I've always been fascinated by the idea of Q, that there was a document containing a list of the things that Jesus had said during his lifetime. And I've always been sympathetic to the idea, because it just seems logical to me that people would remember the things that charismatic teachers said and then collect and write them down at some point. The fact that they appear in other religious traditions, such as the Analects for Confucius and the Dhammapada for the Buddha, reinforces the idea for me. I also see references to the process in the Secret Book of James: "The twelve disciples were all sitting together, recalling what the savior had said to each of them, whether in a hidden or open manner, and organizing it into books." Perhaps we could dispute the details, that some or all of the disciples could not write and perhaps there was also a scribe, but the general idea of remembering, organizing and writing down the things your teacher had said seems pretty realistic to me.
I've been reading a bit about skepticism about Q, and the alternative explanation that Luke copies out of Matthew and gets the apparent Q material from there. My question would be, when Matthew writes his gospel and copies most of Mark, where is he getting everything else, namely the sayings that have in the past been attributed to Q. I framed my question about the beatitudes because that has always felt like the authentic voice of Jesus, but my question would extend to all the sayings from in Matthew but not in Mark. Are they just a literary invention of Matthew? Is my image of Jesus as one who is deeply concerned about the plight of the poor (Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God) something that Matthew has created?
This episode emphasized the material view of the Beatitudes and the episode gave me a more nuanced and radical view of them. I thought it was a very good listen!
>Blessed are the poor in spirit,
>for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
>Blessed are those who mourn,
>for they will be comforted.
>Blessed are the meek,
>for they will inherit the Earth.
>Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
>for they will be satisfied.
>Blessed are the merciful,
>for they will be shown mercy.
>Blessed are the pure in heart,
>for they will see God.
>Blessed are the peacemakers,
>for they will be called the Sons of God.
>Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
>for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
>Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
>Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Who is poorer in spirit, than the meanest spirit trapped in Hell?
Who mourns as deeply and completely as those mired in the abyss?
Who are the eternally meek, but those tortured and taught by the eternal flame?
Where is there greater thirst and hunger, than in that dark and sulfurous pit?
Mercy, purity of heart, and peace...when a soul is cast into the fires of judgement, do opportunities to express these divine characteristics completely cease? Then sinners trapped in hell have achieved perfect expression of those three; Mercy, purity, peace.
Therefore by the promise of Christ; they will be shown mercy, they will see God, and they will be welcomed as Sons. As the prodigal Son ever was.
Blessed are you when God Himself persecutes you because of His own eternal Righteous, for yours shall be the Kingdom of Heaven.
Rejoice and be glad, you sinners in the hands of an angry Father.
You burn now with the flames of condemnation. Even now the mouths of angels speak detractions against you, because they falsely say that Christ's redemption cannot contain you.
Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is in Heaven. For in the same way, they persecuted Satan.
Amen
/mnt/sermon
Now when Father Bitcoin saw the crowds gathering on the greens of the rebounding market, he went up to the top of the market cap and sat down. His believers came to him, and he began teaching them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in fiat, for theirs is the kingdom of crypto.
Blessed are those who mourn the dips, for they will be comforted by long term gains.
Blessed are those who DCA through bear markets, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for deeper bags, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the whales who tip Moons, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the portfolios pure in non-shitcoins, for they will see lambos.
Blessed are the long term hodl'ers, for they will be called the sons of Satoshi.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of early adoption, for theirs is the kingdom of crypto.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in gains.
