The financial self-help author Dave Ramsey dismissed as heretics Christians who took Jesus at his word on his famous quote about rich people, camels, and heaven.

The bestselling author and real estate investor appeared on Pat Robertson’s “700 Club” program this week to promote his latest book, “The Legacy Journey: A Radical View of Biblical Wealth and Generosity.”

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Robertson heaped praise on Ramsey and his book, which he described as “biblically sound all the way through.”

“There’s a bunch of heresy going around – talk about some of those heresies,” Robertson said. “People are teaching heresy, and this is solid, what you’ve got here in this book.”

Ramsey complained that liberal Christians accurately quoted Matthew 19:24 to support progressive taxation and other efforts to address wealth inequality.

“The biggest one I get from folks based on their political agenda, and not really their biblical knowledge, is that if a camel can’t get through the eye of a needle, then a rich man can’t get into heaven,” Ramsey said.

He then offered an argument that sounded oddly similar to the “melon-scratcher” Homer Simpson posed when he got stoned and wondered whether Jesus could microwave a burrito “so hot that he himself could not eat it.”

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“If that’s the case, then Jesus’ blood that was spilled at Calvary isn’t powerful enough to get a rich man into heaven,” Ramsey said. “I think that’s called heresy. I’m pretty sure it is, look it up.”

Robertson agreed, and his guest compared liberal Christians to ancient mystics who lived around the same time as Jesus.

“When you start putting limits on the power of the cross and limits on the power of grace that is extended to us from the Father through the son, based on someone’s wealth, then that’s Gnosticism – the worship of spirit versus materialism versus the worship orthodoxy,” Ramsey said. “So what that means is that someone just doesn’t understand the Bible.”

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He said the Bible “is not inconsistent” and actually promoted the accumulation of wealth.

“It says the diligent prosper, and that means if you’re diligent and work hard and save your money, you’re going to have some money,” Ramsey said. “That’s a simple thing, and you haven’t done something wrong, and that doesn’t pre-empt you from heaven, and to say that is heresy.”

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Watch video of the interview posted online by The Christian Broadcasting Network: