To quote Santayana again, “The Bible is literature, not dogma.” But having accepted Jesus as messiah and the author of the Christian faith—Christ is Greek, meaning anointed just as messiah is Hebrew in the same context—the first thing you have to understand is that he didn’t intend to establish a new religion, certainly not one that replaced Judaism.
Matthew 5:17-20 makes this indelibly clear: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
The same is true of Paul. He did not mean to divest Judaism or Mosaic Law, just actualize its spiritual context. It wasn’t until the 4th century following the Council of Nicaea that the church began to “de-Judaize” the faith.
One only has to continue with Matthew 5:21 through chapter 7 to make this conclusion. Jesus presented a new perspective from which to live, free of dogma and ritual. Examples are abundant.
Yet, Luke 6:20-49 makes a more concise formula. If Christians took the time to read the passage, they might begin to comprehend what their faith is about. Beginning with the Beatitudes—a misnomer if there ever was one—the conduct of modern Christians exposes hypocrisy. Most priests and pastors stop after the “blessed be” admonitions, ignoring the most critical: “Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”
Christians tend to cry “woe is me” when they are persecuted, their faith challenged. The 1st amendment gives them the right to be Christian, but the faithful have always lived with that liberty. A reminder: “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.” [John 15:18-25]
If they stop there, they completely ignore the “woe to you” passages. Verse 24: “…woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” The Rich Man and Lazarus adequately illustrates the warning, yet evangelicals swear by the prosperity gospel, assuring people that they can have riches and salvation as well. Luke 16:13: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” The Aramaic word refers to money, wealth, and the means of becoming wealthy in the pursuit of greed. The literal context is material security, which prosperity theology promises.
I have never heard them quote verse 26, either: “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
Beginning with verse 27 through 36, many Christians I have encountered simply roll their eyes.
“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.”
Verse 30 especially hurts their sensibilities: “Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.” This circles around to the concept of mammon.
“And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Highest. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore, be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
The last bears repeating: “He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore, be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” That always brings Romans 12:17-21: “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is [God’s], I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”
That last one pretty much excludes bombing abortion clinics and lynching blacks and gays.
The point is that Christian ethics pretty much ignore the ideals dictated by their faith. Continuing with Luke 6:37: “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
The next verse is always taken out of context to justify prosperity gospel: “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
The context (derived from the previous verse) is judgment, condemnation, and forgiveness. It takes a wild imagination to jump from that to assurances of material substance. The “good measure” in this case does not refer to volume—the Greek is meter, referring to a staff. In an aside, it parallels the “rod” in Proverbs 13:24. The Hebrew describes a staff or measure. In that case, the “rod” is the law of Moses, not a paddle. Those who obey the law are rewarded with salvation.
In fact, the prosperity mentioned in the bible refers to the church itself. This is profoundly illustrated in Acts 2:42-47: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
Of course, they tend to deny verses 44 & 45 since it describes communism: “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.”
We’ll just skip ahead to Luke 6:46-49: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."
In summary, modern Christianity and its ethics is built on sand.