Ah the camel through the 'eye of the needle' Is a very interesting one.
The eye of the needle is actually a real place, a narrow gate into jerusalem:
Quote:I recently read that one of the gates into Jerusalem was named "The Eye of the Needle," and was quite tricky to negotiate, since it was quite small. Does this mean that when Jesus said "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven," He meant that, far from being impossible, it was merely tricky?
Dara O'Reilly, London, UK
The interpretation that seems to make sense is this. The "Eye of the Needle" was indeed a narrow gateway into Jerusalem. Since camels were heavily loaded with goods and riders, they would need to be un-loaded in order to pass through. Therefore, the analogy is that a rich man would have to similarly unload his material possessions in order to enter heaven.
I did once start a story about a billionaire who had miniature camels genetically engineered to pass easily through the gate.
Never actually finished it