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"neither cold nor hot"

Posted by Anders on April 30, 2005

"...because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (The Bible)

Being a warm person is generally preferred to being a cold one. The quote above makes it clear that being lukewarm is worse than being cold. Since our moral standards are largely Biblical (Jew/Christian) in origin, I am curious if someone has any knowledge of how this quote has generally been interpreted. It seems to me that the quote, such as it stands, lends some legitimacy to being cold. And, our morals being ultimately a Biblical derivative, this is a surprise, as it conflicts with the general norm, which says that warm is good and cold is bad.

Cheers
Anders

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