Had another exhausting run-in with my challenging street-preaching newspaper vendor.
This one was striking, though, because he was eagerly talking about a section I can usually reference to get folks to back off: Christ's cruel treatment of a herd of pigs, by accepting a demon's request to be thrown into them, driving them to suicide. Apparently some people are *delighted* by that anecdote. Huh! You learn something new about human cruelty every day.
(Got my weekend crossword, though! #Winning)
Matthew 8.28-34, Luke 8:26-37, Mark 5:1-17
It's not bizarre in its context, or in why it was so important it would show up in 3 gospels. The passage is clearly about asserting Christ's prowess as an exorcist - so much so that demons were frightened of him on sight - & the choice of pigs is 100% in keeping with Jewish views of the animals as unclean. Usually the passage gives folks pause; I've never met someone so eager to talk about Christ causing suffering before. Cheers!
@MLClark
I think that story reveals that people need to meet more pigs.
Kinda excellent, in their own exuberantly filthy way. Smart, can be friendly (if not being supernaturally abused), tremendous joie de vivre. Dirty, sure, because they're living plows.
@MLClark I have never been exposed to this bizarre story until now. But I've got a new adjective to use.