Book Meme

I've been tagged by Clayton to take part in the following meme:

Book Meme Rules

1. Pick up the nearest book ( of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

The book on my computer desk is Jesus of Nazareth by some fellow named Joseph Ratzinger, also known as Pope Benedict XVI.

Page 123 falls at the end of the fourth chapter called "The Sermon on the Mount." It is in the section called The Torah of the Messiah, and it is the subsection called Compromise and Prophetic Radicalism.

I am going to cheat a bit because sentences six through eight make little sense without some context. Here is the context: "Not only are we not to kill, but we must offer reconciliation to our unreconciled brother. No more divorce. Not only are we to be even-handed in justice (eye for eye, tooth for tooth), but we must let ourselves be struck without striking back. We are to love not simply our neighbor, but also our enemy. The lofty ethics that is expressed here will continue to astonish people of all backgrounds and to impress them as the height of moral greatness. We need only recall Mahatma Gandhi's interest in Jesus, which was based on these very texts."

Alright, that was the previous context, and here are sentences six through eight to qualify for the meme: "But is what Jesus says here actually realistic? Is it incumbent upon us--is it even legitimate--to act like this? Doesn't some of it, as Neusner objects, destroy all concrete social order?"

I'll leave it up to you to find out the answer; unless, of course, someone wants me to provide it. Then I will.

I will tag Dan, Margaret, Susan, Leon, and Dominic, if they care and are free to partake in this fun.

Thanks for reading and your prayers.
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