Religion
My favorite scripture verses:
- Romans 12:9-21:
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is
evil; cling to what is good.
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Honor one another above yourselves.
11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep
your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in
affliction, faithful in prayer.
13 Share with God's people who are in need.
Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not
curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
16
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate
with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone
evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
18
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with
everyone.
19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's
wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the
Lord.
20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is
thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning
coals on his head."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with
good.
- Ecclesiasticus 44: 1-10,13-14:
Let us now praise
famous people, our ancestors in their generations. The Lord gave them great
glory, his majesty from the beginning. There were those who ruled kingdoms, and
made a name for themselves by their courage; those who gave advice because they
were intelligent; those who were prophets; those who led the people by their
wisdom and knowledge; those who wrote music or poetry; rich people, living
peacefully in their homes--all these were honored in their day, and were the
pride of their times. Some of them have left behind a name, so that others
praise them. But of others there is no memory; they died without anyone knowing
them; but these also were godly people, whose good deeds have not been
forgotten; their children will continue forever, and their glory will never be
blotted out. Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name lives on
generation after generation.
- 1 Corinthians 13:
1 If I speak in the tongues of men
and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging
cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and
all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not
love, I am nothing.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my
body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient,
love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It is
not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record
of wrongs.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will
cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge,
it will pass away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
10 but
when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
11 When I was a child, I
talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I
became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
12 Now we see but a poor
reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part;
then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three
remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
What's God got to do with it? by Michael Shermer