I...Am Your Father! Luke Chapters 9 - 10

Part 4 of my "I...Am Your Father!" series.

Chapter 9

• Verses 27 - 28: The transfiguration occurs "about eight days after" Jesus' weird proclamation that "some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." But back in Matthew 16:28 and 17:1, the transfiguration occurs "six days" after his weird and slightly different proclamation that "some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." Mark agrees with Matthew, in Chapter 9:1-2, that the transfiguration occurred six days later, but he disagrees about the weird proclamation: "...some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power." Why does the inerrant, inspired word of an omniscient being have such obvious contradictions? Or do Christians really believe that Jesus made all three of these statements attributed to him? And why would the inerrant, inspired word of God use the word "about", as in, "about eight days after"?
• Verse 35: A voice, apparently that of God, says, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen..." The part about Jesus being God's son is consistent with Matthew and Mark, but the part about God having chosen Jesus is unique to Luke. If Jesus were God, what would it mean for him to have chosen himself? Why didn't the voice say, "This man is my holy self, in the flesh. He and I are the same being, but I'm renting space in the physical body you see before you"? Because even God doesn't think that Jesus is God.
• Verse 62: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." How can this be reconciled with Chapter 22, Verse 42: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me..." Sounds like he was doing some serious gazing into the rear-view mirror. And even if you want to claim that he wasn't looking back, because he finished his prayer with, "...yet not my will, but yours be done," what about all the millions of backsliders over the last 20 centuries? They're not fit to serve God either, are they? And what is Jesus saying, anyway? A naive interpretation could be that if you look back, you go to hell. If he wasn't saying that, then what was he saying? That if you look back, you can no longer be a preacher, missionary, charity worker, that sort of thing? It's impossible to say, really. Why would Jesus make such an obscure statement?

Chapter 10

• Verse 16: "...he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." Why not, "I'm God, so he who rejects you rejects God." Because he didn't think he was God.
• Verse 18: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." How can something "fall like lightning"? Lightning doesn't fall. Why would a perfect, omniscient being be so bad at metaphors?
• Verse 37: After telling the story of the good Samaritan, Jesus says, "Go and do likewise." Paulines, when was the last time you helped someone who had been reviled and ignored by the clergy, even going so far as to put your life on hold and put him up in a hotel at your own expense?
• Verses 41 - 42: Jesus chides Martha for attempting to be hospitable. Not very nice. What should she have done, sit on her ass and wait for Jesus to convert some dust into figgy pudding? With how many other people did Jesus dine and yet not chide for fussing over their guest, which is a time-honored custom in many societies?