"Jesus was radical nonviolent revolutionary who hung around with lepers, hookers and crooks; wasn't American and never spoke English; was anti-wealth, anti-death penalty, anti-public prayer (Matthew 6:5); but was never anti-gay, never mentioned abortion or birth control, never called poor lazy, never justified torture, never fought for tax cuts for the wealthiest Nazarenes, never asked a leper for a copay; and was a long-haired brown skinned homeless community organizing anti-slut shaming middle eastern Jew".
This article I want to spend addressing the comments by Miley Cyrus herself.
"Jesus was radical nonviolent revolutionary who hung around with lepers, hookers and crooks; wasn't American and never spoke English"
Jesus main language when he was on Earth was Aramaic. Once he returned to heaven, he regained his glory and his divine perogatives he would understand every language on Earth, including English. Obviously he wasn't American and came from the Middle East and even has great concern about the state of American right now.
The reason Jesus hung around with "lepers, hookers and crooks" was not encourage them in their sinful behaviour, but to free them from the bonds of their sinful behaviour. He came to seek and save the lost from sin and grant them a new heart, that's why he hung around with those people.
"was anti-wealth, anti-death penalty, anti-public prayer (Matthew 6:5); but was never anti-gay, never mentioned abortion or birth control"
Cyrus' assertions are without biblical foundation, except for one verse taken out of context. This is what Matthew 6:5 actually says in context:
"6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
There is nothing wrong with public prayer in the right context, what this section is warning about is using prayer to gain the praise of men. Hypocrites did this for show and Christians are not to be like that.
Jesus was not against the death penalty. What Cyrus fails to mention to her audience is Jesus as a Torah observant Jew was not against the death penalty, but did extend his mercy and grace to those who needed it.
Now you may say "What about the adulterous woman?". Yes, Jesus didn't call for her death, but if he did, he would of sinned, because BOTH the adulterer and adulteress had to be stoned as found in Deuteronomy 22:22:
"22 If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel."
The Pharisees as hypocrites were trying to catch Jesus out but failed. They only had the adulteress brought before Jesus and thus were not carrying out the Law. Jesus did show mercy to the adulteress, but also told her not to sin anymore. The NT doesn't call for the death penalty on sinners and doesn't tell Christians to carry it out, as Christ fulfilled the requirements of the Law. However, there is nothing in the NT to say that a secular government cannot enforce the death penalty on criminals for certain crimes.
With respect to Jesus never speaking against homosexuality, read this article here: http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/does-bible-condemn-homosexuality.html
As for the assumption of Jesus never mentioned birth control or abortion, there is a reason, BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT CONDUCTED IN ISRAEL AT THAT TIME. For that matter, abortion is not even a valid form of birth control, but murder.
Just because Jesus was silent on the topic of abortion, that is not automatic approval on his part.
Lastly regarding the subject of wealth, the NT doesn't condemn having it, but certainly condemns loving money more that God:
"Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
"Luke 16:13 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.""
"Luke 6:23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets."
Also in Mark 10:18, Jesus speaks with a ruler telling him to give his possessions away to the poor then follow him, which the man didn't do and Jesus demonstrated in the context that he is to be submitted to above everyone and everything:
"Mark 10:18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’[d]”
20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is[e] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”"
Let's carry on shall we?
Lastly regarding the subject of wealth, the NT doesn't condemn having it, but certainly condemns loving money more that God:
"Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
"Luke 16:13 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.""
"Luke 6:23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets."
Also in Mark 10:18, Jesus speaks with a ruler telling him to give his possessions away to the poor then follow him, which the man didn't do and Jesus demonstrated in the context that he is to be submitted to above everyone and everything:
"Mark 10:18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’[d]”
20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is[e] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”"
Let's carry on shall we?
"never called poor lazy, never justified torture"
The reason Jesus never called the poor in his day lazy was because they actually were poor. So what is her point? As for torture, I don't think Jesus would of looked favourably upon it.
" never fought for tax cuts for the wealthiest Nazarenes, never asked a leper for a copay; and was a long-haired brown skinned homeless community organizing anti-slut shaming middle eastern Jew"
For your information Cyrus, Jesus didn't say that a "slut" could still continue to live as they should. He called "sluts" to repentance, if you want to use the term slut to describe a prostitute. Jesus didn't deal with tax cuts and when asked about taxes, he said:
"Mark 17:16 They brought one. And He said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" And they said to Him, "Caesar's." 17 And Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him."
In other words, you have your duty to God and you have your duty to your government and paying taxes to Caesar or Obama or Cameron is one of the things to do. However this doesn't mean you support the evil they do, but you are to pay your taxes as you should. Jesus wasn't concerned with dealing with tax cuts, he had more pressing matters to deal with, like saving us from our sins. Jesus also never asked lepers for a copay simply because a copayment did not exist in his day or the days of the TANAKH, or what Christians call the Old Testament. Describing Jesus as a homeless person I would say, is inappropriate.
It is my hope that God grants Miley Cyrus repentance from her evil ways and actually comes to know who Jesus or Yeshua is and abandon this sugar-coated Jesus and false gospel which she is pledging herself to.
The apostle Paul warns about following another gospel in the book of Galatians:
"Galatians 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!"
Thanks for reading.
Answering Judaism.
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