Is this contradiction?

[Satt]

"But anyone who says 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell." (Jesus) Mat 5:22

"You fools!" (Jesus) Luke 11:40
"You blind fools!" (Jesus) Mat 23:17
"How foolish you are" (Jesus) Luke 24:25

"But God said to him, 'You fool!' " (Jesus) Luke 12:20

"You foolish Galatians!" (St. Paul) Galatians 3:1
"You foolish man" James 2:20

(Also - Psalms 14:1 and again at 53:1 - you have to think me a fool because I have said in my heart that there is no God - oops, both of us in hell now!)

 

[Hakan101]

"But anyone who says 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell." (Jesus) Mat 5:22

"You fools!" (Jesus) Luke 11:40
"You blind fools!" (Jesus) Mat 23:17
"How foolish you are" (Jesus) Luke 24:25

"But God said to him, 'You fool!' " (Jesus) Luke 12:20

"You foolish Galatians!" (St. Paul) Galatians 3:1
"You foolish man" James 2:20

(Also - Psalms 14:1 and again at 53:1 - you have to think me a fool because I have said in my heart that there is no God - oops, both of us in hell now!)

In that passage, Jesus was speaking about those people who have unjust anger or contempt towards another. He is saying those people who bear anger towards someone else and yells curses at them are just as bad as murderers. Then he follows up by saying always be sure to forgive and reconcile those people you have conflicts with. It is not about the literal action of calling someone "fool", but about being contemptuous towards others. For as we know, Jesus tells us to love our neighbors, and even our enemies.

 

[drich0150]

"

But anyone who says 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell." (Jesus) Mat 5:22

The word is
Moros as used in Mat 5:22
1) foolish
2) impious, godless

"You fools!" (Jesus) Luke 11:40

The word used in Luke is:
aphrōn
1) without reason
2) senseless, foolish, stupid
3) without reflection or intelligence, acting rashly

"You blind fools!" (Jesus) Mat 23:17

see bottom paragraph.

"How foolish you are" (Jesus) Luke 24:25

anoētos
1) not understood, unintelligible
2) not understanding, unwise, foolish

"But God said to him, 'You fool!' " (Jesus) Luke 12:20

aphrōn

"You foolish Galatians!" (St. Paul) Galatians 3:1

anoētos

"You foolish man" James 2:20

kenos

Outline of Biblical Usage
1) empty, vain, devoid of truth
a) of places, vessels, etc. which contain nothing
b) of men
1) empty handed
2) without a gift
c) metaph. destitute of spiritual wealth, of one who boasts of his faith as a transcendent possession, yet is without the fruits of faith
d) metaph. of endeavours, labours, acts, which result in nothing, vain, fruitless, without effect
1) vain of no purpose

(Also - Psalms 14:1 and again at 53:1 - you have to think me a fool because I have said in my heart that there is no God - oops, both of us in hell now!)

You Aphron, the word fool is not a curse word dooming one to Hell. It is the rage one verbalizes and the authority one takes from the position of God to cast such a judgment. Even so it is not an unforgivable sin, it is the self righteousness of the one judging another that makes the words so dangerous.

Christ being God had the authority to make such a distinction as recorded in Mat 23. You nor i do not.

references taken from:
Blue Letter Bible - Home Page

 

[hedrick]

Jesus wasn't dictating laws, so you need to take his teachings in the spirit in which they are given. A similar question comes out of his "don't call anyone father", referring to religious leaders with inflated titles. No one thinks he objected to calling your male parent father.

Mat 5:22 is part of his discussion of the commandment against murder. The context is this:

But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hellh of fire.

He was pretty obviously speaking of using "fool" as an insult, i.e. using it in anger. Even that needs to be qualified, since he did get angry when he saw injustice or abuse. The most famous example is his confrontation with the money changers in the temple. So there are times when anger is justified.

But Jesus was fond of bold statements, often exaggerated, e.g. his saying that if your hand causes you to sin you should cut it off. It wasn't his style to say "don't say fool except in the following situations where it is justified." Either he was the most inconsistent teacher in history or he was depending upon his hearers to use good judgement and take his comments in the way they were intended. My assumption is the latter.

But it's things like this that cause me to laugh when people talking about taking the Bible "literally." No one does, nor should they. It's not a work written to be read entirely that way, though there are certainly sections describing history, as well as other things which require less interpretation than this.

 

[Sarrapin]

Satt,

Why should they be contradictions? They are given to different people at different times. Even if they weren't, none of them contradict each other as they all carry the same message.

A contradiction would be, for example, Luke recording "you fool" and Matthew recording "you wise man" in the same story. This, obviously, never happens.