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NASB | Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God]--he cannot be My disciple. |
Bible Question: How do I answer an atheist who is always taunting Christians on another forum with this verse telling them that they must hate their father, mother and family in order to be one of Christ's disciples? Telling him that it's not meant to be literal doesn't satisfy him. Also, "sell all that you own and come and follow Me." I am at a loss for an effective way to answer him. It's not him that concerns me. It's the lurkers who read the forum and those whose faith isn't stablished yet, and those who are seeking the Truth. |
Bible Answer: Welcome to the Forum, LibertyBelle. You have two issues here. They can be answered, but you must realize that the proper answers will not change the heart of the non-believer. Only God can change hearts. This person's future rests entirely in the hands of God. Thus, no amount of persuasion will make one iota of difference. Think of it this way: Even if you convince a lost skeptic, perhaps they will no longer be a skeptic, but they will still be lost. Salvation is a gift of God. Our responsibility is not to save people, it is to present the truth of the Gospel as faithfully as possible. God brings forth the fruit. Regarding Luke 14:26, this verse is a favorite among atheists to use as a taunt as you have described. Interestingly enough, those same atheists will criticize people who "take the Bible literally" (as though there is any other way to take it, but that's another post). Of course, they are hoist with their own petard on this, because even the most stridently literalistic believer understands figurative language. If we take that scripture literally, it would violate all the other places where Christ seems to say the opposite. Even secular teachers know how to stay consistent, for goodness sake! The word "hate" in Luke 14:26 is the use of a figure of speech known as hyperbole. You might ask the atheist if he understands this term. I'm sure if you look at enough of his own writing you will see that he uses that technique himself. Hyperbole is also called "extreme language." Abraham Rihbany, author of "The Syrian Christ," explains that the use of "hate" in the Bible is an example of linguistic extreme in an Eastern culture. There is no word for "like" in Arabic. He says, "To us Orientals the only word which can express and cordial inclination of approval is 'love'." So, they use extreme terms even to describe casual relationships. Regarding the phrase "sell all that you own and come and follow me," that is from the story of the "rich young ruler" as recorded in Matthew 19, Mark 10, and Luke 18. What your atheist acquaintance is doing is fooling you by getting you to accept a logical fallacy. It is a fallacy rooted in a verbal sleight-of-hand, trying to get you to treat an induction as a deduction. In common parlance we call this over-generalization. This advice was meant for the rich young ruler. If scripture intended all believers to follow this example, there would be a command to that effect. One has to be careful of not turning a particular into a generality. I would suggest that you spend some time studying logical fallacies. (Of course, don't neglect the study of the Word!) You will find people making these errors all over the place. (I know, I sometimes make them myself!) But you will also find people taking advantage of our ignorance of formal rhetoric for their own purposes. Of course, at that point, they have admitted that they cannot win an argument without trickery. Arguments won that way are incredibly feeble victories! God bless you as you seek to be a good witness for our Lord! |