Paul Rosenberg – There’s one particular line in the Bible that is conspicuously shunned. It sits openly in Luke’s gospel, but it is nearly always glossed over… mentioned briefly and grudgingly at best.
On one hand, I condemn this on grounds of intellectual honesty, but on the other, I can very well understand why people run away from it. Believing this line would turn anyone into a radical, and that could be dangerous… and indeed it has been dangerous.
Today I will be ill-mannered enough to address this line. But first, please understand that Luke records these words as coming from Jesus’ mouth. That’s a fact, and no amount of evasion will change it.
Here It Is
The verse I’m referring to is found in Luke 16:15 of the New Testament, and here’s how it reads in the King James translation:
… that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
For comparison’s sake, here’s how the more modern Revised Standard Version renders it: