Dear Father, hear and bless
Thy beasts and singing birds
And guard with tenderness
Small things that have no words.

We began this when our son was two and his new sister was born, explaining we were praying for her too, since she had no words. They are now 7 and 5 and we use this prayer, which is also a hymn. My parents raised me with this prayer.

Father, we thank Thee for the night,
And for the pleasant morning light,
For rest and food and loving care,
And all that makes the world so fair.

Help us to do the things we should,
To be to others kind and good,
In all we do, in work and in play,
To grow more loving everyday.
Amen.

Night guys.

I have found this very strange book to differ from the others in numerous ways.

First, it claims hundreds and hundreds of times to be the "Word of God." It doesn't soft- pedal this bizarre claim at all. It never claims to be 'a consensus of humanity's most noble and sublime thoughts.' It never claims to be the 'insights' of a religiously privileged character or race. This book is either totally deceptive, totally deranged, or totally divine--there is no third option like 'a very good and insightful book'!

Second, it strikes fear into most people's hearts! Quotations from the Bible abound in great literature, but taken into a religious conversation with a friend, makes us nervous! (Even later in this document, when I cite some data from it, chances are that you, the reader, will respond emotionally to it with either nervousness, nausea, or both--you watch.)

Third, it manifests and offers unique evidence for its 'Other-worldy' origin. This book has hundreds and hundreds of predictions of future events--some general in terms, but many very detailed with places and dates. To the best of scholarly knowledge today, not a single one of these has failed to happen. This is just not your basic human accuracy! It has survived the many major attempts to eradicate it, from the repressive attempts of Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) before the times of Jesus to the imperial decrees to burn all copies under Roman emperors. In spite of cultural, economic, and political pressures toward polytheism and syncretism during its writing and collection over centuries and centuries, it maintains a common theme of strict monotheism. It also has an almost confrontational character to it--what you might expect from a perfect 'Person.' It does not 'coddle' us--it calls us to accept responsibility for our personal failures. But it does not overwhelm us with them either. It communicates care and concern for our plight (without being overly melodramatic or compromising its ethical standards), and documents both its provisions for this plight and the steps necessary to 'repair' the situation.

Fourth, and most important of all, its message is radically different than all other literature (including most 'Christian' literature). It agrees, of course, with most other literature on basic tenets of good living (Ten Commandments and Golden Rule kind of stuff), but takes an unique position on the central problem -- our moral failures and their consequences. Other religious classics assert that the basic method of overcoming our moral failures and their consequences in our relationships (with ourselves, other people, the universe, and this 'Person') is by living better lives, doing good deeds, "walking the religious way", keeping some set of rules, doing your best, thinking positively etc. The main message of the Judeo-Christian Scripture is diametrically opposed to this solution (but not opposed to doing those good things, of course.)

Nextseat

Interesting.

Where in the bible does it say that Homosexuality is a sin?
I need the verse.

Leviticus 18:20

Thank you.

The best thing about the Bible is its Amazon reviews.

I think this sums it up pretty well:

Epic gore-flick spoiled by weird ending, poor characters, plot holes, and too much deus-ex machina.

Eh... I'd say the person who wrote that review was probably hitting the shrooms pretty heavily that or they just don't know who God is. I advise you read portions of the book and then ask, "God show me what this means." Sincerely not mocking in your heart and wait for the answer.

Originally Posted by Doomfishy

The best thing about the Bible is its Amazon reviews.

I think this sums it up pretty well:

Haha, I love that review.

I donno sounds like the person's been listening to too much Bill Maarr.

lol wow....
Sounds like they got their books mixed up....
Seems like they just reviewed Harry Potter to me... >>

I know right?

Yep right.

We just need pray for these people who come challenging or mocking the Book of Truth.

I already have.... so many... many times....
I need some praying my way,
I've had a killer headache since Tuesday.

Okay then prayer power heading your to your head then. >.o sorry for the puns hun.

Lol it's fine.
What's life with out a few jokes :P

Wow. This is amazingly inspirational. You guys rock! I read the Bible everyday, one chapter a day. It may not seem like much, but it gives me time to think about what I have read and how I can actually apply it to my life. I've made it to Isaiah (which is an amazing read if your interested in the Millenium Kingdom). God bless you, seriously.

I made a banner for the thread.

AWESOME EMBER!!! ^_^ -hugs tight- That was so sweet of you!

FaerieWhngs

That's awesome. I love Isaiah!

*Blushes*
It was nothing really..

So How do we apply that to our signatures or whatever to advertise our awesome thread of discussing and sharing about God's Word?

I'll get the url for the banner.
Just change the {}s to []

[url=http://www.menewsha.com/forum/community/books/138466-bible.html][IMG]http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww204/XxMist1x/bible.png[/IMG][/url]

okay! I will do that!

Actually, Ember, to post codes just put them in the noparse tags.

[noparse]codegoeshere[/noparse]

No need for people to look for {}s and whatnot, they can just copy paste.