A simple shot of an eye for the theme. When I was doing this I was trying to figure out what I was going to say. I know in Matthew 19:24 there is the parable about it being easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of Heaven, and there is a lot of debate around what that parabale actually teaches. I have my own thoughts on that, but I will allow you all to draw your own conclusions on that verse. I also discovered that there was a movie entitled, "Eye Of A Needle" that goes back to 1981, starring Donald Surtherland about a ruthless German spy who was trying to get out of Britain with information about D-Day. I may need to look up that one. It sounds like it could be a good one to watch. Hope you have a wonderful Saturday.
Awesome theme shot Rick!! Wonderful! I will have to look up that movie. Sounds familiar but not sure I have seen it. (I love movies, could watch them all day and night!!!)
Love the variation on the eye theme! Nice detail and b&w an excellent choice! And FYI:
One important thing when looking at passages like Mt. 19:24 is to take them within their context. Interestingly , Jesus makes this statement after his encounter with the rich young man. So, it might appear that Jesus was condemning rich people, but that is not so. As the rich young man was trying to be rigtheous by his own deeds and was unable to accomplish his goal, so it is with a camel (one of the largest animals of known in ancient Israel) who tries to fit into one of the smallest openings. Jesus' point is not that salvation is difficult without God, but that is impossible altogether. Those who try to fit the parable to archaeology have mistakingly left out a further look at history and literature (both the Talmud and Koran reference gates with this name) which show that those gates were so named after this parable became popular. It's exciting to walk in to Jesus' world and see the context of what He is teaching. Thankfully, it is God's heart and intention that each one of us would ask Him to help us through the eye and with Him, nothing is impossible (Lk. 1:37). (Sometimes I just have to write these things! I hope I didn't offend you.)
Your words are really thought provoking. and love the idea to use the eye of the needle for the theme. this vote will be interesting as there are so many fantastic entries.
@shanne Wow, that is clever and really cool, and I would think that would make it into the finals for sure. I must say, I am not that creative with my editing.
@olivetreeann Ann, absolutely not. No offense taken at all. A few years ago I read an article related to this passage, and though I cannot recall the article, I do remember that the writer pointed out the fact that it is so easy to take a simple parable like this and make it fit into the context that suits our need. Sometimes we read so much into His words, if only we would take His words into our heart where His truths could be revealed to us, and then applied, on a "personal" level. Don't worry too much about the other guy.
Clever theme shot, Rick! The focus is perfect too, and I really liked reading the discussion between you and Ann about what the parable means. Very thought provoking stuff.
Stephen Fry once talked about this parable on QI (a tv show that explains and also busts wrongly held notions about things) , but I can't recall for the life of me what he said at this particular moment. I know that one of the the things it was meant to signify which was incorrect was that it was about a gate called 'The needle' or something similar in old Jerusalem that was too narrow for a fully laden camel to pass through. Anyway, as for "Eye Of A Needle" the film, I've seen it and it's actually pretty good. Well worth a watch for its twists, Donald Sutherland being one of my favourite actors except in this one you're not rooting for him by the end.
Nice take on the theme Rick. And Amen to Ann's description of that parable. Indeed without Christ - heaven is unattainable - like trying to pass a camel through the eye of a needle.
"being easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of Heaven"
~ agree!
One important thing when looking at passages like Mt. 19:24 is to take them within their context. Interestingly , Jesus makes this statement after his encounter with the rich young man. So, it might appear that Jesus was condemning rich people, but that is not so. As the rich young man was trying to be rigtheous by his own deeds and was unable to accomplish his goal, so it is with a camel (one of the largest animals of known in ancient Israel) who tries to fit into one of the smallest openings. Jesus' point is not that salvation is difficult without God, but that is impossible altogether. Those who try to fit the parable to archaeology have mistakingly left out a further look at history and literature (both the Talmud and Koran reference gates with this name) which show that those gates were so named after this parable became popular. It's exciting to walk in to Jesus' world and see the context of what He is teaching. Thankfully, it is God's heart and intention that each one of us would ask Him to help us through the eye and with Him, nothing is impossible (Lk. 1:37). (Sometimes I just have to write these things! I hope I didn't offend you.)
Ken Follett wrote the book - Eye of the Needle. I read it many years ago, it was a good book for the time. It was written in 1978. http://www.ken-follett.com/bibliography/eye_of_the_needle.html