Matthew 5:39

[sadbear]

Am I right?

[handmade34]

1. maybe...

All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on mere fundamentals is a surrender. For it is all give and no take. Gandhi

[blondeatlast]

2. Ooh--tough call, actually. I'm in favor of trying it, though. nt

[Clio the Leo]

3. And MY personal favorite: Romans 12:17-21

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

[phasma ex machina]

6. Loving your enemies is actually quite powerful. It's a discipline. The battle rages within one's own

self.

[ShockediSay]

7. I believe loving one's enemies means praying for them

so that God can do the rest.

God knocked Saul of Tsarsus off his horse, who turned into none other than St Paul.
Acts Ch 9

Turning one's other cheek is simple, but just how many cheeks does one have?

[Geoff R. Casavant]

9. I think it means more than that

Recall the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is intended to describe who our neighbor is, that we are commanded to love as we love ourselves.

There is a reason a Samaritan was chosen to be the giver of compassion -- the Jews at the time regarded Samaritans with about as much goodwill as a Klansman would regard an African-American, or a teabagger would hold a Muslim.

And keep in mind that the Samaritan did much more than pray -- he bound the injured man's wounds, carried him to an inn on his horse, and pre-paid his room with a promise to make up any difference on his return trip. There is no mention that he later asked the man to pay him back.

That is the challenge of loving your neighbor.

[Kalyke]

10. But St. Paul remained a prick.

It's his writings that demean women.

I hated when his letter was read. UGH.

[jwirr]

8. I actually think this is what President Obama is often doing when

he reaches out over the aisle to the other side. Because implied in this passage is an innocence for the one who reaches and a quilt for the one who will not respond. And politically that works. They get the blame as the party of no. It is why I don't get so mad at him. However sometimes he holds his hand out too long and they try to bite it off.

[provis99]

4. 1 Samuel 5:9.

The best line in the Bible.

well, 1 Samuel 25:34 is pretty good, too.

[H2O Man]

5. about what?