I have some differences with the church pastor who hosts my clinic in his front yard. He is blackmailing me by sabotaging the clinic in order to get money. The clinic was started in the first place when he came to me and requested it, to meet the needs of the desperately poor in his congregation. As it is, it costs me a lot to just keep it going; he does not deserve pay at all since I am volunteering to solve his problem. However, I do pay him some, to compensate for my patients trampling his yard. He is already getting rich off the clinic by selling food and lodging to patients who come from a distance.
On my way to see him to do the Matthew 18:15 thing about the sabotage, I told my security guard of my intentions. He told me not to do it, that telling someone directly of his offense was insulting, and the pastor would have grounds for having me arrested. "He knows what he is doing."
Being acquainted with Jewish culture, I realize that it is and was confrontational in the extreme. This is likewise evident from the gospels. So does the culture into which Jesus spoke modify or negate his command? Does culture trump scripture here or vice versa?
On my way to see him to do the Matthew 18:15 thing about the sabotage, I told my security guard of my intentions. He told me not to do it, that telling someone directly of his offense was insulting, and the pastor would have grounds for having me arrested. "He knows what he is doing."
Being acquainted with Jewish culture, I realize that it is and was confrontational in the extreme. This is likewise evident from the gospels. So does the culture into which Jesus spoke modify or negate his command? Does culture trump scripture here or vice versa?