OleManOz

Q4. (Matthew 11:12; Luke 16:16) Admittedly, this is a hard passage to interpret. However, if you take the "forceful" or "violent" people as seekers who are doing whatever it takes to press into the Kingdom, then what is Jesus teaching us here about the nature of the Kingdom?[/font] I felt better about this question after looking up Strong's number G971 (the Strong's reference used in this verse for the word "violence" which refers you to G970) From G970; to force, that is, (1)(reflexively) to crowd oneself (into), or (2)(passively) to be seized: - press, suffer violence. I feel comfortable applying definition 1 (reflexive), to crowd oneself (into) because the word "violent" seems a bad fit when speaking of Christian activities. Whereas "to crowd oneself into" is more gentle but still aggressive in the sense that you want to fit in with the mass of folks that want to take John's road to eternal peace and are willing to be pushed and shoved a bit in the crowd to accomplish the feat. Definition 2 (Passive) explains the violence as being something done to you (i.e.-pushing and shoving) which is more acceptable than actually being violent in order to gain entrance to heaven. E.g. "I'm getting to heaven if I have to kill someone" just won't work.

We must bow to the desires of Him who owns us.

ADDITIONALLY, a day later Q3. Why is animal sacrifice repulsive to modern people? How much of this has to do with a city vs. a farming way of life? Farm folk raise their own chickens, pigs and/or beef. They slaughter the animals and their children help with any little chores they might be able to perform so they are initiated into the process and become numb to any feelings of attachment or mercy as regards the animals. We city folk do not have any such experiences to prepare us for such an event so it attacks our tender feelings with brute force. To us, animals are pets or things to be protected, not hit over the head with a sledge.

To preface my story I must state that I am much older than most of you. When I was about 12 years old (in the mid to late 40's) my mother and brother and I were walking home from the neighborhood theater. As we were crossing a usually busy street (not so busy at 10pm) I noticed that our cat had showed up and was starting to follow us home. As she was crossing the street a car came along and flattened her. I had to walk past that cat for several days on my way to school. I saw parts of my cat that I hoped never to see. It was a mess. I think that was when my stomach started to turn every time I saw such a sight and it has stayed with me to this day. The folks on the farm usually raise most of their own food such as chickens, pigs and cattle. They also slaughter their own livestock. A country kid soon becomes conditioned to such sights. Attending sacrificial rites would not bother them in the least. I would avoid such ceremonies because every slaughtered beast would remind me of my cat. OleManOz