"As my Bible footnote says....Jesus is not teaching self-mutilation, for even a blind man can lust. The point is that we should deal as drastically with sin as necessary."

So you are taking someones interpretation of a scripture and not what Jesus said to be literal?

I don't disagree with the footnote but that is what first came to mind when I read your statement.

edit: "We can't start picking and choosing the parts of the Bible we want to follow or not"