Gouge out your eye: What if Jesus actually meant what he said?
Matthew 5:29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
This will probably shock you: I believe that Jesus meant it literally when he said that. But wait, please. Do not call me a fundamentalist, or heartless, or a wooden literalist, before you hear the rest:
It is not the thief’s hands that make him stumble.
It is not the liar’s tongue that make him stumble.
It is not the fornicator’s eyes, which saw someone he now lusts after, that make him stumble. Nor is it his genitals, her dress or her body. (more…)