Good Samaritan in a G-string?
Luke 10:25-37:
There was a scholar of the law 11 who stood up to test him and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?"
He said in reply, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."
He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live."
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, 'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.'
Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"
He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." (Taken from www.usccb.org)
Here's the story via Breitbart;
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A strip club in Ohio has raised $1,000 for Haitian earthquake relief during what was billed as "Lap dances for Haiti."
Marilyn's on Monroe in Toledo donated the $10 cover charges collected Saturday to ISOH (I-S-O-H)/IMPACT, an organization based in suburban Perrysburg that provides food and clothing for Haiti.
Marilyn's general manager Kenny Soprano says his establishment had been looking for a reason to hold a charity fundraiser even before the quake, as a way to improve its image. He says you don't hear much about strip clubs giving back to the community.
ISOH/IMPACT CEO Linda Greene doesn't have a problem with where the money came from. She says her group appreciates any donations to help Haiti.
Well the tale of the Good Samaritan never spoke of him converting to Judaism or giving up what was viewed by the listeners of Christ as a sinful life. It only emphasized his greater compassion than those who refused to help, that compassion being more in line with Christ's teachings than the actions of the others.
So maybe theres some lap dancers in Heaven, who knows?
The wife and I recently rented "A Man For All Seasons" which tells the story of St. Thomas More and his refusal to approve the divorce of Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon and subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn.
In one exchange the character of St. Thomas declares his refusal to judge the motivations and conscience of any other man, claiming it isn't for him to do but for God.
Not a bad sentiment when you think about it.
That might seem to be at odds with most of the posts here, but in a hamhanded way I'm trying to state we should never lose sight of the basic humanity all share. That would include a nature prone to sin and wrongdoing and a possibility of redemption for anyone. Anyone includes militant gays, rabid Islamists, quisling politicians, man hating feminazis, spineless appeasers of all persuasions and any other scum I've neglected to mention.
We're all capable of either damnation or salvation.
And a $10 cover charge? That sounds kind of steep, but honestly I really wouldn't know.
7 comments:
Ohhhhhhhh, I dunno know Subvet. Seems to me the people involved in that questionable enterprise are trying to buy some brownie points from God and their community.
How many men were led to sin in that enterprise? How much money went into the bar or the lap dancers' g-string that should have been spent on rent/mortgage or groceries? Jesus also said, "Go and sin no more."
Sig94, right on all counts. My poorly made point is that we're all candidates for either redemption or damnation. FWIW, I run into too many folks who think they've a seat reserved by the throne of God, just waiting for their demise. But every and any body else is suspect in their view.
It was with some of them in mind that I pasted the dedication and Scripture quote on the sidebar.
That type of self-righteous prick is a pain in the ass.
“I had to get a lap dance, honey. Really. It was for the kids. The kids in Haiti. I wanted to help them.”
Yeah. That’ll work.
Wow, I'm having a hard time wrapping my ADHD brain around this. I get where you are coming from, but I also understand sig94's point.
Do the ends justify the means? Is it ok to give the money you made through a sinful act and give it to a needy cause and one cancels out the other?
I'd say that it was more of a stunt to get more patrons to pay for multiple lap dances...in the name of good.
I wonder how many of those guys who engaged in the lap dances were married? I have the feeling their wives wouldn't be so willing to forgive, no matter where the money was going. It was an act of adultery and just because that act may have helped someone in Haiti, it's still a broken vow.
Great post!
Hope you don't mind, I linked to this post on my blog. It's a great post and wanted to highlight it. I also linked to Mighty Mom...another great post. :-)
Arby, LOL. You're right, that'll fly. Sure it will.
Mary Ellen, thanks for linking to this. I'm sure I'll be taking some more heat on it. Oh well. As for it being equal to adultery, yep. Does the end justify the means? Nope. But in my experience when you either work at or frequent strip clubs, chances are you're not really much of a churchgoer. Pointing out the sinful, immoral nature of the whole deal will get you nowhere.
Was it a PR stunt? More than likely. But God does work in mysterious ways, so while I wouldn't look for any "come to Jesus" moments for those involved in this story it's worth a thought.
Good for site hits also!
how many men were led to sin there??
as many as CHOSE to walk in the door.
GIVE ME A BREAK.
and the people involved probably couldn't care less about brownie points from God either.
a) it's a business that makes money -- not one I or MY FAMILY will be found in, but a business none the less.
b) the owners decided to hold a fundraiser in their business in order to help a nation that's been practically destroyed.
c) only God knows what He thinks about it....but in the meantime
d) I seriously doubt that the hurting hungry and homeless in Haiti give a rodent's tail where the money to bring them water comes from...so long as they don't die from dehydration.
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