Dirty Harry and Jesus Agree

Christian counselor Mike Scarlett wrote a very manly and enigmatic editorial titled Dirty Harry and Jesus Agree. While I get almost every allusion to the Godfather, versions I, II, and Goodfellas, Scarlet's editorial has left me in the dust, and I'm feeling quite the girl at the moment. For instance,

I love the old "Dirty Harry" movies. In one of these movies, just after Clint Eastwood pulled the trigger and killed the bad guy, he said, "A man's gotta know his limitations". The apostle Paul was faced with limitations too.

Hmm. That's quite a seque, from Clint Eastwood blowing someone's head off to the thorn in Paul's side (allegedly homoerotic desires). There are, however, many paths to the same Jesus. Scarlet continues,

Just as Dirty Harry had a physical gun with a trigger, we all have "emotional guns" with "emotional triggers". An emotional trigger is anything that stimulates us to do something. For example, if I smell a cherry pie, and I am tempted to eat it, the smell of the pie has become a trigger that could cause me to indulge.

Dirty Harry and cherry pie - is this guy channeling Homer Simpson? Scarlet continues to Jesus' commandments to cut off the hand or pluck out the eye that offends thee, explaining that he doesn't believe Jesus means that literally. Typical cafeteria Christian!

His point is that if you can't resist cherry pie, then don't drive by the bakery. Sound advice, if arrived at circuitously through symbols perhaps more understandable and comforting to men than women.