Thread by @martyrmade

I've seen @jordanbpeterson push this view and I don't get it. Meek means "quiet, gentle, easily imposed upon, submissive." People object that this seems like a suicidal teaching, apparently forgetting that all of the apostles who followed it were martyred by their enemies.

https://twitter.com/AndrewBeckNYC/status/1429430698415382534

@jordanbpeterson But "the meek shall inherit the earth" is not a command to be meek. You're either meek or you're not. If not, don't mistreat those who are; if others are mistreating them, stand up for them even if it means your death. For according to how you treat the least shall ye be judged.

The word is related to a horse that's been broken. Horses are strong, so you can interpret that as the focus, but I think the rest of the New Testament makes clear that the focus is on being submissive to the will of another.

https://twitter.com/TAdamGroce/status/1429464602870493187

Of course I don't like this. I want to go fight my enemies. I struggle w/this very much, but we should be careful about looking for Biblical interpretations that end up justifying what we already want to do. A v good book from another perspective, though: amazon.com/Resistance-Evi….

Here's my problem. The straightforward meaning is a very hard and uncomfortable thing to accept (one might say it requires faith). We should be skeptical of finding hidden meanings that take all the discomfort out and tells us what we already want to hear.

https://twitter.com/nerosfiddle21/status/1429466316134518784

I don't want "turn the other cheek" to just mean "don't retaliate", but it pretty clearly does mean that. Interpretations that rely on some ancient custom and cause it to carry a hidden insult or reproach are out of keeping w/the rest of the entire message.

Rene Girard pointed out that Christianity itself carries a suicidal element: It's only because of Christian concern for victims that we now look back w/shame on our civilization and disavow our Christian heritage. It's as if Christian morality saws off the branch it's sitting on.

If the Gospels didn't give us the scene of Jesus whipping the money-changers at the Temple, we'd have no hope at all. But you can't square that episode with the idea that we should just lay down and let evil run rampant.

This is good, but consider the rest of the passage. Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the persecuted, the insulted, the slandered... It seems out of place to include "meek" if it means "a total badass, but one who exercises good judgment."

https://twitter.com/QuasLacrimas/status/1429474852025606159

A polite, but thorough criticism of JBP's claims on the meaning of "meek" and Matthew 5:5. It's worth a read. I'm saying all this as someone who would love to agree w/his interpretation. But my eagerness is exactly what makes me uncomfortable with it. quillette.com/2018/06/25/wha…

We're talking about the same Book that instructs us to "love your enemy." Is there a more radical demand? A more uncomfortable and off-putting requirement? It's a total inversion of everything that comes naturally to us, yet there it is. So why wouldn't meek just mean meek?

Very good point.

https://twitter.com/Tierra_Y_Cielo/status/1429479518264299524

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, pray for them that spitefully use you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven."

I don't like this either, but I don't see how we interpret our way around it.

Anyway, I gotta get to work. Trying to finish up the MartyrMade episode that's got me thinking about this. Gave me lots to think about on a Sunday morning. 🙏

And I do have my own answer to this, or at least one I'm working toward. But I'll share it later. Peace be with you (and also with your spirit) *dingalingaling*.