Responses to this will be predictable, and probably bring along the regular polarized contributors. I guess that that kind of subject brings the best traffic....:)

powerful!

I don't understand... so, an "awesome believer" is the person who appears to have everything right in their life? I guess it would be more challenging to make an "awesome believer" out of the homeless guy on the street who is lacking in shelter, food, medical care. It sounds more like... "Boy, if HE believed, we could point to him and say 'See' and get a lot more sheep to join the flock." Actually, I think they're more like lemmings, because a sheep would at least stop when he got to the edge of a cliff.

God says he will use the foolish things of this world so maybe that's why Gary would make an awesome believer... :)

Actually, Gary, I believe you would make an awesome believer. You have tremendous passion for everything you do, and I'm sure you would have that same passion as a believer, so I have no doubt that you would make an awesome believer.

Every believer is "awesome" in God's eyes because the death that Christ died was a payment for our sin(s) once for all. 

Matthew 19:23-24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Gary has a great life without a doubt, and from what I can tell he is one of the happiest and funnest people you could ever imagine being around.  (hint hint... where's my invite for bbq at the ranch this summer, Gary? hahaha)

But would he be the subject of everyone's envy and fantasy if he didn't have riches, perfect friends and a lovely wife? 

I love you as a friend the way you are Gary, but I agree with melissalee7405, keep digging deeper.  My view might be contrary to some folks here...  You might not be able to become a believer, and your life with God as a believer is not as much under your control as you think.  The only way any of us can know if you would become a Christian and be as happy and awesome as you are now is to BELIEVE. 

http://www.shasta.edu/articles/northrup/whoisthisjesus.asp

I do not have perfect friends. Look at how Jessica Strickland crops her images with horizon lines going through the subject's heads.

Yes Gary, accept Christ and it is hard to tell where He would lead you and do thru you.

@garyfong1 - LOL

What time is it in France, and you are still awake?  Got some jet lag or somethun? :P

I guess if Matthew 19:23-24 is true then Jesse Duplantis, Rod Parsley, Joel Osteen, Kenneth Hagin, Casey Treat, Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Coplan, Paul and Jan Crouch (pink hair lady from TBN), Paula White,Benny Hinn and MANY MANY more .... would not be able to enter the kingdom of God. ???

Cause if you ask me, I would say that a camel could not make it through the eye of a needle and if it's easier for that to happen then a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven... then no rich man is entering heaven. Now does that mean he isn't entering with his money? Or just not entering heaven at all?

I have only listed the rich pastors and evangelist's (a portion of them) I didn't list rich catholics or any other believers that are rich.

Let's not forget about all the famous Christian artists out there. They are rich and they are believers. Toby Mac, Third Day, Switchfoot.... etc. The list goes on and on.

So I am confused. All those people aren't going to heaven because that scripture says a rich man can't enter the kingdom of heaven?

I am totally confused!

... oh and all those people are on wikipedia if you need to look them up. but I assure you, they are believers and if you ask them I am 100% sure they will tell you that they are going to heaven.

@missycarl - 

You have to read verses 25 and 26 to see how it is possible.

Matthew 19:23-26
23Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"

26Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

:) The "eye of a needle" is the term used for the gate entering a city back in the day. :) ... So it was difficult for the camel to get through it - it's not talking about a threading needle. lol

DJ - for me to be an effective evangelist it would be important for me to interpret the bible literally. If it said, "it is easier for a rich man to get to heaven than it would be for a camel to get through a gate to enter the city" it would've said that. But it said LITERALLY the eye of a needle. So under the literal interpretation I have to take the words literally.

I believe that through modern science technology, we can find a way to hypercompress the biomass of a camel into a filament the size of the eye of a needle, and if this is the case, science wins the day. Of course the Camel would be dead, but it didn't say "easier for a LIVE camel to get through the eye of a needle, it just said Camel.

This needs to be done at least once to save all the rich people so they can get the heaven. It is not enough to take the name of the saviour, you also have to not be rich - OR - you have to show that a camel can get through the eye of a needle.

Someone's got to do it, so the camel's gotta go.

By the way, with doing so much in the legal world these days, I know that the interpretation of a contract must be limited to the "four corners of the document". I have spoken, so be it.

ok. so if it was difficult for a camel to get through "the gate of a city", or needle, or whatever... it still says difficult. It still says it is easier to do that then a rich man enter heaven. right?

my real question is not about the needle or the crazy camel, it's why the scripture was quoted on this post. why that part?

did you just want to state that it's hard for rich people to go to heaven?

I am still confused. lol

We could try out that biomass thing on a rat... but don't try it on a bat.

Scholars have defined rich people as networth +100 million but with inflation that number is going up I think.

OH GOOD then I AM NOT RICH! YAY!!!! So, do I spare the camel or should I light it up to save the $100M+ crowd?

gary. maybe it's not jesus your rejecting, but the faulty view of jesus that has been propagated by so many. if you saw the real jesus, he would be difficult to reject.

And, here we go again...:) Let me give another interpretation of what it means. It has nothing to do with money wealth. Matthew 5:3 - KJV: Blessed are the poor in SPIRIT: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Not their bank account. What is "spirit"? Different definitions:

• Mental attitude such as being in good spirits, or being in the right mood, being in high spirits
• Seat of emotions and character
• Reference to the soul, such as seeking harmony between body and spirit
• A ghost
• The Holy Spirit
• The leading spirit in the conference: reference to a person who was the main element of the conference's success
• He acted in a spirit of self-respect, not defiance
• The rule had been broken in spirit, if not in letter
• Spirits: brandy, whiskey, gin, or rum
• Spirits of turpentine
• The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41)

My take on it? If "spirit" means the seat of emotions, and character that are based on where they reside, i.e. the mind, by being poor in spirit would mean to stop quoting bible verses, interpretations galore, stop thinking, rationalizing, comparing, judging - simply quiet the mind so that it becomes "poor", and then be able to enter the Kingdom of God, or whatever the popular description is in different religions of that "place".

The "rich men" could be interpreted as being people obsessed with money matters, and self-importance - things that could detract those men from being able to totally quiet their minds, because of their concerns. Managing money could be a full-time job. The more you have, the more you have to manage, and it could be possible that less time is given to quieting the mind. However, poor people could also be obsessed with survival, and ways to make money. So, although poor money-wise, they could be "rich" is obsessive thinking.

That is why "poor in spirit" is a fairer description of what needs to be done to access the "place".

I also make the link with:
“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)

Be still, for me, also means being "poor in spirit" - shut the mind up, turn the ego off. The "know" in "know that I am God", is not something that can be totally explained or described, because there are not words to describe it. Even in the Bible, which can only make allusions to it, it is described through analogies, anecdotes, stories, fairy tales, the use of animal descriptions, hearsay, etc. and it does a poor job of it because explained by men - even with good intentions

Some of the descriptions 2,000 years ago, used words, and phrases that people could associate with in their time. Today, some of it makes little sense. Besides, disciples sometimes communicated by code, like secret societies do, even today. Some of the problems come from trying to decipher it with our current reality.

You would think that after all these centuries, the literal translators of the Bible would have convinced everyone on earth, through verifiable examples, that the Bible is THE book of all books, and is THE MAP to follow to go to heaven. How come it is not so? Why is not everyone buying in? They can't be all crazy or totally wrong. You would think that God would have mercy on all his creation. Why does He need to play games?

Short answer. God does not play games. Men do. In some cases, a big money maker. How often, have I heard "Give to God", or when you're giving to your church, you are giving to God. I guess, in some cases, God likes to drive Cadillacs and Mercedes Benzes, tailored Armani suits, expensive meals, trips, and likes to live in not only one, but many mansions, which would concur with the Bible passage:

John 14:2 (King James Version)
"In my Father's house are many mansions". (Hey, I can pull stuff out of the Bible, too, out of context...:)

Thankfully, there are legitimate organizations who do not use money for self-agrandizement, or for the Pastor to live the life of a millionnaire. One of the problems, however, is that both the legits, and crooks, use the same Bible passages to promote their faith. One must separate the social aspect of religion (quoting Bible, helping people in need, keeping out of trouble, leading a healthy life, feeling good, congregating with people of the same faith, etc.), and the true path to enlightenment. One does not necessarily lead to the other.

@missycarl - Hagin, Coplin, Myer, et al. no doubt cause lots of Christians to stumble in their faith because of their materialism.  I am 99% sure they are believers, nobody will know this side of heaven.  They are so full of pride, it makes me sick to think of talking to them.  Believers can have wealth and posessions, but I think the difference is that of attitude and priorities.  Wouldn't it be AWESOME to see the rich man who did become a believer who gave it all away in order to serve God?  It has happened countless times in history, and just as AWESOME as when God saves a hopeless meth addict off the streets.

@garyfong1 - Don't confuse the business of evalgelism (which is of man) with the business of saving souls (from God).  The amazing thing is that today God uses evangelists to bear witness to the truth in spite of their larger than life, cult-like personas.  The most effective and inspiring Christian leaders and evangelists that I know you have never met, and its no surprise you don't know their names.  I am as literal as you can find in Bible interpretation, but to be honest the craft of Biblical interpretation has to be 1.) Literal, 2.) Contextual 3.) Grammatical and 4.) Historical.  Also, what's a preacher or evangelist without faith in Christ, Gary?  You cannot impart what you don't posssess, and the "Lie" would only be embarassing to yourself if you did such a thing without being the real deal.

Agrees with @richardj7 - 

@opensourcephoto - Hey DJ.  Nice to see you again! :) The greek word used here for needle in the original text is rhaphidos, a sewing needle, not a small gate within another gate as is sometimes suggested.  The verse can be used as an analogy or taken literally, but either way you look at it, it serves to emphasize just how impossible it is for men with riches (see @richardj7's interpretation of "riches" above) to enter the kingdom of heaven unless God causes it to happen. 

By the way, I didn't always used to be a Christian. 

First, DJ, thank you for your earliest comment, a Biblical reference that is completely appropriate :)

Second, gmahler5th, I have no idea what goes on in your mind, but while I consider G a close friend, confidant and a daily source of entertainment, at no time has he played a role in my fantasies. I'm sure that I can speak for Brian on that. 

I do not envy G. Webster's dictionary defines envy as "painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage." IT also refers to jealousy. G's success has not pained me in anyway, nor do I resent him. I'd hope to think that other people feel the same. G is a kindhearted person who has worked hard using his intellect to get where he is. He wants nothing more to see those around him share the same success and does what he can to help them on their way. I can see no reason to resent someone like that.

I also think that there are times when certain Christians speak too much on things of which they know too little. Referencing scripture in a way in which it was obviously not intended, mentioning respected figures of faith as stumbling blocks, people who I am quite sure they have not had no actual contact with, saying that someone might not be able to become a believer, those are all prime examples.

Often times it's these Christians who do more harm then good, leaving the rest of us appearing inept and self-righteous. Yes, I said us. If actions speak louder than words, then what does it say when an individual must use so many to try to convince someone of something?

What does it say about Christians when they pass their judgement on leaders of their faith then vocalize it?

And personally, I think it would be far more appealing to see a wealthy man become a Christian and maintain his wealth or obtain more, why do Christians need to be poor? To prevent their fellow believers of accusing them of materialism? God forbid a Christian be successful and other Christians not speak ill of them.

I'm pretty sure that the Bible is pretty clear on judging others. Enough said.

As for me, I say role with the Church of the Eye of the Needle of the Happy Sky. You have a lot to impart, believer or otherwise. Evangelist is also defined as an enthusiastic advocate. Who says that an evengelist has to be evangelizing Christianity? So unless you state that you are something you are not, I see no lie involved :)

I'll support you but I'm not giving you my dough, lol.

ALL of the bible is not to be interpreted literally but figurtively or symbolically.  You have  to have the Holy Spirit (3rd person of the trinity) inside you to help you interpret the bible and you cannot get the Holy Spirit until you become a born again Christian.  An evangelist is a person who proclaims the good news of Christ which is He came to die for our sins and it is up to us to accept it or not. 

No where does it say Christians have to be poor.  Abraham was a wealthy man but became the father of many nations.  And yet Solomon was very rich and he had the wrong attitude and look where it got him.  He finally came to his spiritual senses before he died.  It is all what your attitude is toward it.  Christ was saying that people who are rich, trust in their riches because they really don't need anything and if riches and money are first in your life, it will be hard for you to give it all up if God asked you to, in order to follow Him or do whatever work He has for you.  There is no use in trying to figure out the bible unless  you have the Holy Spirit. Until then you are operating in spiritual darkness and cannot truly understand the things of Christ.

I do not believe the bible teaches the prosperity gospel. 

@Tiffy_girl_ohio - I "get" what you are saying Tiffany, and mostly agree.  Gary is an inspiring read for me as well, and is one of the biggest reasons I even signed up for Xanga to begin with (see my blog) and don't hold anything at all against him.  The only difference between you and me, perhaps besides our gender, is that you happen to know Gary personally and I don't.

Regarding the rest of your commentary on my post... For one, I'm not judging others (in the moral sense), and secondly all I was doing was providing as much of an opinion as everyone else here was doing, so why single me out?  You say those guys rock, I say they are not my style.  Tomato, Tomatoe. 

Of course you can evangelize technology, political views and everything else, but look at the title of Gary's post.  I was simply playing along like everyone else :)