Pondering the Imponderable

As one who professionally deals with policy analysis and the regulatory process, I always stand in awe of the simplicity employed by the Galilean in the Sermon on the Mount. You need to go no further than his opening line, the first Beatitude.

 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3 NIV)

Close your eyes and you can just hear the modern analysts having a go at it.

“Did he mean the poor, or the poor in spirit? Which source has it right, Matthew or Luke? Should the text include a disclaimer section?”

“Did he mean all of the “blessed” or a statistically pure population sample?”

“We need to add an exceptions section. Are Muslims included? Lonely prostitutes? Sexually confused teenagers? Methodists?”

“We need to define the word ‘spirit.’ Is it a measurable phenomenon or a simply a linguistic guide?”

“Is the kingdom of heaven theirs alone or will they share it with the others? Do we need an organizational chart?”

“Is there one kingdom of heaven or several? We may need mapping.”

“Will the statistical definitions of ‘poor’ change over time or are they fixed?”

"Have we fully established provenance?"

“If the term ‘blessed’ translates into ‘happy,’ what are the definable characteristics of same?

“Let us consider the contextual implications.”

“Does ownership include control over?”

“Is there a legally defensible definition of ‘heaven’ we can use?”

“Has anyone checked the translation from the original English in the King James Version?”

And so it goes. His simplicity seems to breed confusion and spawn difficulty in acceptance. He might as well have told us not to get divorces, to forgive our enemies, or to quit loving money.