I love that story, even though I’m far from being bald.
Oh yes that is a good one.
Not a believer, but raised Christian, and I think the Bible has a number of useful things in it to inspire people to a better life.
One of the passages that always stuck with me was:
Luke 14:25-27
No fairweather Christians. It’s a hard road to follow in his footsteps.
Also not a believer anymore, but I’ve had a fondness for Leviticus 19:33-34 in the past few years:
“And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God."
It’s kind of funny how this one is never mentioned by fans of some of the other verses in Leviticus.
Quite a few good ones have already been mentioned. The image of justice rolling down like a mighty stream, for one, though I was disappointed in the monument in Montgomery AL inscribed with Amos’s words.
Romans 8, as mentioned by @Baker: I am not a big Paul fan, but there’s something about the “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons…” that speaks to me.
Revelation has several, as mentioned, in particular, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes…for the former things are passed away.” I sang in the choir for about ten years several decades ago, and we did a setting of this text by an Australian composer that has stayed with me all this time.
But my favorite, which was mentioned by a few others, is the text from Micah: “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” I included it in my wife’s obituary, because it seems to me to encapsulate the best of what we humans can be, and because in so many ways she strove to do exactly that.
Agatha Christie uses it in Nemesis, IIRC. Someone writes it in a letter to Miss Marple, asking her to solve a cold case.
As a child, we read aloud Psalm 23 every week. Now, I wonder why we never read Psalm 137:9 - “Happy will be the one who seizes your children And dashes them against the rocks.”
Or Ezekiel 4:12 - “You will eat it as you would a round barley loaf; you will bake it before their eyes, using dried human excrement as fuel.”
Philippians 2:14-16
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.
Ecclesiastes 3:12-13
I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil - this is the gift of God.
Luke 12:25
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Matthew 6:19-21
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Mark 12:30
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.
Isn’t just a paraphrase of Deuteronomy 6:4-7?
That’s the sh’ma, recited by Jews at most every service.
True; Jesus was quoting it as the first and greatest commandment. And the second is, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
What is Heaven like? Luke 13:
21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.7
The parable of the leavened in Jesus. It would be a great motto for any woman runned bakery…
Malachi 4:6
My mentally ill, abusive father used to quote this verse as part of his justification for the mental cruelty he inflicted on the family. We had to completely submit our wills to him, lest the entire world perish. (That was Joseph Smith’s take on the verse.)
He also was a big fan of 2 Samuel 6:6-7 where the well-meaning Uzzah goes to steady the Ark of the Covenant and gets zapped by God. That’s the danger of good intentions when blind obedience is the only game in town.
People who find conform in that book were not the ones who were abused in its name.
My favorite verse from the Bible: ‘The shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord. They do not prosper and their flocks are scattered.’ It could be funny since my last name is Shepherd. I just have to do a little fake outrage and disgust to get it right.
Matthew 6:5-6
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
I am tempted to print this out and give it to street preachers, especially ones with PA systems cranked louder than a metal band.
Damn !
I’m going to do that !
I’ll keep a few handy by my front door for the JWs.
The “bitter water” is just water with a little bit of dirt in it. Not surprisingly, the Talmud reports that no woman ever actually failed this test. I think its real purpose is to reassure jealous husbands and thus preserve marriages.
Not going to find the chapter and verse right now, but it’s true that Torah law calls for the death penalty for murdering people, but only a fine for causing a miscarriage (without the woman’s consent). Seems like a pretty clear distinction is being made there.
Many “Biblical literalists” also conveniently overlook Leviticus 25, which calls upon the government to periodically redistribute wealth in order to prevent the division of society into rich and poor classes.
You know what’s a lot cooler? Deuteronomy 13:2-6.
2 If there appears among you a prophet or a dream diviner and he gives you a sign or a portent,
3 saying “Let us follow and worship another god” – whom you have not experienced – even if the sign or the portent that he named to you comes true,
4 do not heed the words of that prophet or that dream-diviner. For YHWH your God is testing you to see whether you really love YHWH your God with all your heart and soul.
5 Follow none but YHWH your God, and revere none but Him; observe His commandments alone, and heed only his orders; worship none but Him, and hold fast to Him.
6 As for that prophet or that dream-diviner, he shall be put to death; for he urged disloyalty to YHWH your God – who freed you from the land of Egypt and who redeemed you from the house of bondage – to make you stray from the path that YHWH your God commanded you to follow. Thus you will sweep out evil from your midst.
Too bad those pious Jews described by John didn’t have bigger rocks or better aim, could have saved the world a whole lot of trouble.
Anyway, to the OP, I’m a fan of Psalm 128:
Everyone who respects YHWH can feel fortunate going in His ways
Eat what you worked for and you will be glad, because you will feel good.
Your spouse will be like a fruit-laden vine at the extension of your home,
Your children like young olive trees around your castle.
Such is the blessing received by one who respects YHWH
May YHWH bless you from Zion;
May you experience the good of Jerusalem all your life, delighting in your grandchildren.
Peace on Israel.
A refreshingly humble example of religion not promising more than it can plausibly deliver. No “pie in the sky when you die”, just enjoyment of your family and the fruit of your labors. This same attitude runs through Ecclesiastes, which is why it’s one of my favorite books.
This.