Integrity

Integrity

That’s what bothers me.  Integrity.

Politics kills people’s integrity.

People I care about.  

People who I otherwise like and trust.

Democrats.  Republicans.  Friends that I like.  I care about them.  I don’t care about their politics.

I have friends on both sides.  Their politics are not a friendship test to me.

I could drop my wallet and know they’d give it back with no money missing.

I know I could leave my child with them and they’d keep her safe.

I  trust their integrity in many things.

But, open the politics door, and integrity flies out the window.

Why can’t my Democrat friends look at the Affordable Health Care Act and say, “It was wrong to use the tactics that were used, it was wrong to pile so much stuff in there, and it was wrong to pass something that wasn’t even read; my side was wrong.”?  No, they hoot and holler, cheering “My side won, screw you Republicans!”

Why can’t my Republican friends say, “There are people in dire need who cannot get insurance and suffer because of that.  We collectively must do something to help, and that may mean some sort of government involvement.”?  No, they stomp and fuss and compare the President to a dictator.

OR,

 

Why do the Republicans who wholeheartedly supported George Bush in all he did, including the war in Iraq, fuss about Barack Obama in Libya and Syria?

And the Democrats who hated all that George Bush was and were angry about Iraq, but have no complaint about Libya and Syria?

OR,

Why do Democrats excoriate the Republicans for balking on raising the debt ceiling and shutting down the government when President Obama voted precisely that way seven years ago during the Bush administration?

Why did the very Republicans who supported raising it in the past, suddenly care about the cost to our children’s future?

Why is it always the other group’s fault for not being willing to give something in compromise when your own side draws similar lines? 

 

Why does party loyalty remove all sense of honesty that your party doesn’t get it all right?

Perhaps this is why each side hates each other so?  A person who has compromised their own principals over politics, recognizes that same character in his opponent.

Where are the people of honor who can call out their own side?

Where are the ones with character enough to call out what’s right on the other side?

Where’s your integrity?

Signed,

A Modern Diogenes

Reaching Across

If I had a hammer.

Blowin in the Wind.

Where have all the flowers gone.

Sitting in my local coffee house this morning. 

The music playing overhead was right out of 1967:  Joan Baez.  Peter, Paul, and Mary.  Kingston Trio.  Jim Croce.  Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

I had to stop and reflect on human arrogance.  We always seem to think that we are so much more civilized than previous generations, that we have it all figured out.  No matter what side of the political coin we are on, we are absolutely positive that we are right.  We are quick to judge the motives and ideologies of others, and assume that they are wrong, evil, or malicious.

It seems every generation, political ideology, and movement believes, 

“It’s us against them.”

“We have truth on our side.”

“We have the right reasons.”

“We have facts on our side.”

“We have pure motives.”

 “We mean well.”

“Therefore, anything we do, is acceptable.”

It seems to me, that any large movement in this line of thinking becomes a steamroller that ends up squashing people who don’t agree with them, smearing those who dissent, attacking those who dare to believe differently:

From the 60s protests to the War on Terrorism.  

From the black berets of the Black Panthers to the white sheets of the KKK.

From shameful signs of Westboro Baptist to the shaming smears of GLAAD.

From the Moral Majority to the affirmative action for minorities.

From the Border Guard to the Derechos Humanos Coalition

When groups become so assured of their righteousness on a single issue, they begin to see all others as their enemy, and that isn’t healthy for any of us.

Our culture claims to value diversity.  It champions tolerance and equality.  But the truth remains that diversity rarely includes opposition.  Tolerance doesn’t tolerate dissension, and everyone is equal unless they are on the other side.

Will history judge us for the choices we made today?  Is there a way to bridge beliefs, to cross boundaries, to befriend those who are radically different from us?

I believe there is, but it doesn’t come from a big movement.

It comes from the individual actions of people who care enough to sit down with those who are against us, to have real conversations, meals together, and intentional outreaches.  It comes from those who are willing to say that I sorely disagree with you on this one issue, but we can come together in a dozen other places.  It comes from those who are willing to be humble and value others above themselves.

One on one, we can build relationships that can stand through anything.

That’s the theory.  Now, comes the time to put it into practice.  Can you swallow your pride and reach out to that family member who is in that other political party?  Can you invite that guy from the office out to lunch who always talks about that one issue?  Can you be the humble one and reach out to the friend on Facebook who has strong opinions? 

Thanksgiving is coming.  What better time to sit down and make peace?

Someone has to make the first step.

Will you?

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Philippians 2:3-4

Articles of Faith

Newly discovered species from partial jawbone and partial legbone!

Evolution shows that humans aren’t wired for monogamy, especially men!

God had no role in the creation of the universe!

In the past few weeks, I have read three articles by scientists, who manage to poo-poo faith and religion while simultaneously demonstrating that they, themselves, hold their own faith and religion.

The first article was about a potential new species that was discovered.  It seems some paleontologists located a part of a jawbone and a fragment of a leg bone that points to a new species of ocean going animal that may have been a predecessor of land animals.  They go on to tell the foods it ate, the way it hunted, and the unique ways it could walk on land and swim in the sea.  An artist’s sketch was given to help us picture it in its original environment.  Wait a moment!  Back up the train here.  The tiny piece of jawbone and the leg bone fragment were pictured.  The jawbone didn’t even have any teeth left in it.  These small pieces of bone told us all of that!?!?!?   The credulity required to believe these jumps-to-conclusion is beyond me.  While I am sure that we can learn something from these bones, can we really reconstruct an entire beast from these small pieces?  Can we really make assumptions on its ‘evolution,’ its hunting and mating habits, and its physique?  It sounds more like a fairy-tales about dragons coming from dinosaur fossils than real science.  

The second article explained that men aren’t wired for monogamy.  When it comes to cheating on our wives, we just can’t help ourselves: evolution is to blame.  "Men sport the longest and thickest penis of all primates", the author tells us.  Try not to picture this author in the Congo, chasing down a gorilla with a ruler and calipers.  He goes on to say that Homo-sapien women have “pendulous breasts” and “impossible-to-ignore cries of sexual delight.”  At this point, I'm definitely following this article.  How fun is that?  These characteristics, when compared to a few historic nomadic cultures and a species of monkey that likes group sex, proves that men are made for polyamorous relationships so that we spread our seed around.  The titillating text of this article made it a fun read, and I’m sure some dumb buffoon of a husband will use it as an excuse next time he gets caught with his wife’s best friend. (I’m pretty sure that my wife ain’t falling for it)  But, the simple truth here is that the article is ridiculous in the number of assumptions that it makes.  I can’t help but think that the author (a man of course) was building an alibi more than writing a serious book.  Perhaps he should try his hand at writing Penthouse Letters instead of scholarly texts.   

The final article was a snippet from the new book by Stephen Hawking, explaining that, because of the existence of gravity, the extremely large number of planets in the universe and the likelihood of multiple universes; chance alone explains the creation of something from nothing (the creation of our universe).  While Stephen Hawking is a brilliant scientist, far beyond my mental capacity, he begins with the premise that there is not God and therefore, all creation can be explained by chance.  Except that it can’t.  The logic flaw of ex nihilo creation still exists in a universe of physical laws.         

I am not a scientist.  I don’t even play one on television.  I am a man of faith.  That doesn’t mean that I am ignorant or that I throw logic out the window.  Quite the opposite, my belief system is based on logic and evidence… up to a point.  At that point, I have faith. 

I can be honest about that.  I’m not sure these guys are able to do that.

The scientific community and the fringe pseudo-science hangers-on would have us believe that all their work is based solely on rationality and demonstrable facts.  Yet the truth is, closer examination shows them to be men and women of faith too.  They begin with the premise that God does not exist.  They begin with the assumption that their idea of evolution is an undeniable fact.  They begin with the idea that they have all the necessary knowledge and cannot possibly be mistaken.  In their hubris, they miss their own faith, deny their own belief systems, and they presume to instruct us.

These articles, and many other like them, are articles of faith.

I don’t have any problem with science, or even the idea of evolution*, just the lack of intellectual honesty from those who would call themselves intellectuals. 

* I do NOT believe that science and religion are incompatible and I stand against those who say, “You just have to have faith,” or “God doesn’t want you to think about these things.”  I believe that God gave us our minds and the gift of rational thought.  We should use it.  I also do not believe that creation and evolution are mutually exclusive.  That, of course, is a much longer discussion, but ultimately, I believe that God created the universe, and it was well within His power to use any tools that He desired to make its creatures.

The Problem With Religion

I would argue that religion is addictive by its very nature, leaving the victim with a closed mind, unable to cope with real life. It demeans and belittles people (of other belief systems) often leading to violence and war

Organized religion has brought nothing but death and destruction to humanity since it's inception. ALL religious writings including the Bible, the Koran and the Torah are nothing more than manifestos of intolerance. I am FAR more worried about devout religious people

RELIGION is the true problem. nothing but flocks of brainwashed minions, controlled by old men through fear. cant people see above this nonsense today? think for yourself, people! stop using what was and IS nothing more than a means to control people as a crutch to judge others. Its sickening

News articles on the internet often give the reader a chance to comment and discuss the issues in the article. It seems that each time that I go out on the internet to read an article with any mention of religion, there are broadbrushed, vitriolic attacks against religion that are posted by other readers. Sometimes they are amusing, sometimes they are annoying, and most of the time they are based in ignorance.

The three comments above are not my beliefs or statements. They are real examples of the type of comment that I have seen. The first one is amusing because the author accuses religious people of having closed minds and religion of demeaning and belittling people of other beliefs. The irony is that he is doing that very thing. His post shows him to be closed minded and he is demeaning and belittling people of other belief systems.

The second comment and third comments are funny for the same reason. Number two mentions intolerance as a characteristic of religious writings, but the author’s writing is a perfect example of his or her intolerance of a belief system that doesn’t fit with theirs. And, the last one talks about ‘thinking for yourself’ and ‘control’ but in its very message is trying to get the reader to think his or her way and to control them away from something that he or she doesn’t believe in.

Have there been wars caused by people proclaiming religious reasons? Of course. But, any serious thinker and historic observer would have to take issue with a statement that says, Organized religion has brought nothing but death and destruction to humanity since it’s inception” sic. The truth is quite the opposite in most cases. I wonder if the author of that comment ever stopped to think about why so many hospitals are called Saint Something or Other, or if they have wondered at why so many social relief agencies have a religious affiliation. There are significantly more charities, social relief agencies, family support groups, medical aid groups, and similar helping organizations that are based in religious (especially Judeo-Christian) systems. According to the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey of 2000, religious people of all types were 91% likely to give money to charity or volunteer where secular people were 67% (non-religious conservatives) and 52% (non-religious liberals). The survey results put this in perspective by noting that people who classify themselves as ‘religious’ make up 33% of the population but are responsible for 52% of donations and 45% of volunteering where those that classify themselves as ‘secular’ make up 26% of the population and are only responsible for 13 percent of charitable donations and 17% of volunteerism. Survey Info

Yes, there are frauds, jerks, charlatans, manipulators, abusers, idiots, fools, degenerates, fiends, and criminals in the church. This is true of any group of people. That’s humanity. That does not mean that all people in that group are that way and it doesn't even mean that most of them are. You won’t catch me saying that all atheists are ignorant, arrogant blowhards that are responsible for the evils of Pol Pot, Stalin, and Hitler. There are plenty of atheists that fall into that category, but that doesn’t mean all of them. I would venture to say most of them are people who just want to live their life as well as they can, but there is the temptation to color the entire group based on the actions of a few.

When you scratch the surface of most of the atheists that I have personally encountered and had discussions with, almost always you will find a person who has been hurt by a dysfunctional church or by an abusive religious person. In my experience, there is rarely much deeper thought than that. Their reaction is based in feeling and not rational thought (the very thing they accuse religious people of).

I grew up without religion. I was never atheist as I found them to be the same as the religious people that I met, universally proclaiming a truth that could not be proved. I was always agnostic as that was a logically defensible position (to this day, I have much respect for agnostics who actively question). I ultimately found God through careful logic and thoughtful deliberation and by meeting reasoned, intellectual Christians who challenged me to open my own mind.

This logic and thought are the reasons for which I take offence at the type of blanket statements made by these authors and so many like them. Their intolerant statements are no different than saying that all black people are criminals, all gay men are pedophiles, all corporate CEO’s are greedy, all southerners are hicks, all women are weak, all Jews are stingy, all lesbians are ugly women, or any other similar statement denigrating an entire group of people based on stereotypes.

Instead of across-the-board condemnation of an entire group of people and belief system, why don’t you get to know some of them (and not just the ones that offended or hurt you). I’d love to sit down with you and have a cup of coffee while we discuss ideas, heck, I’ll even buy your cup for you. I’d be honored to go serve lunches to the homeless at St. Vincent de Paul with you. Let’s fundraise together and raise money for Rapha House. Come see real, intellectually sound, faith in action. It’s hard to be hateful and antagonistic towards people that you’ve actually gotten to know and have worked alongside. But, I warn you…it might actually make you think. It might even change your mind.

That is, unless you are an intolerant, brainwashed, close-minded, victim unable to cope with real life who demeans and belittles people for their beliefs.

P.S. – my offer in the second to last paragraph above is very real. If you take issue with my religion then I invite you (heck, I dare you) to sit down with me, to serve others with me, or to attend a church service with me and then have lunch afterwards to discuss it. I’ll buy the coffee or pay for the lunch. I’m open-minded, are you?

Ten Things I Wish for the Church

Ten Things I Wish For the Church

I did not grow up as a Christian. I just didn’t know anything about God. When I began to follow Jesus in my early 20s, I did not take his call passively. I got involved, I got moving, I got to work. Often, when I look at the church, I see people who sit in pews for an hour and then rush off back to their lives that are basically non-christian.

It makes me sad to see the waste of it all. If God’s people really took His call seriously on their lives, some amazing things could happen in our churches, neighborhoods, our nation and our world.

I wish…

Number 10: I Wish that Christians would give their time to God. Our society is so driven by busy-ness, rushing around to the next meeting, working two jobs, and getting our kids involved in every extracurricular activity possible, investing countless hours driving them everywhere and never mind their spiritual growth, their moral values, their peace of mind (or yours). Stop. Slow Down. Say no. Take time. Turn off the Television. Quit doing every hobby on earth. Tithe your time, that is give up enough of your busy-ness that you can use 10% (at least) of your time to do God’s work, to discuss values with your kids, to just spend time making a difference. AND, don’t forget to take some additional time in peace, rest, retreat, prayer, and relaxation.

Number 9: I Wish that Christians would break their love of money. This is another area where we have followed our society. We spend and spend and spend and then borrow more so that we can keep spending. We have to have Televisions in every room, the latest cars – two of them (along with the latest car loan), the biggest house (along with that gigantic mortgage), the coolest gadgets, iPods, Rock Band, vacations, maxed-out credit cards, travel, etc. etc. etc. Quit spending every dime you have and begin giving 10% (at least) to God’s work. Give to your local church, give to missions, give to homeless shelters, give to charity, etc. Heck, buy some groceries for the single mom next door. Then, save another 10% over and above any retirement account that you have. Then, live within the rest without borrowing.

Number 8: I Wish that Christians would remember why they came to God in the first place and then share that good news with their friends and neighbors. This doesn’t mean grabbing a bullhorn and heading for the street corner. It means engaging people you care about in honest, heartfelt discussions about spiritual things.

Number 7: I Wish that Christians would understand that following Jesus has little or nothing to do with politics. You may be guided by your faith as you vote, but I don’t remember Jesus saying anything about legislating the Kingdom of Heaven.

Number 6: I Wish that Christians would disciple. Jesus called us to do this in Matthew 28:19. Spiritual and personal growth is supposed to be a part of our Christian walk. That means personal, small group, or one-on-one exhortation outside of the Sunday sermon. Do you have a more mature Christian speaking into your life? Are you working with someone else?

Number 5: I Wish that Christians would teach the Word to their children. I have worked with youth and children for more than a decade and I see a consistent truth: Kids whose parents study the Bible outside of church and talk about spiritual things with their kids have better, well adjusted, and active Christian kids. Those who expect the youth group to teach their kids are the ones whose kids leave the faith as young adults. Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Parents, takes some time each week (if not daily) to read the Bible together and talk about it. This takes us back to Number 10 above, you have to make time for this. The added benefit, is that it will help you, help your marriage, and bring your family together.

Number 4: I Wish that Christians would remember Christ’s gentle message of grace to the hurting, the lost, and the sinners. He reserved his anger and rebuke to those that were using religion to press down on those same hurting, lost, and sinners. This is an important message for the abortion debate, the homosexual marriage debate, and any other place where we come into conflict.

Number 3: I Wish that Christians would remember that faith calls for action. Read and follow the words of James 1:27, Mark 12:31, Malachai 6:8, James 2:14-18, Matthew 25:35-26, Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 6:2-4. Serve, volunteer, give, love, help. Don’t just sit in the pew on an occasional Sunday and believe that you have done your Christian duty for the week. Read Matthew 25:41-46 and take the warning to heart, God takes this very seriously.

Number 2: I Wish that Christians would remember that we are all human. Christian sometimes try to act like everything is OK, keeping their mask on even though they are hurting inside. This pushes new people away because they look at their own lives and realize they can’t be perfect. This is also an issue with leaders. People put pastors on a pedestal and then are hurt when the pastor falls. We are all sinners, saved by grace.

Number 1: I Wish that Christians would return to the strong community of the early church where we lived together, ate together, and served together weekly if not daily. Maybe it is a big-city thing, but it seems that everyone lives separate lives except for Sunday from 10:00 – 11:15.

This is the last installment in my Top 10 in 10 Days. I hope that you have enjoyed it. I have appreciated the response. My goal was to get my Christian and non-Christian friends all thinking about God, religion, the Bible, and spiritual things in their lives. This is an important area of life that many people neglect.

My next post will be next Monday in the A.M.

Ten Books of the Bible that are Worth Your Time to Read

Ten Books of the Bible that are worth your time to read.

If you didn’t know it, the Bible is not one book. It is a library of 66 books that tell God’s story collectively. The books are written in three different original languages over a span of 1600 years by more than forty men on three different continents. These books were written by scholars, prophets, shepherds, fishermen, generals, physicians, tax collectors, tentmakers, prisoners, servants, and rabbis.

Though I would say the entire Bible is worth reading, I have included below some recommended books that are definitely worth your time to read.

Number 10: The Gospel of Luke. This is the longest of the Gospels. It was written by Luke, a Physician assigned to research the eyewitness testimonies of Jesus and his ministry. It contains the most information about Jesus.

Number 9: Judges. I recommend this book regularly to Junior High boys when they tell me it is boring to read the Bible (as a Junior High boy, everything is boring if it requires reading). This book is great for boys because it has swords, battles, blood and guts, tentpegs through the skull, daggers in the belly, and people chopped to pieces. It’s like an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie without the bad accent.

Number 8: Esther. I recommend this book to every Junior High or High School Girl that I ever meet. It’s a great book to show that a girl can be brave and do amazing things for God. It’s one of my favorites too, because it contains the greatest ironic plot twist ever. It’ll leave you cheering for the good guys.

Number 7: James. This is an awesome book for all Christians because it is a call to put your faith in action. No sitting on your butt in pews in this book. Get off your freakin duff and do God’s work.

Number 6: Proverbs. Because we all need some wisdom. This is a great book to read in a month because it has 31 chapters. Read one chapter a day and I guarantee you’ll be wiser by the end of the month. It has great advice on money, laziness, gossip, and marriage, as well as information on running a kingdom (that could certainly be applied in the business world.) Check out some of my favorites: Proverbs 21:9, Proverbs 26:15, Proverbs 26:11, and my favorite life verse as a husband: Proverbs 5:18-19.

Number 5: 1 Corinthians. Corinth was a place in ancient Greece that was like Las Vegas today. I like this book because these people were way more screwed up than me. It give me hope.

Number 4: Ezekiel. Strange book. Strange prophet. Ezekiel was a priest and prophet who God made do some strange things in order to get the message across. He got to play army men, he packed his bags and dug a whole through the city wall and took his luggage out that way, he laid on his side for a long time, he ran around the city waiving a sword at some hair, he baked a poop cake (see: http://rodg3r.blogspot.com/2009/09/continuing-with-my-top-10-for-10-days.html number 1). It had to be fun to be a Hebrew then, “I wonder what crazy old Zeke is gonna do today?”

Number 3: Galatians. This is a great book about grace, about freedom from religiousity, about freedom from adding a bunch of rules to your faith.

Number 2: Ecclesiastes. A great book that showed they had postmodernism back then too. The king realizes that life is pointless if we are all just going to die anyway, so he tries to find meaning. He tries partying till his head hurts, sex till that got old, shopping like crazy, working his butt off, learning and education until his brain was full, and doing great public works and charity. All still seemed pointless until he realized that we need God to make it all mean something.

Number 1: John. Now be careful here. There are actually four books of John: the Gospel of John, 1John, 2John, and 3John. I am recommending the Gospel of John here. John was the youngest of Jesus’ disciples and wrote his eyewitness testimony in hopes that we would read it and believe in Jesus. A great book and great news inside.

I invite you to check out these books and many of the others. Ephesians and Romans are good instructions on the Christian life. Revelation is interesting just because of some of the weird stuff in there. Joshua is a good adventure story. Isaiah has lots of prophecy that came true later. Amos is all about justice. Matthew and Mark tell you more about Jesus. Acts tells you about the beginnings of the church. Trust me, there is lots of great stuff in there if you just check it out.

If you are interested in going through any of these books together, let me know. Not only is it my job, but it is something I love to do.

Tomorrow: The last and final installment of this Top 10 in 10 Days series: Ten Things I Wish for the Church.

Ten Things in the Bible that People Always Seem to Get Wrong

Ten Things in the Bible That People Always Seem to Get Wrong

Whether it is cultural bias, twisting scripture to prove their own selfish points, or good old fashioned ignorance, there are some scriptures that people always seem to get wrong. Here are ten of the most common:

Number 10: Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Mom loved to quote scripture to get you to clean behind your ears. The problem is, it ain’t in the Bible.

Number 9: God helps those who help themselves. Nope, that ain’t in there either.

Number 8: Judge not, lest ye be judged. Matthew 7:1-5. I’ve included this in other lists. This is not an instruction forbidding wise judgment, but an instruction against hypocrisy.

Number 7: The entire book of Revelation. Lots of people read parts of this book and then figure that they know how it’s all going to end and how God is coming back. They see black helicopters and marching soldiers and the Antichrist in everybody from Hitler to Saddam Hussein to Barack Obama.

Number 6: Health & Wealth Gospel. Flip on channel 21 and chances are you’ll see someone telling you that if you have just enough faith, then God will make you rich and healthy and happy. That’s great, but that isn’t in the Bible. O, they will take various scriptures such as Isaiah 53:5 or Matthew 7:7-8 to prove their point, but only by twisting the original meaning and ignoring verses like Luke 18:18-23, 1Timothy 6:9-11 (see below) and John 15:19-20.

Number 5: 1Timothy 6:9-11 Money is the root of all evil. Actually, the verse says, that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Hmmmm Enron, Bernie Madoff, our current mortgage crisis…. It’s almost as if God knew what He was talking about!

Number 4: Matthew 18:19-20. Where three or more are gathered in my name, I am there with them. This is used in a lot of beautiful communion meditations to say that God is present when we meet together for fellowship. It is also used as a health and wealth scripture. But, if you take this back to Matthew 18:15-20, then you see he is speaking about discipline for those who are refusing correction, specifically, someone who has sinned against a brother and then is recalcitrant about fixing it.

Number 3: Thou shalt not kill. Another verse that everyone seems to know in the King James. It is actually a law against murder, not all killing. A soldier doing his job is not covered by this law. A person using deadly force to defend their life or the life of another is not covered by this. A police officer or an executioner doing their duty are not covered by this.

Number 2: 1Timothy 2:11-13 Women don’t serve in church. I have, at times, run into people (mostly women, believe it or not) who don’t believe that women should serve in church, speak in church, or do anything else that might smack of leadership or teaching because of this scripture. In doing so, they disregard Mary, Phoebe, Priscilla, Lydia, Junia, Deborah, Esther, and a whole mess of other ladies in the Bible who did serve God, who did lead God’s people, who did teach, preach, prophesy, etc.

Number 1: Speaking of gender issues. Ephesians 5:22-24. Wives must submit to their husbands or else!!! This verse has been used countless times as an excuse for an overbearing jerk of a husband to beat his wife, dominate her, and/or control her life. Conveniently, he will always skip Ephesians 5:21 and Ephesians 5:25-29. Men are actually held to a much higher standard of submission to their wives in these verses.

Tomorrow: Ten Books of the Bible that are Worth Your Time to Read