of the Bible, see The Last Supper (disambiguation) for other uses, including a list of famous works of art with this name. ... The Passion is the technical term for the suffering and Agony of Jesus that led directly to the Crucifixion, a central Christian event. ... Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, where the victim was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang there until dead. ... The Harrowing of Hell, as depicted in the Petites Heures de Jean de Berry, a fourteenth-century illuminated manuscript. ... According to the Trinitarian interpretation of the New Testament, Jesus was both human and God, so he had the power to lay his life down and to take it up again; thus after Jesus died, he came back to life. ... The Great Commission is a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing mission work and evangelism, particularly (but not exclusively) emphasized by evangelicals. ... Icon of the Ascension. ... The prophecies of a Second Coming are various and span across many religions and cultures. ... The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch. ... The Beatitudes (from Latin, beatitudo, happiness) is the name given to a well-known, definitive and central, portion of the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. ... Salt and Light was a metaphor that was frequently used in classical times by Jews to describe the Mosaic law. ... Torah, (×ª×•×¨×”) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or especially law. It primarily refers to the first section of the Tanakhâ€“the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or the Five Books of Moses, but can also be used in the general sense to also include both the Written... Midrash (Hebrew: ×ž×“×¨×©; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Antithesis (Greek for setting opposite, from anti = against and thesis = position) means a direct contrast or exact opposition to something. ... Torah, (×ª×•×¨×”) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or especially law. It primarily refers to the first section of the Tanakhâ€“the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or the Five Books of Moses, but can also be used in the general sense to also include both the Written... Neviim [נביאים] or Prophets is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ...

Despite being less commonly known, the Antithesis is at the core of the argument about the relationship between the views attributed to Jesus and those of Moses (or the Mosaic law), and hence how the relationship between the New Testament and Old Testament should be interpreted, including whether either the extreme of antinomianism or that of legalism has any validity. This issue would have been a central one to the Jewish Christians, a group that the Gospel of Matthew is widely believed to have been directed at, or written by, as the Jewish Christians would have accused other Early Christian groups like the Pauline Christians, followers of Simon Magus, Gnostics, Marcionites, Montanists, and Manichaeists, of abandoning Jewish doctrine, as for example in Acts' record of the Council of Jerusalem or Acts 21:21. For other uses, see Jesus (disambiguation). ... Moses or MÃ³she (×žÖ¹×©Ö¶××”, Standard Hebrew MÃ³Å¡e, Tiberian Hebrew MÅÅ¡eh, Arabic Ù…ÙˆØ³Ù‰ Musa, Spanish MoisÃ©s, Ethiopic áˆ™áˆ´ Musse) was a son of Amram and his wife, Jochebed, a Levite. ... See New Covenant for the concept translated as New Testament in the KJV. The New Testament (ÎšÎ±Î¹Î½Î® Î”Î¹Î±Î¸Î®ÎºÎ·), sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures, and sometimes also New Covenant, is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written by various authors c. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh, but not Old Testament, because it does not recognize the concept of a New Testament. ... Antinomianism (Koine Greek Î±Î½Ï„Î¹, against, Î½Î¿Î¼Î¿Ï‚, law), or lawlessness, in theology is the idea that members of a particular religious group are under no obligation to obey the laws of ethics or morality as presented by religious authorities. ... Legalism, in Christian theology, is a pejorative term referring to an improper fixation on law or codes of conduct, or legal ideas, usually implying an allegation of pride and the neglect of mercy, and ignorance of the grace of God. ... Jewish Christians (sometimes called also Hebrew Christians or Christian Jews, but see below for differences) is a term which can have two meanings, an historical one and a contemporary one. ... The Gospel of Matthew (literally: according to Matthew, Greek: ÎšÎ±Ï„Î± ÎœÎ±Î¸Î¸Î±Î¹Î¿Î½ ) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... The Early Christians is a term used to refer to the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth, before the emergence of established Christian orthodoxy. ... The origins of Pauline Christianity lie in the teachings of Paul of Tarsus, who declared himself the Apostle to the Gentiles, and its development in his circle and among his followers. ... Simon Magus, also known as Simon the Sorcerer and Simon of Gitta, is the name used by the ancient Christian Orthodoxy to refer to someone they identified as a Samaritan (Proto-)Gnostic, and, also according to ancient Christian Orthodoxy, founder of his own religious sect. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Marcionism is the dualist belief system that originates in the teachings of Marcion of Sinope at Rome around the year 144 CE (115 years and 6 months from the Crucifixion, according to Tertullians reckoning in Adversus Marcionem, xv). ... Montanism was an early Christian sectarian movement of the mid-2nd century AD, named after its founder Montanus. ... Manichean priests, writing at their desk, with panel inscription in Sogdian. ... The Acts of the Apostles (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... Council of Jerusalem is a name applied in retrospect to a meeting described in Acts of the Apostles chapter 15. ...

Adherence to the law

Matthew 5:17 "I am not come to destroy [the law or the prophets], but to fulfil" (KJV) lies at the heart of how different Christian groups view the Mosaic law as there are a wide number of interpretations of what is meant by fulfil (or the modern spelling fulfill). The word fulfil (in Greek πληρῶσαι: G4137, Liddell & Scott) is interpreted as meaning any of the following: establish, confirm, validate, complete, actualise, properly explain, accomplish, or obey. Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh, but not Old Testament, because it does not recognize the concept of a New Testament. ... Torah, (×ª×•×¨×”) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or especially law. It primarily refers to the first section of the Tanakhâ€“the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or the Five Books of Moses, but can also be used in the general sense to also include both the Written... Neviim [נביאים] or Prophets is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ...

Some argue that Jesus rejects some of the accepted tenets of Mosaic law, such as the understanding of sabbath, divorce laws, dietary laws, and Biblical festival days, while accepting others, and presents a New Covenant, doing so particularly by antithesis. In contrast, E. P. Sanders in his 1985 book Jesus and Judaism, argued that, in spite of denunciations of Pharisees attributed to Jesus in the Gospels, Jesus himself was a Pharisee: he claimed that no substantial points of opposition could be found, especially since according to the Gospels Jesus did not transgress any part of Mosaic law, did not oppose or reject the law itself, and that the disciples continued to keep it: for example the Acts of the Apostles recounts that they continued to worship in Herod's Temple. (For example, see Acts 3:1; 5:27-42; 21:18-26; 24:5; 24:14; 28:22 ). Torah, (×ª×•×¨×”) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or especially law. It primarily refers to the first section of the Tanakhâ€“the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or the Five Books of Moses, but can also be used in the general sense to also include both the Written... This article concerns the Sabbath in Christianity. ... Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse, which can be contrasted with an annulment which is a declaration that a marriage is void, though the effects of marriage may be recognized in such unions, such as spousal support, child custody... It has been suggested that Kosher foods be merged into this article or section. ... Quartodecimanism (literally fourteenism) was the practice of fixing the celebration of Passover for Christians on the 14th day of Nisan in the Bibles Hebrew Calendar which, according to the Gospels, was the date Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. ... Some Bible translations use the term New Covenant. ... Ed Parish Sanders (born 1937) is a leading New Testament theologian (Th. ... The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCEâ€“70 CE). ... The Acts of the Apostles (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... Herods Temple in Jerusalem was a massive expansion of the Second Temple along with renovations of the entire Temple Mount. ...

According to Augustine of Hippo, Jesus expanded the law but did not replace it. Others used analogy to explain this notion: Chrysostom used the analogy of a race saying that Jesus had added extra distance for the Christians to run, but the beginning remained the same; Theophylact of Bulgaria used the image of an artist colouring in an outline, and Thomas Aquinas saw it as how a tree still contains the seed. This view became the accepted Roman Catholic position, but was challenged in the Protestant reformation, with leading Protestants such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Huldrych Zwingli rejecting the idea Jesus had added to the Law, and instead arguing that Jesus only illustrated the true Law that had always existed, but that the Law had been badly understood by the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders. The Anabaptists took the opposite view and felt the Jesus had greatly reformed the Law, and rejected anything that the Bible doesn't mention him as having confirmed. St. ... Supersessionism is the traditional Christian belief that Christianity is the fulfillment of Biblical Judaism, and therefore that Jews who deny that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah fall short of their calling as Gods Chosen people. ... John Chrysostom (347 - 407) was a notable Christian bishop and preacher from the 4th and 5th centuries in Syria and Constantinople. ... Theophylact of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Ð¢ÐµÐ¾Ñ„Ð¸Ð»Ð°ÐºÑ‚ Ð‘ÑŠÐ»Ð³Ð°Ñ€ÑÐºÐ¸) (d. ... Saint Thomas Aquinas [Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino] (c. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which emerged in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe. ... Luther at age 46 (Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1529) The Luther seal Martin Luther (November 10, 1483â€“February 18, 1546) was a German theologian, an Augustinian monk, and an ecclesiastical reformer whose teachings inspired the Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines and culture of the Lutheran and Protestant traditions. ... John Calvin (July 10, 1509 â€“ May 27, 1564) was an important French Christian theologian during the Protestant Reformation and is the namesake of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism. ... Huldrych (or Ulrich) Zwingli (January 1, 1484 â€“ October 11, 1531) was the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland, and founder of the Swiss Reformed Churches. ... The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCEâ€“70 CE). ... Anabaptists (re-baptizers, from Greek ana and baptizo; in German: Wiedertäufer) are Christians of the so-called radical wing of the Protestant Reformation. ...

Matthew 5:18 states that not one "jot or tittle" will pass from the law until "all had been fulfilled", until "heaven and earth pass away". Jot is the King James Version's translation of iota, the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet, as the parallel letter yodh (י) is the smallest in the Aramaic alphabet. Tittle, the KJV translation of κερεία (a word which literally means horn), is a small mark of some sort, generally considered by scholars to refer to minor projections (horns) that differentiate certain letters, such as hooks in Aramaic - ב versus כ for example. Hence the phrase refers to even the tiniest minutiae being unaltered, and it is this meaning that not one iota, a common English phrase deriving from the statement, has taken. Some view the statement as eschatological, regarding that until heaven and earth pass away means that Mosaic law would be superseded in the end times, though most view it simply as an idiom for the inconceivable. Likewise until all had been fulfilled is somewhat debated, with some viewing it as a reference to end times, others as a reference to such a time as all of Mosaic law is completely adhered to, and others still that it means that the law would only last until a messiah arrives, i.e. that the time had arrived with Jesus' existence and hence the law is superseded already, though many view this as stretching things a bit, since it is unlikely that Jesus would state until if it had already occurred. It is widely believed that Jesus has not yet fulfilled all Messianic prophecy but that he will in his Second Coming. This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... For programming language, see Iota and Jot. ... Yodh (also spelled Yud or Yod) is the tenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew , Syriac and Arabic (in abjadi order, 28th in modern order). ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Albrecht Dürer - Four horsemen of the Apocalypse This article is about the concept of the end of the world. ... The end times are, in one version of Judeo-Christian eschatology and in Islam, a time of tribulation that will precede the Second Coming of the Messiah. ... An idiom is an expression (ie. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (×žÖ¸×©×Ö´×™×—Ö· anointed one, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew Arabic ) initially meant any person who was anointed by God. ... The prophecies of a Second Coming are various and span across many religions and cultures. ...

Matthew 5:19 condemns those who preach the commandments but do not uphold them, i.e. people that today we would refer to as hypocrites. Some interpret commandments as referring to the Sermon on the Mount itself, though others think that the text is obviously referring to the Mosaic law, Noahide laws, or to the Ethical decalogue. Some scholars have read this verse as an attack by Matthew on Paul of Tarsus, who is generally regarded to have placed less importance on Mosaic law, though others claim there is little evidence that the author of Matthew had read Paul's works, even though they were written some 40 years prior and were widely circulating when Matthew came to be written. {{subst:empty template|This template was not substituted. ... Torah, (×ª×•×¨×”) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or especially law. It primarily refers to the first section of the Tanakhâ€“the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or the Five Books of Moses, but can also be used in the general sense to also include both the Written... The Noahide Laws (Hebrew: ×©×‘×¢ ×ž×¦×•×•×ª ×‘× ×™ × ×— -- Seven Noahide Laws), also called the Brit Noah (Covenant [of] Noah) are the mitzvot (commandments) and halakhot (laws) that Judaism teaches that all non-Jews are morally bound to follow. ... The Ethical Decalogue, is one of two Decalogues included in the Bible, and is better known as the Ten Commandments. ... Saul, also known as Paul, Paulus, and Saint Paul the Apostle, (AD 3â€“67) is widely considered to be central to the early development and spread of Christianity, particularly westward from Judea. ...

Matthew 5:20 subtly condemns the Pharisees: only those who were more righteous than them would enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew generally condemns the manner in which the Pharisees adhere to the law, portraying it as excessively legalistic, and here is no exception. This begins a pattern, repeated later in the Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew 6), where outward and public adherence to religious behaviour are condemned as being hollow, in favour of private and internal adherence. The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCEâ€“70 CE). ... The Kingdom of Heaven (or the Kingdom of God, Hebrew ×ž×œ×›×•×ª ×”×©×ž×™×, malkhut hashamayim, Greek basileia tou theou) is a key concept in both Judaism and Christianity. ... Legalism, in Christian theology, is a pejorative term referring to an improper fixation on law or codes of conduct, or legal ideas, usually implying an allegation of pride and the neglect of mercy, and ignorance of the grace of God. ...

Specialised focuses

As well as a more general discussion about adherance to the law, the antithesis individually covers the following aspects in greater detail:

Each of these specialised sections begins with a scriptural quotation that indicates how the law officially regards each of these issues, and then goes on to either extend the law's commandment to its most radical extent, or to make a radical assertion opposing it. Though sometimes not as radical, Jewish sentiment in the period was much more in keeping with the antithesis than the law itself, partly due to the influence of hellenism, and so although parts of the antithesis are quite radical in respect to the law itself, it should be understood that in many cases the antithesis simply describes popular sentiment of the time. The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance...

Murder

The first Antithesis is on the subject of murder. Beginning by quoting the commandment thou shalt not kill, Matthew describes Jesus as going on to condemn the anger which lead to it as being just as bad. This view is not particularly new to Jesus, appearing in the Old Testament at places such as Ecclesiastes and Ecclesiasticus, as well as in the Slavonic Enoch, Pesahim, and Nedraim. Jesus is also described as condemning people who insult each other, specifically identifying the insult of calling someone a Raca. Scholars seem divided on how grievous an insult it was, for example Hill feels it was very grievous while France thinks it minor. Antithesis (Greek for setting opposite, from anti = against and thesis = position) means a direct contrast or exact opposition to something. ... The Ethical Decalogue, is one of two Decalogues included in the Bible, and is better known as the Ten Commandments. ... Ecclesiastes, Kohelet in Hebrew, is a book of the Hebrew Bible. ... The Wisdom of Ben Sirach, (or The Wisdom of Joshua Ben Sirach or merely Sirach), called Ecclesiasticus by Christians, is a book written circa 180 BCE in Hebrew. ... ... Moed (Festivals) is the second Order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud), Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. ...

What Raca means is unknown though there have been frequent attempts to explain it, particularly in the context of fool, the next insult to be mentioned. Despite condemning the use of the term fool, according to Matthew, Jesus himself used it to deride the Pharisees (Matthew 23:17). The most common view is that Raca is a reference to the Aramaic word reka (see also Aramaic of Jesus), which literally means empty one, probably referring to empty headed, or foolish. The word translated as fool is moros which has a similar meaning to the Aramaic reka, but it can also be used to mean godless, and so was a much stronger term. Some scholars have argued that raca can mean effeminate and moros referring to an homosexual aggressor, and so Jesus could here be seen to be condemning homophobia, although like much of modern western culture, homophobic insults are likely to have often been used generally rather than only to specifically attack homosexuals. The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCEâ€“70 CE). ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... Especially before the discovery of the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Semitisms in the New Testament have been thought to represent Aramaic. ... Effeminacy is character trait of a male showing femininity, unmanliness, womanliness, weakness, softness and/or a delicacy, which contradicts traditional masculine, male gender roles. ... The term homophobia means a fear of or contempt for homosexuality or homosexuals or the fear of becoming homosexual. ...

Those that are angry with their brother are then said in Matthew to be subject to judgement, sent to the council, generally seen as a reference to the Sanhedrin, for using the insult of Raca, and sent to Gehenna for using the insult of moros. Gehenna the rubbish tip south of Jerusalem which was permanently aflame, and had in the past been the place of cremation for human sacrifice. Despite the vivid unpleasantness of this, traditionally scholars have read this as only a metaphorical reference to damnation to Hell, though other scholars see the literal reading - being thrown into the rubbish tip south of Jerusalem - as the accurate one. Early manuscripts of Matthew are divided between some that state it is anger without cause that is being condemned, and those that state that all anger is condemned, with most modern scholars feeling that without cause was a cop-out added by a later scribe. For the tractate in the Mishnah, see Sanhedrin (tractate). ... Note: Tanach quotes are from the Judaica press Tanach. ... Human sacrifice was practiced in many ancient cultures. ... // Religious In some forms of Western Christian belief, damnation to hell is the punishment of God for persons with unredeemed sin. ... Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180) Hell, according to many religious beliefs, is a place and/or a state of painful suffering. ...

The antithesis then goes on to state that even if one is in the middle of making the korban sacrifice, whenever you realise there is a dispute with one's brother, it is better to immediately stop what one is doing and try to resolve the dispute. Although this theme, of asserting that worship devoid of moral life is useless, occurs throughout the Old Testament, several scholars see Matthew here as attacking the overly ritualised Pharisees, with those scholars, for example Schweizer, thinking that the Pharisees believed sacrifice should not be interrupted. That Matthew here mentions the korban, which came to a halt in 70AD when the Temple was destroyed, is taken by a few scholars, like Albright and Mann, as evidence that Matthew was written before that date, though there is no reason to assume that this is the case, since, for example, a 20th century writer can quite easily describe a quotation by Plato that has become outdated without having to be writing in Plato's time. Korban (×§×¨×‘×Ÿ) (plural: Korbanot ×§×¨×‘× ×•×ª) in Judaism, is commonly called a religious sacrifice or an offering in English, but is known as a Korban in Hebrew because its Hebrew root K [a] R [o] V (×§×¨×‘) (or K [o] R [a] V) means to [come] Close (or Draw Near) [to God], which the... Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: contemporarybas-relief, Capitoline Museum, Rome Sacrifice (from a Middle English verb meaning to make sacred, from Old French, from Latin sacrificium : sacer, sacred; sacred + facere, to make) is commonly known as the practice... The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCEâ€“70 CE). ...

The antithesis finally culminates with what could easily be seen as very practical advice to reconcile with enemies quickly, before the enemy causes the issue to be brought before a judge, since being placed into jail will require you to buy yourself out of jail, not even leaving you with a penny. This piece of advice also appears in a portion of Luke, likely indicating that it originates in Q, though the words that are usually translated as penny differ between Luke and Matthew, with Matthew referring to a quadrans and Luke to a mite, which was worth half a quadrans. Luke gives the text a much more eschatalogical context, implying it refers to the Last Judgement, and so most Christians interpret Matthew the same way, some using it to argue for the existence of purgatory. Fundamentalists, however, have a tendency to be uncomfortable with the soteriology that this implies - that good behaviour is sufficient to avoid punishment - and so those such as Albright claim that some material is likely to be missing from this part of Matthew. The quadrans (literally meaning a a quarter) was low value Roman bronze coin worth 1/4th of an as. ... A denarius by Maximinus. ... Albrecht DÃ¼rer - Four horsemen of the Apocalypse Look up eschatology in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image:Michelangelo - Fresco of the Last Judgment. ... The term purgatory is generally defined as the means by which the elect reach perfection before entering into the Kingdom of Heaven. The term purgatory in accordance with Catholic teaching, is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in Gods grace are not... In Christianity, salvation is arguably the most important spiritual concept, second only to the divinity of Jesus. ...

Adultery

The second antithesis is on the subject of adultery. Firstly it quotes the commandment in the ethical decalogue at Exodus 20:14 about adultery, and then goes on to state that looking at a woman in lust is equal to the act of adultery itself. This is often interpreted as Jesus expanding on the requirements of Mosaic law, but not rejecting it, and similar ideas were anciently expressed in T. Issachar and Tractate Kalla. The word translated as woman is the Greek word gyne which more precisely refers to a wife, rather than just any woman, hence most scholars feel that what is being condemned is lusting after another's wife, not the attraction of a man to a woman in general, such as his own wife. At the time, adultery was regarded as a form of theft, and applied only to a man stealing another's wife; married men sleeping with unmarried woman did not constitute adultery. According to Schweizer, since it is looking in lust that is condemned, this neither applies to a man looking at a woman without lust (and hence complete segregation of the sexes is not necessary), nor to a man having lust without looking at a woman. Antithesis (Greek for setting opposite, from anti = against and thesis = position) means a direct contrast or exact opposition to something. ... Man and woman undergoing public exposure for adultery in Japan, around 1860 Adultery is generally defined as consensual sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than their lawful spouse. ... The Ethical Decalogue, is one of two Decalogues included in the Bible, and is better known as the Ten Commandments. ... Exodus is the second book of the Torah (the Pentateuch) and also the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), and the Christian Old Testament. ... Image of a nude woman on the Pioneer plaque sent to outer space. ... Lust is any intense desire or craving, usually sexual although it is also common usage to talk of a lust for life or a lust for power or other goals. ... Torah, (×ª×•×¨×”) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or especially law. It primarily refers to the first section of the Tanakhâ€“the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or the Five Books of Moses, but can also be used in the general sense to also include both the Written... Marriage is a relationship that plays a key role in the definition of many families. ...

The discussion in Matthew continues with two now well known phrases that are also to a degree present in Mark:

Rather than if...offend thee, the Greek text is literally if...causes you to stumble, which while a common metaphor for sin, also acts as a joke since plucking out one's eye will result in one stumbling about. No major Christian denomination has ever taken these commands literally, although it has to be said that Origen castrated himself in order to avoid sexual temptation. That almost everyone views them as deliberate hyperbole has led some commentators to see parts of the other antitheses in the Sermon on the Mount as also being hyperbole. Origen (ca. ... A hyperbole, largely synonymous with exaggeration and overconsulting, is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated or extravagant. ...

The link between the right hand and the discussion of adultery is somewhat unclear, although in Jewish writings of the time it was common to a triple structure of XYZ eye ABC XYZ hand ABC XYZ foot ABC, which is seen in the use of these phrases at Mark, and the later use of the phrases towards the end of Matthew. That the hand appears hear but not the foot is felt by Hill to be a deliberate reference to theft, which at the time adultery was seen as being a form of. An alternate view, more prevalant in recent years, is that the mention of a hand linked to lust is a reference to masturbation, and many individuals that criticise it use this verse to condemn it, and this has become one of phrases in the Bible most often cited in condemnation of masturbation. In the Babylonian Talmud there are similar statements about masturbation and mention is made of cutting off the hand and suffering bodily harm rather than going to the pit of destruction (Tractate Niddah, fol. 13b). A third view is to see the hand reference as a connecting link to the next antithesis, which is about divorce, as a metaphor for separation from a sinful spouse. Masturbation is the manual excitation of the sexual organs, most often to the point of orgasm. ... The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ... Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse, which can be contrasted with an annulment which is a declaration that a marriage is void, though the effects of marriage may be recognized in such unions, such as spousal support, child custody...

Jesus is portrayed in Matthew as making these statements because he considers it better that one cut oneself off from sin so as not to condemn the remainder of oneself to Gehenna. There is much debate as to quite in what way Gehenna is being referred to - whether Jesus was meant to be talking about a physical valley of fire, an afterlife of damnation, or whether the reference is eschatalogical. That the text refers to a whole body being thrown to Gehenna is regarded by some as implying that everyone, even the wicked, would have a full bodily resurrection in the end times, which is counter to the standard Protestant understanding of only the worthy being resurrected. Note: Tanach quotes are from the Judaica press Tanach. ... // Religious In some forms of Western Christian belief, damnation to hell is the punishment of God for persons with unredeemed sin. ... Albrecht DÃ¼rer - Four horsemen of the Apocalypse Look up eschatology in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Divorce

The third Antithesis, sometimes considered a continuation of the prior one about adultery, is on divorce, and is comparatively short. It begins with a reference to Deuteronomy 24:1, requiring a man who dismisses his wife for "indecency" to give her a formal written divorce certificate. However, the Antithesis describes Jesus as condemning anyone who, except in the event of porneia (more on this word later), divorces his wife and thus "makes her an adulteress", adding: "whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Antithesis (Greek for setting opposite, from anti = against and thesis = position) means a direct contrast or exact opposition to something. ... Man and woman undergoing public exposure for adultery in Japan, around 1860 Adultery is generally defined as consensual sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than their lawful spouse. ... Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse, which can be contrasted with an annulment which is a declaration that a marriage is void, though the effects of marriage may be recognized in such unions, such as spousal support, child custody... Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ...

While Deuteronomy 24:1 mentions divorce on the grounds of "some indecency" found in a wife, in Malachi 2:16 God is said to "hate" divorce. Both Mark 10:11-12 and Luke 16:18, 31 present Jesus as making no exception to his disapproval of divorce. And in (the undisputedly authentic) 1 Corinthians, Paul of Tarsus likewise quotes Jesus as condemning divorce without any exception: "To the married I give charge, not I but the Lord, that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, let her remain single or else be reconciled to her husband) — and that the husband should not divorce his wife" (7:10-11). However, apparently invoking Pauline privilege, Paul, on his own authority, "I say, not the Lord", does allow divorce for someone who on becoming a Christian is abandoned by a non-Christian spouse (7:12-16). Malachi or Malachi (מַלְאָכִי My messenger/angel, Standard Hebrew Malʾaḫi, Tiberian Hebrew Malʾāḵî) was a prophet in the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh. ... A 19th century picture of Paul of Tarsus The Pauline epistles are those books in the New Testament that are traditionally attributed to Paul of Tarsus. ... (Redirected from 1 Corinthians) See also: Second Epistle to the Corinthians and Third Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. ... Saul, also known as Paul, Paulus, and Saint Paul the Apostle, (AD 3â€“67) is widely considered to be central to the early development and spread of Christianity, particularly westward from Judea. ... The Pauline Privilege (Privilegium Paulinum) is a Christian concept drawn from the apostle Pauls instructions in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. ...

Porneia (πορνεία)[1], the Greek word from which we derive the term pornography, literally means "fornication" with a prostitute (πόρνη), but was used to indicate unchaste conduct generally. Accordingly, some claim it should be translated here as "adultery" (a view accepted in perhaps no English Bible translation: the King James Version and derivatives such as the American Standard Version have "fornication"; the Revised Standard Version has "unchastity"; the NAB has "unlawful marriage"; see also Council of Jerusalem#fn 4). At the time of Jesus, the majority view on Deuteronomy 24:1 was that of Hillel the Elder, who allowed divorce under a wide range of circumstances, even as minor as a wife burning dinner, while the minority opinion followed Shammai, who argued that only adultery could be grounds for divorce. Some scholars believe Jesus was endorsing Shammai's view. Though Jewish circles abandoned Shammai's view, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches have traditionally read porneia as adultery. Some claim that, under the liberal divorce policy of Hillel, men had been casually divorcing their wives on losing interest in them, thus deeply injuring them, and that Jesus was here defending the rights of downtrodden wives, a claim others reject on the grounds that elaborate prenuptial agreements were negotiated prior to every marriage, invariably including steep financial penalties, known as ketubah, that a divorcing husband had to pay his wife, guaranteeing her financial security. Pornographic movies Pornography (from Greek Ï€Î¿ÏÎ½Î· prostitute and Î³ÏÎ±Ï†Î¯Î± written material) (also informally referred to as porn, or porno) is the representation of the human body or human sexual behaviour with the goal of sexual arousal, similar to, but distinct from, erotica, though the two terms are often used interchangeably. ... Fornication refers disapprovingly to any sexual activity outside of the confines of marriage. ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is an English translation of the Bible that was popular in the mid-20th century and posed the first serious challenge to the King James Version (KJV) owing to its aim to be both a readable and literally accurate modern English translation of the Bible. ... NAB may stand for: The United States National Association of Broadcasters National Australia Bank New American Bible Nasty Ass Bitch This page concerning a three-letter acronym or abbreviation is a disambiguation page â€” a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Council of Jerusalem is a name applied in retrospect to a meeting described in Acts of the Apostles chapter 15. ... Hillel (×”×œ×œ) was a famous Jewish religious leader who lived in Jerusalem during the time of King Herod; he is one of the most important figures in Judaic history, associated with the Mishnah and the Talmud. ... Shammai (50 BCEâ€“30 CE) was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an imporant figure in Judaisms core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah. ... Protestantism is a movement within Christianity, representing the splitting away from the Roman Catholic Church during the mid-to-late Renaissance in Europeâ€”a period known as the Protestant Reformation. ... The Vladimir Icon, one of the most venerated of Orthodox Christian icons of the Virgin Mary. ... A prenuptial agreement or antenuptial agreement, commonly abbreviated to prenup or prenupt, is a contract entered into by two people prior to marriage or civil union. ... A ketubah is a Jewish marriage contract. ...

In the same verse, the specific term for "adultery", moicheia (μοιχεία) is used, in its verbal form (μοιχευθῆναι), immediately after the term porneia. Accordingly, some scholars conclude that porneia refers to something other than adultery, such as concubinage. They point to the quaintness, to say the least, of the interpretation, "He who dismisses his wife, except for adultery, makes her commit adultery," i.e. the divorced wife then commits adultery unless she has already committed adultery. And, in view of the fact that Greek has no distinct word for "wife" — the word γυνή ("woman") is used for "wife" — they see as much more satisfactory the interpretation according to which the verse, rendered literally, reads: "Every one who sends away his woman — except in the case of concubinage — makes her commit adultery."

Others believe that Jesus is using the same kind of formula he used to condemn the Scribes and Pharisees elsewhere (Mark 7:6-13; Matt. 15:14, 23:15ff). This kind of argument takes the form of "you claim you are doing a lawful thing, but by doing it you break the law or cause others to." This rather abstruse interpretation seems to support the idea that Jesus is condemning divorce absolutely.

Some scholars have proposed that the phrase about porneia is a later addition to the text, particularly since it is not present in the parallel passages of Mark and Luke. Some read porneia as referring specifically to marriages that, while permissible under pagan religions, were illegal under Jewish and Christian law, such as those between blood relations, or mixed marriages between those of different religion. Others have proposed that it relates to spiritual fornication, i.e participating in the polytheistic religion of the Middle East, since porneia was in the Old Testament (LXX) used of such participation (e.g. Ex 34:15-16, Lv 17:7, Ezk 16:26, 29, etc.). Another view is that the exception is not a part of Jesus' teaching, but rather a comment indicating that adultery automatically led to divorce under the law of the time, and that Jesus may very well have disagreed with this law; but most scholars, particularly Instone-Brewer, see no evidence for this interpretation.

Some scholars have argued that the other Gospels lacked the porneia exception as something totally obvious to their readers. In Jesus' time, capital punishment was not actually imposed for adultery, but was technically prescribed by Jewish law (cf. John 8:5), and so Martin Luther argued that, since in the eyes of God an adulterer was dead, the spouse was free to remarry. The view that adultery was a valid reason for divorce became the majority Protestant position. Some Protestants even took broader views, with Zwingli and Bullinger both reading porneia to refer to all manner of marital immorality such as spousal abuse, and abandonment. Nowadays, while the porneia clause in Matthew has significance for individual Protestants, many Protestant Churches, simply leave questions of divorce and remarriage to civil law, without taking any doctrinal stand on the question.[2] Luther at age 46 (Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1529) The Luther seal Martin Luther (November 10, 1483â€“February 18, 1546) was a German theologian, an Augustinian monk, and an ecclesiastical reformer whose teachings inspired the Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines and culture of the Lutheran and Protestant traditions. ... Zwinglis Successor Zwinglis successor, Heinrich Bullinger, was elected on December 9, 1531, to be the pastor of the Great Minster at Zürich, a position which he held to the end of his life (1575). ... Heinrich Bullinger Heinrich Bullinger (July 18, 1504 - September 17, 1575) was a Swiss religious reformer. ... Spousal abuse is a specific form of domestic violence where physical or sexual abuse is perpetuated by one spouse upon another. ...

From an early stage, the Roman Catholic Church clearly excluded divorce. Saint Augustine of Hippo stated in Of the Good of Marriage (§7): "[T]he compact of marriage is not done away by divorce intervening; so that they continue wedded persons one to another, even after separation; and commit adultery with those, with whom they shall be joined, even after their own divorce, either the woman with a man, or the man with a woman."[3] For other uses of the term, see Catholic Church (disambiguation). ... St. ...

There were disputes about what constituted a valid and indissoluble marriage, with some claiming that what constitutes marriage is the contract entered into by free and knowing consent, and others saying that carnal union ("two becoming one flesh", cf. Matthew 19:5) is what is essential. By medieval times it was accepted that marriage, though constituted by consent alone, becomes indissoluble only when completed or consummated with the second element, so that only death can dissolve a valid, consummated, sacramental marriage. If a presumed marriage is proved to have been invalid from the start, the Church issues an annulment or declaration of nullity at the request of at least one of the parties.[4] It also grants petitions for dissolution of a marriage shown not to have been consummated and, in certain circumstances, of a non-sacramental marriage. Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. ...

Oaths

The third/fourth antithesis is about oaths. While Gundry feels that this follows the discussion of divorce since Deuteronomy discusses these things one after another, though in reverse order, other scholars feel that it is simply a natural progression, as one of the major legal issues of the day was over marriage vows. Antithesis (from the Greek anti = against and thesis = position) is a figure of speech involving a seeming contradiction of ideas, words, clauses, or sentences within a balanced grammatical structure. ... An oath (from Old Saxon eoth) is either a promise or a statement of fact calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually a god, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. ...

The antithesis opens with a quote from the Septuagint translation of the old testament, the first half of which appears to come from Leviticus 19:12 and the second half from Psalm 50:14. However, Psalm 50:14 is about vows, not oaths, Jewish scholars made a distinction between the two concepts. Schweizer feels that the wording implies that Jesus is only discussing oaths associated with vows, and that he never speaks against the oaths of innocence or truthfulness that were not linked with vows. While the text literally condemns perjury, it can also mean break an oath, and some individuals translate it much less restrictively as do not make vows rashly. The Septuagint (LXX) is the name commonly given in the West to the Koine Greek Alexandrine text of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh/Old Testament) produced some time between the third to first century BC. The Septuagint Bible includes additional books of the old Jewish canon beyond those contained in the... Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, also the third book in the Torah (five books of Moses). ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ...

After having made the quote, Matthew presents Jesus as extracting from it the rule never swear and then moves directly to examples, quoted from the Old Testament:

Very few Christians interpret this antithesis to literally mean that all oaths are prohibited, since in other parts of the Bible oaths are looked upon more favourably. Paul for example is described in 2 Corinthians and Galatians as swearing oaths. Avoiding the literal meaning, most Christian thinkers have concluded that by never swear, Jesus is using hyperbole to emphasise his point or failing to mention exceptions to this rule that would have been implicit to his audience. Thus most Christian churches believe that only false and vain oaths are prohibited, and John Calvin argued that only oaths counter to God are wrong. Several important Christian groups do not however accept such re-interpretations, preferring to uphold what the text actually says; most notably the Quakers and Mennonites firmly reject all oaths, a stance that has led to their persecution by governments that insist on oath taking. Jerusalem (31Â°46â€²N 35Â°14â€²E; Hebrew: (helpÂ· info) Yerushalayim; Arabic: (helpÂ· info) al-Quds, Greek Î™ÎµÏÎ¿ÏƒÏŒÎ»Ï…Î¼Î±), is an ancient Middle Eastern city on the watershed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea at an elevation of 650-840 meters. ... David and Goliath by Caravaggio, c. ... Michelangelos depiction of God in the painting Creation of the Sun and Moon in the Sistine Chapel Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, the ultimate reality or God in Hinduism This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Ashlie from Lizzie McGuire, with green hair Hair coloring products generally fall into four categories: temporary, semipermanent, deposit only/demi, and permanent. ... Saul, also known as Paul, Paulus, and Saint Paul the Apostle, (AD 3â€“67) is widely considered to be central to the early development and spread of Christianity, particularly westward from Judea. ... (Redirected from 2 Corinthians) See also: First Epistle to the Corinthians and Third Epistle to the Corinthians The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible New Testament. ... The Epistle to Galatians is a book of the Bible New Testament. ... A hyperbole, largely synonymous with exaggeration and overconsulting, is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated or extravagant. ... John Calvin (July 10, 1509 â€“ May 27, 1564) was an important French Christian theologian during the Protestant Reformation and is the namesake of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism. ... The Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as Quakers or Friends) was founded in England in the 17th century by people who were dissatisfied with the existing denominations and sects of Christianity. ... The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations based on the teachings and tradition of Menno Simons. ...

According to Matthew, Jesus then instructs people to only respond with yes, yes; no, no. The exact meaning of this is much disputed, and while one reading is that you should simply always answer with yes or no, as is clearly the view of the Epistle of James (at 5:12) where this whole antithesis is reiterated, the Slavonic Enoch, however, states that a double yes or a double no were themselves forms of oath, and so by this understanding Jesus is not banning all oaths, but outlining an example of an oath that is permissible. Jesus is described as going on to say that whatever is more than this response constitutes something of the evil one, which in other parts of the New Testament are frequently used to refer to the devil, and Schweizer believes that the implication is merely that swearing was evil, many Christians do not see a theological difference. The Epistle of James is a book of the New Testament, best known for its teaching that faith without works is dead (James 2:26 KJV). ... ... The Devil (some times known as MacDonald-Sheedy) is the name given to a supernatural entity, who, in most Western religions, is the central embodiment of evil. ...

Punishment

The penultimate antithesis, partly paralleled in Luke's Sermon on the Plain, is on the subject of punishment. It begins with a quote of the lex talionis - an eye for an eye - which is found in three of the law codes in the pentuateuch (in the Deuteronomic code, Holiness Code, and Covenant Code). Although this principle of retributive punishment dates back at least to the Code of Hammurabi, by the first century AD it had been superseded by a system of fines, and so several scholars here consider that it is the whole principle of retribution which Jesus is here meant to be discussing, rather than just the lex talionis. Antithesis (Greek for setting opposite, from anti = against and thesis = position) means a direct contrast or exact opposition to something. ... sexual abuse is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a wrongdoer as a response to something unwanted that the wrongdoer has done. ... Lex talionis (literally the Latin for law as retaliation) or law of retaliation is the belief that one of the purposes of the law is to provide retaliation for an offended party. ... Eye for an Eye is a movie starring Sally Field, Keifer Sutherland, Ed Harris, Beverly DAngelo and Joe Mantegna. ... Look up Pentateuch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Holiness Code appears at Leviticus 17-26, and is so called due to its highly repeated use of the word Holy. ... The Covenant Code is a text appearing in the Torah at Exodus 21:2 - 23:33. ... Retributive justice is a theory of criminal justice wherein punishments are justified on the grounds that the criminal has created an imbalance in the social order that must be addressed by action against the criminal. ... An inscription of the Code of Hammurabi The Code of Hammurabi (also known as the Codex Hammurabi and Hammurabis Code), created ca. ... A fine is money paid as a financial punishment for the commission of minor crimes or as the settlement of a claim. ...

Having made the quotation, Matthew goes on to describe Jesus as saying that one should instead turn the other cheek, and superficially appears to state that one should not resist evil at all, even going so far as to give someone your cloak as well when they sue you for your coat, and when you are compelled to travel one mile one should go so far as to travel two. Though this appears to quite clearly advocate a radical degree of pacifism, many Christians reject this interpretation. According to France, the Greek words translated as don't resist have a far more restricted meaning, and should instead be translated as do not resist by legal means, as this is how Schweizer believes the words are used in Deuteronomy and Isaiah (even though they are different, Hebrew, words in Deuteronomy and Isaiah). Striking on the right cheek refers to a back-handed slap to the face, which throughout the Middle East, both in the first century and today, is one of the highest forms of contempt. According to France the gesture is a grave insult, not a physical attack, and so, again according to France, this would distance the instruction from espousing non-violence. Turn the other cheek is a famous phrase taken from the Christian New Testament, Matthew 5:38-39, when Jesus says: But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. ... Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes. ... Look up Cheek in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The Cheeks are the fleshy area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear, the skin being suspended by the chin and the yaws. ...

To give someone your cloak was quite a radical thing to do, since at the time, it referred to a blanket that was used to keep warm in the night. Due to the often cold nights in the region, a cloak was hence necessary for survival to the extent that Jewish law regarded it as distrainable. The coat on the other hand was merely the basic piece of clothing worn on the upper body. Although most people interpret the instruction from Jesus to give the cloak up to be enforcement of pacifism, France disagrees, and instead sees it as referring to renunciation of property and material possessions. In Luke the situation is somewhat reversed, where highway robbers demand the outer cloak and Jesus is described as insisting that one give up ones shirt as well. Ultimately, the instruction in Luke and Matthew may originate in the tale of Diogenes, a Greek philosopher who is said to have given robbers his shirt as well when they only demanded his cloak. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Halakha (הלכה in Hebrew or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish law, custom and tradition regulating all aspects of behavior. ... Diogenes (Διογένης) is a Greek name shared by several important historical figures: Diogenes of Sinope ( 412- 323 BC), better known as Diogenes the Cynic or simply Diogenes Diogenes Apolloniates (c:a 460 BC), philosopher Diogenes of Seleukia (c:a 150 BC) Diogenes Laertius (between 200- 500 AD), historian This is...

The requirement to go the extra mile specifically refers to the Roman practice of requisitioning individuals to act as a guide or porter, a practice which the Zealots loathed. Thomas Aquinas used this requirement to argue that it is reasonable to follow laws that are unjust (though he also argued that unconscionable laws mustn't be obeyed). After making this requirement, Jesus is described as insisting that one should give to anyone who asks you and not to turn away those who would borrow from you. Most major Christian groups do not advocate the unrestricted level of charity that literal readings would imply, with Luther arguing that the verse is restricted only to those who need assistance, and Calvin stating that generosity is important, but one should never be profligate. Some have interpreted that not turning away those who would borrow is condemnation of usury, particularly since this interpretation is more strongly supported by a similar instruction in the Gospel of Thomas, suggesting that it originates in the Q Document. The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Zealotry. ... Saint Thomas Aquinas [Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino] (c. ... For other people named Martin Luther see: Martin Luther (disambiguation), or here for Martin Luther King, Jr. ... John Calvin (July 10, 1509 â€“ May 27, 1564) was an important French Christian theologian during the Protestant Reformation and is the namesake of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism. ... Usury (pronounced // or //, from the Latin usuria, demanding in return for a loan a greater amount than was borrowed) was defined originally as charging a fee for the use of money. ... The Gospel of Thomas, completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, is a list of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus. ... The Q document or Q (Q for German Quelle, source) is a postulated lost textual source for the Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke. ...

Love

The final antithesis is on the subject of love. It begins by making a now famous quotation from Leviticus - love thy neighbour - Leviticus 19:18. Technically this quotation says love thy neighbour as thyself, but Matthew neglects to include the latter portion, reducing its force, although several people think this is intended to refer to how Jews at the time commonly left out this portion in their interpretation of the command. Matthew continues the quote to state that it includes hate thine enemy, which is not actually part of the command in Leviticus, though neighbour was interpreted in the first century to refer to fellow Jews rather than everyone. To hate one's enemies is however a sentiment expressed in some Old Testament verses such as the vengeful Psalm 137, and also in some of the rules of the Qumran community. Antithesis (Greek for setting opposite, from anti = against and thesis = position) means a direct contrast or exact opposition to something. ... A cartoonish version of the heart, a frequent modern symbol of love Love has several different meanings in the English language, from something that gives a little pleasure (I loved that meal) to something for which one would die (patriotism, pair-bonding). ... Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, also the third book in the Torah (five books of Moses). ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Qumran (Khirbet Qumran) is located on a dry plateau on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. ...

After having made the quotation, the antithesis then goes on to contradict it by instructing people to love thine enemy. Although many Christians view this as an introduction not present in prior religions, this is not the case, and although the exact wording does not appear, there are many examples in prior Jewish texts, in Stoicism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Early church thinkers saw this as one of Jesus' most important teachings, but the history of the early church shows that very few church fathers actually lived up to the literal ideal it espouses. By the Middle Ages, the verse had become seen as problematic in regard to war, and so it was re-interpreted so as to only apply to relations between individuals rather than those between nations, countries, faiths, or ideologies. Several later thinkers rejected this view as a blatant attempt to re-write things that one disagreed with rather than accept that it contradicts ones own stance at face value, and Leo Tolstoy specifically read this verse as a rejection of militant nationalism. This does not however mean that those later thinkers approved of the sentiment of the verse, and Nietzsche rejected the command entirely, arguing that love of one's enemies is weakness and dishonesty. Stoicism is a school of philosophy commonly associated with such Greek philosophers as Zeno of Citium, Cleanthes, or Chrysippus and with such later Romans as Cicero, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus. ... Buddhism (PÄli Buddhadhamma or Sanskrit Buddhadharma) is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, SiddhÄrtha Gautama, who lived in the 5th century BCE. Buddhism spread throughout the ancient Indian sub-continent in the five centuries following his death, and propagated into Central, Southeast, and... Taoism (sometimes written as Daoism) is the English name for: (a) a philosophical school based on the texts the Dao De Jing (ascribed to Laozi) and the Zhuangzi. ... The Church Fathers or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian church, particularly those of the first five centuries of Christian history. ... Leo Tolstoy, pictured late in life Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (helpÂ· info) (Russian: Ð›ÐµÐ² ÐÐ¸ÐºÐ¾Ð»Ð°ÌÐµÐ²Ð¸Ñ‡ Ð¢Ð¾Ð»ÑÑ‚Ð¾ÌÐ¹; commonly referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy) (September 9, 1828 â€“ November 20, 1910, N.S.; August 28, 1828 â€“ November 7, 1910, O.S.) was a Russian novelist, social reformer, pacifist, Christian anarchist, vegetarian, moral thinker and... // Nationalism is an ideology that holds that (ethnically or culturally defined) nations are the fundamental units for human social life, and makes certain cultural and political claims based upon that belief; in particular, the claim that the nation is the only legitimate basis for the state, and that each nation... Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900) was a highly influential German philosopher. ...

Love here has a much more restricted sense than the normal English term. Greek considered there to be four quite different forms of love, having a word for each, all of which we now translate as love:

Agape, the word translated as love in the instruction love thine enemy, is referred to some 140 times in the New Testament, and so its meaning is the focus of some debate. That it appears elsewhere in Greek use tends not to influence the arguments. Barclay translates it as continued benevolence, Tertullian viewed it as referring to charity, and ancient philosophers used it in a sense of universal, all encompassing love, like a lust for life, and like philanthropy. This kind of love had a high priority in early Christianity, and the ritual of the love feast was viewed as one of the most important. Enemies is also a broad term, and it applies to all manner of foes and adversaries, and so several commentators have sought to restrict it only to non-Christians, to make it have the the sense that one should love converting non-Christians to Christianity, though this advocation is not supported as its meaning by scholars. AgapÄ“ (written Î±Î³Î¬Ï€Î· in the Greek alphabet, and pronounced or ), is one of several Greek words meaning love. ... Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicized as Tertullian, (ca. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Agape feast was the Eucharistic celebration of the early Christians. ...

After having made the commandment to love thine enemy, the antithesis launches into a metaphor of the weather, describing how God treats both friend and enemy the same. Although in wetter and more northern societies, rain is often viewed as unpleasant, in mediterranean society it was seen as positive, and so here stating that God rains upon friend and enemy alike would have been interpreted as a positive equality not a negative one. The prominent Rabbi Joshua ben Nehemiah had made similar note of rain's equal treatment of the good and the wicked, and saw it as a sign of God's benevolence, and likewise Seneca, a Greek philosopher of the time, also has a very similar discussion of how nature aids both the good and the wicked, and so the metaphor espoused in Matthew was nothing new, though regarded as important. Fundamentalists are often uncomfortable with the commandment to love thine enemy, and so have attempted to reinterpret the weather metaphor as only applying on a physical not spiritual level. Seneca has several significant meanings: Seneca the Elder Seneca the Younger Seneca tribe Seneca crater Seneca (plant) Seneca College, Toronto, Ontario Places in the United States of America: Seneca, Pennsylvania Seneca, South Carolina Seneca, Wisconsin Seneca County, New York Seneca, New York Seneca Lake Seneca Falls (village), New York Senecaville...

The antithesis adds a further allegorical reference to a malign group of people that ought to still be treated well, which in Mark is identified as tax collectors (sometimes translated as publicans), though Luke makes no identification. The tax collecters referred to were Jews employed by the Romans who went around collecting taxes on their behalf, sometimes even extortioning further funds, and consequently were seen by other Jews as traitors, and criminals, much like debt collectors and some bailiffs are today. These hence were viewed as the lowest of the low, and being no better than them was considered a terrible insult. Nevertheless, some ancient manuscripts have heathen or gentile instead of tax collector, and rely on xenophobia and religious bigotry to make the same point, hence attacking these same prejudices. The basic argument of the allegory is that even these supposedly malignant individuals love their friends and family, and so if one only loves those who are close to you, you can be no better than them, hence one should love enemies so as not to be dragged down to their level. A Bailiff in a United States courtroom Bailiff (from Late Latin bajulivus, adjectival form of bajulus) is a governor or custodian; cf. ... The word Gentile from the Latin gentilis, can either be a translation of the Hebrew Goy/×’×•×™ or of the Hebrew word Nochri/× ×›×¨×™. In the most common modern use it refers to the former being derived from the Latin term gens (meaning clan or a group of families) and it is... Look up xenophobia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A bigot is a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own. ...

This antithesis, and the whole collection of antitheses, ends at this point with a simple instruction:

This is known as the imitatio Dei - the imitation of God - and also appears in Luke's Sermon on the Plain. It originates in the holiness code's fundamental command to be holy because God is holy, although it is quite plausible that it entered Luke and Matthew by first going via the Q document. Even though many outside observers would assume that it was completely obvious, there is some debate in Christian circles about what exactly this verse means, since many view being as perfect as God something of a complete impossibility. Some Christians believe that this is deliberate on Jesus' part, that the purpose is not what it seems at first but instead a goal is being set that cannot be reached in order to teach people humility, though others interpret it for what it appears to be - that the pursuit of perfection is important, even if the attainment of it impossible. Like many Protestants, Fowler has proposed that it is merely a limited form of perfection being sought - that Abraham and Noah are referred to as perfect due to their obedience to God, and hence that this imitatio Dei is an instruction to be completely obedient to God. Conversely, other Protestants, such as Barclay, consider that since Greek philosophers used telios - the word here translated as perfect - to refer to things that fulfilled their function, that the imitatio Dei is an instruction to love (agape), as the preceding discussion implies this is mankind's function. Imitatio dei (Latin, imitating god) is a religious concept according to which virtue among man is found by resembling God, to which man should aspire. ... The Sermon on the Plain, said to be by Jesus according to Gospel of Luke 6:17-49, may be compared to the longer Sermon on the Mount. ... The Holiness Code appears at Leviticus 17-26, and is so called due to its highly repeated use of the word Holy. ... The Q document or Q (Q for German Quelle, source) is a postulated lost textual source for the Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke. ... It has been suggested that Abraham (Hebrew Bible) be merged into this article or section. ... Noahs Ark, FranzÃ¶sischer Meister (The French Master), Magyar SzÃ©pmÃ¼vÃ©szeti MÃºzeum, Budapest. ...

Contents

Adherence to the law

Specialised focuses

Murder

Adultery

Divorce

Oaths

Punishment

Love

See also

References

Contents

Adherence to the law GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Specialised focuses

Murder

Adultery

Divorce

Oaths

Punishment

Love

See also

References

Adherence to the law