[HitmanLV]

"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:24)

Now that's a ringing endorsement for material overachieving if I ever read one! ;-)

[tcostell]

Respectfully, the only one who said anything about material success was you. It's true that many people think that material success is the only success, and in the Christian world, those people are free to operate on that basis.

The definition of success that I was thinking about was a little different. I was talking about a more macro view. In the Christian world, every effort is made to encourage everyone involved in a conflict to find a way to a solution without specifically damaging another party. The win/win solution is viewed as the best. Not so under Islam.

And cherry picking the bible to lend credence to your personal definition of success doesn't negate my point.

[Motherhood IS a career]

Mat 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.


Mat 19:25 When his disciples heard [it], they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?


Mat 19:26 But Jesus beheld [them], and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

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I don't read this as an endorsement against material achievement or as something that highlights the virtues of poverty v. wealth. It seems to me that Jesus was trying to say that you can't buy your way into heaven. That the bottom line is: "With God all things are possible. "

Of course, I'm not a religious scholar and this is just my opinion.