Does Matthew 6 mean what it says?

[jmowreader]

The Fundamentalist would say so. To the Fundamentalist, the Bible is absolute.

Unfortunately, most Fundamentalists either don't know Matthew 6 is in there, or they don't care.

They know Matthew 6.9-13; that's the Lord's Prayer. Every Christian knows that.

Matthew 6 is the chapter that admonishes the faithful to go into their rooms and lock the doors before they pray.

But does it really MEAN that? Did St. Matthew really spend all this time telling people not to pray in front of others? I don't think he did, especially when there are passages about making joyful noises for the Lord, and going to church, and other things that can't be done if you're hiding in the closet praying to God in the hopes that one of Caesar's soldiers won't see you and have you dragged off to a pit full of lions.

What I think he's really saying is, do the things that are right BECAUSE they are right, not because you'll get rewarded if you do.

Donate to the soup kitchen because they'll be able to buy food with the money, not because your name will be in the next soup kitchen newsletter.

Volunteer to build the playground at the elementary school so children can play, not so you can get your picture in the paper.

Do right because it's right.

Edited because DCForum and Scriptural notation don't get along together

[DawgHouse]

1. I think it means you shouldn't be self-righteous.

[necso]

2. In the Lounge?

I think that yours is a reasonable interpretation, but I also think that the literal interpretation is correct. Because if one keeps one's displays of formal "religiosity" confined to private places, then one's adherence to his religion can only be judged by the public (that is, in public) based on one's other acts (than these formal acts).

So if you want to be publicly seen as a good Christian, then you must act as a good Christian in public, but in ways other than praying, etc.

I can also read an admonition against self-righteousness and showiness here.

And I'd go so far as to see a reference to acting anonymously when performing Christian acts. For one must consider the cultural baseline when examining a document (or whatever), because there can be a part of the necessary context that the writer leaves out -- leaves out because it is a commonplace and the baseline -- and he is not spelling out the baseline, but rather what is different or new or distinct.

...

In the old days people had little or nothing. And if they were going to entertain themselves (and each other) and thus ease the burden of life, then largely they had to turn to each other.

And one of the things that they did was use language to entertain themselves. Poems, allegory, stories, imagery, jokes, speech (text) that can be understood in different ways (in particular depending on how much the "viewer" understood of some greater thing or "message"), all these sorts of things and more provided entertainment for people.

Besides, the more time that you spend thinking about something (in the context of the greater message or not) the closer that you bring it to you... and, perhaps, the better you understand it.

But it's important to remember the larger message and the larger example when considering any piece of the NT -- and one must not rule out the possibility that something that seems contradictory to the overall message is intended to shock a little bit (as in "being out of character") and to get one to look for how this bit can be interpreted in a manner consistent with the larger.

...

Let me clarify.

I don't think that this passage says never, ever pray in public, but rather pray (perform formal religious acts) when alone or with others who are doing the same -- and this generally where there is no other public -- and never for the purposes of display.

Moreover, where this takes one -- expect to be primarily judged by acts other than formal religious ones (by man, by God) -- is the key point that the literal interpretation takes one to.

[EstimatedProphet]

3. Matthew 6:1-8

says basically not to act like hypocrites, and defines hypocrites as those that:
1)give to the poor, and "trumpet about it", i.e. make sure everyone knows that they give to the poor
2) pray loudly in the streets, so that everyone knows that they are praying, and thinks they are pious
3)pray repetitively, so that they can fill up space.

Note that televangelists and rightwing fundamentalist politicians break all three of these rules.

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. It means do it quietly, and not loudly; that is, not to draw attention

to yourself.

The hypocrites were praying loudly not to be pious, but so people would say "Wow - he's really praying."

Like Oprah, who gives away money so that she can constantly talk about how much money she gives away.

Give money, but don't make a ruckus about it. And don't play the bullshit "But I give more to this church than anyone else, so my way should reign!" If that's the case, then, sorry, but we don't want your money at all.

it's not against public prayer in any way; it's against doing a religious act in a way that it draws attention to yourself, not to God.

[NMMNG]

5. This is yet another passage fundies blatantly ignore

In fact, I wonder if they read the Gospels at all, for I rarely hear them spouting the words of Jesus. Rather they spew mostly the words of Paul and Moses, with a few words from other places of the Old Testament. Jesus was far too liberal and forgiving for those hate-mongers. He also preached too much about loving thy neighbor, being meek and giving to the poor, which they want nothing to do with.

[RevCheesehead]

6. Matthew 6 is part of the Sermon on the Mount.

Chapters 5-7 are the whole thing.

In this particular passage, jesus is talking about prayer; but overall, the sermon encompasses the entire Christian ethic: love of God, neighbor, and enemy; care for the poor, prayer, fasting, judging others, self-deception, and admonishion to be doers, and not just hearers of the word.

IMO, the fundies need to read more of Chapter 7.

[RoyGBiv]

7. Matthew 6 is the root of my philosophy ...

... in a lot of things.

Explaining that in detail would in fact betray a great deal of it. Posting in this thread is not a good thing for me to do, in my own view of myself, but I'm doing it ... I hope it is because it may help or inspire others.

Suffice to say, for the sake of discussion, that I live my life in such a way so that I seek to improve the lives of others and thereby improve the lives of all people, myself included. The details aren't important. I might give someone a star on DU. Someone might arrive home one night and find a pizza delivery person waiting for them. A person who really likes flowers might find him or herself the owner of a garden tended by people who never reveal their employer. Someone might go to pay their electric bill and be told they don't owe anything. Someone might walk out to his or her car after work and find a note on the windshield that says, simply, "Hello! You are a good person, and you made my life better today just by being here." It's subtle, perhaps not even relevant to anything that actually happened, but the person who reads it will feel joy.

I or others who may want to do these things should desire no reward or recognition. These things get done because they should get done. Who does them is not important, least of all to those who find themselves able to stay warm or smile or to eat or to live another day simply because someone cared.

Anyone who needs recognition doesn't really get it, nor deserve it.

[China_cat]

8. Read it again.

Matthew is citing that passage as the words of Jesus in regard to hypocrites.

Jesus' words. Remind the fundies of that next time they try to tell you it doesn't mean what it says. They'll find it in red in their pristine holy book that they'd rather thump than read.