GOP Gospel: On Defilement I

Day 19 of my Lent project. For background, please read this.

A reading from the Gospel according to the GOP:

Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, "Listen and understand: If you wish to remain pure and holy before the Lord, do not associate with ungodliness. For as it is written: 'He who touches pitch shall be defiled.'* Rather, remove yourself from sinners and from the objects of sin, so that your reputation is not tarnished by association with them, for if you allow the unclean into your life, you also will be unclean. Garbage in, garbage out: your Father in heaven does not want you to be garbage."

*Sirach 13:1 – Sirach (a.k.a. Ecclesiasticus) is a book in the Apocrypha, a collection of religious writings whose inclusion in the Bible has been disputed practically from the beginning. They date from the 'silent' period between the Prophets and Jesus, and (as far as I know) are generally regarded as interesting but not necessarily divinely inspired. The chapter preceding this famous line is all about only helping the righteous and spurning the unrighteous, an opinion which Republican Jesus might be expected to hold, but which Biblical Jesus blatantly disregards. I've blended the King James Version and NRSV for the wording of the quote here.

( Matthew 15:10-20 )

( Discussion )