To Misquote the Bible, The Sequel

In my research of another subject, I found yet another quote that is attributed to the Bible, but it’s not in there. And this one is a shocker.

‘Hate the sin, love the sinner.”

Wow, did that just blow your mind or what? The originator of that quote is none other that the peace loving Mahatma Gandhi. Personally, I still feel he was a man we should try to model ourselves after. The man was the source of great advice to live by. (More great quotes from him can be found here.) But no, this did not come from the Bible.

The closest thing I have come to finding a similar quote is as follows. “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 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. 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.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12: 9-21)

Pretty long, huh? This is probably why people decided to borrow Gandhi’s quote. And no wonder. It puts it in a nice package that gets straight to the point.

To Misquote the Bible...

The other day I got to be witness to, for better or worse, an argument about whether or not the quote "Spare the rod, spoil the child." was indeed in the Bible. Mostly out of curiosity, I decided to find out and put the matter to rest once and for all.

The fact is that the quote is NOT from the Bible. It from a poem called Hudibras by Samuel Butler written in the 17th Century. And...the line is actually a tongue in cheek reference to prevent conception. ( I bet you are all looking at this in a WHOLE new light, aren't you?)
The actual Bible quotes that this gets confused with are from Proverbs. "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." (Proverbs 13:24) "Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death." (Proverbs 23:13-14)

I would also like to take this time to remind everyone that Proverbs is part of the Old Testament. When you are asking yourselves the question, "What would Jesus do?" I don't think the Prince of Peace would EVER hit a child.

If Jesus was on Earth today, the "religious right" would call him a liberal...

I got to thinking about this subject this week because of the release of "The DaVinci Code". The inability of many "Christians" to view anything other that what is written in the Bible. Not that I don't believe in the Bible. I do believe in the Holy Trinity; that is where my faith lies. I just could say I am a Christian, but lately that has become a dirty word. And this is very sad to me.

When I was going to Sunday School, I was always taught that Jesus was loving and accepting of everybody. It didn't matter your race, gender, social status, ethnicity, sexual preference, etc. How he preached about tolerance, loving your fellow man, turning the other check. How he cared not for his own glory or gain. How he was tried, humiliated, and died a long, painful torturous death so we could be saved. Not everyone believes he was the Messiah, but all agree he was a man of love & peace. So how did his message get so skewed?

As of late, his most vocal "followers", (and I use that term VERY loosely), are the ones lying, starting wars, destroying the planet, and profiting from pain? It boggles the mind. Then, to have people come up to me and say it's good to have leaders in this country with good Christian values. WHAT? Did I miss something? Like the part when, apparently, the priest said don't do as Jesus did? I don't remember being taught THOSE values. I've actually been to church recently,and it hasn't changed. I promise you. Still love, peace and tolerance. (At least at my church.)

The funny thing about the whole "DaVinci Code" thing is you would think by the way they are reacting that this is the first time a movie has come out challenging the traditional interpretation of the Bible. How soon we forget "The Last Temptation of Christ" & "Dogma". (The latter of which I absolutely loved.) Let's take them one by one.

I remember very clearly the release of "The Last Temptation of Christ". I was in college, and the town where we were was NOT going to carry the movie. The closest theater showing the film was 90 minutes away. Now, anything that gets protested as much as this movie was is guaranteed to make people want to see it, especially college students. So, the weekend it was released, there was many a road trip made just to see this movie. I didn't go because I had no real interest in seeing the movie in the first place. I'd seen trailers and such, and it did not peek my interest. But I must confess to wanting to see it after all the fuss that was made about it. And what was the fuss about? The fact that, while on the cross, Jesus THOUGHT about living life as a normal man. OOOOHHHH, he thought... And what was the end result of these thoughts? He still chose to die for our sins. I don't know about you, but wouldn't the fact that he chose to still sacrifice himself when presented with the choice to forsake his destiny make his actions that much more powerful?

The previous controversy was nothing compared to the witch hunt that ensued over "Dogma". Hell, we even had death threats over this movie. I guess the religious fanatics couldn't handle the that Jesus's blood line remands to this day, much less worked at an abortion clinic, an apostle, a thirteenth one, could be black, and all sorts of other stuff that to list it here would probably spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it. This movie challenged people to think on their own. And the fact that it was written and directed by someone who was and is a devout Christian gives the film that much more credibility in my book. This film has brought people back to there faith, not turn them away from it.

As I also recall from my early days at church, Jesus was open minded. He LISTENED to what the masses had to say, and he did not pass judgement. Most of these movies' critics were people who never even seen them. Doesn't sound Christ-like to me.

I work for a non-profit, humanitarian organization. I believe we should save the planet, and aid everyone no matter gender, race, ethnicity, sexual preference or religious beliefs. I believe in the efforts of peace, and in forgiveness. And I have been called a liberal for this, like it was a bad word. I have watched the teaching of Christ be twisted and corrupted, and wonder how it could have gotten to this point. It breaks my heart.