Jesus’ Allegorical Eye and it’s Rejection

[jennifer_bloom]

If you know me you know I cope with difficult verses by viewing them as allegory so that I can continue to obey God when a literal understanding of His word does not make sense

Jesus said if your eye causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away because it’s better you go to heaven blind in one eye than to have two eyes and go to hell

some men deal with that verse by avoiding malls and social media fearing the sight of attractive woman will arouse lust and sexual fantasy in them

some people avoid watching a video when a ted talks come only and choose only to listen to the sound out of a fear the sight of the person will bias them against the speaker

some refuse entertaining people who make them jealous or bitter so they can avoid sinning against them

my understanding is different. To me the eye is a symbol for judgment.

Better you do not know what is evil from what is good than that you, after knowing what is evil, react with vindictiveness and condemnation towards the evil doer.

To me knowledge of evil should be on experiential repulsion and emotional dissimilarity and proactive self control

Discernment of evil should NOT be based on combative aggression and bolstered hostility and violence - whether pragmatic violence through procedural neglect and transgression or mental violence through fantasies of revenge

This is why Jesus said to be careful how you listen to others

because there is a huge difference between somebody who listens to a word and interprets it through a carnal lens

And somebody who listens to the exact same word but interprets it through a spiritual lens

Likewise there is a difference between somebody who blows up a word by exposing it to the extremities of literalism

And somebody who shrewdly contextualizes and neutralizes the offence by rationalizing an explanation or sympathetic bias towards the person producing offensive language or action

So to me the eye is a symbol for the two humanities

the evil humanity of humanistic cultural idolatry

and the good humanitarianism of patience and peace

Not just the object but also the intention of the eye that evaluates that quality

[Myk13]

A very interesting take. It makes sense to me.

[Jude_Wills]

Nice take

[jgokgotit]

Jesus also tells us to treat our bodies like God's temple and to treat them with respect. Self-mutilation goes against that. So it is pretty safe to say that the passage about taking out your own eye is allegory. Kind of like me saying "I'm so hungry I can eat an elephant whole". We all know I cannot physically fit an elephant in my belly, yet you would know the meaning of what I am saying. While the Bible is God's word and given and written at God's direction, it was written by human hands. The humans who wrote the books of the Bible wrote the books in contexts that their immediate culture could understand. At the time Jesus lived, it was common practice for people to sever a limb to prevent the spread of disease to the rest of the body. Remember, Jesus is love and does NOT want us to harm ourselves. The bare principles of the Bible are the true points of the Bible, but it is up to us to figure out what is really meant by them. Don't literally feed me an elephant when a plate of chicken will satisfy my hunger just as well.

[purplepoppy]

Explains why you don't see pictures of Jesus wearing sunglasses despite living in a sunny country

[Jjpayne]

Interesting interpretation and observation

[COMMODOREII]

You've been busy with this one huh?

[jennifer_bloom]

I’m always learning new things and revising my ideas