West Hill Language Policy

West Hill United Church
Congregational Policy 103.1

Addendum
Policy on Language and Background Study
Table of Contents
A. Title
B. Introduction: the challenges of language
C. Purpose of the Policy
D. Policy
E. Discussion of terms in the policy statement
F. Background
1. Texts, traditions, and beliefs

2. Implications for language used in ministry: choices
G. Application
1. Interpretation of various terms

2. Problematic language avoided
H. Examples
I. Conclusion
Appendix A. Problematic language in hymns
Appendix B. Problematic biblical stories, illustrations, etc.
Appendix C. Life-enhancing biblical passages
Appendix D. Problematic biblical passages
West Hill United Church Language Policy page 1

A. Title
Language used in ministry at West Hill United Church
B. Introduction: the challenge of language
Language, whether written, spoken, or sung, is an essential yet complex aspect of our lives
together. Meaning, comprehension, and interpretation are affected by the differences in our
backgrounds, cultures, personalities, vocabulary, experience, and worldviews. Then there are
the factors of context, emotions, tone, facial expression, the presence or absence of feedback,
audience composition, and the weather. For the sender to communicate clearly, the receiver to
understand fully, and for either to know whether or not this has happened, amounts to an enor-
mous challenge.
As well, language is limited. Some experiences are difficult to explain; some emotions are best
expressed non-verbally, and some ideas are inadequately captured in words. There is always the
risk of distortion. Further, language itself sets limits. General labels such “morning” or “traffic”
enable us to communicate efficiently without describing things in extensive detail. Other labels,
names, and titles, particularly abstract ones such as “normal”, “marriage”, and “educated” can
be helpful as well, but also by their very nature include some selected material and exclude other
concepts, experiences, and people – unnecessarily and often painfully. The resulting dichotomies
- acceptable/unacceptable, included/excluded, etc., often protects certain power interests and
agendas at the expense of others. Unexamined and unchallenged, language can intentionally or
unintentionally legitimize oppression.
Language is particularly challenging when it comes to organized religion and personal spiritual-
ity. Here, the intellect, emotions, behaviour, experience, and memories are intricately involved
and interrelated. Add to this the additional challenge of change. All through church history, new
information, perspectives, and understandings have been introduced, and language had to be
reconsidered, decisions made, and positive and negative emotional responses addressed.
The Board and congregation of West Hill United Church (WHUC) have been, and will continue
to be, on a journey of discovery and growth in our understanding of meaning and purpose in
life. Using critical thought, the findings of responsible scholarship, moral intuition, and diverse
perspectives from within and beyond the congregation, we developed VisionWorks II, a state-
ment outlining the principles we wish to live by. We use the content of this document to assess
how we are doing in light of the principles we embrace in order to revise our practices wherever
necessary. The implications for our formal ministry are many, and much of it has to do with
language. We are committed to that ongoing work.

C. Purpose of the Policy/Guideline
To equip all those seeking to communicate on behalf of WHUC with guidelines for choosing
language that is:
• contemporary and relevant
• accessible to those with or without religious backgrounds
• intellectually and ethically accountable
D. Policy
1. The language we use in all aspects of formal ministry on behalf of West Hill United Church
• will reflect the core values we believe are fundamental to right relationships with self,
others, and the world, including justice, compassion, respect, freedom, and community
• will contain no assertion or suggestion
o that any text
• is infallible or inerrant
• has inherent authority
• is of supernatural origin
o that any religious doctrine, tradition, or experience
• represents absolute or universal truth
• ought to be believed, accepted, sought after, or shared by all
• results in guaranteed outcomes if believed or obeyed
• will communicate respect for everyone’s right to hold their own viewpoints, beliefs, and
interpretations of experience
• will feature ordinary and relevant vocabulary, with metaphor clearly identifiable as such

2. We welcome the sharing of diverse views and personal beliefs in group discussions and infor-
mal settings, with the expectation that all parties involved will demonstrate mutual respect and a
desire for learning and growth.
3. We regularly review language used in our formal ministry and make revisions where neces-
sary for greater clarity, relevance, and integrity.

E. Discussion of terms in the policy statement
“ministry”
We understand ministry to be the sharing of ideas and experiences by any person in order to nur-
ture, strengthen, encourage, comfort, enlighten, inspire, and challenge others to helpful action.
“formal ministry”
Formal ministry includes any message being given by anyone on behalf of the congregation us-
ing any media, including that which is offered by way of the pulpit, platform, classroom, study
group, audio-visual presentation, website, or any other type of informational or promotional
literature.
“core values…justice, compassion,….”
These values have been identified by the congregation as intrinsically worthy and are recorded
in the VisionWorks II document. They do not constitute a fixed set of approved terms, but are
examples that serve as a link to a host of principles, qualities, or concepts we have identified in
various discussions as life-giving and life-enhancing, including:
love, kindness, justice, honesty, beauty, generosity, integrity, patience, responsibility, dignity,
helpfulness, respect, compassion, honour, questioning, encouragement, seeking, exploring, dis-
covery, sharing, rest, support, sensitivity, learning, delight, joy, silence, solitude, companionship,
beauty, faithfulness, energy, perseverance, labour, gentleness, forgiveness, creativity, affirmation,
nurture, accountability, freedom, openness, peace, gratitude, community, stewardship of resourc-
es, critical thought, self-respect, choice, empathy, trust, advocacy, ethics…….
We embrace these qualities, not declared as “The Truth”, but chosen as basic “truths” for liv-
ing. Together, with varying perspectives, we seek wisdom to interpret them and courage to apply
them in the best possible ways.
“right relationships”
“Right” here points to positive, loving, holistic, responsible, and honest ways of living with
oneself, with others, and with the planet. We strive for a balance between self-care and care for
others, moving beyond self-interest, but not to the neglect of the self.
“we believe are fundamental”
Many cultures, religions, and philosophies throughout human history have considered these
values to be sacred, to be of ultimate value, as over time individuals and communities experi-
enced them as positive - good for both individual and community. We do not therefore rely on

any external authority or texts, even those considered sacred by some, to validate these values.
Rather, as we experience and test them in community, we, both as individuals and as community,
intentionally choose them from among various available options for living – “we believe (they)
are fundamental”. We honour them in whatever texts celebrate them, and challenge a text that
does not, regardless of its status as sacred in the eyes of some. In this way, instead of an external,
expert authority imposing values on us, we choose, as individuals and as community, to vest au-
thority in these values by not merely agreeing with them, but regularly striving to put them into
practice. This would include opposing the promotion of their opposite, e.g., oppression; bigotry;
cruelty; harm; and lack of respect for self, others, and the world. The values, apart from the
choice to act on them, are powerless.
“doctrine”
Doctrine (dogma) refers to religious beliefs that are identified by a faith group as having absolute
and universal authority and are therefore not to be disputed or diverged from. They are usually
based on material in texts that are regarded as infallible (error-free) sources of divine revelation
(a message from God), and involve truth claims regarding the identity, actions, or requirements
of a supernatural being or force. Christian doctrine has been based on the text of the Bible and, in
the case of the Roman Catholic Church, on papal pronouncements considered infallible on mat-
ters not addressed, or indirectly addressed, in the Bible. by These claims to truth are supported
by no corroborating evidence apart from other dogmatic statements or personal experience.
Throughout history and still in the present day, many religious groups that claim absolute and
universal authority regarding truth apply the term “heresy” to an idea that appears to contradict
what is considered a major (and sometimes a minor) doctrine, and question or revoke the mem-
bership or leadership role of one who will not reconsider their view.
“absolute or universal truth”
Both of these terms have a common usage; when used here it is in a very specific sense. When an
idea is considered absolute, it is considered to be undeniable, unarguable, and trustworthy, need-
ing no validation but its existence. When an idea is considered universal, it is assumed to apply
equally to all people in all places at all times. These are neutral terms that become problematic
when they are applied to subjective opinion or experience, particularly regarding religious doc-
trine. For instance, to state as an absolute that water freezes at zero degrees Celsius, or that grav-
ity universally exerts a particular force, would represent a neutral application of the terms, i.e. the
claims can be proven, reproduced, or experienced by anyone. Claiming the same truth status for
an idea or interpretation of reality is quite a different thing. To state as universally true, for ex-
ample, that skiing is exhilarating, or as an absolute that 20 degrees Celsius is a comfortable room
temperature, assumes a general application of a personal experience or opinion. In the same way,
stating that God is a supernatural being, or that original sin is the state of everyone before salva-
tion, is claiming absolute or universal status for something that is supported by the opinion or ex-
perience of only some people. Without disputing that a claim made by someone is true for them,
and without in any way diminishing the meaning of personal experience, we avoid applying the

terms absolute or universal, directly or by implication, to personal opinion or experience.
Further, we strive to strike a balance between two extremes by avoiding, on one hand, a totaliz-
ing, absolute, universalized picture of life into which everyone must fit the same way, and, on the
other, an overemphasis on individual differences to the exclusion of commonalities in values.
“will contain no claims or suggestions that…”
We avoid:
• assertions or assumptions of the absolute or universal truth of religious doctrine
o e.g., God is all-powerful, Jesus is God in the flesh, salvation comes only through
believing in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, all are sinners in need of redemption
• promises of results from believing religious doctrines
o e.g., God will save the nation, God will forgive your sins, Jesus will be with you,
God will answer your prayers, God will heal your illness
• validations of the historical accuracy of supernatural events recorded in religious texts
o e.g., Moses parted the Red Sea, Jesus walked on water, Jesus rose from the dead
Many people believe that claims such as these are literally true; others perceive them as meta-
phorically or experientially true; and still others do not consider them true in any substantial way,
intellectually, emotionally, or experientially. While all individuals own the authenticity of their
personal beliefs and experiences, we do not identify any particular individual choice of doctrine
as a general requirement.
We attempt to choose wording that centres on commonly held values, and therefore:
• does not prevent those who hold specific doctrinal beliefs from applying the message to
their lives
• does not ask those who do not hold specific doctrinal beliefs to translate or delete them
from the message in order to apply it to their lives.
“ordinary language”
Specialized language has been devised and utilized in many professions and organizations. It has
been used as a means of communicating not only information, but expertise, power, authority,
and insider privilege. The result is the “dependency” of the non-experts on the experts. When
used in religious or spiritual contexts, it separates out a realm of understanding, sometimes a

seemingly mysterious realm, that only certain people who are fluent in the special vocabulary
can access.
While differences in education, training, and experience enrich our community, we set aside no
separate expertise or authority for accessing the spiritual dimension of life, and therefore avoid
as much as possible any specialized vocabulary. We strive to connect with common experience,
while also reflecting individual diversity, and the depths of wonder and awe. There is much that
remains unknowns to us, mysterious in a way, but we do not feel this is best expressed by the use
of mysterious language. Rejecting simplistic approaches to either the complexities of life or the
richness of values and meaning, we nonetheless choose language that is spoken and understood
in our everyday lives, in the local workplace, school, home, and community. We will explain the
meaning and the intended use of any non-typical words.
If and when we use words that, because of their use in both religious and non-religious contexts,
may be ambiguous, it will be the ordinary meaning we intend to communicate, one that contains
or suggests no absolute or universal claim. These include words such as religion, spirituality,
spirit, sacred/holy, divine, faith, worship, reverence, transcendence, immanence, journey, church,
scripture, prayer, mystery, morality, gratitude, Christian, Jesus gospel, God (see further discus-
sion in section E.1).
“metaphor”
We are enriched by different applications of metaphor, poetry, and story as these forms of lan-
guage can bring fresh insights into life and elicit passionate response. They can also help us
express our sense of wonder and awe at the unknown, unknowable, or inexplicable.
Some make use of metaphor to assign alternate meanings to traditional doctrinal terms, e.g. us-
ing the phrase “Jesus is Lord” to mean “love is supreme”, or the phrase “Jesus is risen from the
dead” to mean “love is always a possibility”. The rationale used by some is that the doctrinal
term was always meant metaphorically; for others, it is that the term, however it was originally
meant, can now be taken metaphorically. In either case, ties with the Christian heritage are main-
tained through traditional language.
The difficulty here is that the listener, if he or she is not given an explanation or translation, could
well assume, as do many in the Christian world, that the speaker intends the obvious, literal
meaning for the traditional terms, as in the examples: that Jesus has kingly status among all
people, and that it is an historical fact that he rose bodily from the dead. To address this mis-
conception, classes could be held or literature made available to teach people the metaphorical
meaning so that when they encounter the language spoken or written they would understand the
meaning intended. Or, in order to avoid an “insider” group of people who “understand” and an
“outsider” group who “don’t”, because they have not yet taken the classes or read the literature,
the intended meaning could be clearly stated every time the doctrinal term was used.

We feel, however, that clarity, effectiveness, and inclusiveness are best achieved when values,
if it is values that are intended, are expressed in ordinary, non-doctrinal terms. We do not, there-
fore, make use of metaphor to assign an alternate meaning to a doctrinal term. We strive to use
language for which listeners do not require a special glossary, insider knowledge of a “Sunday”
language, or a theological education. Further we want to avoid any implication that a “deeper”
spirituality is being associated with a certain vocabulary. We believe that ordinary language used
directly and clearly to share ideas for the purpose of spiritual growth makes possible an effective,
dynamic, and thoroughly comprehensible ministry.
“the sharing of diverse views…is welcomed”
No restrictions whatsoever are placed on the informal communication of ideas, including beliefs
in particular doctrines, other than an expectation that our core values will be adhered to, i.e. that
all conversation will be conducted with respect for others’ rights to hold their own beliefs, and
for the purposes of sharing insight with one another. Our concept of mutual respect includes the
speaker refraining from assuming or insisting that others believe the same as he or she does.

F. Background
1. Texts, traditions, and beliefs
Many religions, including most forms of traditional Christianity, require belief in certain super-
natural beings, events, and ceremonies. These beliefs are found in texts (oral and written) con-
sidered to be sacred and infallible sources of truth. Many people have highly meaningful experi-
ences they would describe as religious or spiritual derived from these beliefs. The same beliefs,
however, are clearly not shared by all people, and therefore cannot be substantiated as absolute
or universally true, although they are often declared to be. Claims for absolute and universal truth
tend to divide people into distinct groups, e.g. believers/non-believers, saved/unsaved, worthy/
unworthy, deserving/undeserving, acceptable/unacceptable, spiritual/non-spiritual, Christian/non-
Christian.
We acknowledge that there is much we do not yet, and may never understand, about life. Fur-
ther, the concept of truth itself is a complex one. With this awareness, we develop our approach
to texts and traditions through:
• our ongoing assessment of the evidence of hundreds of years of scientific, literary, com-
parative religious, and historical scholarship regarding biblical origins, dates of authorship,
choices to include or exclude books in the Bible, cultural influences, development of doc-
trine and belief systems, and the impact of various theological and philosophical movements
• the application of critical thinking to the content of texts and traditions and the claims
made about them
• individual and communal moral insight, and interpretation and experience of language
and meaning
• respect for diversity of experience and freedom of conscience
Based on study and consideration of such findings, we view all writings, including scripture
considered sacred and doctrinal statements considered authoritative, as wholly human construc-
tions, written by fallible human beings such as ourselves, who, like us, were trying to make sense
of life and determine how best to live. We honour their right to have held their beliefs and made
their claims regarding truth. Possessing that same right, however, we choose not to adopt their
beliefs and claims indiscriminately as prescriptive for us or anyone else. We do not inherit “be-
liefs”; we inherit the ideas of others. We either passively accept those ideas, or we seek out other
perspectives as well, and construct our own framework for understanding and engaging with life.
We therefore do not consider a statement to be authoritative for our lives simply because it is
contained in a certain book or it is claimed to have been spoken by a certain person. Rather, we
apply critical thinking, moral intuition, and experience to any idea or proposition to determine
whether or not we believe it reflects the core values of justice, compassion, kindness, respect, etc.

Any expression reflecting these core values, regardless of its source, would be deemed useful in
ministry; one that does not, regardless of its source, would not be used.
Further, and perhaps most importantly, the point of assessing the content of texts in this way is
not simply to determine whether or not it “agrees with” the selected values or makes a statement
we can “believe in”, but rather to identify wisdom that moves us towards action – the living out
of life-giving and life-enhancing values: e.g. doing justice, demonstrating compassion, meeting
basic needs. Otherwise, a list of values, as wonderful as it may be, is nothing more than another
set of doctrines.
2. Implications for language used in ministry: choices
The United Church of Canada has long promoted inclusiveness by discouraging language that
promotes or sanctions gender inequality and oppressive power relations, suggests the ultimate fu-
ture triumph of one particular culture or religion, or condemns diversity in such matters as sexual
orientation. Studies in comparative religion, the findings of historical research, and the critical
reading of biblical texts have moved us to regard much of the liturgical, biblical, creedal, and
doctrinal language as unnecessarily and insupportably exclusive. Despite differences in inter-
pretation and emphasis, these traditional expressions assume an authority derived from the Bible
of the Church, institutions which have as the basis and justification for their authority these very
sources, with the result that certain ideas and teachings, above and beyond core values for living,
are privileged over others.
Traditional religious language can be used in the following ways:
1. Literal: The speaker may be using the words in their obvious sense, with the belief that they
represent the absolute truth based on the authority of the Bible and the church. The expectation is
that the listeners will take them in this same sense.
2. Familiar: The speaker may be using traditional words because they have always been used,
although both speaker and listeners may be quite out of touch with any particular meaning. The
words may have never, or not recently, been examined as to meaning and purpose. There may be
an unspoken assumption that a tradition must be upheld. Many find meaning and comfort, at the
very least, because the words are familiar. Or there may be the belief that somehow these par-
ticular words have a spiritual power that other words do not; that it is not really “church” unless
those words are used.
3. Metaphorical: A choice has been made in many mainline churches to retain certain traditional
doctrinal or creedal words in order to maintain ties with the Christian heritage, but intend for
them a metaphorical, not a literal interpretation, sometimes based on the belief that some of the
words were actually originally intended as metaphor. Doctrinal language is meant to stand for
an essential truth, for example, the phrase “Lord have mercy” may be used, but not to suggest a
powerful lord being asked to pity a wayward servant, but rather “forgive yourself and others their

faults.”
There are difficulties in aspects of each of these approaches:
1. Literal: We do not use religious words in their literal sense, particularly when they require a
special form of belief, or when they conflict with core values.
2. Familiar: We appreciate the value of tradition and familiarity in the life of a community, yet,
while we do not change the familiar for the sake of novelty, we also do not retain words simply
because they have always been used, regardless of their meaning. No tradition is considered
beyond critique simply because of its longevity or familiarity. Many ministers and officials have
changed the traditional declaration of marriage from “man and wife” to “husband and wife”, an
expression of equality of status, and some to a phrase such as “life partners”, an expression with
no limitation on gender. It’s not that all tradition should be changed; it’s that all tradition should
be examined and assessed, and changed if a greater degree of justice and compassion is made
possible by the change.
As well, we strive to avoid the problematic split between the perception of sacred and non-sacred
sustained by this language, i.e. that there is a sacred language for use in church and a regular
language for use the rest of the week.
3. Metaphorical: We honour the desire to maintain connection with a cherished heritage, yet see
a high risk for substantial misunderstanding. If when the metaphorical meaning is intended, yet
this choice is not made clear at the time of use, those who have not been given the local transla-
tions, either newcomers or long-time attendees, could assume the speaker intends the obvious,
literal sense – not entirely unlikely considering that in many religious contexts this is the intend-
ed meaning. Further, the retention of doctrinal, creedal wording, even if meant metaphorically,
perpetuates the view that spirituality has its own specialized jargon, a vocabulary unfamiliar in
any everyday sense. It can communicate that it is better to use that vocabulary, even though it
does not make sense to other acquaintances in the workplace or neighbours on the block, thus
creating and sustaining an artificial division. Churches that interpret biblical and doctrinal
statements literally believe in this division (saved and unsaved). We strive to communicate in
ways that illustrate our sense of the commonality of all humanity. We therefore choose to avoid
archaic words and religious or theological terms, while making use of metaphor, poetry and story
to enhance communication in all other respects.
There are also difficulties with this ordinary language approach:
• some people may never have been informed that the minister is using doctrinal terms
metaphorically. They always took the meaning to be literal, and believe the doctrines liter-
ally – these people may be upset at the loss of truth or religious meaning
• some people always realized the speaker meant the phrase literally, yet they themselves

did not believe the doctrines literally – these people may respond variously:
o some are not disturbed by this discrepancy and may wish the language to stay
metaphorical because it feels more religious or more comfortably familiar
o some may welcome the change, for the language now resonates with their under-
standing
• some people may have always understood that the speaker was using the terms metaphor-
ically, and may respond variously:
o as above, they may wish the language to stay metaphorical because it feels more
religious or more comfortably familiar
o some may welcome the change, for the language now resonates with their under-
standing
• some people are simply uncomfortable with change of any nature
Choosing to deal with the difficulties is a reflection of our conviction of the great value in work-
ing towards clear and relevant communication.
We attempt to express ourselves in ways that are meaningful to all, including both those with no
religious background and those who hold any doctrinal beliefs, as we reach to embrace the val-
ues common to all positive religions, philosophies, and worldviews. We recognize that those who
seek or require a focus on doctrine may experience loss or emptiness. Others may be disturbed
at the references to contemporary scholarship regarding the origins and nature of biblical texts
and doctrines. For those who wish to explore these matters, there are many resources available
in our library, online, and from the collections of various members. Concerns and questions are
welcomed by the Board, the Elements of Worship Committee, the Pastoral Care Committee, the
Ministry and Personnel Committee, and the minister. The acceptance of our approach to minis-
try may come immediately for some, more slowly for others, and not at all for still others. Some
may leave our community for a time; others may leave permanently. We seek to respond to each
individual’s experience, as he or she makes it known, with respect and care, and encourage ongo-
ing sharing and exchange of experiences and ideas, seeing learning as a process or journey, not
final or required destination.

G. Application
1. Interpretation of various terms
The following terms have direct or indirect connections to traditional religion, yet can be inter-
preted in a variety of ways: religion, spirituality, spirit, sacred/holy, divine, faith, worship, rever-
ence, transcendence, immanence, journey, church, scripture, prayer, mystery, morality, gratitude,
Christian, Jesus, gospel, Christ, and God. (The terms salvation and supernatural are addressed
in section #3). If and when we choose to use any of these terms, it will be in an ordinary sense,
reflecting the broadest, most inclusive interpretation, with no claim implied regarding absolute
or universal truth, or a supernatural dimension. We attempt to make this clear by explanation or
context.
The following are descriptions, not “official” definitions.
religion
The word religion comes from the Latin meaning either to bind together or to consider carefully.
The term has been used in many ways, and whether or not people are comfortable with it de-
pends largely on what is assumed to be meant by it. It very often, but not always, includes belief
in the supernatural, a set of rules for behaviour, and specific required ceremonies. It sometimes
contains a requirement for a special priesthood for performing sacraments and rituals. A broader,
more inclusive understanding, however, is found in contemporary literature, where religion is
seen to consist of the following four components:
1. a cosmology - a story of who we are and why we are here
2. a spiritual dimension – a deeper meaning than the material
3. a rationale for living responsibly and ethically, with compassion
4. public celebrations of shared values and of life’s passages.
Our ministry as outlined in the document VisionWorks II fits well within this description, al-
though some might still not wish to use the term because of its traditional associations.
A further word, however, on cosmology. Religions customarily have their own unique stories,
passed down orally or contained in their unique texts; Christianity has traditionally associated
with some or all of the stories recorded in certain ancient Israelite texts. The early church chose
those texts from among many existing texts depending on which ones best represented their
views.
We have chosen to move to a broad view of what constitutes “our” story. We retain whatever in
the biblical stories upholds the core values, but also widen our view to the whole story of life,

including a multitude of individual stories of discovery, growth, joy, creativity, and contribution,
and also of hardship, tragedy, and suffering. We celebrate and learn from the stories of people ad-
vocating for rights and confronting oppression; recovering from or dealing with difficulties and
disabilities; demonstrating kindness and helpfulness to others; interacting with the natural world,
and using talents positively in the arts, technology, and communication. The stories come from
history, folklore, legend, and religion; we find them in the past and the present. This view is not
only humbling and exciting, but helpful in connecting us with the whole human race, minimizing
the divisions of race, culture, and religion, while valuing the contributions. When we include all
these stories, our overall “story” becomes everybody’s story, humanity’s story.
The following is a selection of definitions or descriptions of religion from contemporary litera-

ture:

• an integrated system of belief, lifestyle, ritual activities, and institutions by which indi-
viduals give meaning and purpose to their lives by orienting themselves to what is held to
be sacred, holy, or of highest value, and which offers mutual help and motivation for living
according to this orientation
• the dimension of depth in life (Paul Tillich)
• devotion to something beyond the self
• that which assumes a vital, pervasive role in one’s life, conditioning, determining, and
focusing all or most other attitudes and reactions (William Kennick)
• the binding together of all life, not as “one” in the sense of obliterating individuality and
difference, but as a great whole made up of its parts
• a profound awareness of a sense of mystery to which one responds with awe and wonder
(Rudolph Otto)
• a depth dimension, involving a movement, whether ill-defined or conscious, toward some

sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life
(Encyclopedia of Religion)
• that which has to do with the acknowledgement of the sacred or the holy, whatever that
might be understood to be (Mircea Eliade, religious history scholar)
• that which provides orientation or direction for human life and motivation for living and
acting humanly (Anthony Pinn, drawing on theologian Gordon Kaufman)
• a notion of the transcendent or numinous (the sacred, the transcendent, the other)

• sacred truths held in reverence
• human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, or divine (En-
cyclopedia Britannica)
• becoming more fully human through living as intensely, joyfully, and responsibly as pos-
sible, in one’s intellectual, affective, and ethical dimensions (Wm. Murry)
• an approach to all experiences of life – aesthetic, political, moral, scientific, and social
– based on the conviction of what is of enduring value – being devoted to ideal ends, the
ideals of human worth and dignity, freedom, justice, and peace (philosopher John Dewey)
• utter devotion to the ethic of love, for the welfare of all
• the capacity of the human organism to transcend its biological nature through the con-
struction of objective, morally binding, all-embracing universes of meaning, i.e, everything
genuinely human (anthropologist Thomas Luckmann)
• not an institution or set of beliefs, but a quality of experience
• moral convictions and experiences that result in greater unification of the self and of the
self with the world
• concepts concerned with transcendental ultimate concerns (Penguin Dictionary of Reli-

gion)
• reverence for life (Albert Schweitzer)
• wonder at nature and joy in human community
• commitment to a cause that transcends the self
Further, religions typically have an intellectual, emotional/experiential, and practical/ethical

dimension, and it is often the case that one aspect is emphasized at the expense of the others.
Aware of this, we strive for balance, stressing intellectual integrity, emotional/experiential au-
thenticity, and the practical application of ethics.
spirituality
Spirituality, like religion, is sometimes assumed to pertain to the supernatural. It is sometimes

confused with spiritualism, in its sense of a form of religion with its own set of beliefs and prac-
tices. As well, many do not consider someone spiritual until they have accepted certain doctrines
and had a transformative experience. Many others, however, see religion as only one form of

spirituality, i.e. someone could be spiritual and not be religious.
Our common use of the term would embrace a broad, inclusive interpretation, referring to the
dimension of life that pertains to core values, meaning, and relationships, a dimension that per-
meates all other dimensions of people’s lives. The following is a selection of interpretations that
resonate with our ministry; many of the expressions are similar to those in the above section on
religion.
• the dimension of our lives in which we experience values, meaning, and relationships
• meaning and purpose beyond survival, maintenance, and self-interest
• a foundation and centre for living meaningfully and effectively
• that which transcends material life
• mindfulness
• that which makes life vital and worth living
• that which gives life higher meaning and purpose than solely self-indulgence
• devotion to the highest values: truth, goodness, beauty, and compassion
• the mutual care of community
• experiencing life directly without dependence on the intervention of inherited beliefs or

concepts
• seeing self and others as fundamentally connected
• awareness of a dimension beyond the material
• approaching life with wonder
• the pursuit of emotional, psychological, social, and physical wholeness
• seeing everyday things and roles as opportunities for enhancing life
• attention to the sacred, as one sees it
• removing illusions and distortions about life

• the inner conflict of good and evil
• those matters regarding humankind’s ultimate nature and purpose, not only as material
biological organisms, but as beings with a unique relationship to that which is beyond both
time and the material world
• a sense of the deep self combined with awareness of others
• growing in wisdom and improving in willpower
• avoidance of corrupting, damaging influences
• sensitivity to and appreciation of beauty, including in a non-conventional sense
• seeking wisdom for life and practicing the principles learned
• openness to the energy of life
• love as action
• searching for broader perspectives, deeper meanings, and clearer essentials
• seeing the possibility for enrichment in each encounter in life
• focus on relevant, life-giving, life-changing ideas
• openness to the energy found in all life, to the energy in people that motivates them and
enables them to respond creatively to needs and possibilities
• attention to both the inner and outer life, and a connection between these
• awareness of the cosmic dimension in life
• building on foundational values that make people whole, affirm their vital connection
with one another, and release them to live creatively, authentically, and purposefully
• reflection, self-examination, self-awareness for the purpose of growth
• embracing the essentials of life
• humane living – respectful and helpful
• balancing priorities

• serving the greater good
• openness to “the other”
• liberating oneself from distorted beliefs and unrealistic expectations
• living with purpose
• that which brings us into full engagement with the world within and around us
• inspiration drawn from beauty, creativity, morality, love
• the creation of beauty
• a sense of oneness with all life
• “the eternal human longing to be connected to something larger than one’s ego” (Parker
Palmer)
• a suspension of ordinary experience and a transcendence of self – an aesthetic or imagi-

native experience, a vision of the larger picture
• participation in prayer, ritual, meditation, and other tools for personal and communal
growth
• marvel, awe, wonder at nature, human love, creativity
spirit
The term is often used to refer to supernatural beings or forces, or the Holy Spirit described in
the Bible. Many people would understand or sense spirit it in this manner; many would not.
Our common use of the term would be as a quality of experience, e.g., the spirit of love, of free-
dom, of community, of the sacredness of life. The word comes from the Latin “spiritus” mean-
ing breath. The following are interpretations:
• the breath of life
• the activating, essential core of a person
• the animating or vital principle which gives another dimension to life other than material
• what makes life worth living, without which life is empty

• love in action
• wonder, awe, worship, devotion
sacred, holy
This term often refers to something – an object, a place, a book, a person - that has been des-
ignated by a human or divine authority to be in some way spiritually/religiously different than
ordinary things, in some way connected to God, or imbued with a power to bless, forgive, answer
prayer, strengthen, etc.
A broader perspective would refer to that which has deep meaning and value for an individual
or community, including life, people, relationships, experiences, values, principles, wisdom, and
knowledge. We may use the word “sacred” to apply to what we believe is worthy of our rever-
ence, respect, awe, and complete devotion; to what we choose to regard as having ultimate mean-
ing and highest worth, as demonstrated in our decisions and actions.
divine
This word is often used as a synonym for divine beings - God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit - or as an
adjective meaning godliness, spiritual, or supernatural.
In our common use of the term we are referring to the spiritual dimension of life, to what we
designate sacred within and around us, to an ultimate sense of love, truth, goodness, and beauty.
faith
This word is often used to refer to belief and trust in God, God’s word and promises, or tradition-
al religious doctrines. Included in dictionary definitions is the idea of complete or unquestioning
trust in something for which there is no proof or for which no proof is demanded. It also refers
to loyalty or confidence. Its root meaning is to trust or be convinced.
Our common use of the term would point to our acceptance of, our belief and confidence in,
and our allegiance to love, justice, and compassion; to each other; to community; to all that we
consider sacred. No proof for the goodness of these things is available, nor is any required. We
trust in this based on our inner conviction that love is right in itself, and our experience, not that
choosing love results in favourable outcomes, for often it doesn’t, but that love is right for us to
centre our lives upon.
worship
The root of the word worship is worth, worthiness, honour, respect. It is often used to mean the
act of giving honour, reverence, praise, and thanks to a divine being or supernatural power.

Our common use of the term is that of devotion to that which we consider as having ultimate
worth in and for our lives. Acts of worship includes meditating on that which is of greatest
worth, examining our lives in light of those values, affirming those areas of our lives where we
are living in close alignment with those values, and deciding on change where we need re-align-
ment. True worship requires devotion, honesty, courage, and resolve. When approached in this
way, it functions as a life-changing, life-enhancing, life-strengthening activity.
Worship can take place individually, in small groups, and in larger gatherings, where we come
together with those who share our commitments to experience an affirmation of our being, our
values, and our choices; to exercise those values within that community; and to be energized to
return to the broader community to live out those values.
reverence
This term is often used to describe someone’s attitude towards a divine being or sacred object or
place.
A broader use would refer to an intellectual, emotional, and spiritual response to that which we
believe has intrinsic, inviolable worth – a profound honouring and respect.
transcendence
This word is often used to denote another world, God, a supernatural dimension.
To transcend is to go beyond; we use the term in the sense of that which is beyond one’s self,
one’s self-interest; a connection outside one’s self in nature, others, the universe, a sense of one-
ness with all life. We seek to put as little limit as possible on what this might mean. We are not
the ultimate thing in the universe, for we are finite, limited, transient, and did not create our-
selves. We do, however, have ultimate responsibility for ourselves, to identify and choose our
own values. Our purpose in using the term would be to heighten consciousness of that which is
beyond us, the deeper sense of unity with life, and a basis for commitment to care for all human-
kind and nature.
immanence
This word is often used to denote God’s presence in the inner world, God within or nearby.
Immanence means, literally, existing within. Our common use of the term would refer to the
sense of self within, the sense of love, worth, and value within – a heightened consciousness of
the inner life leading to reverence for self, and therefore intentional care and enrichment of the
self.
With a sense of both transcendence and immanence, we acknowledge there is much we do not
know or understand, yet we embrace the fullness and interrelatedness of life, the connections,
and the separateness.

journey
This term is often used to describe life, or the spiritual life.
We do not use it in the sense of there being an ultimate destination, a state of having “arrived” at
maturity, perfection, or acceptability. We interpret it as a way of living.
• a living, moving, experiential, feeling, deepening, growing search for what is true, what
is good, and what is beautiful
• a life-long letting go of whatever impedes growth, including unrealistic expectations
• a leaving behind, in whole or in part, of formerly held ideas, opinions, interpretations,

etc., and the accompanying grief, confusion, or rage – or liberation, joy, and release
• a life-long discerning as to how to manage oneself for the greatest good for self, others,
and the world
• an embracing of the full range of human experience, both positive and negative, in such a
way that learning and development can take place regardless of the circumstances
• seeing life as spiritual, not merely material
• the empowerment of one’s own authentic experience of meaning in relationship
church
This word is often used to mean a sacred place of worship, the body of Christ on earth, a reposi-
tory and dispenser of grace, an authoritative organization, a gathering of the saved, a community
of those with identical or similar doctrinal beliefs and religious experiences.
Our common use of the term refers to a community that gathers together to deepen their under-
standing, support and strengthen their values, celebrate life’s passages, and find inspiration, mo-
tivation, and courage to work together and individually in their local communities for personal,
societal, and natural wholeness and coherence.
scripture
This term is most often used to mean a divinely revealed and therefore authoritative text, either
inerrant, and therefore absolutely trustworthy in its entire content, or inspired, and therefore con-
taining among its words Truth from or about God. Many believe this; many do not.

Our common use of the word refers to the ancient Israelite texts that interpret life and goodness
as they understood it. It is to be read critically, as is any other text. Critical reading reveals the
presence of much material in accord with the core values, and much that is not. We choose what
can be of value in our lives, both to affirm what we hold sacred, and to confront and challenge us
to growth.
prayer
This term most often refers to conversation with a deity, for praise, thanksgiving, requests, or
companionship.
In our common use, we understand prayer to be a pouring out of our hearts, alone or with others,
for ourselves, each other, and people beyond our community, born of a deep desire for their good
and a commitment to help wherever we can. We share both needs and blessings, and respond to
burdens made known.
mystery
This word is often used to refer to religious truths sensed but not explainable. It is also often
used to explain why something doesn’t make sense.
It can also elicit a sense of deep, significant meaning beyond our full comprehension, either yet
unknown or unknowable. We believe that knowledge and understanding do not decrease awe
and wonder, and may use the term to refer to things beyond our understanding, while making no
claim for a supernatural explanation.
morality/ethics
This term usually refers to a set of rules, often considered unchangeable, sanctioned by some
divine or other authority, and possibly religious.
Aware of theories of the biological or social basis for morality, we seek, and often struggle to
gain, understanding regarding what is good and right from experience and reflection regarding
the consequences of actions in light of core values. It requires that we transcend ourselves; it
requires empathy. Further, our understanding of morality must be open to critique and revision
as circumstances change and understanding evolves.
gratitude
This is often used to refer to the thanks owed to the Creator for goodness he/she chose to bestow.
In a non-theistic sense, gratitude is an essential attitude whereby life is experienced as “gift”, an
unmerited opportunity for experiencing and doing good.

Christian
The following are samples of the various possible interpretations of the word Christian.
• Christians are people who live in a Christian country, people who are civilized
• Christians are people who are saved:
o Universal: all people, past and present, were saved through Jesus’ sacrifice for sin
on the cross – he paid the price for all, and all are saved
o Ritual: all people who are baptized are saved and therefore Christian, whether the
baptism was performed through the faith of the church, the parents, or the person being
baptized
o Faith: all people are saved who admit they are sinners in need of God’s forgive-
ness, repent of their sin, acknowledge that Jesus is God in the flesh, and believe that he
died in their place for their sin on the cross and rose from the dead (sometimes includes
asking him to become Lord of their lives)
• Christians are people who worship and follow Jesus as Lord
• Christians are people who follow some or all of the teachings of Jesus
Many of us do not find ourselves in any of the above descriptions, and many of us do not use the
term Christian because of its usual meaning. Many find it one of the unnecessary and disturbing
divisions they have moved away from. Others wish to retain the title for various reasons. For
some, it is their way of honouring that it was the Christian tradition in which they first recog-
nized and embraced the sacred values they still hold. Others wish to participate in the efforts to
reform part or all of the Christian church in accordance with progressive thought. Others feel it
is simply the name for their particular choice of spiritual tools. Whether or not we use the term,
it is the common values that bring and hold us together, not as an exclusive community with
required beliefs, but as an open community with cherished values.
Jesus
The following are possible interpretations:
• Jesus was/is the Son of God, second member of the Trinity, who came to earth in human
form to teach us the way to live, and die on the cross in our place for our sins as the perfect
sacrifice to satisfy God’s requirement; he is therefore the only way to a relationship with
God and a future in heaven

• Jesus was God in the flesh, God’s gift to the world of himself, to save us from our sin by
showing us how to live and forgiving us our failures; he gave his life for this message
• Jesus was someone whose life came the closest to perfection of anyone who ever lived,
and in that sense is considered divine; by following his teaching, we also can achieve some
level of divine likeness, though none will be as great as he
• Jesus was a devout Jewish teacher who taught love and forgiveness beyond tribal bound-
aries and biases, and was crucified for his non-traditional beliefs; he pointed to the way we
should follow
• Jesus was a devout Jewish teacher whose teachings contain both wise and mistaken,
inadequate ideas for contemporary living; we should follow whatever teachings of his are
positive and life-enhancing
Many believe in one or another of these interpretations and find great meaning, comfort, and
assurance in those beliefs; many do not. Many witness to an experience of personal relationship
with Jesus; many do not. Many consider Jesus as a guide and teacher, divine or human; many do
not. Many worship him, pray to him, thank him, and love him; many do not share any of these
experiences.
Study reveals that:
• those who wrote about Jesus are unidentifiable
• no original documents about Jesus exist and the existing copies differ
• there existed many alternate versions, other gospels that portray Jesus differently, and
which were not chosen for inclusion in the Bible,
• there are no extra-biblical, contemporary sources that corroborate any of Jesus’ teaching,
activities, or miracles
• the authority for the material presented in the Scriptural records is established only within
those same records (self-validation)
• the writings contain, as well as expressions of unconditional love, expressions of condi-

tional love, judgment, eternal punishment, inaccurate predictions, and debatable ethics.
In light of this, and in order to preserve a link to the traditional presentation of Jesus, some
mainline teaching suggests that Jesus said and did only the positive things (confronting
inappropriate power relations, including women and children, urging people to love one
another, etc.) recorded in the gospels, the negative/problematic ones (promising that God
would look after people, declaring that non-believers will go to hell, declaring himself to be

the only way, etc.) being later human additions. Out of the selected positive teachings, an
ideal image is constructed and then held up as representing the one/One to follow. Others
consider Jesus “a” leader to follow, but claim no higher status for him than other religious
leaders.
Our approach, given that it is impossible to determine what Jesus said, did, or intended, is:
• to make no claims as to Jesus’ identity and purpose, and no suggestions that he should be
worshipped, prayed to, or obeyed unconditionally
• to consider him as a figure written about in the first century as a teacher who, imperfectly
as is the case with any teacher, offered a vision for a way of life that included love and for-
giveness
• to consider none of the writings inherently authoritative, and to grant no privileged status
to the material
• to assess any writings about him or his teachings in the light of historical scholarship and
up against the core values, affirming and rejecting material responsibly and freely, to deter-
mine, not necessarily whether or not it is original, but whether or not it may be helpful
• to affirm all the helpful teachings attributed to him in Scripture
gospel
This word is used to refer to any one of the first four books of the New Testament that tell of the
life and teachings of Jesus. It is also used to indicate what was called the “good news” brought
by Jesus, which is seen variously as the good news of God’s love, the good news of forgiveness,
the good news of new life in Christ, the good news of salvation through belief in Jesus’ sacrifice
on the cross for our sins, depending on the particular portion of Scripture and the individual’s
interpretation.
In examining the message of the gospel, we do not identify what we might call relevant “news”,
but rather find a repetition and affirmation of much teaching that echoes that of some portions of
the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), other religions and philosophies before the gospels were
written. We use the word simply to refer to the common name for the first four books of the New
Testament.
Christ
The word Christ, from the Greek kristos, means “the anointed” and most often refers to the
Hebrew concept of Messiah. To Jewish believers, the Messiah is a human being, still to come to
liberate their people; to Christians, the Messiah is the one who came in the person of Jesus, con-

sidered human by some, human and divine by others. Christology is the study of the relationship
between the human and divine in Jesus.
The role of Jesus as Christ is variously interpreted, but in most cases relates to the bringing of
good news from God regarding salvation. For some it is the good news of forgiveness through
Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world. For others it is the good news of God’s
love, forgiveness (apart from any concept of sacrifice on the cross), or a model for living. These
last interpretations may refer to a matter of degree or clarity, since it was not news to the Hebrew
people living at Jesus’ time that God loved them, would forgive them, or had a way he wanted
them to live. One significant difference would be Jesus’ command to forgive one’s enemies,
since although the Old Testament touched on this at times, it more often commended vengeance
against one’s/God’s enemies.
The mystical tradition presents a concept of a “cosmic Christ”, who represents the spirit of
universal love, compassion, creativity, or energy at work in the world through all creation, and
evident, especially, to some, in Jesus.
The term Christ is deeply meaningful to some, and to others. It can, even when used broadly as
in the cosmic Christ, still perpetuate an exclusive view, a privileged figure, which unless clearly
identified as one of many possible spiritual “tools”, suggests absolute and universal status for a
concept not substantiated by all. We use the term only when quoting or discussing the New Tes-
tament use of the word, and attribute no absolute, universal, or supernatural status to it.
God
The following are samples of various possible interpretations (using the male pronoun where it is
often used):
• God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, loving, holy Creator of life who is involved in the
lives of his creation – he is a personal being who loves, forgives, punishes, and performs
miracles
• God is the all-powerful Creator of life who made the world and then stepped back, choos-
ing to run it through his ordained laws – he is not involved with creation now
• God is a force of good, a spirit of love, not a person, but a real entity that will act
• God is love itself
• God is the spirit of community, love shared between people, help offered and received
Many believe in one or another of these interpretations and find great meaning, comfort, and
assurance in those beliefs; many do not. Many hold as precious such things as love, justice, and

community, with no concept of a divine being or force. If and when we use the word, we intend
the broadest possible meaning, with no sense of absolute definition or promise of action. If we
use the word, we do so only in very clear, specific ways, because of the widely divergent mean-
ings invested in the word by so many people, and the resultant confusion when dealing with it.
We tend to speak of love directly and focus on love in action as being of supreme value.
2. Problematic language avoided
Examples of liturgical, creedal, doctrinal, religious language not used in our formal ministry
include:
Theistic language – words that assume, claim, or promise the existence, actions or personal
response of a supernatural being with the qualities of perfect goodness, total power, total knowl-
edge, total presence, and total authority over us. Examples include: God is all-knowing, God is
all-powerful, God is everywhere, God is the Creator, God is the Judge, God is the Saviour, Jesus
is God, God is angry, God is disappointed, God acts, God listens, God speaks, God is the source
of all goodness…The statement God is loving would also be problematic, as it ascribes to the
divine being a quality; the phrase God is love, and its reverse, love is God, although we may or
may not use it, may describe somebody’s non-theistic image of God as being love in action, love
experienced, love shared.
Most of the books chosen for inclusion in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures propose there is a
God with qualities such as the above. Today, many people hold a theistic sense of the divine and
are comforted and strengthened by it; many people do not. We simply do not claim or suggest
the reality of this interpretation over others. We generally choose to make use of non-theistic lan-
guage in ministry, a choice that allows us to speak broadly in ways that do not exclude a variety
of interpretations. Further, we strive to identify within and around us those qualities considered
divine or sacred, exercise them in our everyday lives, and affirm them in one another.
Divine interventionist language – words that assume, claim, or promise that a supernatural being
or force will break through into the natural world to accomplish his/her/its purposes, and that this
being or force will or may change matters for the better in response to prayer. Examples include:
God will heal illness, God will protect you from danger, God will bring peace in our land, God
accomplishes his will in the world, God will prevent evil, God calms the storm, God takes care
of his people, Jesus will come to take us home…
Many books in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures assume that God intervenes in the natural
world and always responds to prayer offered to him in the prescribed ways.
Many people have a strong belief that God chooses to act in these ways, and feel that
their experience validates this belief; others do not. We simply do not claim knowledge or make
promises of supernatural intervention. As well, there is great logical, if not ethical difficulty
involved in claims that God answered, for example, the prayers of someone in Canada who was

looking for a new job, but not the mother in Africa asking God to preserve the life of her ill child,
or, in another sense, that God apparently allowed a tragic car accident to kill mother and son, but
obviously spared father and daughter, and is to be praised for this merciful intervention, or that
God is being thanked and praised for answering the prayers of certain people that the hurricane
did not hit their town, although it devastated the town farther up the coast. Also harmful is the
attributing of the “failure” of a prayer to the deficiency of the particular prayer, or worse, the
deficiency of the one praying, or worse still, the intention of God to “teach” a lesson to someone
by means of the tragedy – these explanations border on horrific justifications of a belief in guar-
anteed divine intervention.
We strive to emphasize the development of character and wisdom that will assist in handling,
and, where possible, altering the circumstances of one’s life. Drawing on a sense of God as a
source of strength and comfort for handling these difficulties does not constitute an intervention-
ist position.
Exclusive salvific language - words that assume or suggest that all people are born needing
supernatural salvation from their sin (the state known as “original sin”, original in that it was
“inherited” from the first sinners, Adam & Eve, and is why all people are condemned at birth
and need to be “born again”), that there is a heaven for the saved and a hell for the unsaved, that
salvation changes one’s actual state in the sight of God from unacceptable to acceptable, that the
only way to be saved from eternal punishment is through faith that Jesus as God in the flesh paid
the price for sin on the cross and offers forgiveness to all who accept him as Saviour and Lord of
their lives, that Jesus is the only Saviour, that there are inevitably those who are saved and those
who are not, that the Christian church has the unique message of salvation for the world, that
there is no other way of salvation, that all religions at their root contain the necessary message of
salvation from hell, that following Jesus saves one’s soul and guarantees heaven…
Several writers whose works were chosen for inclusion in the New Testament scriptures de-
scribed Jesus as Saviour in these terms. Other writings portrayed him as a Jewish teacher who
pointed to a strict ethical way of life.
Many people interpret salvation as described above and find it deeply satisfying and motivating;
others do not. We strive to encourage one another to move beyond ways that are self-defeating,
harmful, or oppressive to ways that are self-fulfilling, helpful, and freeing for all. When we fail,
we strive to be accountable, we seek forgiveness from ourselves and others involved, and we
make restitution and plans for improvement. We do not speak in terms of a “saved” state, but
rather a journey of discovery and growth.
Demeaning language – words that suggest personal unworthiness at an essential level in God’s
sight, e.g., I am unworthy of God’s love, Lord have mercy upon me, who am I that you should
consider me?, I don’t deserve your love, I am weak but God is strong, I am nothing but God is
everything, self is a problem and God is the solution, a proper balance being described as none of
self and all of God.

This is not to discourage intentional self-reflection and identification of areas for change and
growth. We take very seriously the work of striving to live according to the values we profess
and cherish. Yet imperfection is assumed to be a universal human trait and does not denote basic
unworthiness. There are many tragic reasons for self-hate, self-deprecation, and feelings of
worthlessness; our response would not be to affirm these feelings but rather to encourage alter-
nate, healthy images of self in line with reality and the capacity for learning.
Supernatural claims regarding Jesus – words that assume or suggest a supernatural identity for
Jesus, including Jesus as God, the Son of God, the Lord of All, the Saviour of all, God in the
flesh, the only way to God, Jesus is God with us. Many, but not all, of the writers whose works
were chosen for inclusion in the New Testament by the early church declared Jesus to be in some
way a supernatural, divine being, although the exact nature of this is not clearly explained.
Many people believe in the supernatural identity of Jesus, and are strengthened and comforted
in that belief; many do not. We make no dogmatic statement about Jesus, and do not elevate
him above other people, given our view of the human construction of Scripture. We do, how-
ever, find wisdom in some of the teaching attributed to him, when, as with any other teaching, it
reflects the core values we affirm.
Supernatural claims in general – words that suggest the necessity of contact or communication
with beings or forces in a supernatural realm for one’s spiritual health and growth.
Many people claim an awareness and interaction with non-material beings or forces and find it a
source of strength and comfort; many do not. We make no dogmatic claim for the existence or
non-existence of this realm, and remain open, interpreting any experience in light of core values.
Paternalistic language – words that suggest ownership or domination, even of a benevolent

nature, e.g. calling all human beings “God’s children” or “God’s people”, “the whole people of
God”, when many of those people may not embrace, accept, or even tolerate such a label. Relat-
ed to this is the expression “We are the people of God”, which, if it refers only to certain people,
is exclusive, and to all people, is again paternalistic.
Triumphal language – words that assume or suggest guaranteed results, the future supremacy
of Christianity in the world, Jesus eventually being acknowledged as Lord of all, the promise of
ultimate victory of good over evil, the eventual banishment of evil forever, at the name of Jesus
every knee shall bow, Jesus will bring together all the nations under his rule, God will restore
everything under the Lordship of Jesus, etc.

H. Examples
Examples are given in the four appendices that follow:
Appendix A Problematic language in hymns
Appendix B Problematic biblical stories, illustrations, etc.
Appendix C Life-enhancing biblical passages
Appendix D Problematic biblical passages
I. Conclusion
Grounded, therefore, in an understanding of spirituality that is free from religious dogma, but
rather centered on:
• the experience of meaning, values, and relationship
• the sacredness of life – holy, divine, spirit-filled, worthy,
• the supreme value of love lived out in justice, compassion, respect, and care
• the necessity of community for mutual support, nurture, challenge, and service
• and the need for responsible relationships with oneself, others, the planet, we choose to
use language that invites all who hear it to experience growth in their individual lives and in
their capacity to contribute to the greater good.

Appendix A. Problematic language in hymns

The following are examples found in the Voices United Hymn Book. (Hymn numbers are in-
cluded.)
Exclusive theistic language
This includes assuming omnipotence and omniscience in a divine being; themes of dominance,
ownership, universal power, and control; requiring the worship and praise of a divine being.
• God of all places…God of all people (4)

• Hope of all the earth thou art, dear desire of every nation
• Crowns and empires fall before you, claim the kingdom for you own
• Worship Christ the newborn King…God with us is now residing (36)
• Praise his name in all the earth; hail the King of glory (46)
• Christ the everlasting Lord (48)
• Jesus Lord of all the world (50)
• Then haste we to show him the praises we owe him (68)
• I am the light of the world (87)
• Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim till all the world adore his sacred name…
the Lamb victorious, Christ the Son of God…your death has brought us life eternally (152)
• Jesus Christ is living, God forevermore, now let all creation hail him and adore (161)
• The joy of all who dwell above, the joy of all below, to whom he manifests his love and
grants his name to know (190)
• Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne (211)
• Rejoice the Lord is King…God’s kingdom cannot fail; Christ rules o’e earth and heaven;
the keys of death and hell are to our Jesus given (213)
• Let all things their Creator bless and worship god in humbleness…praise God eternal,
praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, three in one (217)
• We praise you, O God, our Redeemer…in grateful devotion our tribute we bring…we lay
it before you; we kneel and adore you (218)
• Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, who rules all creation…above all things so mightily
reigning…God’s people (220)
• God of all, to you we raise this our hymn of grateful praise (226)
• O worship the King, all glorious above…(235)
• Let us praise the God of truth (237)
• The living God be praised, who reigns enthroned above…Jehovah, great I Am! By earth
and heaven confessed, we bow before your holy name, forever blest (255)
• Teach us…deep within your praises sing, till the whole creation dances for the goodness
of its King (260)
• God only wise…most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, almighty, victorious,
thy great name we praise…thou reignest in glory, thou rulest in light (264)
• God is unique and one: Maker, Sustainer, Lord (277)

• How great is God our maker, who has made all things well (291)
• This is God’s wondrous world…God’s hand the wonder wrought…though the wrong
seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet...why should my heart be sad…God reigns, let earth
be glad. (296)
• You gave the race both form and name…all things below, all things above are formed of
your eternal love (304)
• Source of authority and right, God of all earthly power (306)
• Praise with joy the world’s Creator, God of justice, love, and peace, source and end of hu-
man knowledge, God whose grace shall never cease. Celebrate the Maker’s glory, power to
rescue and release (312)
• Come now, almighty King…one God all glorious, ever victorious, come and reign over
us, Ancient of Days…your sovereign majesty may we in glory see and to eternity love and
adore (314)
• Only thou art holy, there is none beside you, perfect in power, in love, and purity…all thy
works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea…merciful and mighty, God in three
persons, blessed Trinity (315)
• Maker, in whom we live, in whom we are and move, the glory, power, and praise re-
ceive…let all on earth below record and dwell upon your love (321)
• Lord of every living thing…Giver and Gift, in love enfolded in One (3232)
• My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim, to spread through all the earth
abroad the honours of your name (326)
• O King divine…let every tongue confess with one accord in heaven and earth that Jesus
Christ is Lord, and God eternal be by all adored (327)
• Jesus shall reign where’er the sun does its successive journeys run; his kingdom stretch
from shore to shore, till moons shall wax and wane no more (330)
• All hail the power of Jesus’ name…bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of
all…hail him who saves you by his grace…Let every tongue and every tribe responsive to
the call, to him all majesty ascribe (334)
• At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, every tongue confess him King of glory now;
‘tis our God’s great pleasure we should call him Lord, who from the beginning was the
mighty Word…Name him, Christians, name him…with awe and wonder, and with bated
breath; he is god the Saviour, he is Christ the Lord, ever to be worshipped, trusted and
adored…and our hearts confess him King of glory now. (335)
• Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature (341)
• God rules from on high, almighty to save…the name all victorious of Jesus extol, whose
kingdom is glorious and rules over all…Salvation from God, who sits on the throne…the
praises of Jesus the angels proclaim, bow down in deep reverence and worship the Lord
(342)
• Have you not bid me love you, God and King (378)
• God of all, of church and kingdom, in an age of change and doubt keep us faithful to
the gospel, help us work your purpose out…we cannot live without you, we adore you, we
believe (389)
• God, reveal your presence: as we now adore you and with awe appear before you. Here in

this your temple…you alone God we own, you, our God and Saviour..let your will ever still
rule your church terrestrial, as the hosts celestial (391)
• God…source of all…(whose) story formed a people bound to you…covenant, new again
in Jesus, Starchild born to set us free (399)
• Honouring Christ as the Lord of the nation (401)
• This child of ours…You have a dream and a plan for it: You wash it clean…You bless it,
and You call it Yours…this child of Yours reborn of Water and the Word; the Book of Life
records its name…this child of Yours whom Christ would die for (455)
• You alone provide the words of life and death: in wine and bread, in promised food we
find your loving heart, O God…one people in the name of Christ (456)
• One bread, one body, one Lord of all (467)
• Christ our God to us approacheth our full homage to demand (473)
• The Son of God proclaim, who reigns o’er time and space…the church’s only head…the
Lord of life and death (474)
• When I fall on my knees…Oh, Lord, have mercy on me. (480)
• O God, who gave humanity its name…(485)
• God, who has caused to be written your word for our learning…give to us grace, that in
your Son we embrace life (498)
• O Christ, the Word incarnate, O wisdom from on high, O truth unchanged, unchanging…
your people hold this treasure from you, its source divine, a light that to all ages throughout
the earth will shine; it is the chart and compass that…still guides, O Christ, to you. (499)
• Radiance of God’s glory bright, Light of light from God proceeding, Jesus, send your
blessed light…that our prayers and songs may please you (500)
• Take myself and I will be ever, only, all for thee (506)
• God the Spirit, guide and guardian, breath of life…power of love…lead your people…
Christ our Saviour, Sovereign, Shepherd, Word made flesh, Love crucified, life bestower…
truth beyond all thought’s recall, fount of wisdom, womb of mercy, giving and forgiving
all…Triune God, mysterious Being, undivided and diverse (514)
• God, our maker, does provide for our needs to be supplied (516)
• Praise God for the harvest…for oil and for iron, for copper and coal, praise God, who in
love has provided them all. (517)
• Salute the King of Love, the Prince of Peace (526)
• God of life, in Christ you lead us…yours the vision and the challenge; ours the mission
and the praise (528)
• We give thee but thine own, whate’er the gift may be; all that we have is thine alone, a
trust, O God from thee (543)
• Eternal Ruler of the ceaseless round of circling planets…guide of the nations…rule in our
hearts, that we may live anew, guided and strengthened and upheld by you…we are your
own, the children of your love…as one with Christ, our Saviour and our friend…we ask no
victories that are not yours: give or withhold, let pain or pleasure fall, to know that we are
serving you is all. (571)
• Dear weaver of our lives’ design whose patterns all obey, with skillful fingers gently
guide the sturdy threads that will survive the tangle of our days (623)

• Guide me, O thou great Jehovah…I am weak, but thou art mighty, hold me with thy pow-
erful hand (651)
• O God of every nation, of every race and land, redeem the whole creation with your
almighty hand…till dawns the morning glorious when peace on earth shall reign and Christ
shall rule victorious o’er all the world’s domain (677)
• You, Creator God, have written your great name on humankind (678)
• We turn to you, O God of every nation, give or good and origin of life, your love is at the
heart of all creation…we turn to you that we may be forgiven for crucifying Christ on earth
again…(685)
• God of grace and God of glory, on your people pour your power; now fulfill your
church’s story (686)
• Richer peace is ours when Christ shall reign; then will al our swords be plowshares and
God’s children free from pain. (688)
Exclusive salvation
This includes assertions of a unique Saviour, a required means for being forgiven or saved, prom-
ises of salvation, assumptions that all the world should or will be saved,
• From our sins release us (2)

• All the earth is waiting to see the Promised One…Emmanuel…our Saviour shall be…for
Christ lives in all Christians (5)
• The Lamb for sinners slain…every eye shall then behold you, robed in awesome majesty,
all who jeered, and mocked, and sold you, pierced, and nailed you to the tree;, deeply griev-
ing shall the true Messiah see (25)
• Tomorrow Christ is coming, as yesterday he came…but Jesus Christ is risen and comes
again in bread to still our deepest hunger and raise us from the dead…Our God becomes
incarnate in every human birth, created in God’s image…we shall find Christ among us as
woman, child, or man (27)
• Christ the Saving One has come…the one who brings God near…those repenting are
forgiven; God receives these wayward children (28)
• The Saviour comes, the Saviour promised long: let every heart prepare a throne (29)
• Christ was born to save (35)
• The heaven-born Prince of Peace…born that we no more may die…born to give us sec-
ond birth (48)
• On Christmas Night..sins are covered…on Christmas Morn..God has spoken, death is
broken (57)
• All God’s people, sing in jubilation of the birth that sets us free, telling of the revelation:
Jesus, God’s epiphany…Word made flesh reveals his glory
• Of God of all the living, both banished and restored, stretch out your hand in blessing, in
pardon, and in peace (112)
• Giver of the perfect gift, only hope of human race…grant the mercy we implore (116)
• Upon the cross of Jesus…the form of one who suffered there for me…two wonders I con-

fess, the wonder of his glorious love and my unworthiness (135)
• Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon you? Alas, my treason, Jesus, has undone
you…I crucified you…the slave is guilty, yet the Son has suffered; for our atonement, while
we nothing heeded, God interceded…For me, kind Jesus, was your incarnation, your mortal
sorrow, your death of anguish and your bitter passion, for my salvation…I will ever think on
your love unswerving, not my deserving (138)
• Oh who am I that for my sake my Lord should take frail flesh, and die? (143)
• What wondrous love is this…that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for
my soul (147)
• We must trust in his redeeming blood (152)
• The powers of death have done their worst, but Christ their legions has dispersed…he
closed the ancient gates of hell, the bars from heaven’s high portels fell…glorious in maj-
esty to reign (159)
• Christ in his triumph ascends who has vanquished the devil’s dominion (163)
• Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son: endless is the victory thou o’er death hast
won…for the Lord now liveth: death has lost its sting (173)
• With life among us move, till we are known as Christ’s and Christian prove (194)
• Sing of him who died for thee…who rose victorious in the strife for those he came to
save…All hail Redeemer hail, for thou hast died for me (211)
• Rejoice in glorious hope, for Christ, the judge, shall come to glorify the saints for their
eternal home (213)
• Hope of the world, God’s gift from highest heaven..bringing life…who by your cross has
saved us from death and dark despair; from sin and guilt (215)
• Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, who, like me, should sing God’s praise (240)
• There is plentiful redemption in the blood that Christ has shed (271)
• Our forebears…this was all their teaching, in every deed and word, to all alike proclaim-
ing: one church, one faith, one Lord…and this shall be our anthem: one church, one faith,
one Lord (274)
• Where the gospel day sheds not its glorious ray, let there be light (313)
• I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity…by power of faith, Christ’s
incarnation…his cross of death for my salvation…eternal Father, Spirit Word…the Lord of
my salvation; salvation is of Christ the Lord (317)
• Christ is made the sure foundation, Christ the head and cornerstone, chosen of the Lord,
and precious, binding all the church in one, holy Zion’s help forever, and its confidence
alone (325)
• The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord, we are his new creation by water
and the Word; from heaven he came and sought us that we might ever be his living servant
people, by his own death set free…one charter of salvation: one Lord, one faith, one birth.
One holy name professing and at one table fed, to one hope always pressing, by Christ’s
own Spirit led…we wait…till with the vision glorious our longing eyes are blest and the
great church victorious shall be the church at rest…we now on earth have union with god
the Three in One, and share through faith communion with those whose rest is one. (331)
• Jesus…visit us with thy salvation, enter every trembling heart (333)

• Christ whose glory fills the skies, Christ the true, the only light (336)
• Let all with heart and voice, saved by God’s gracious choice, now in this place rejoice
(345)
• There in God’s garden stands the Tree of Wisdom, whose leaves hold forth the healing of
the nation; Tree of all knowledge…Its name is Jesus, name that says “Our Saviour” (346)
• To God whose boundless love has won salvation for us through the Son (348)
• With joy we meditate the grace of our high priest above (351)
• The cross where my Saviour for me was slain (357)
• There’s still so much sickness and suffering today…Heal us, Lord Jesus (358)
• Jesus Saviour…you are the Way…you are the Truth…you are the Life (362)
• We know in glory you will come, in cloud and fire, with angel’s trumpets’ sound, to judge
and triumph, and to claim your own. (363)
• In blazing light your cross reveals the truth we dimly knew: what trivial debts are owed to
us, how great our debts to you (364)
• My sure Redeemer…my only trust and Saviour…who pain didst undergo for my poor
sake, I pray thee from our hearts all cares to take…our hope is in no other save in thee; our
faith is built upon thy promise free (393)
• God is with us in this place…we’re all forgiven by God’s grace (395)
• O praise the gracious power that…gathers in one house of faith all strangers far and
near…O praise the word of faith that claims us as God’s own, a living temple built on
Christ, our rock and cornerstone (397)
• We come, needful of god’s grace (402)
• Wash, O God, our sons and daughters, where your cleansing waters flow. Number them
among your people; bless as Christ blessed long ago (442)
• We share by water in his saving death. Reborn, we share with him an Easter life as living
members of a living Christ…baptized we live with God the Three in One. (448)
• Bread of the world in mercy broken, wine of the soul in mercy shed, by whom the words
of life were spoken, and in whose death our sins are dead (461)
• Made by your death Cup of Salvation (465)
• Christ is able to make us one (468)
• O make your church, dear Saviour a lamp of purest gold to bear before the nations your
true light as of old (499)
• I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry. All who dwell in deepest sin my
hand will save. (509)
• To take the gospel with them everywhere till all creation knows your endless care (511)
• There is one body and one hope, one Spirit and one call, one Lord, one faith, and one
baptism, one God who made us all…as God in Christ forgave…go forth in faith and Christ
shall give you life. (566)
• When we are living, it is in Christ Jesus, and when we’re dying, it is in the Lord. Both in
our living and in our dying, we belong to God (581)
• Lose your shyness, find your tongue, tell the world what God has done: God in Christ has
come to stay, living working in our world (582)
• For Christ alone, whose blood was shed, can cure the fever in our blood, and teach us

how to share our bread (601)
• In Christ shall true hearts everywhere their high communion find; his service is the
golden cord close binding humankind. All Christ-like souls are one in him throughout the
whole wide earth (606)
• O Jesus, think on me and purge away my sin…nor let me go astray (607)
• Dear Lord, who loves all humankind, forgive our foolish ways (608)
• Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy (609)
• Our life is hid with Christ in God (610)
• Crucified with Christ the Saviour, baptized in his holy death, and as Christ was raised to
glory we have new life on this earth…power of water and God’s naming, turning us from
dark to light…death has no dominion o’er him (Christ), so for us death holds no power;
life’s own waters now have marked us born to God this very hour. From this moment and
forever dead to sin, alive to Christ, born of water and the Spirit, now in Christ we find our
life. (627)
• What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear…O what peace we often
forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in
prayer…Christ the Saviour is our refuge (664)
• Pass me not, O gentle Saviour, hear my humble cry; while on others thou art passing, do
not pass me by. Saviour, Saviour...let me at thy throne of mercy find a sweet relief; kneel-
ing there in deep contrition, help my unbelief…trusting only in thy merit, would I seek thy
face…save me by thy grace (665)
• The Lord of gladness, Jesus, enters in: those who love the Father, though storms may
gather, still have peace within…Jesus will not fail us (667)
• Plenteous grace with thee is found, grace to cover all my sin; let the healing streams
abound; make and keep me pure within. (669)
• Trust, and the trusting soul shall prove Christ is its life, and Christ its love. Only believe,
and Christ shall be your all in all eternally. (674)
• Come, we that love the Lord, and let our joys be known…Let those refuse to sing who
never knew our God; but children of the heavenly King may speak their joys abroad (715)
Divine intervention
This includes assertions and promises of God’s positive activity in people’s lives, of his willing-
ness to perform miracles, and his intent to protect and bless his people.
• Born, thy people to deliver…by thine all-sufficient merit raise us to thy glorious throne(2)
• Thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free
• Wind who makes all winds that blow, gusts, gales that heave the sea in waves…fire who
fuels all fires that burn (196)
• What God’s almighty power hath made, God’s gracious mercy keepeth: by morning glow
or evening shade god’s watchful eye ne’er sleepeth; within the shelter of God’s might, lo, all
is just and all is right (216)
• Praise to the Lord…keeping us safe at his side, and so gently sustaining...have you not

seen how all you needed has been met by God’s gracious ordaining?...who will prosper our
work and defend us; surely his goodness and mercy will daily attend us: ponder anew what
the Almighty can do, who out of love will befriend us (220)
• Have you observed how we are always preserved by God’s parental affection?...Only
conceive what godly strength can achieve: strength that would touch and caress us(221)
• For the good we all inherit, thanks be to God…most of all that love has found us, thanks
be to God (227)
• God who has brought you rich grace from above, and showered your life with abundance
of love…for grace of salvation sing praises to God(228)
• The clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from your throne (231)
• You are giving and forgiving, ever blessing…source of grace and fount of blessing (232)
• God has with a gracious eye looked upon our misery; for God’s mercies still endure, ever
faithful, ever sure…All things living God does feed, with full measure meets their need
(234)
• Your bountiful care, what tongue can recite? It breathes in the air, it shines in the light…
frail children of dust, and feeble as frail, in you do we trust, nor find you to fail; your mer-
cies how tender, how firm to the end, our Makes, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend (235)
• Who from our mother’s arms has blessed us on our way with countless gifts of love (236)
• Praise God for the grace and favour shown our forbears in distress; God is still the same
forever, slow to chide and swift to bless…Like a loving parent caring, god knows well our
feeble frame; gladly all our burdens bearing (240)
• Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving to god our Creator ..raise…who fash-
ioned and made us, protected and stayed us, by guiding us on to the end of our days (242)
• God who fashions all that lives, to each one a blessing gives (251)
• Hear O gracious Saviour this song of praise we sing. May we, who know your favour, our
humble service bring (256)
• God who gives to life its goodness, God creator of all joy, God who gives to us our free-
dom, God who blesses tool and toy…God who binds each friend to friend…God who wills
that chaos end (260)
• Helper sure amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing…Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing, were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own
choosing: dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he (262
• To all, life thou givest, to both great and small (264)
• Sustaining God, your hands uphold earth’s mysteries…enabling life (265)
• The care the eagle gives her young, safe in her lofty nest, is like the tender love of God
for us made manifest (269)
• The King of Love my shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am
his and he is mine forever (273)
• God will embrace your pain and weeping, your helpless anger and distress…for Christ,
who took for you a cross, will bring you safe through every loss…keep God’s ways un-
swerving; so do your own part faithfully, and trust god’s word; though undeserving, you’ll
find God’s promise true to be. God never will forsake in need the soul that trusts in God
indeed (286)

• All I have needed thy hand hath provided (288)
• Nothing can trouble, nothing can frighten. Those who seek God shall never go wanting.
God alone fills us (290)
• Instill in us a sense of awe and wonder when we behold the bounty of your hand…O gra-
cious god, true source of all resources (297)
• Blessings abound where’er he reigns, and prisoners leap to lose their chains…and all who
suffer want are blest (330)
• Rejoice at what Christ yet will do, intent on making all things new: the hungry filled, the
peaceful blessed, the wounded healed, each heart at rest (347)
• Seek ye first the kingdom of god and God’s righteousness, and all these things shall be
added unto you…Ask and it shall be given unto you; seek and you shall find; knock and the
door shall be opened unto you. (356)
• You breathe and there is health; you move and there is power (373)
• For your loving kindness ever shed upon our earthly way, for your mercy, ceasing never,
for your blessing day by day (406)
• May God who protects you give you joy (454)
• Blessed Jesus…all our knowledge, sense, and sight lie in deepest darkness shrouded till
your Spirit breaks the night, filling us with light unclouded. All good thoughts and all good
living come but by your gracious giving (500)
• God makes the clouds drop fatness, the deserts bloom and spring…God fills them all with
fullness, all things with large increase, and crowns the year with goodness, with plenty and
with peace…bring to this sacred altar all things God’s goodness gave, the golden sheaves of
harvest, the souls Christ died to save: your hearts lay down before him when at his feet you
fall, and with your lives adore him who gave his life for all (519)
• We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land, but it s fed and watered by
your almighty hand; you send the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain, the breezes
and the sunshine, and soft, refreshing rain…All good gifts around us are sent from heaven
above; we thank you God, O holy God, for all your love…you only are the maker of all
things near and far…the winds and waves obey you, by you the birds are fed; much more to
us, your children, you give us daily bread (520)
• Bounteous source of every joy…these (blessings) to you, O God, we owe, source from
which all blessings flow (521)
• Great God, we sing that mighty hand by which supported still we stand; the opening year
your mercy shows; your mercy crowns it till it close (529)
• God of all good…Maker, whose bounty all creation shows…Christ, by whose willing
sacrifice we live (539)
• Praise God from whom all blessings flow (541)
• You nourish us with food, O God, for body and for soul (545)
• Great God, the giver of all good (553)
• We believe your grace responds where faith and doubt unite to care (613)
• Healer of our every ill (619)
• Great pilot of my onward way, you will not let me drift (625)
• Your everlasting truth, O God, your ceaseless love, sees all your children’s wants, and

knows what best for each will prove (636)
• Faith, uplifted, tamed the water of the undivided sea, and the people of the Hebrews
found the path that made them free…Faith believes that god is faithful: God will be what
God will be. (643)
• O God of Bethel, by whose hand your people still are fed, who through this earthly pil-
grimage have all your servants led (650)
• Be still my soul, for God is on your side…your God will undertake to guide the future
surely as the past…your hope, your confidence let nothing shake; all now mysterious shall
be bright at last…life’s tempests still obey the voice that once the waves’ wild fury stayed
(652)
• God’s voice commands the tempest forth, and stills the stormy wave; and though God’s
arm be strong to smite, ‘tis also strong to save (653)
• But in every time and season, out of love’s abundant store, God sustains the whole cre-
ation, fount of life forevermore. We who share earth and air count on God’s unfailing
care…God alone, the heavenly potter, made us out of earth and clay. Quick to heed, strong
in deed, God shall all the people feed. (654)
• Eternal Father, strong to save, whose arm has bound the restless wave, who bade the
mighty ocean deep its own appointed limits keep: O hear us when we cry to thee for those
in peril on the sea. O Christ, whose voice the waters heard, and hushed their raging at they
word, who walked upon the foaming deep, and calm amid the storm did sleep…O Trinity
of love and power, all travelers guard in danger’s hour. From rock and tempest, fire and
foe, protect them wheresoe’er they go: thus evermore shall rise to thee glad hymns of praise
from land and sea (659)

Appendix B. Problematic biblical stories, illustrations, etc.

1. The Hebrew Scriptures, named The Old Testament by the Christian church
The following summary focuses on the ethical and moral difficulties in representative biblical
stories. The aspect of the supernatural claims in the stories is not the focus here. Those who
believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God will most probably consider the stories historically
accurate, and will present their particular rationale for the ethical and moral issues. Those in
mainline churches who take the supernatural elements as story, fable, or religious imagination,
would not feel this impeded the use of the story as metaphor. Our issue here is that, literal or met-
aphorical, the ethical and moral problems are substantial. When the Bible is viewed as a human,
not a divine, construct the existence of the troublesome values is explained, for it is not a stretch
of the imagination to attribute good and bad to human authors. It simply becomes a question of
how useful the stories are in ministry.
The Hebrew Scriptures contain references to many of the core values, e.g., being kind to strang-
ers, taking care of the poor, fair economic practices, etc., (see accompanying resource on posi-
tive Scripture verses), and the Christian church has considered the Bible the “source” for the
identification and validation of sacred values for living. Often, however, these values are given a
limited, purely tribal application, pertaining only to the chosen people, the Israelites. Further, the
lessons derived from many biblical stories clearly contradict these core values, many in a deeply
troubling way. Verses often attribute to a divine being the qualities of conditional love, exclusive
favoritism, limited justice, dismissal of rights, destruction of beauty, lack of respect and compas-
sion for people of other races, assumption of privilege and entitlement, jealousy, self-aggrandize-
ment, revenge, class distinctions, inhibition of free thought or questioning, and bigotry. These
are serious problems.
We therefore feel that careful consideration is required before many of the biblical stories are
used if the goal is to illustrate positive values for living. Without extensive background in the
construction of the texts, an understanding of culture and history, and well-developed critical
thinking skills, the risk is that the stories, with their implications for belief, will be taken as they
are found in Scripture.
The following are selections representing the better-known biblical stories. There are many other
incidents recorded as history in the Bible that contain highly problematic material, but they are
not apt to be used in most mainline church situations.
The story of Adam & Eve (Genesis 3)
God creates human beings with a soul/spirit in his image, but not with his perfection, making
them capable of goodness, but not capable of consistent goodness – i.e. they would inevitably
eventually choose to do something “wrong”. He commands them to obey him and threatens

severe punishment if they disobey. At their first disobedience (eating the forbidden fruit) he ban-
ishes them from paradise to a life of pain and hard labour.
The story of Noah (Genesis 6-9)
The people on the earth are so evil that God regrets creating them. Except for Noah’s family and
2 or 7 of each kind of animal, God destroys them all by drowning in a flood. After the flood, God
promises never to do that again, providing a symbol of his promise in a rainbow.
The story of Abraham (Genesis 22)
God tests Abraham to see if he will obey him no matter what, so he commands that Abraham
sacrifice his son on a burning altar to please him. Abraham obeys, but at the last minute, seeing
Abraham’s great faith, God supplies a goat instead.
The story of Moses (Exodus 3-20)
Background: God tells the Israelites they are his “chosen people”and that if they will obey him,
he will be their God and love and protect them. After the story of Joseph being sold into slavery,
rising to a prominent leadership position, and inviting his fellow Israelites to escape the famine
and move to Egypt, the Israelites grow in number, eventually becoming a threat to the Egyptians,
who therefore enslave them and make them perform hard labour. The Israelites cry out to God
for hundreds of years to deliver them, as they are his “chosen” people.
Eventually, God “heard their cry” and sends Moses as a deliverer. God orders Moses to ask Pha-
raoh to let his people go, but God “hardened Pharoah’s heart” so he would refuse. God orders
Moses to show the Egyptians how mighty he (God) is and how serious he was about rescuing his
people by sending horrible plagues upon the Egyptians, killing millions of animals and eventual-
ly all the Egyptians’ first-born sons. (The Israelites are ordered to put animal blood on their door-
ways so that when the Angel of Death passes over Egypt to kill the Egyptian sons, it wouldn’t
kill the Israelites’ sons.) After 12 plagues, Pharaoh agrees to release the slaves, and Moses leads
them out, only to find that Pharoah has changed his mind and has sent his army to retrieve them.
But God parts the Red Sea to let the Israelites pass, and closes it on the Egyptian army, drowning
them.
God tells the Israelites he is guiding them to a Promised Land where he will bless and prosper
them. They eventually grow tired of traveling in the desert with little food or water. Because
they grumble, a sign of lack of faith, God decides that none of the adult generation will be al-
lowed to enter the Promised Land, and makes them wander in the wilderness for the next 40
years.
God writes out 10 commandments in stone, and dictates many, many others to Moses. He also
devises a system for the people to get their sins forgiven when they break the commandments.

God teaches them that sins of every kind require that something dies as a punishment. If it is not
to be the person that is killed, it has to be a substitute, and God decides that the substitute could
be animals, and institutes a large number of rules as to how this has to be done. He creates a class
of people called priests (from the tribe of Levi, the Levites) to make the substitutionary burnt
offerings (sacrifices) of lambs and doves and other animals that people were required to bring
to them for different kinds of sins. God also orders a small temple (tabernacle) to be built and
specifies hundreds of details as to how it should be crafted. He promises that his spirit would be
present in it, signified by a flame. No one was to touch the tabernacle but the priests, on pain of
death. It was to be carried about with them through the desert on poles. Once as they are walk-
ing with it, it starts to fall over, and a man reaches out to steady it; he instantly died.
The story of Joshua (Joshua 6)
Background: There are many other peoples living at the time other than the chosen people, the
Israelites. God does not reveal himself to them, and condemns them for worshipping other gods
that he says are not real, as he is – he is the only living God. Although the Ten Commandments
had designated murder a sin, God often commands the Israelites to kill members of other tribes
if they challenge the Israelites’ position as the chosen people. God does this to demonstrate his
power and majesty. God wants his chosen people to live in his chosen land, at one point, Jericho.
There are already people living in it, people who do not worship God. God helps Joshua destroy
the city and everyone in it (except one family that helps them) in order that they could live there.
The story of David (I & II Samuel)
David became King of Israel and led armies to kill “tens of thousands” of the enemies of the
Israelites.
The story of Elijah (I Kings 18)
The Israelites and the Canaanites are facing each other in a contest to see which of their gods is
real, Baal or Jehovah. They decide to ask their god to send down fire to light an animal sacrifice
prepared on a stone altar. The Canaanites call upon Baal all day, but nothing happens. Elijah
mocks them. At sunset, it is Elijah’s turn. To make it more miraculous, he has the priests douse
the whole altar with water. Then he calls upon Jehovah, who sends down fire that burns the ox
and the water. Elijah and his people then kill the Canaanites.
The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3)
Israel has been conquered by its enemies, and the elite, most intelligent young men have been
brought to Babylon to serve in various capacities. The three young Israelites are loyal to their
God, and refuse to bow down to a golden idol the King creates and commands all to worship.
The three are punished by being cast into a furnace to be burned to death. God sends an angelic
being to stand beside them, and ensures that they are not burned at all. The King removes them

from the furnace and declares that all the land shall worship Jehovah God.
The story of Daniel (Daniel 6)
Israel is still conquered by its enemies, and Daniel, one of the imported intelligentsia is pro-
moted to a high position in the government for his skill and integrity. Jealous colleagues try to
trap him in wrong-doing, but can find nothing, so, noticing Daniel’s practice of praying 3 times
a day to Jehovah, they deviously ask the king to decree that no one in the kingdom may pray to
anyone but him. The king agrees, and is devastated to realize that this condemns Daniel, whom
he highly respects, but is forced by the law to throw him into a lion’s den to be killed. God shuts
the mouths of the lions all night long, and in the morning, the King removes Daniel from the den
and decrees that all shall worship Jehovah.
These and many other stories present a divine being who, in a positive sense:
• instituted some moral laws and fair judicial and economic practices
• required kindness and consideration for the poor
• expressed love for his people
• performed astounding miracles to rescue his people
• encourages wisdom
yet who is also described as one who:
• variously created and destroyed, saved and punished – all on his own terms, and often
inconsistently
• created imperfect human beings and punished them the first time their imperfection mani-
fested itself
• punished the first couple by banishment from paradise for disobeying not a moral prin-
ciple, but an arbitrary command (not to eat from a particular tree)
• promised (vaguely at the start) a saviour from the condemnation and punishment, but
waited thousands of years to send him
• tested a father’s faith by requiring him to burn his son on an altar to him
• designated one particular race as his chosen race, and others as hated and expendable
• required animal sacrifice to satisfy his sense of justice
• set aside a special group of people to offer these sacrifices, instituting an indirect, medi-
ated relationship between him and his people
• did not respond to his enslaved people’s cry for his help for hundreds of years, and then
required praise and thanksgiving and obedience from them when he did deliver them
• communicated himself to only one race, yet held the others accountable for not worship-
ping him
• declared his jealousy and rage over his people’s unfaithfulness
• demanded praise and worship
• demanded adherence to scores of arbitrary rules for worshipping him

• demanded obedience to arbitrary rules and exacted severe punishments for disobedience
• displayed and acknowledged blatant favoritism, individual and racial
• promised protection
If, of course, the message of a church includes that these stories are true, and the God the de-
scribed in them is real, then these stories would be absolutely necessary, for there would be no
other source of information that would lead people to conclude that there is a God like that avail-
able to anyone. In some literal traditions, the stories are taught as true, but are intended to be re-
interpreted through the new agreement (covenant, testament) God made with his people through
Jesus, with the result that God is presented as being less terrifying, capricious, and violent. It is
proposed that God had to appear this way to early humankind, for this is what they would have
understood. The fact that God created them this way is not usually raised.
Many liberal scholars and other readers have interpreted stories such as these to mean other than
they appear to mean, in order that they may reflect the life-giving values listed above, and thus be
justified in their inclusion in what is called the Christian sacred text. This involves significant re-
working, either by adding explanations, rewording, or interpretation as metaphor. It is often sug-
gested that these interpretations be used with both children and adults in order to connect them
with the past, the familiar traditions, the origins of Christianity. While some of these re-interpre-
tations may result in a life-enhancing, positive “lesson”, the amount of re-working involved, the
necessity of explaining the differences from the original text if the original text is used, and the
acknowledgement of the amount of scholarly (scientific, literary, historical, psychological, socio-
logical, anthropological, etc.) input that has allowed the stories to “change” their meaning, would
have to be deemed worth it in order to maintain a historical connection with the ancient Israelite
stories that the early church chose to include in its authoritative collection of books.
Of course, it is possible to find aspects of biblical stories that uphold positive values, yet the
weight of the negative examples is so great, it makes the task very difficult, especially since posi-
tive values are often situated in context with negative ones.
A third option is to keep a clear and solid connection, not with the ancient stories, but with val-
ues that have been cherished by human beings throughout human history, through the use of a
wealth of stories, ancient or modern, that need no partial or entire reworking to illustrate those
values. There are innumerable stories found throughout the history of the human race that can
inspire, challenge, encourage, stretch, and comfort both children and adults, and that do not at-
tribute violence, favoritism, threats, and jealousy, etc. to a divine being. If these stories, in the
Bible or anywhere else, lift up core human values, then they can be considered sacred, in the
sense that they should be cherished and lived out. We believe it is an inappropriate use of power
to require that the content of a book considered sacred, regardless of the message it gives, should
be considered an infallible source of truth.

2. Christian Scriptures, called the New Testament by the Christian Church
In the books chosen for inclusion in the New Testament, various stories, parables, and illustra-
tions present problematic views of God or Jesus as someone who:
• performs certain miracles for certain people in certain circumstances, such as walking on
water, healing the sick, raising the dead, controlling the weather, appearing with deceased
men, feeding a crowd a meal, providing coins for a tax debt, but does not address poverty,
oppression, or overall disease with any miraculous power
• required that some being die for a sin committed (animal, Jesus, or the sinner him/herself)
and is praised for his loving-kindness in forgiving sinners and not requiring that it be they
that die, but rather having animals killed and then finally his own son
• promises eternal paradise for those who accept his prescribed way of salvation, variously
described as obedience, perfect obedience, repentance from sin, belief in Jesus as his son,
belief in Jesus as the final substitutionary sacrifice, and loving one another
• declares the fate of eternal torture for those who do not accept God’s prescribed way of
salvation
• requires that evil not be resisted, but rather be endured, even facilitated, as in turning
the other cheek (the use of the phrase “go the extra mile” as an encouragement to extend
oneself for the welfare of another is usually taken out of context, where it is suggested as a
response to a member of an occupying force enforcing his legal right to order a member of
the subject race to carry his belongings for one mile).
• promises physical protection and/or material blessing for (in various references) his
people, or for those who have faith, or for those who refrain from sinning, or for those who
obey, but only in certain biblical stories
• suggests that only some people are capable of understanding his message
• sends demons into a herd of domestic pigs who then run into the water, with no apparent
concern for either the pigs or the owner, whose livelihood had just disappeared
There are a host of ethical, logical, and scientific problems with these and other aspects of New
Testament stories. Some of the teachings promotes such problematic ideas as acquiescence to
oppression, disregard for preparing for the material future, unchecked lending, and the require-
ment to bring all to a Christian faith. We utilize specific teachings from New Testament stories
when they contribute insight to life, but we do not privilege them or consider them to hold any
more authority than similar ideas expressed in other texts. We seek wisdom in a wide variety of
sources, and acknowledge the similarity of high ethical and spiritual teaching in many religions,
philosophies, and individual world views.

Appendix C. Life-enhancing biblical passages
Exodus
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord
your God is giving you. 20:12
You shall not murder. 20:13
You shall not commit adultery. 20:14
You shall not steal. 20:15
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. 20:16
You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. 22:21-22
You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you
shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice. 23:2
When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back.
When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold
back from setting it free, you must help to set it free. 23:4-5
You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits.23:6
Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and those in the right, for I will
not acquit the guilty. 23:7
You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in
the land of Egypt. 23:9
…but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor of your people
may eat; and what they leave the wild animals may eat. You shall do the same with your
vineyard, and with your olive orchard. 23:11
Leviticus
When any of you sin and commit a trespass against the Lord by deceiving a neighbor in a
matter of a deposit or a pledge, or by robbery, or if you have defrauded a neighbor, or have
found something lost and lied about it—if you swear falsely regarding any of the various
things that one may do and sin thereby—when you have sinned and realize your guilt, and
would restore what you took by robbery or by fraud or the deposit that was committed to

you, or the lost thing that you found. 6:2-5
You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you
shall leave them for the poor and the alien. 19:10
You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. 19:11
You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself
the wages of a laborer until morning. 19:13
You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind. 19:14
You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the
great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. 9:15
You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the
blood of your neighbor: 19:16
You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you
will incur guilt yourself. 19:17
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love
your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. 19:18
When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who
resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as your-
self, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. 19:33-34
You shall not cheat in measuring length, weight, or quantity. You shall have honest balanc-
es, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. 19:35-36
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field,
or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien.
23:22
You shall not cheat one another. 25:17
Deuteronomy
Honor your father and your mother. 5:16
You shall not murder. 5:17

Don’t commit adultery. 5:18
Don’t steal. 5;19
Don’t lie. 5:20
You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 10:19
If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns
within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted
toward your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to
meet the need, whatever it may be. 15:7-8
You must not distort justice; you must not show partiality; and you must not accept bribes,
for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
16:19
You shall not watch your neighbor’s ox or sheep straying away and ignore them; you shall
take them back to their owner. You shall do the same with a neighbor’s donkey; you shall do
the same with a neighbor’s garment; and you shall do the same with anything else that your
neighbor loses and you find. You may not withhold your help. 22:1,3
Slaves who have escaped to you from their owners shall not be given back to them. They
shall reside with you, in your midst, in any place they choose in any one of your towns,
wherever they please; you shall not oppress them. 23:15-16
You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or
aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns. You shall pay them their wages daily
before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them. 24:14-15
Psalms
Happy are those who consider the poor. 41:1
Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. 82:3-4
Proverbs
Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on
the tablet of your heart. 3:3
Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding. 3:13

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. 3:27
Do not plan harm against your neighbor who lives trustingly beside you. Do not quarrel
with anyone without cause, when no harm has been done to you. Do not envy the violent
and do not choose any of their ways. 3:29-31
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever else you get, get insight. 4:7
Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 4:24
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. 10:12
When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but wisdom is with the humble. 11:2
Those who are kind reward themselves, but the cruel do themselves harm. 11:17
Those who trouble their households will inherit wind, and the fool will be servant to the
wise.
11:29
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but those who hate to be rebuked are stupid.
12:1
The righteous know the needs of their animals, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel. 12:10
Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to advice. 12:15
It is the wisdom of the clever to understand where they go, but the folly of fools misleads.
The wise are cautious and turn away from evil, but the fool throws off restraint and is care-
less. One who is quick-tempered acts foolishly, and the schemer is hated. Happy are those
who are kind to the poor. Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but one who
has a hasty temper exalts folly. 14:8,16,17, 21,29
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 15:1
The tongue of the wise dispenses knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. The
lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the minds of fools. 15:2,7
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. 16:18
The wise of heart is called perceptive, and pleasant speech increases persuasiveness. Wis-
dom is a fountain of life to one who has it, but folly is the punishment of fools. 16:21-22

A perverse person spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends. 16:28
Even fools who keep silent are considered wise; when they close their lips, they are deemed
intelligent. 17:28
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing personal opinion. 18:2
If one gives answer before hearing, it is folly and shame. 18:13
Be careful how you speak; words can do great damage. 21:23
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.
22:1
Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray. 22:6
Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate 22:22
Apply your mind to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. 23:12
Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old. 23:22
Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. 23:23
The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who begets a wise son will be glad in
him. 23:24
Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble.
24:17
Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.
24:28
Do not say, “I will do to others as they have done to me; I will pay them back for what they
have done.” 24:29
If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat; and if they are thirsty, give them water
to drink. 25:21
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. 27:1
Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.
27:2

Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 27:5
Whoever flatters a neighbor is spreading a net for the neighbor’s feet. 29:5
The righteous know the rights of the poor; the wicked have no such understanding. 29:7
A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. 29:23
Ecclesiastes
Then I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. The wise have eyes in their
head, but fools walk in darkness. Yet I perceived that the same fate befalls all of them. 2:13-
14
There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in their toil.
2:24
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a
time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long
as they live…that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. 3:1-13
Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king, who will no longer take advice.
4:13
The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain.
This also is vanity. 5:10
As they came from their mother’s womb, so they shall go again, naked as they came; they
shall take nothing for their toil, which they may carry away with their hands. 5:15
A good name is better than precious ointment. 7:1
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than to hear the song of fools. 7:5

The patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit. 7:8
Do not be quick to anger, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools. 7:9
I turned my mind to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the sum of things, and
to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness. 7:25
Enjoy life with the wife whom you love. 9:9
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, 9:10
Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor
bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful; but time and chance
happen to them all. For no one can anticipate the time of disaster. 9:11-12
“Wisdom is better than might. 9:16-17
If the iron is blunt, and one does not whet the edge, then more strength must be exerted; but
wisdom helps one to succeed. 10:10
Much study is a weariness of the flesh. 12:12
Isaiah
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my
eyes; cease to do evil. Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the or-
phan, plead for the widow. 1:16-17
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? 58:10
Jeremiah
Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who
has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or
shed innocent blood in this place. 22:3
Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice;
who makes his neighbors work for nothing, and does not give them their wages. 22:13

Micah
Do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with your God. 6:8
Zechariah
Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another. Do not oppress the widow, the
orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. 7:9-10
These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judg-
ments that are true and make for peace. Do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and
love no false oath. 8:16-17
Malachi
I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who
swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and
the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien…3:5
Matthew
Love your enemies. 5:44
Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them. So whenever you
give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in
the streets, so that they may be praised by others. But when you give alms, do not let your
left hand know what your right hand is doing. 6:1-3
And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the
synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. 6:5-6
Do not judge. 7:1
Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own
eye?
Or how can you say to your neighbor, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log
is in your own eye? 7:3-4
In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the
prophets. 7:12
You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear
false witness. 19:18

Love your neighbor as yourself. 22:39
Mark
You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear
false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and mother. 10:19
Love your neighbor as yourself.
A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he
called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than
all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their
abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had. 12:42-44
Luke
Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation. 3:14
Love you enemies; do good to those who hate you. 6:27
Do to others as you would have them do to you. 6:31-34
Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. 6:35
Be merciful. 6:36
Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own
eye? 6:41
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who
stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was
going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a
Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samari-
tan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went
to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on
his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two
denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I
will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neigh-
bor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him
mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” 10:30-37

John
Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.8:7
The truth shall make you free. 8:32
Love one another. 13:34
Love one another. 15:12,17
Pilate asked Jesus: What is truth? 18:38
Acts
It is better to give than to receive. 20:35
Romans
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mu-
tual affection. 12:9, 10
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 12:15
Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not
claim to be wiser than you are. 12:16
Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.
12:17
If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 12:18
Never avenge yourselves. If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give
them something to drink. 12:19-21
The commandments, You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not
steal; you shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word,
“Love your neighbor as yourself. 13:9
Let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and
licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 13:13
Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a

stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another. 14:13
Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. 14:19
I Corinthians
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant

or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 13:4-6
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when
I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 13:11
Let all that you do be done in love. 16:14
Galatians
For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an op-
portunity for self-indulgence. 5:13
You shall love your neighbour as yourself. 5:14
Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another. 5:26
Bear one another’s burdens. 6:2
Ephesians
So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are
members of one another. 4:25
Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger 4:26
Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own
hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 4:29
Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is
need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 4:31
Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together
with all malice,
and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has for-
given you. 4:31-32

Love your wife as yourself. 5:33
Philippians
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than
yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
2:3-4
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is
anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 4:8
Colossians
But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive
language from your mouth. 3:8
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices. 3:9
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,
humility, meekness, and patience. 3:12
Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other;
just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 3:13
Husbands, love your wives. 3:19
Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart. 3:21
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you
ought to answer everyone. 4:6
I Thessalonians
And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the
weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek
to do good to one another and to all. 5:14-15
test everything; hold fast to what is good. 5:21
I Timothy
We brought nothing into the world…we can take nothing out of it 6:7

II Timothy
(You) must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient. 2:24
Titus
Be ready for every good work, speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, be gentle, and show
every courtesy to everyone. 3:1-2
Hebrews
And let us consider how to encourage one another to love and do good deeds, 10:24
Let mutual love continue. 13:1
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers. 13:2
James
Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. 1:19
Pure religion ... is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their distress, and to keep un-
stained from the world. 1:27
If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in
peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is
the good of that? 2:15-16
Do not speak evil of one another. 4:11
Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud,
cry out. 5:4
I Peter
Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. 2:1
Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a
humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with
a blessing. 3:8-9

Those who desire life and desire to see good days, let them keep their tongues from evil
and their lips from speaking deceit; let them turn away from evil and do good; let them seek
peace and pursue it. 3:10-11
Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 4:9
But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker.
4:15
I John
let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 3:18
Abide in love 4:16
II John
Love one another. 1:5
III John
Do good. 1:11

Appendix D. Problematic biblical passages
There are several ways of dealing with any verses from the Bible (or any text considered sacred
or divine):
• The words are indeed the very thoughts and requirements of God, given to us through the
writers who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write an infallible account. They are univer-
sally applicable and non-negotiable.
• The words reflect the mind of God at the time of writing, related to the stage of develop-
ment of his people. God expects us to interpret his word today intelligently, adjusting for
cultural context, focusing not on historical or mathematical issues, but on the universal as-
pects of his commands regarding himself, the way to salvation, the proper way to live (e.g.
to worship only him, to be saved only through Christ)
• The words of Scripture do not always mean what they appear to mean - so we must learn
to interpret them within certain frameworks suggested by particular scholars. In most cases,
they are meant to be taken metaphorically, as symbols of universal truths. Often, only cer-
tain selections about God and Jesus and the right way to live are focused on – those featur-
ing love and inclusiveness. The verses in this collection might be deemed to be written by
people, not by God, whereas other verses would be seen as given to us by God, i.e. it is still
generally His Word, and there are ideas in it which must be affirmed as from God, and this
must be reflected in creed and ritual practice. However, many would feel that what may be
God’s word to some people may not be to others, e.g. Jesus may be “a” way to a full life,
but perhaps not the only way, in spite of what the Bible says.
• The words, and words in any other book considered sacred, are all expressions of human
opinions, human ideas about God, about the future, about the right way to live. We are as
free as the original writers to assess ideas and choose what is in accord with our individual
and community values. We are also free, and can take responsibility to reject any expres-
sion or opinion, regardless of its source, which is not in accord with core values. The term
“authority,” if used at all, is used in relation to our choice to value love, justice, and compas-
sion as supreme, not to our obligation to believe a particular document or set of beliefs.
These verses have been selected as examples of:
1. oppressive ideas or actions - abuse of power, exclusion of or discrimination against oth-

ers, the infliction of punishment and violence, the assertion of authority regarding beliefs,
2. dogmatism - claims to absolute and universal truth, exclusive truth e.g., the one way to
understand life, the only way to be saved, etc.
They can, of course, be read in any of the three ways described above; we choose, on the basis of

the third approach, to avoid the use of these verses in ministry, except in a teaching context.
The verses are lifted out of context, and the references are given so they may be looked up and
read in their setting.
Genesis
To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall
bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
3:16
After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I
am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of
Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show
you.” Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he him-
self carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his
father …”The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abra-
ham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”… He bound his
son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand
and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and
said…”Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear
God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham looked
up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and of-
fered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord:
Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed
bless you. Chapter 11
But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.
38:7
What he (Onan) did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.
38:8-10
Exodus
And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before
Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart, so that he
will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: Israel is my
firstborn son. I said to you, “Let my son go that he may worship me.” But you refused to let
him go; now I will kill your firstborn son.’ “ 4:21-23
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the heart
of his officials, in order that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may
tell your children and grandchildren how I have made fools of the Egyptians and what signs

I have done among them--so that you may know that I am the Lord.” 10:1-2
But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go. 10:20
For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in
the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute
judgments: I am the Lord. 12:12
At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of
Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and
all the firstborn of the livestock. 12:29
You shall not bow down to them (idols) or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a
jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth gen-
eration of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of
those who love me and keep my commandments. 20:5-6
When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, but in the seventh he shall go
out a free person, without debt. 21:2
When a man sells his daughter as a slave…21:7
When a slave owner strikes a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immedi-
ately, the owner shall be punished. But if the slave survives a day or two, there is no punish-
ment; for the slave is the owner’s property. 21:20-21
You shall not permit a witch to live. 22:18
Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction.
22:20
Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips. 23:13
You shall not bow down to their gods, or worship them, or follow their practices, but you
shall utterly demolish them and break their pillars in pieces. You shall worship the Lord
your God, and I will bless your bread and your water; and I will take sickness away from
among you. No one shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of
your days. I will send my terror in front of you, and will throw into confusion all the people
against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And
I will send the pestilence in front of you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites,
and the Hittites from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, or
the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply against you. Little by
little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. I

will set your borders from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness
to the Euphrates; for I will hand over to you the inhabitants of the land, and you shall drive
them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. They shall not
live in your land, or they will make you sin against me; for if you worship their gods, it will
surely be a snare to you. 23:24-33
You shall keep the sabbath, because it is holy for you; everyone who profanes it shall be
put to death; whoever does any work on it shall be cut off from among the people. Six days
shall work be done, but the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord; who-
ever does any work on the sabbath day shall be put to death. 31:14-15
When Moses saw that the people were running wild (for Aaron had let them run wild, to
the derision of their enemies), then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Who
is on the Lord’s side? Come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. He
said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side, each of
you! Go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill your
brother, your friend, and your neighbor.’ “ The sons of Levi did as Moses commanded, and
about three thousand of the people fell on that day. Moses said, “Today you have ordained
yourselves for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have
brought a blessing on yourselves this day.” On the next day Moses said to the people, “You
have sinned a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for
your sin.” So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin;
they have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will only forgive their sin--but
if not, blot me out of the book that you have written.” But the Lord said to Moses, “Who-
ever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the
place about which I have spoken to you; see, my angel shall go in front of you. Neverthe-
less, when the day comes for punishment, I will punish them for their sin.” 31-32
Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf--the one that Aaron
made. 32:25-35
Take care not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, or
it will become a snare among you. You shall tear down their altars, break their pillars, and
cut down their sacred poles (for you shall worship no other god, because the Lord, whose
name is Jealous, is a jealous God). 34:12-14
Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy sabbath of sol-
emn rest to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 35:2
Leviticus
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 18:22

All who curse father or mother shall be put to death; having cursed father or mother, their
blood is upon them. 20:9
If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulter-
ess shall be put to death. 20:10
If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination;
they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them. 20:13
If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he shall be put to death; and you shall kill the
animal. 20:15
A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be stoned
to death, their blood is upon them. 20:27
When the daughter of a priest profanes herself through prostitution, she profanes her father;
she shall be burned to death. 21:9
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and say: No one of your offspring (the
tribe of priests) throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the
food of his God (the required sacrifices). For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, one
who is blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or one who has
a broken foot or a broken hand, or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man with a blemish in his
eyes or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles. No descendant of Aaron the priest
who has a blemish shall come near to offer the Lord’s offerings by fire; since he has a blem-
ish…that he may not profane my sanctuaries; for I am the Lord; I sanctify them. 21:18,20-
21
The Lord said to Moses, saying: Take the blasphemer outside the camp; and let all who
were within hearing lay their hands on his head, and let the whole congregation stone him.
And speak to the people of Israel, saying: Anyone who curses God shall bear the sin. One
who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death; the whole congregation shall
stone the blasphemer. Aliens as well as citizens, when they blaspheme the Name, shall be
put to death. 24:14-16
As for the male and female slaves whom you may have, it is from the nations around you
that you may acquire male and female slaves. You may also acquire them from among the
aliens residing with you, and from their families that are with you, who have been born in
your land; and they may be your property. You may keep them as a possession for your chil-
dren after you, for them to inherit as property. These you may treat as slaves, but as for your
fellow Israelites, no one shall rule over the other with harshness. 25:44-46
But if you will not obey me, and do not observe all these commandments, if you spurn my

statutes, and abhor my ordinances, so that you will not observe all my commandments, and
you break my covenant, I in turn will do this to you: I will bring terror on you; consumption
and fever that waste the eyes and cause life to pine away. You shall sow your seed in vain,
for your enemies shall eat it. I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down
by your enemies; your foes shall rule over you, and you shall flee though no one pursues
you. And if in spite of this you will not obey me, I will continue to punish you sevenfold for
your sins. I will break your proud glory, and I will make your sky like iron and your earth
like copper. Your strength shall be spent to no purpose: your land shall not yield its produce,
and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit. If you continue hostile to me, and will not
obey me, I will continue to plague you sevenfold for your sins. I will let loose wild animals
against you, and they shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock; they
shall make you few in number, and your roads shall be deserted. If in spite of these punish-
ments you have not turned back to me, but continue hostile to me, then I too will continue
hostile to you: I myself will strike you sevenfold for your sins. I will bring the sword against
you, executing vengeance for the covenant; and if you withdraw within your cities, I will
send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into enemy hands. When I break
your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven, and they shall dole
out your bread by weight; and though you eat, you shall not be satisfied. But if, despite this,
you disobey me, and continue hostile to me, I will continue hostile to you in fury; I in turn
will punish you myself sevenfold for your sins. You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and
you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. I will destroy your high places and cut down your
incense altars; I will heap your carcasses on the carcasses of your idols. I will abhor you.
I will lay your cities waste, will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your
pleasing odors. I will devastate the land, so that your enemies who come to settle in it shall
be appalled at it. And you I will scatter among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword
against you; your land shall be a desolation, and your cities a waste. 26:21-33
Numbers
Now when the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, the
Lord heard it and his anger was kindled. Then the fire of the Lord burned against them, and
consumed some outlying parts of the camp. But the people cried out to Moses; and Moses
prayed to the Lord, and the fire abated. So that place was called Taberah, because the fire of
the Lord burned against them. 11:1-3
But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of
the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great
plague. 11:33
When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the sabbath
day. Those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses, Aaron, and to the whole
congregation. They put him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to
him. Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall

stone him outside the camp.” The whole congregation brought him outside the camp and
stoned him to death, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 15:32-36
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Say to the congregation: Get away from the dwell-
ings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram;
the elders of Israel followed him. He said to the congregation, “Turn away from the tents
of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, or you will be swept away for all their
sins.” So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and
Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents, together with their wives, their
children, and their little ones. And Moses said, “This is how you shall know that the Lord
has sent me to do all these works; it has not been of my own accord: If these people die a
natural death, or if a natural fate comes on them, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the
Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up, with
all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these
men have despised the Lord.” As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the ground
under them was split apart. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with
their households--everyone who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they with all that
belonged to them went down alive into Sheol; the earth closed over them, and they perished
from the midst of the assembly. All Israel around them fled at their outcry, for they said,
“The earth will swallow us too!” And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two
hundred fifty men offering the incense.
…and the glory of the Lord appeared. Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent
of meeting, and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Get away from this congregation, so that
I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. Moses said to Aaron, “Take
your censer, put fire on it from the altar and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the con-
gregation and make atonement for them. For wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague
has begun.” So Aaron took it as Moses had ordered, and ran into the middle of the assembly,
where the plague had already begun among the people. He put on the incense, and made
atonement for the people. He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was
stopped. Those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides
those who died in the affair of Korah. 16:42-50
…but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against
Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no
food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” Then the Lord sent poisonous ser-
pents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people
came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you;
pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And
the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who
is bitten shall look at it and live.” 21:4-8
While Israel was staying at Shittim, the people began to have sexual relations with the
women of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate

and bowed down to their gods. Thus Israel yoked itself to the Baal of Peor, and the Lord’s
anger was kindled against Israel. The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people,
and impale them in the sun before the Lord, in order that the fierce anger of the Lord may
turn away from Israel.” And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you shall kill any
of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.” Just then one of the Israel-
ites came and brought a Midianite woman into his family, in the sight of Moses and in the
sight of the whole congregation of the Israelites, while they were weeping at the entrance
of the tent of meeting. When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got
up and left the congregation. Taking a spear in his hand, he went after the Israelite man into
the tent, and pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. So the
plague was stopped among the people of Israel. Nevertheless those that died by the plague
were twenty-four thousand. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Phinehas son of Eleazar, son
of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites by manifesting such zeal
among them on my behalf that in my jealousy I did not consume the Israelites. Therefore
say, ‘I hereby grant him my covenant of peace. It shall be for him and for his descendants
after him a covenant of perpetual priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made
atonement for the Israelites.’ “The name of the slain Israelite man, who was killed with the
Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, head of an ancestral house belonging to the Sim-
eonites. The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi daughter of Zur, who
was the head of a clan, an ancestral house in Midian. The Lord said to Moses, “Harass the
Midianites, and defeat them…25:1-17
Moses said to them, “Have you allowed all the women to live? These women here, on
Balaam’s advice, made the Israelites act treacherously against the Lord in the affair of Peor,
so that the plague came among the congregation of the Lord. Now therefore, kill every male
among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by sleeping with him.
But all the young girls who have not known a man by sleeping with him, keep alive for
yourselves. 31:15-18
Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelites, and say to them: When you cross over
the Jordan into the land of Canaan, you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from
before you, destroy all their figured stones, destroy all their cast images, and demolish all
their high places. You shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you
the land to possess. But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you,
then those whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they
shall trouble you in the land where you are settling. And I will do to you as I thought to do
to them. 33:50-56
Deuteronomy
But King Sihon of Heshbon was not willing to let us pass through, for the Lord your God
had hardened his spirit and made his heart defiant in order to hand him over to you, as he
has now done…2:30

At that time we captured all his towns, and in each town we utterly destroyed men, women,
and children. We left not a single survivor. Only the livestock we kept as spoil for ourselves,
as well as the plunder of the towns that we had captured. 2:34-35
So the Lord our God also handed over to us King Og of Bashan and all his people. We
struck him down until not a single survivor was left. At that time we captured all his towns;
there was no citadel that we did not take from them--sixty towns, the whole region of Ar-
gob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these were fortress towns with high walls, double
gates, and bars, besides a great many villages. And we utterly destroyed them, as we had
done to King Sihon of Heshbon, in each city utterly destroying men, women, and children.
But all the livestock and the plunder of the towns we kept as spoil for ourselves. 3:3-7
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous
God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation of
those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who
love me and keep my commandments. 5:9-10
When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter and occupy,
and he clears away many nations before you--the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the
Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations mightier and more
numerous than you and when the LORD your God gives them over to you and you defeat
them, then you must utterly destroy them. Make no covenant with them and show them
no mercy. Do not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their
daughters for your sons, for that would turn away your children from following me, to serve
other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy
you quickly. But this is how you must deal with them: break down their altars, smash their
pillars, hew down their sacred poles, and burn their idols with fire. For you are a people
holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth
to be his people, his treasured possession. It was not because you were more numerous than
any other people that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you--for you were the fewest
of all peoples. It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your
ancestors, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from
the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord
your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him
and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and who repays in their own per-
son those who reject him. He does not delay but repays in their own person those who reject
him. Therefore, observe diligently the commandment--the statutes and the ordinances that I
am commanding you today. 7:2-11
You shall devour all the peoples that the Lord your God is giving over to you, showing
them no pity; you shall not serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you. If you say to
yourself, “These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?” do not be

afraid of them. Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the
great trials Lord that your eyes saw, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and the out-
stretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the
same to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover, the Lord your God will send the
pestilence against them, until even the survivors and the fugitives are destroyed. Have no
dread of them, for the Lord your God, who is present with you, is a great and awesome God.
The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be
able to make a quick end of them, otherwise the wild animals would become too numerous
for you. But the Lord your God will give them over to you, and throw them into great panic,
until they are destroyed. He will hand their kings over to you and you shall blot out their
name from under heaven; no one will be able to stand against you, until you have destroyed
them. 7:16-23
If anyone secretly entices you--even if it is your brother, your father’s son or your mother’s
son, or your own son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your most intimate friend--
saying, “Let us go worship other gods,” whom neither you nor your ancestors have known,
any of the gods of the peoples that are around you, whether near you or far away from you,
from one end of the earth to the other, you must not yield to or heed any such persons.
Show them no pity or compassion and do not shield them. But you shall surely kill them;
your own hand shall be first against them to execute them, and afterwards the hand of all
the people. Stone them to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Then all Israel shall hear
and be afraid, and never again do any such wickedness.
If you hear it said about one of the towns that the Lord your God is giving you to live in,
that scoundrels from among you have gone out and led the inhabitants of the town astray,
saying, “Let us go and worship other gods,” whom you have not known, then you shall
inquire and make a thorough investigation. If the charge is established that such an abhor-
rent thing has been done among you, you shall put the inhabitants of that town to the sword,
utterly destroying it and everything in it--even putting its livestock to the sword. All of its
spoil you shall gather into its public square; then burn the town and all its spoil with fire, as
a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It shall remain a perpetual ruin, never to be
rebuilt. Do not let anything devoted to destruction stick to your hand, so that the Lord may
turn from his fierce anger and show you compassion, and in his compassion multiply you,
as he swore to your ancestors, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God by keeping all
his commandments that I am commanding you today, doing what is right in the sight of the
Lord your God. 17:6-18
When you draw near to a town to fight against it, offer it terms of peace. If it accepts your
terms of peace and surrenders to you, then all the people in it shall serve you at forced labor.
If it does not submit to you peacefully, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it;
and when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword.
You may, however, take as your booty the women, the children, livestock, and everything

else in the town, all its spoil. You may enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your
God has given you. Thus you shall treat all the towns that are very far from you, which are
not towns of the nations here. But as for the towns of these peoples that the Lord your God
is giving you as an inheritance, you must not let anything that breathes remain alive. You
shall annihilate them--the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the
Hivites and the Jebusites--just as the Lord your God has commanded, so that they may not
teach you to do all the abhorrent things that they do for their gods, and you thus sin against
the Lord your God. 20:10-18
…if, however, this charge is true, that evidence of the young woman’s virginity was not
found, then they shall bring the young woman out to the entrance of her father’s house and
the men of her town shall stone her to death, because she committed a disgraceful act in
Israel by prostituting herself in her father’s house. So you shall purge the evil from your
midst. 22:20-21
If a man is caught lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who
lay with the woman as well as the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel. 22:22
If there is a young woman, a virgin already engaged to be married, and a man meets her in
the town and lies with her, you shall bring both of them to the gate of that town and stone
them to death, the young woman because she did not cry for help in the town and the man
because he violated his neighbor’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. If a
man meets a virgin who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are caught
in the act, the man who lay with her shall give fifty shekels of silver to the young woman’s
father, and she shall become his wife. Because he violated her he shall not be permitted to
divorce her as long as he lives. 22:23-24, 28-29
No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assem-
bly of the Lord.
Those born of an illicit union shall not be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. Even to the
tenth generation, none of their descendants shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth
generation, none of their descendants shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord, because
they did not meet you with food and water on your journey out of Egypt…You shall never
promote their welfare or their prosperity as long as you live. 23:2-6
If men get into a fight with one another, and the wife of one intervenes to rescue her hus-
band from the grip of his opponent by reaching out and seizing his genitals, 1you shall cut
off her hand; show no pity. 25:11-12
But if you will not obey the Lord your God by diligently observing all his command-
ments and decrees, which I am commanding you today, then all these curses shall come

upon you and overtake you: Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the
field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of
your womb, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock.
Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
The Lord will send upon you disaster, panic, and frustration in everything you attempt to
do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because
you have forsaken me. The Lord will make the pestilence cling to you until it has consumed
you off the land that you are entering to possess. The Lord will afflict you with consump-
tion, fever, inflammation, with fiery heat and drought, and with blight and mildew; they
shall pursue you until you perish. The sky over your head shall be bronze, and the earth
under you iron. The LORD will change the rain of your land into powder, and only dust
shall come down upon you from the sky until you are destroyed. The Lord will cause you
to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out against them one way and flee before
them seven ways. You shall become an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
Your corpses shall be food for every bird of the air and animal of the earth, and there shall
be no one to frighten them away. The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with
ulcers, scurvy, and itch, of which you cannot be healed. The Lord will afflict you with mad-
ness, blindness, and confusion of mind; you shall grope about at noon as blind people grope
in darkness, but you shall be unable to find your way; and you shall be continually abused
and robbed, without anyone to help. You shall become engaged to a woman, but another
man shall lie with her. You shall build a house, but not live in it. You shall plant a vineyard,
but not enjoy its fruit. Your ox shall be butchered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of
it. Your donkey shall be stolen in front of you, and shall not be restored to you. Your sheep
shall be given to your enemies, without anyone to help you. Your sons and daughters shall
be given to another people, while you look on; you will strain your eyes looking for them
all day but be powerless to do anything. A people whom you do not know shall eat up the
fruit of your ground and of all your labors; you shall be continually abused and crushed, and
driven mad by the sight that your eyes shall see. The Lord will strike you on the knees and
on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to
the crown of your head. The Lord will bring you, and the king whom you set over you, to a
nation that neither you nor your ancestors have known, where you shall serve other gods, of
wood and stone. You shall become an object of horror, a proverb, and a byword among all
the peoples where the Lord will lead you. You shall carry much seed into the field but shall
gather little in, for the locust shall consume it. You shall plant vineyards and dress them,
but you shall neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them. You
shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with
the oil, for your olives shall drop off. You shall have sons and daughters, but they shall not
remain yours, for they shall go into captivity. All your trees and the fruit of your ground the
cicada shall take over. Aliens residing among you shall ascend above you higher and higher,
while you shall descend lower and lower. They shall lend to you but you shall not lend to
them; they shall be the head and you shall be the tail. All these curses shall come upon you,
pursuing and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord
your God, by observing the commandments and the decrees that he commanded you. They

shall be among you and your descendants as a sign and a portent forever.
Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and with gladness of heart for the
abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send
against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and lack of everything. He will put an iron
yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation from far away,
from the end of the earth, to swoop down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you
do not understand, a grim-faced nation showing no respect to the old or favor to the young.
It shall consume the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your ground until you are de-
stroyed, leaving you neither grain, wine, and oil, nor the increase of your cattle and the issue
of your flock, until it has made you perish. It shall besiege you in all your towns until your
high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout your land; it shall be-
siege you in all your towns throughout the land that the Lord your God has given you. In the
desperate straits to which the enemy siege reduces you, you will eat the fruit of your womb,
the flesh of your own sons and daughters whom the Lord your God has given you. Even the
most refined and gentle of men among you will begrudge food to his own brother, to the
wife whom he embraces, and to the last of his remaining children, giving to none of them
any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because nothing else remains to him, in
the desperate straits to which the enemy siege will reduce you in all your towns. She who is
the most refined and gentle among you, so gentle and refined that she does not venture to set
the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge food to the husband whom she embraces,
to her own son, and to her own daughter, begrudging even the afterbirth that comes out from
between her thighs, and the children that she bears, because she is eating them in secret
for lack of anything else, in the desperate straits to which the enemy siege will reduce you
in your towns. If you do not diligently observe all the words of this law that are written in
this book, fearing this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will
overwhelm both you and your offspring with severe and lasting afflictions and grievous and
lasting maladies. He will bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were
in dread, and they shall cling to you. Every other malady and affliction, even though not re-
corded in the book of this law, the Lord will inflict on you until you are destroyed. Although
once you were as numerous as the stars in heaven, you shall be left few in number, because
you did not obey the Lord your God. And just as the Lord took delight in making you pros-
perous and numerous, so the Lord will take delight in bringing you to ruin and destruction;
you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to possess. The Lord will scatter you
among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other; and there you shall serve other
gods, of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known. Among those
nations you shall find no ease, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will
give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a languishing spirit. Your life shall hang in
doubt before you; night and day you shall be in dread, with no assurance of your life. In the
morning you shall say, “If only it were evening!” and at evening you shall say, “If only it
were morning!”--because of the dread that your heart shall feel and the sights that your eyes
shall see. The Lord will bring you back in ships to Egypt, by a route that I promised you
would never see again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male
and female slaves, but there will be no buyer. 28:15-68

A song of Moses: For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God!
The Rock, his work is perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God, without deceit, just
and upright is he; yet his degenerate children have dealt falsely with him, a perverse and
crooked generation. Do you thus repay the Lord, O foolish and senseless people? Is not he
your father, who created you, who made you and established you? Remember the days of
old, consider the years long past…When the Most High apportioned the nations,
when he divided humankind, he fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the num-
ber of the gods; the Lord’s own portion was his people, Jacob (the name for his people) his
allotted share. He sustained him in a desert land, in a howling wilderness waste; he shielded
him, cared for him, guarded him as the apple of his eye. As an eagle stirs up its nest, and
hovers over its young; as it spreads its wings, takes them up, and bears them aloft on its pin-
ions, the Lord alone guided him; no foreign god was with him. He set him atop the heights
of the land, and fed him with produce of the field…You grew fat, bloated, and gorged! He
abandoned God who made him, and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation. They made him
jealous with strange gods…They sacrificed to demons, not God, to deities they had never
known, to new ones recently arrived, whom your ancestors had not feared. You were un-
mindful of the Rock you forgot the God who gave you birth. The Lord saw it, and was jeal-
ous; he spurned his sons and daughters. He said: I will hide my face from them,
I will see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children in whom there
is no faithfulness. They made me jealous with what is no god, provoked me with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with what is no people, provoke them with a foolish nation. For
a fire is kindled by my anger, and burns to the depths of Sheol (hell)…I will heap disasters
upon them, spend my arrows against them: wasting hunger, burning consumption, bitter
pestilence. The teeth of beasts I will send against them, with venom of things crawling in
the dust. In the street the sword shall bereave, and in the chambers terror, for young man
and woman alike, nursing child and old grey head. I thought to scatter them and blot out the
memory of them from humankind; but I feared provocation by the enemy, for their adver-
saries might misunderstand and say, “Our hand is triumphant; it was not the Lord who did
all this.” They are a nation void of sense; there is no understanding in them. If they were
wise, they would understand this; they would discern what the end would be. How could
one have routed a thousand, and two put a myriad to flight, unless their Rock had sold them,
the Lord had given them up?…Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when
their foot shall slip; because the day of their calamity is at hand, their doom comes swiftly.
Indeed the Lord will vindicate his people, have compassion on his servants, when he sees
that their power is gone, neither bond nor free remaining. Then he will say: Where are their
gods, the rock in which they took refuge. Let them rise up and help you, let them be your
protection! See now that I, even I, am he; there is no god besides me. I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal; and no one can deliver from my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven,
and swear: As I live forever, when I whet my flashing sword, and my hand takes hold on
judgment; I will take vengeance on my and my sword shall devour flesh with the blood of
the slain and the captives.

Praise, O heavens, his people, worship him, all you gods! For he will avenge the blood of
his children, and take vengeance on his adversaries; he will repay those who hate him, and
cleanse the land for his people.
When Moses had finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them: “Take to
heart all the words that I am giving in witness against you today; give them as a command
to your children, so that they may diligently observe all the words of this law. This is no
trifling matter for you, but rather your very life; through it you may live long in the land that
you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.” 32:1-47
Joshua
Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. The city and all that
is in it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. But all silver and gold, and vessels of
bronze and iron, are sacred to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” So the
people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of
the trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat; so the people charged
straight ahead into the city and captured it. Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of
the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.
6:16-21
And the one who is taken as having the devoted things shall be burned with fire, together
with all that he has, for having transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and for having done
an outrageous thing in Israel.’ “7:15
So Joshua defeated the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the
slopes, and all their kings; he left no one remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed,
as the Lord God of Israel commanded. 10:40
But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jeal-
ous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and
serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done
you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!” 24:19-21
Judges
Then the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and worshiped the Baals;
and they abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the
land of Egypt; they followed other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were all
around them, and bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. They aban-
doned the Lord, and worshiped Baal and the Astartes. So the anger of the Lord was kindled
against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers who plundered them, and he sold them
into the power of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer withstand their

enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them to bring mis-
fortune, as the Lord had warned them and sworn to them; and they were in great distress.
2:11-15
The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into
the hand of the Philistines forty years. 13:1
I Samuel
The Lord kills and brings to life; the brings down to Sheol (hell) and raises up. The Lord-
makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts. He raises up the poor from the
dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat
of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world. He
will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness; for not by
might does one prevail. 2:6-9
Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now
therefore listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will punish the
Amalekites for what they did in opposing the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.
Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but
kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” 15:1-3
II Samuel
David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan said to David, “Now the
Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have
utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.”…The Lord struck the child
that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became very ill. David therefore pleaded with God
for the child; David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground. The elders of his
house stood beside him, urging him to rise from the ground; but he would not, nor did he eat
food with them. On the seventh day the child died. 12:13-18
I Kings
As soon as he (Nabad) was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam; he left to the house of
Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according to the word of the Lord.
15:29
When he (Elah) began to reign, as soon as he had seated himself on his throne, he killed all
the house of Baasha; he did not leave him a single male of his kindred or his friends…ac-
cording to the word of the LORD. 16:11-12
(Elijah to King Ahab)Thus says the LORD: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of
Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.” 21:19

(The Lord said) “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has
humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I
will bring the disaster on his house.” 21:29
II Kings
Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. He went up to Elijah, who
was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come
down.’ “ But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down
from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven, and con-
sumed him and his fifty. Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. He
went up and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king’s order: Come down quickly!” But
Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume
you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and
his fifty. 1:9-12
He (the Lord’s prophet Elisha) went up from there to Bethel; and while he was going up on
the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go away, bald-
head! Go away, baldhead!” When he turned around and saw them, he cursed them in the
name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the
boys. 2:23-24
Elisha said to (his servant) Gehazi: “…the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you, and to your
descendants forever.” So he left his presence leprous, as white as snow. 5:27
When the Arameans came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, “Strike
this people, please, with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked.
6:18
When he came to Samaria, he killed all who were left to Ahab in Samaria, until he had
wiped them out, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke to Elijah. 10:17
King Jeroboam…began to reign…He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, just as
his father Amaziah had done. Nevertheless the high places (of idol worship) were not taken
away; the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. The Lord struck the
king, so that he was leprous to the day of his death, and lived in a separate house. 15:1-5
The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sephar-
vaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria in place of the people of Israel…When they
first settled there, they did not worship the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them,
which killed some of them. So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you have
carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land;
therefore he has sent lions among them; they are killing them, because they do not know

the law of the god of the land.” Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of
the priests whom you carried away from there; let him go and live there, and teach them the
law of the god of the land.” So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria
came and lived in Bethel; he taught them how they should worship the Lord. 17:24-29
That very night the angel of the Lord set out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thou-
sand in the camp of the Assyrians; when morning dawned, they were all dead bodies. 19:35
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign…He did what was evil in the sight
of the Lord, following the abominable practices of the nations that the Lord drove out be-
fore the people of Israel. For he…erected altars for Baal, made a sacred pole, as King Ahab
of Israel had done, worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them…The Lord said by his
servants the prophets, “Because King Manasseh of Judah has committed these abomina-
tions, has done things more wicked than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and
has caused Judah also to sin with his idols; therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel,
I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such evil that the ears of everyone who hears of it
will tingle…I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
I will cast off the remnant of my heritage, and give them into the hand of their enemies; they
shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done what is evil in
my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their ancestors came out of Egypt,
even to this day.” 21:1-3, 10-15
I Chronicles
When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to hold the ark,
for the oxen shook it. The anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; he struck him
down because he put out his hand to the ark; and he died there before God. 13:9-10
So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel; and seventy thousand persons fell in Israel. 15And
God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but when he was about to destroy it, the Lord
took note and relented concerning the calamity; he said to the destroying angel, “Enough!
Stay your hand.” 21:14-15
II Chronicles
They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart
and with all their soul. Whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, should be put
to death, whether young or old, man or woman. 15:12-13
Jehu son of Hanani the seer said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and
love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the
LORD. Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you destroyed the sacred poles. 19:2-3

The Lord will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your
possessions, and you yourself will have a severe sickness with a disease of your bowels,
until your bowels come out, day after day, because of the disease.” After all this the LORD
struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease. In course of time, at the end of two
years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony. 21:14-15, 18-
19
But when he (King Uzziah) had become strong he grew proud, to his destruction. For he
was false to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to make offering on the
altar of incense. But the priest Azariah went in after him, with eighty priests of the LORD
who…withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to make offer-
ing to the LORD, but for the priests,…who are consecrated to make offering. Go out of the
sanctuary; for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.”
Then Uzziah was angry…with the priests (and) a leprous disease broke out on his forehead,
in the presence of the priests in the house of the LORD. They hurried him out, and he him-
self hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him. King Uzziah was leprous to the
day of his death, and being leprous lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the
house of the Lord. 26:16-21
Thus says the Lord: I will indeed bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all
the curses that are written in the book that was read before the king of Judah. Because they
have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, so that they have provoked me to
anger with all the works of their hands, my wrath will be poured out on this place and will
not be quenched. 34:24-25
The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because
he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place; 16but they kept mocking the
messengers of God, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the
Lord against his people became so great that there was no remedy. Therefore he brought up
against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their youths with the sword in the house
of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or young woman, the aged or the
feeble; he gave them all into his hand. 36:15-17
Job
The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him
on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.” Then
Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10Have you not put a fence
around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of
his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand now,
and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very
well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!” So
Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. 1:8-12

Psalms
For you are not a God who delights in wickedness…You destroy those who speak lies. 5:5-6
God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day. If one does not repent,
God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow; he has prepared his deadly weap-
ons, making his arrows fiery shafts. 7:11-13
The Lord’s throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind. The Lord
tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates the lover of violence. On the wicked
he will rain coals of fire and sulphur; scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. 11:5-6
The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation, the God who
gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me; who delivered me from my enemies.
18:46-48
Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.
You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear. The Lord will swallow them up
in his wrath, and fire will consume them. You will destroy their offspring from the earth,
and their children from among humankind. If they plan evil against you, if they devise
mischief, they will not succeed. For you will put them to flight. Be exalted, O Lord, in your
strength! We will sing and praise your power. 21:8-13
Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, or the work of his hands, he will break
them down and build them up no more. 28:5
Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings. The Lord is my strength
and my shield; in him my heart trusts; and so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my
song I give thanks to him. The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of
his anointed. 28:7-8
…for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut
off. Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our way; though we stumble,
we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand. I have been young, and now
am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 37:22-25
O God…You with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted
the peoples, but them you set free; for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did
their own arm give them victory; but your right hand, and the light of your countenance, for
you delighted in them. 44:2-3
In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Yet
you have rejected us and abased us, and have not gone out with our armies. You made us

turn back from the foe, and our enemies have gotten spoil. You have made us like sheep for
slaughter, and have scattered us among the nations. You have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them. You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the deri-
sion and scorn of those around us. You have made us a byword among the nations, a laugh-
ingstock among the peoples. All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered
my face at the words of the taunters and revilers, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
All this has come upon us, yet our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed
from your way, yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals, and covered us with deep
darkness. If we had forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a strange
god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. Because of you we
are being killed all day long, and accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Rouse yourself! Why
do you sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not cast us off forever! 44:9-23
Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy. For the LORD, the
Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth. He subdued peoples under us, and
nations under our feet. 47:1-4
My God in his steadfast love will meet me; my God will let me look in triumph on my
enemies. Do not kill them, or my people may forget; make them totter by your power, and
bring them down, O Lord, our shield. 59:10-11
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Our God is a God of sal-
vation, and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death. But God will shatter the heads of
his enemies, the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways. The Lord said, “I will
bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, so that you
may bathe your feet in blood, so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from
the foe.” 68:19-23
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. We
will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious
deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. O that they should set
their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that
they should not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation…whose spirit
was not faithful to God. (They) turned back on the day of battle. They did not keep God’s
covenant, but refused to walk according to his law. They forgot what he had done, and the
miracles that he had shown them. In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels in the
land of Egypt. Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in
the desert. Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of rage; a fire was kindled against
Jacob, his anger mounted against Israel, because they had no faith in God, and did not trust
his saving power. The anger of God rose against them and he killed the strongest of them,
and laid low the flower of Israel. In spite of all this they still sinned; they did not believe in
his wonders. So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror. When he
killed them, they sought for him; they repented and sought God earnestly. They remembered

that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer. But they flattered him with their
mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they
were not true to his covenant. Yet he, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity, and did
not destroy them; often he restrained his anger, and did not stir up all his wrath. He remem-
bered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and does not come again. How often they
rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert! They tested God again
and again, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. They did not keep in mind his power, r the
day when he redeemed them from the foe; ten he displayed his signs in Egypt, let loose on
them his fierce anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels. He
made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the
plague. Yet they tested the Most High God, and rebelled against him. They did not observe
his decrees, but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors; they twisted like a
treacherous bow. For they provoked him to anger with their high places (altars); they moved
him to jealousy with their idols. When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly
rejected Israel. He abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mor-
tals…Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a warrior shouting because of wine. He put
his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting disgrace. He rejected the tent of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim; but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which
he loves. With upright heart he tended them, and guided them with skilful hand.
Chapter 78
You have put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies
heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. You have caused my compan-
ions to shun me; you have made me a thing of horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot
escape; I suffer your terrors; I am desperate. Your wrath has swept over me; your dread as-
saults destroy me. You have caused friend and neighbor to shun me; my companions are in
darkness. 88:6-8,14,16,18
For we are consumed by your anger; by your wrath we are overwhelmed. You have set our
iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance. For all our days pass
away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh. 90:7-9
He saved them from the hand of the foe…the waters covered their adversaries; not one of
them survived. 106:10,11
They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt. Therefore he said he
would destroy them had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn
away his wrath from destroying them. 106:21,23
The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will ex-
ecute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter heads over the
wide earth. Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on
the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the

ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren
woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord! 110:5-9
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love
and your faithfulness. Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases. 115:1-3
Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, save my life!” Gracious is the Lord,
and righteous; our God is merciful. The Lord protects the simple… 116:4-6
The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death. 118:8
I lift up my eyes to the hills: from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not
slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the
Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by
night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your
going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. 121:1-8
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us, then they
would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us. Blessed be the
Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who
made heaven and earth. 124:2,3,6,8
Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like He shall not
be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. 127:3-5
Happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. You shall eat the fruit of the
labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you. Your wife will be
like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your
table. 128:1-3
O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great
power to redeem. It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. 130:7-8
For I know that the Lord is great; our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases he
does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at
the end of the earth; he makes lightning for the rain and brings out the wind from his store-
houses. He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both human beings and animals.
He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings—and gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel. Your name, O Lord, endures forever, your renown, O Lord,
throughout all ages. For the LORD will vindicate his people, and have compassion on his
servants. 135:5-8, 10, 12-14

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. He struck down the firstborn of Egypt. His love
endures forever. 136:1,10
I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy, and executes justice for the poor.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall live in your presence.
140:12-13
The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord
is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. 145:8-9
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who
made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who ex-
ecutes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners
free; the Lord opens the eyes of the the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the
strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
146:5-9
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The Lord
lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the Lord with thanks-
giving; make melody to our God on the lyre. He covers the heavens with clouds, prepares
rain for the earth, makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the animals their food, and to
the young ravens when they cry. 147:5-9
Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches. Let the high praises
of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to and punishment on the
peoples, to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron, to execute on
them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the Lord! 149:5-9
Isaiah
The Lord said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched
necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet;
the Lord will afflict with scabs the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will lay bare
their secret parts. 3:16-17
Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his
hand against them and struck them; the mountains quaked, and their corpses were like
refuse in the streets. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out
still. 5:25
That is why the Lord did not have pity on their young people, or compassion on their or-
phans and widows; for everyone was godless and an evildoer, and every mouth spoke folly.
For all this his anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still. 9:17

Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land was burned, and the people no one spared
another. 9:19
I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, have summoned my warriors, my proudly

exulting ones, to execute my anger. The Lord of hosts is mustering an army for battle. They
come from a distant land, from the end of the Lord and the weapons of his indignation, to
destroy the whole earth.
13:3-5
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at
the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger…all will flee to their own lands.
Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword. Their
infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered, and their
wives ravished. Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the
fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.
13:13-18
Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their father. Let them never rise to pos-
sess the earth or cover the face of the world with cities. I will rise up against them, says the
Lord of hosts. 14:21-22
I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, one against the other, neigh-
bor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom; the spirit of the Egyptians
within them will be emptied out, and I will confound their plans; they will consult the idols
and the spirits of the dead and the ghosts and the familiar spirits; I will deliver the Egyp-
tians into the hand of a hard master; a fierce king will rule over them, says the Sovereign,
the Lord of hosts. The waters of the Nile will be dried up, and the river will be parched
and dry; its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry
up, reeds and rushes will rot away. There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of
the Nile; and all that is sown by the Nile will dry up, be all who cast hooks in the Nile will
lament, and those who spread nets on the water will languish. The workers in flax will be in
despair, and the carders and those at the loom will grow pale. Its weavers will be dismayed,
and all who work for wages will be grieved. The Lord has poured into them a spirit of con-
fusion; and they have made Egypt stagger in all its doings as a drunkard staggers around in
vomit. 19: 2-10, 14
Now the Lord is about to lay waste the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its
surface and scatter its inhabitants. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as
with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer,
so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the
debtor. The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled; for the Lord has spoken
this word. 24:1-3

For this is a people without understanding; therefore he that made them will not have com-
passion on them, he that formed them will show them no favor. 27:11
See, the name of the Lord…burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke; his lips are
full of indignation, and his tongue is like a devouring fire; his breath is like an overflowing
stream that reaches up to the neck-- to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction, and to
place on the jaws of the peoples a bridle that leads them astray. And the Lord will cause his
majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger
and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and tempest and hailstones. The Assyrian
will be terror-stricken at the voice of the LORD, when he strikes with his rod. And every
stroke of the staff of punishment that the Lord lays upon him will be to the sound of tim-
brels and lyres; battling with brandished arm he will fight with him. 30:27-32
For the Lord is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their hordes; he has
doomed them, has given them over for slaughter. Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench
of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood. 34:2-3
Then the angel of the Lord set out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the
camp of the Assyrians; when morning dawned, they were all dead bodies. 37:36
I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. I arm you, though you do
not know me, so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that
there is no one besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create dark-
ness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things. 45:6-7
From new moon to new moon, and from sabbath to sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship
before me, says the Lord. And they shall go out and look at the dead bodies of the people
who have rebelled against me; for their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched,
and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh. 66:23-24
Jeremiah
Therefore, thus says the Lord, assuredly I am going to bring disaster upon them that they
cannot escape; though they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. 11:11
…for the sword of the Lord devours from one end of the land to the other; no one shall be
safe. 12:12
Then you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this
land--the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants
of Jerusalem--with drunkenness. And I will dash them one against another, parents and
children together, says the Lord. I will not pity or spare or have compassion when I destroy
them. 13:13-14
Thus says the Lord concerning this people: Truly they have loved to wander, they have
not restrained their feet; therefore the Lord does not accept them, now he will remember

their iniquity and punish their sins. The Lord said to me: Do not pray for the welfare of this
people. Although they fast, I do not hear their cry, and although they offer burnt offering
and grain offering, I do not accept them; but by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence I
consume them. And the people to whom they prophesy shall be thrown out into the streets
of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword. There shall be no one to bury them--themselves,
their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their wickedness upon them.
14:12, 16
Then the Lord said to me: Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would
not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! And when they say
to you, “Where shall we go?” you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: Those destined
for pestilence, to pestilence, and those destined for the sword, to the sword; those destined
for famine, to famine, and those destined for captivity, to captivity. And I will appoint over
them four kinds of destroyers, says the Lord: the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and
the birds of the air and the wild animals of the earth to devour and destroy. I will make them
a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 15:1-4
They shall die grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but
they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword,
and by famine; and their carcasses shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts
of the earth. 16:4
And in this place I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, and will make them
fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. I will
give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth.
And I will make this city a horror, a thing to be hissed at; everyone who passes by it will
be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters. And I will make them eat the flesh of
their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and all shall eat the flesh of their neighbors in the
siege, and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.
19:7-9
I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and mighty arm, in anger, in fury, and
in great wrath. And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both human beings and
animals; they shall die of a great pestilence. 21:5-6
But thus says the Lord: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat
King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and
those who live in the land of Egypt. I will make them a horror, an evil thing, to all the king-
doms of the earth--a disgrace, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall
drive them. And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they are utterly
destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their ancestors. 24:8-10
Then you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, get

drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you.
And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them:
Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink! See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the
city that is called by my name, and how can you possibly avoid punishment? You shall not
go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, says the
Lord of hosts. You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:
The Lord will roar from on high, and from his holy habitation utter his voice; he will roar
mightily against his fold, The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth, for the Lord has
an indictment against the nations; he is entering into judgment with all flesh…” Chapter 25
Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: If you will only remain in this land, then I will build
you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I am sorry for the
disaster that I have brought upon you. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, as you have
been; do not be afraid of him, says the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to rescue
you from his hand. I will grant you mercy, and he will have mercy on you and restore you to
your native soil. 42:9-12
Thus says the Lord: I am going to break down what I have built, and pluck up what I have
planted--that is, the whole land. And you, do you seek great things for yourself ? Do not
seek them; for I am going to bring disaster upon all flesh, says the Lord; but I will give you
your life as a prize of war in every place to which you may go.” 45:4-5
That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of retribution, to gain vindication from
his foes. The sword shall devour and be sated, and drink its fill of their blood. 46:10
The Lord…is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the
Lord of hosts is his name. You are my war club, my weapon of battle: with you I smash
nations; with you I destroy kingdoms; with you I smash the horse and its rider; with you I
smash the chariot and the charioteer; with you I smash man and woman; with you I smash
the old man and the boy; with you I smash the young man and the girl; with you I smash
shepherds and their flocks; with you I smash governors and deputies. 51:19-23
Ezekiel
I, I myself will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. Your altars
shall become desolate, and your incense stands shall be broken; and I will throw down your
slain in front of your idols. I will lay the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their
idols; and I will scatter your bones around your altars. Wherever you live, your towns shall
be waste and your high places ruined, so that your altars will be waste and ruined, your idols
broken and destroyed, your incense stands cut down, and your works wiped out. The slain
shall fall in your midst; then you shall know that I am the Lord. But I will spare some. Some
of you shall escape the sword among the nations and be scattered through the countries.
Those of you who escape shall remember me among the nations where they are carried cap-
tive, how I was crushed by their wanton heart that turned away from me, and their wanton

eyes that turned after their idols. Then they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils
that they have committed, for all their abominations. 1And they shall know that I am the
Lord; I did not threaten in vain to bring this disaster upon them. 6:3-10
Therefore I will act in wrath; my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; and though they
cry in my hearing with a loud voice, I will not listen to them.” 8:18
“Pass through the city after him, and kill; your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no
pity. Cut down old men, young men and young women, little children and women, but touch
no one who has the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who
were in front of the house. Then he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with
the slain. Go!” So they went out and killed in the city. While they were killing, and I was
left alone, I fell prostrate on my face and cried out, “Ah Lord God! will you destroy all who
remain of Israel as you pour out your wrath upon Jerusalem?” He said to me, “The guilt of
the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city
full of perversity; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not
see.’ As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity, but I will bring down their deeds
upon their heads.” 14:5-10
But the children rebelled against me; they did not follow my statutes, and were not care-
ful to observe my ordinances, by whose observance everyone shall live; they profaned my
sabbaths. Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against
them in the wilderness. But I withheld my hand, and acted for the sake of my name, so that
it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.
Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and
disperse them through the countries…20:21-23
I will direct my indignation against you, in order that they may deal with you in fury. They
shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall
seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire. They shall
also strip you of your clothes and take away your fine jewels. 23:25-26
You shall be filled with drunkenness and sorrow. A cup of horror and desolation is the cup
of your sister Samaria; you shall drink it and drain it out, and gnaw its sherds, and tear out
your breasts; for I have spoken, says the Lord God. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Be-
cause you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, therefore bear the consequences
of your lewdness and whorings. 23:33-35
I am against you, O Sidon, and I will gain glory in your midst. They shall know that I am
the LORD when I execute judgments in it, and manifest my holiness in it; for I will send
pestilence into it, and bloodshed into its streets; and the dead shall fall in its midst, by the
sword that is against it on every side. And they shall know that I am the LORD. 28:22-23

For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare: On that day there shall be a great
shaking in the land of Israel; the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, and the animals of
the field, and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all human beings that are on
the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down,
and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. I will summon the sword
against Gog in all my mountains, says the Lord God; the swords of all will be against their
comrades. With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him; and I will
pour down torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulphur, upon him and his troops and the
many peoples that are with him. So I will display my greatness and my holiness and make
myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.
38:19-23
I will display my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgment that I
have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them. The house of Israel shall know that I
am the LORD their God, from that day forward. And the nations shall know that the house
of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt treacherously with me. So
I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell
by the sword. I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and
hid my face from them. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes
of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy
name. They shall forget their shame, and all the treachery they have practiced against me,
when they live securely in their land with no one to make them afraid, when I have brought
them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and through them
have displayed my holiness in the sight of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the
LORD their God because I sent them into exile among the nations, and then gathered them
into their own land. I will leave none of them behind; and I will never again hide my face
from them, when I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord God. 39:21-29
Hosea
Plead…that she (Israel) put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between
her breasts, or I will strip her naked and expose her as in the day she was born, and make
her like a wilderness, and turn her into a parched land, and kill her with thirst. Upon her
children also I will have no pity, because they are children of whoredom. 2:2-4
Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit. Even though they give
birth, I will kill the cherished offspring of their womb. Because they have not listened to
him, my God will reject them; they shall become wanderers among the nations. 9:16-17
Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by
the sword, their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped
open.13:16

Amos
Does disaster befall a city, unless the Lord has done it? 3:6
And I also withheld the rain from you when there were still three months to the harvest;
I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would be rained
upon, and the field on which it did not rain withered; I struck you with blight and mildew;
I laid waste your gardens and your vineyards; the locust devoured your fig trees and your
olive trees; yet you did not return to me, says the Lord. I sent among you a pestilence after
the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword; I carried away your horses;
and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me,
says the Lord.
Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet
your God, O Israel! For lo, the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind, reveals his
thoughts to mortals, makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth--
the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name! 4:7,9-13
Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search out and take
them; and though they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command
the sea-serpent, and it shall bite them. And though they go into captivity in front of their
enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes on
them for harm and not for good.9:3-4
Nahum
I am against you (Ninevah), says the Lord of hosts, and will lift up your skirts over your
face; and I will let nations look on your nakedness and kingdoms on your shame. I will
throw filth at you and treat you with contempt, and make you a spectacle.3:5-6
Habakuk
O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work. In our own
time revive it; in our own time make it known; in wrath may you remember mercy. God
came…and his glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. The bright-
ness was like the sun; rays came forth from his hand, where his power lay hidden. Before
him went pestilence, and plague followed close behind. 3:2-5
Zepheniah
I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth, says the Lord. I will sweep
away humans and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. I
will make the wicked stumble. I will cut off humanity from the face of the earth, says the
Lord. I will bring such distress upon people that they shall walk like the blind; because they

have sinned against the Lord, their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like
dung. 1:2-3, 17
Therefore wait for me, says the Lord, for the day when I arise as a witness. For my decision
is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all the
heat of my anger; for in the fire of my passion all the earth shall be consumed. 3:8
Matthew
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if
you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.6:14-15
Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to
me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and
do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go
away from me, you evildoers.’”7:21-23
Jesus said: “I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and
Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 1while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown
into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 8:11-12
Jesus said: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the
ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not
be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” 10:29-31
And Jesus said, “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will ac-
knowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will
deny before my Father in heaven.” 10:32-33
Jesus said: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to
bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter
against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will
be members of one’s own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not
worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and
whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” 10:35-38
Jesus said: “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the
Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the
Son chooses to reveal him.” 11:27
Jesus said: “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever
speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

12:32
Jesus said “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and
caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good
into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come
out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13:47-50
Jesus said, “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it
is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be
thrown into the eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it
away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown
into the hell of fire.”18:8-9
Jesus said (in a parable): “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man
there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in
here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants,
‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weep-
ing and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” 22:14
Jesus said: “You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?
Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify,
and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, so that upon you
may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the
blood of Zechariah whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly I tell
you, all this will come upon this generation.” 23:33-36
Jesus said, “For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance;
but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30As for this
worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnash-
ing of teeth.” 25:29-30
Jesus said: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he
will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will
separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he
will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those
at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world…then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You
that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;
for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick
and in prison and you did not visit me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but
the righteous into eternal life.” 25:31-33,41,46

Mark
Jesus said “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside,
everything comes in parables; in order that ‘they may indeed look, but not perceive, and
may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’
“4:11-12
Jesus said “For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing,
even what they have will be taken away.” 4:25
Jesus had said to him (the man who lived wildly among the tombs, howling and bruising
himself), “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” Then Jesus asked him, “What is your
name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” He begged him earnestly not to
send them out of the country. Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding;
and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” So he gave
them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd,
numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned
in the sea. The swineherds ran off…Then people…began to beg Jesus to leave their neigh-
borhood. 5:2-5,8-14, 17
…a Gentile…begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the
children (Israelites) be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it
to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s
crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go--the demon has left your daugh-
ter.” 7:26-29
Jesus said, “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life
maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot
causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet
and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for
you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into
hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.” 9:43-46
Jesus said: “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a
ransom for many.”10:45
Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraid-
ed them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who
saw him after he had risen. 16:14
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole cre-
ation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe

will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name
they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their
hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on
the sick, and they will recover.” 16:15-18
John
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not
know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all
who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,
who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as
of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have all received, grace
upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart,
who has made him known. 1:9-14,16-18
Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the
world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those
who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of
the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and
people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” 3:16-19
John said, The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. Whoever believes
in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure
God’s wrath.” 3:35-36
(Jesus, to a crippled man he has just healed) Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to
him, “See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to
you.” 5:14
Jesus said: This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him
may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.” 6:40
Jesus stood and said in a loud voice: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, 38and let the
one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall
flow rivers of living water.’ “ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were
to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified. 7:37-39
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will

never walk in darkness but will have the light of life…You are from below, I am from
above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your
sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.” 8:12,23-24
Jesus said to them: Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for
I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. Why do
you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. You are from your
father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the
beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies,
he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I
tell the truth, you do not believe me. Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The
reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God…Very truly, I tell you, whoever
keeps my word will never see death.” The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a
demon.” 8:43-55
Jesus said: So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the
sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. Very truly, I tell
you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the
sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will
come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I
came that they may have life, and have it abundantly…I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does
not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away--and the wolf
snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not
care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as
the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have
other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my
voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because
I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down
of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have
received this command from my Father. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they
follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out
of my hand. 29What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch
it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” 10:1,7-18, 27-30
Jesus said to her: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in
me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never
die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah,
the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” 11:25-26
Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him.
This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah:… “He has blinded their eyes and
hardened their heart, so that they might not look with their eyes, and understand with their

heart and turn and I would heal them.” 12:40
Then Jesus cried aloud: “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent
me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come as light into the world, so
that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. I do not judge anyone
who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save
the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last
day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, for I have not spoken on my own, but
the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what
to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak
just as the Father has told me.” 12:44-50
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do
know him and have seen him.” 14:6-7
Jesus said: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him,
because he abides with you, and he will be in you. “I will not leave you orphaned; I am
coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; be-
cause I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in
me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me;
and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself
to them.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to
us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word,
and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine,
but is from the Father who sent me.” 14:15-24
Jesus said: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He removes every branch
in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I
abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither
can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me
and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not
abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown
into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever
you wish, and it will be done for you.” 15:1-7
Jesus said: You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit,
fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am
giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” 15:16-17

Jesus said: “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you be-
longed to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the
world, but I have chosen you out of the world--therefore the world hates you. Remember
the word that I said to you, ‘Servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted
me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But they will
do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent
me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no
excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them
the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated
both me and my Father.” 15:18-24
Jesus said: “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go
away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he
comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin,
because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father
and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been
condemned.” 16:7-9
Jesus said: …for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have be-
lieved that I came from God. 16:27
Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that
the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal
life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing
the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the
glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. “I have made your name known
to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from
you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them
and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am ask-
ing on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom
you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have
been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and
I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so
that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name
that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one des-
tined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I
speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to
the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the
world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. Sanctify them in the truth; your word

is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for
their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth. I ask not only on
behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that
they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so
that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have
given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may
become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved
them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me,
may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved
me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but
I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I
will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in
them.” Chapter 17
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in
this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah,
the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. 20:30-31
Acts
Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord
to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they
will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men
came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And
great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things. 5:9-10
The jailer, rushing in, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them
outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe on the Lord
Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 16:29-31
Romans
But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by
the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who
believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He
did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the
sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous
and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus. 3:22-26
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we

boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our
sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character,
and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been
poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For while we were
still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a
righteous person--though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But
God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more
surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him
from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through
the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his
life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
we have now received reconciliation. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through
one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned,
sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet
death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like
the transgression of Adam, who is a ‘type’ of the one who was to come. But the free gift is
not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely
have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded
for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment
following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses
brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through
that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift
of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore just
as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to
justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made
sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. But law came in,
with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the
more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise domin-
ion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Chapter 5
What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no
means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who
have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we have been
buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by
the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united
with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed,
and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if
we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ,
being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you
also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.…
thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the
heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free
from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of
your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity
and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness
for sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So
what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end
of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the
advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but
the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Chapter 6
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of
the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God
has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just
requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but ac-
cording to the Spirit. 8:1-4
For not all Israelites truly belong to Israel, and not all of Abraham’s children are his true
descendants; but “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.” This means
that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the
promise are counted as descendants. Even before they had been born or had done anything
good or bad (so that God’s purpose of election might continue, 1not by works but by his
call) she was told, “The elder shall serve the younger.” As it is written, “I have loved Jacob,
but I have hated Esau.” What then are we to say? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no
means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I have compassion.” So it depends not on human will or exertion, but
on God who shows mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “I have raised you up for the
very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the
earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whom-
ever he chooses.. 9:11-18
But what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart”
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus
is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For
one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is
saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is
no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all
who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But
how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in
one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to pro-
claim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How

beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” But not all have obeyed the good
news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” So faith comes from what is
heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard?
Indeed they have; for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends
of the world.” 10:8-15
Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but
God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will
be cut off. 11:22
I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offences,
in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them. For such people do not
serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive
the hearts of the simple-minded. The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 16:17,20
I Corinthians
Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived!
Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunk-
ards, revilers, robbers--none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some
of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. 6:9-11
Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you,
which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being
saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you--unless you have come to
believe in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died
for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised
on the third day in accordance with the scriptures… For since death came through a human
being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in
Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 15:1-3, 21-22
Let anyone be accursed who has no love for the Lord. Our Lord, come! The grace of the
Lord Jesus be with you. 16:22-23
II Corinthians
Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteous-
ness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship is there between light and darkness? Or what
does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with
idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will live in them and walk

among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore come out from
them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; then I will
welcome you, and I will be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the
Lord.” 6:14-18
Galatians
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself
for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and
Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 1:3-5
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of
Christ and are turning to a different gospel, not that there is another gospel, but there are
some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an
angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you,
let that one be accursed! As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to
you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed! 1:6-9
…for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were bap-
tized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there
is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ
Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the
promise. 3:26-29
Ephesians
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foun-
dation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption
as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise
of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemp-
tion through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery
of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the full-
ness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ
we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him
who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the
first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when
you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him,
were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance
toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory. 1:3-14
You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the

course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at
work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions
of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of
wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which
he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with
Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the im-
measurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God--not the result
of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. So then, remember
that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called
“the circumcision”--a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands--remember
that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,
and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of
Christ. 2:1-13
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you
obey Christ; not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of
Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord
and not to men and women, knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same
again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free. 6:5-8
Philippians
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of
God, did not regard equality with God, as something to be exploited, but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-- even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
2:9-ll
Colossians
And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now recon-
ciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irre-
proachable before him--provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the
faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been
proclaimed to every creature under heaven. 1:21-23

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to
human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to
Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness
in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with
a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ;
when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in
the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he
forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands.
He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a
public example of them, triumphing over them in it. 2:8-15
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 2:18
Servants, obey your masters in all matters. 3:22
I Thessalonians
We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that
you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word,
which is also at work in you believers. For you, brothers and sisters became imitators of
the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from
your own compatriots as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the
prophets, and drove us out; they displease God and oppose everyone by hindering us from
speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they have constantly been filling
up the measure of their sins; but God’s wrath has overtaken them at last. 2:13-16
II Thessalonians
This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, and is intended to make you worthy of
the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. For it is indeed just of God to repay
with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when
the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting ven-
geance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord
Jesus. These will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence
of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes to be glorified by his saints and
to be marveled at on that day among all who have believed, because our testimony to you
was believed. 1:5-10
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath
of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the law-
less one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and
every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love

the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them
to believe what is false, so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in un-
righteousness will be condemned. 2:8-12
Take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with
them, so that they may be ashamed. 3:14
Titus
Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they
are not to talk back, not to pilfer, but to show complete and perfect fidelity, so that in every-
thing they may be an ornament to the doctrine of God our Savior. 2:9-10
…while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God
and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all
iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. 2:13-14
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and
pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. But when
the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of
any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water
of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through
Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs
according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is sure. 3:3-8
Hebrews
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of
blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 9:22
I Peter
Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind
and gentle but also those who are harsh. For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you
endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong,
what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s
approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving
you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit
was found in his mouth.”, When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered,
he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore
our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by
his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have
returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. 2:18-25

Wives, in the same way, accept the authority of your husbands, so that, even if some of
them do not obey the word, they may be won over without a word by their wives’ conduct,
2when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3:1
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to
bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also
he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey,
when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a
few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured,
now saves you--not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good
conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the
right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him. 3:18-22
I John
…but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the
whole world. 2:2
Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one
who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone
who confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in
you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and
in the Father. And this is what he has promised us, eternal life. I write these things to you
concerning those who would deceive you. 2:22-26
You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who
abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let
no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the
beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God’s seed abides in them; they
cannot sin, because they have been born of God. The children of God and the children of
the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are
those who do not love their brothers and sisters. 3:5-10
The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and
destruction of ungodly men. 3:7
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this
is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already
in the world. They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the

world listens to them. 6We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever
is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of
error.4:2-6
God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that
we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and
sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 4:9-10
We have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. God
abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 4:14-15
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who
loves the parent loves the child. This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ,
not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that
testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is
greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. Those who believe
in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have
made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son.
And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has
the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 5:1, 6, 9-12
II John
Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ
has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! Be on your guard,
so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive a full reward. Everyone
who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; who-
ever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. Do not receive into the house or
welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching; for to welcome is to
participate in the evil deeds of such a person. vs. 7-10
Jude
… For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated
for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness
and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I desire to remind you, though you
are fully informed, that the Lord, who once for all saved a people out of the land of Egypt,
afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 1:4-5
Revelation
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the
seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-

born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom,
priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1:4-6
They sing a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were
slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language
and people and nation; you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God,
and they will reign on earth.” 5:9-10
And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth,
and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit; he opened the shaft of the bot-
tomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun
and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came locusts
on the earth, and they were given authority like the authority of scorpions of the earth. They
were told not to damage the grass of the earth or any green growth or any tree, but only
those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to
torture them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torture was like the torture of a
scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days people will seek death but will not find
it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them. …by three plagues a third of human-
kind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulphur coming out of their mouths. 9:1-6, 18
Those who worship the beast and its image, and receive a mark on their foreheads or on
their hands, they will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of
his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels
and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever.
14:9-11
Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of
fire. 20:15
Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my
children. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators,
the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire
and sulphur, which is the second death.” 21:7-8
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them,
God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from
the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree
of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. The one who testifies to these
things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (“Maranatha”) The
grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen. 22:18-21

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West Hill United Church

Congregational Policy 103.1

Policy on Language and Background Study

B. Introduction: the challenges of language

C. Purpose of the Policy

E. Discussion of terms in the policy statement

1. Texts, traditions, and beliefs

1. Interpretation of various terms

Appendix A. Problematic language in hymns

Appendix B. Problematic biblical stories, illustrations, etc.

Appendix C. Life-enhancing biblical passages

Appendix D. Problematic biblical passages

West Hill United Church Language Policy page 1

Language used in ministry at West Hill United Church

B. Introduction: the challenge of language

West Hill United Church Language Policy page 2

• contemporary and relevant

• accessible to those with or without religious backgrounds

• intellectually and ethically accountable

• will contain no assertion or suggestion

o that any text

• has inherent authority

o that any religious doctrine, tradition, or experience

• represents absolute or universal truth

• ought to be believed, accepted, sought after, or shared by all

• results in guaranteed outcomes if believed or obeyed

West Hill United Church Language Policy page 3

West Hill United Church Language Policy page 4

“core values…justice, compassion,….”

“we believe are fundamental”

West Hill United Church Language Policy page 5

“absolute or universal truth”

West Hill United Church Language Policy page 6

“will contain no claims or suggestions that…”

• assertions or assumptions of the absolute or universal truth of religious doctrine

• promises of results from believing religious doctrines

• validations of the historical accuracy of supernatural events recorded in religious texts

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“the sharing of diverse views…is welcomed”

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1. Texts, traditions, and beliefs

• respect for diversity of experience and freedom of conscience

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2. Implications for language used in ministry: choices

Traditional religious language can be used in the following ways:

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There are difficulties in aspects of each of these approaches:

There are also difficulties with this ordinary language approach:

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• some people are simply uncomfortable with change of any nature

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1. Interpretation of various terms

The following are descriptions, not “official” definitions.

1. a cosmology - a story of who we are and why we are here

2. a spiritual dimension – a deeper meaning than the material

3. a rationale for living responsibly and ethically, with compassion

4. public celebrations of shared values and of life’s passages.

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The following is a selection of definitions or descriptions of religion from contemporary litera-

• the dimension of depth in life (Paul Tillich)

• devotion to something beyond the self

• a depth dimension, involving a movement, whether ill-defined or conscious, toward some