Luke 14:26 If any man come to me and hate not his father and his mother, and wife and children, and bretheren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (verse 33) So likewise, he be if you that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple.
Unless you are a monk committed to a life of poverty and celibacy who also hates his life it is virtually impossible to follow this teaching. Was the bible written by celebate monks to affirm their lifestyle choice and elevate their spirituality? In 2,000 years of translations who knows? This verse contradicts the ten commandments to love your mother and your father. This verses contradicts Jesus' teaching to love your neighbor as yourself. What exactly going on here is unclear, but it makes it virtually impossible for the average human being to be declared a "disciple" of Jesus. Modern day belief just sidesteps these verses. How is one to go about "hating" his own life? This is a qualification of "discipleship" and therefore eternal life. I think a mid early century monk who could not read greek or hebrew had his own self elevated take on Jesus' teaching or Jesus' is setting the bar for qualification for discipleship so high that heaven will be populated by a few thousand male monks leaving billions to suffer the tortures of hell for eternity.
