Just so we’re clear, the “eye for an eye” bit was actually part of the Code of Hammurabi, and predates the Big J by 1700 years.
What’s in the Gospels (and I’m going by memory here because I don’t feel like hunting out my bible to look it up) was Jesus saying, if part of you tempts you to sin, get rid of it because it’s better to struggle along with one eye/ one hand than to spend all eternity in torment for your sins. It’s a metaphor for having discipline and self-control: acknowledge your faults and do what you can to overcome them and you’ll reap the benefits.
It’s part of the Ash Wednesday gospel, right around the part where Jesus says, when you pray, don’t make a big freaking public deal out of it; do it in private. The only one who needs to hear your prayers is God, who will hear you, but he thinks those who weep and wail and make a big honking deal out of it are hypocrites who will get what is coming to them.
Trust me, had** you** not expressed your views on suicide (which you are entitled to have!) in a cold, tactless manner in a thread devoted to the memory of a troubled young woman who took her own life, this thread would not have happened.
Had** you** acknowledged in any way, shape, or form that you understood why people were upset, that your post that started all this (the post YOU made in the memorial thread is what started this, not every other member of the SDMB by not thinking “Goshums, that Holly sure is wise and I’m wrong to be upset! My bad!”) this thread would not have gone on for as long as it has.
When it was bumped, **you had the option to think, “phooey on them, I’m right and I don’t have to listen to what they say because I’m secure in my faith!” and you didn’t. ** YOu chose to come back to it.
You reap what **you **sow.
Kum ba yah, my lord… I like cheese…