@hawkeye10,
Hi, hawkeye10.
Sorry I've taken so long to respond. I've been busier than usual today.
Quote:Were you one of the disciples in a previous life?
Not exactly, nope.
At this point I should let you know what my own point of view is so you'll better understand me. I am a Christian and a believer in the scriptures, which means that I rely upon the Gospels (the first four books of the New Testament) for information about the life of Jesus. I realize that believing the Bible is an unpopular position here at A2K, and I understand and accept that. Incidentally, at one point in my life I was an agnostic; and previous to that time, I left my parents' denomination and never went back. My point is simply that I wasn't brainwashed in some way by my parents, whose own spiritual convictions turned out to not be very strong in the long run. (I'm not dissing my parents; I loved them dearly and recognize that I owe them a lot.)
Where was I?
Oh, yeah ... What is the relevance to this neverending thread? I was simply pointing out to JG that there's a difference between righteous anger and the sort of anger he shouldn't engage in. Jesus sometimes became angry over the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of the day, but never resorted to personal insults such as "retard" and "jackass." He would point out specific sins of his adversaries, such as hypocrisy and engaging in vain worship. On two separate occasions he drove moneychangers out of the Temple because they were profaning the Temple by conducting business in the Temple precincts and because they were defrauding their fellow Jews by engaging in dishonest business practices. He physically drove them out of the Temple because they no doubt would not have left quietly had they been asked to leave. Don't know if that makes any sense. I'm rushed as I write this.