'The rich will rot in hell'

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This is, paraphrased, what Jesus said: the rich will not enter the Kingdom.
How come there are so many wealthy 'christians' then?
I saw them in church in the past (now I don't bother).

Deceased rich 'christians' must now be in the presence of, for example, Osama then.

When you think about it being wealthy just means somewhere along the line other people are picking up the tab, all the way to the bottom of the the totem pole being the people making $2.00 a day working long hours in hellish conditions.

Religion is THE method of keeping the rabble under control. The rich understand this very well since ancient times.

All religions glorify the poor and preach the virtue of giving away your stuff... while their priests and religious leaders swim in material wealth beyond that of the poor they preach to.

There would be both rich and poor in Hell. You don't need to have a certain level of income to be on the highway to Hell.

Can NOBODY be bothered to check the data?

Exhibit A from chapter 19 of the Gospel of Matthew:

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Exhibit B from chapter 10 of the Gospel of Mark:

Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into yhe kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the
kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves,
Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but
not with God: for with God all things are possible.

Exhibit C from chapter 12 of the Gospel of Luke:

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth
plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build
greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul,
thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, [and] be merry. But God said unto him, [Thou] fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So [is] he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

I will stop there though one could belabor the point. IF you take the time to check your facts, it is clear there is no bar against those with cash. BUT wealth can be a hindrance, leading onde to prefer goods to GOOD and to rely on the things of THIS world rather than that, so choosing [because damnation IS free will choice, efective for once] to look into the Cave rather than out at the light.

Maybe phililogos is with one foot in the grave and feeling bad about his future, but Jesus is clear: Rich people are bad people.
It's the same with Buddha by the way. Univversal message.

You can only become rich in a dishonest way.

Jesus was a commie!

Et tu?

a. my feet hurt these days but neither is in the grave [we are in any case inclining toward cremation and my grandma and favorite uncle were just scatterd in Puget Sound].

b. if the rich are damned I am definitely safe.

c. READ the scriptures - even without self-serving commentary Jesus does NOT say either that rich people are bad or that poor people are good. If you have read and persist you join the ranks of the stupid and passe, if you fail to read you have not the mind of a scientist but of a politician, not of a scholar but of an intellectual [I know few greater insults].

d. Without completely rewiring normal definitions you cannot make "You can only become rich in a dishonest way" stick. All property is theft is NOT normal definition and I will bet you own SOMETHING.

e. Commies did not exist. There is no evidence that Jesus was a communist [differentiate commie] though for a while his followers were.

Philologos said it. I don't think there's a quote where he said "They can't go to heaven". He said those who let their riches blind their faith will not enter the kingdom of God. So, if you're rich and still very pius, there isn't a problem. But it's very unlikely a rich person wouldn't take advantage of his "earthly things".

ruveyn - I have had a few deaths myself, maybe not so many - I have not counted and do not feel like it - and I have not with my own hands washed and buried any human [a few beasties more human than certain former colleagues.

You ask, though, what I know. I will not tell you what I believe nor what I think, I will tell you what I know.

My best friend C dies [FAR too young, accursed tobacco]. She is to longer in reach of phone, mail, e-mail, nor personal visit. For the rest my life I will not get to talk to her. She is as nonexistent for practical purposes as Obama.

My almost equally great but different friend M does not die. She moves to Arumia, where for psychosocial reasons I am not at liberty to discuss she is to longer in reach of phone, mail, e-mail, nor personal visit. For the rest my life I will not get to talk to her. She is as nonexistent for practical purposes as Palin.

I do not KNOW C is not resurrected or living ELSEWHERE. I do not KNOW M did not die last August [hope not, but I have no data].

From the point of view of practical interaction - no, they do not exist.

But I tell you - the way I work, the people who become part of me do NOT disappear. My wife mourns that Number 1 Son is so far away, visits so seldom. To my psyche, he is just in the other room. Been there a long time and he's pretty quiet. But he is present to me.

So are C and M. There is a large probability that M is in fact alive, well, happy in the suburbs or Arumia. I hope so. Don't know, but hey. There is a considerable body of theory - some based in part on what passes for evidence in mainstream science, though much is not - that suggests that C is in fact alive, swell, happy yon side the Divide. I hope so. I do NOT know - but hey.

Given the data, it is highly probable this will only confirm what you have altready long concluded.

But you asked what I KNEW.

Counted on my fingers. I think my current score is 14 - but it is not a contest.