Verses not found in the Bible
I've been thinking about teachings which may or may not be true but are not found in any specific verses from the Bible. Here are some of them. Can you think of others?
- God helps those who help themselves.
- Tongues ceased when the canon of scripture was completed.
- The unpardonable sin is rejecting Christ.
- Husbands are to lead their wives.
- Wives and husbands should share domestic chores equally.
- A woman's place is in the home.
- Slavery is sinful.
- A woman must wear some kind of cloth over her head during worship.
- Because Adam was created first, Eve was to submit to him.
- A husband serves as God's priest to his wife.
- Anger is a sin.
- Women may not preach.
- Women are more easily tempted than men.
- God desires everyone to live in a democracy.
- Christ eternally submits to his Father God.
- Children are to be seen and not heard.
- God chooses some to eternal life and others to eternal suffering.
- Followers of Christ must not join the military.
- Followers of Christ already in the military should stay in the military.
- Do unto others as they do unto you.
- Anything worth doing at all is worth doing well.
- A man is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep for that which he cannot lose.
posted by Wayne Leman at 8:38 AM
18 Comments:
Aren't you just in a hornet's nest stirring mood this morning, Wayne?
My mother was once trying to comfort a friend and she emailed me asking, "Real quick--tell me where it says in the Bible that "this too shall pass."
I told her, "I think Abraham Lincoln said that."
A week ago at Andrew's funeral, someone came up to me wanting to know where in the Bible it said, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." This person wanted to actually share this with Leila, Andrew's grieving wife. Sheesh. I told him, "That's not in the Bible. In fact, it was Nietzsche who said that." And then I gave him strict instruction not to ever say that to anyone grieving.
I think that a lot of these statements may not be direct teachings of the Bible, but are probably conclusions drawn from different teachings.
For example, I don't believe that there is a simple statement that "Husbands are to lead their wives" anywhere in the Bible. While I admit to a less than encyclopedic knowledge of the word of God, I'm pretty sure that if this was stated explicitly anywhere, it would be as well-known as Ephesians 6:1.
However, we *are* told that Christ is the head of the church, and that the husband is the head of the wife; these two relationships are compared in Ephesians 5:22-24. In this case, I think the implication of leadership is there. We, as believers, place ourselves under Christ's authority as the head of the church - which makes Christ our leader. Similarly, a Christian wife is to place herself under the authority of her Christian husband, which makes him her leader (whether he wants to be that leader or not!)
A quick perusal of the list brings out one other statement that I've heard made before:
#9: Wives should reverance their husbands, as Sarah called Abraham "lord."
This appears to be the combination of two verses:
Ephesians 5:33 - "Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband."
1 Peter 3:6 - "Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement."
Given that both passages deal with the relationship between husband and wife, I don't see a problem with relating the two.
I *do* think that it's a stretch to say that Peter's reference to Sara in 1 Peter 3 is intended as anything more than an example... in other words, Paul related a commandment (husbands, love your wives; wives, reverence your husbands) while Peter related a specific example of a godly woman who showed her reverence for her husband through her obedience to him.
Sam began:
I think that a lot of these statements may not be direct teachings of the Bible, but are probably conclusions drawn from different teachings.
Yes, some of these are, Sam. One of my purposes in posting this list is very simplistic, too simplistic for many readers of this blog, namely, that these specific wordings are not found in any Bible verses.
My broader purpose for posting this list of teachings is to stimulate people to think about what is directly taught in the Bible and what we ourselves conclude from what the does actually say.
Thanks for your comments.
Thanks for stopping by my site today, Wayne. I enjoyed this post because I remember these quotes from childhood, especially the first one on your list.
A non-believer I know always tells me, "Good guys finish last;" therefore, he chooses to be a "bad guy." Now, that's something some of us grew up believing and experiencing in high school. "The bad guy always gets the girl" -- I've heard this from some good guys gone bad. What a shame.
Sam said:
#9: Wives should reverance their husbands, as Sarah called Abraham "lord."
This appears to be the combination of two verses:
Ephesians 5:33 - "Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband."
1 Peter 3:6 - "Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement."
Given that both passages deal with the relationship between husband and wife, I don't see a problem with relating the two.
Sam, I was intending my list to be more clearcut than you have pointed #9 out to be. Therefore, I am now deleting what I previously had as #9. Thanks for you comment.
Here's one:
"Those who can should go, those who can't should give/pray."
I certainly agree with the sentiment, though unfortunately the door did not open when my family tried to "go" to Bolivia 9 years ago. But it seemed like something to fit your list.
"Those who can should go, those who can't should give/pray."
Yes, yuckabuck, that's the kind of statement that would fit the list also. Thanks.
Wayne said:
"My broader purpose for posting this list of teachings is to stimulate people to think about what is directly taught in the Bible and what we ourselves conclude from what the does actually say."
That's what I thought, but I wasn't quite sure. This has been a great exercise... it's really making me stretch my knowledge of the Bible just to identify the possible justifications for some of thee statements, let alone make any sort of evaluation of how true they are to what the Bible actually teaches. Thanks for giving me an interesting break from my usual studies :-)
one I have heard often is that suicide is a straight ticket to eternal damnation
How about,
"God's design for women is that they be helpers and not doers."
Women by Design.
and
"Your first duty as a single woman is to prepare yourself to be a married woman."
How about "charity begins at home"? Also "the sun shines on the righteous"? Well, I suppose someone could claim that the latter in the Bible, "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" Matthew 5:45 (TNIV), but as popularly used is not just wrenched completely out of context but used in such a way as to contradict its context.
Another one is "Spare the rod, spoil the child." This doens't occur in the Bible, but is from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
As for #11, if indeed anger was always sin, there would have been no point in Paul saying, "In your anger do not sin" (Eph 4:26, TNIV)
How about, "A woman's highest calling is marriage and motherhood"?
Proverbs 13:24
He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes"."
Accept Jesus into your heart and you get to go to Heaven.
How about:
"Love the sinner but hate the sin."
And:
"We are in the world but not of it."
I hear various versions of this too often: "You can't be a [liberal, conservative, feminist, chauvinist, Democrat, Republican, TNIV reader, KJVO reader, or other epithet du jour] and be a Christian; you can't serve two masters."
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