Did you know, there are many common phrases that we use that have their source in the Bible? Jesus is even mentioned in other faiths, such as Islam! And if you need more reassurance, the world is a wonderful place to see. Check out the sections below!
And did you know that Jesus wasn’t into long sermons – he told short stories to make his point, using examples that would resonate with his audience at the time. Like stories of wayward children, buried treasure, and about not giving up.
Phrases
Turn the other cheek
When you’ve been having an argument with someone, has anyone ever said to you that you should have ‘turned the other cheek’? That comes from the Bible – in the Old Testament, Jews believed in a warring God and the Bible there speaks of retaliation and vengeance: ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But the Bible’s New Testament teaches Christians differently: ‘If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.’ This guards against escalation to violence. And it is not a weakness, it is not about giving in to another person. It takes courage to calmly stand back up against someone who hurts you physically or emotionally. Steadfastly knowing it is not right to harm another person. Being strong enough to stand your ground.
People in glasshouses…
Have you ever heard someone saying that people in glasshouses shouldn’t throw stones? It means that you shouldn’t find fault with others, if you yourself have faults. And who doesn’t?! The Bible has a similar saying: ‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in another person’s eye, yet pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?’
Strong Women
The Bible has stories of strong women, as well as male role models too! Esther married King Xerxes but it was against the law for her to approach him without being asked. But she had heard that an advisor of the King was to destroy her ancestry people, so she asked the King to spare them. The King learnt how her cousin, Mordecai, had earlier alerted his court of plans of the King’s from assassination, and so he decided to honour Mordecai and spare their people.
The sign of the devil, 666
What about the number ‘666’? You might have heard people referring to this as the devil’s number. This is from the Bible too! The beast coming out of the earth in the story of the heavenly warrior defeating the beast has this number as its name. This beast deceives people into worshipping the beast from the sea by performing impressive signs, and it leaves its name as a mark on those who do. While the signs seemed impressive (like causing fire to come down from heaven), these were superficial, as it was about showing off power rather than doing anything beneficial or valuable.
Another name for the devil or Satan of ‘Beelzebul’ is also in the Bible.
Armageddon
Ever heard of the word Armageddon? There’s a film about it too… In the Bible, Armageddon is a place where God’s judgement is poured out on the false leaders. At this place there was flashing lightening, peals of thunder, and the strongest earthquake ever to occur. It split the city into three parts, causing it to collapse. It was so tremendous, ‘every island fled away and the mountains could not be found’! And hailstones as heavy as a person fell from the sky!
Islam
Even in Islam, ‘Jesus, son of Mary’ (‘Isa, Ibn Maryam’) is a prophet, a messenger of God, the Messiah and Christ. In the Quran, as well as the New Testament in the Bible, Jesus is born of a virgin, performs miracles to demonstrate the power of God (including healing the blind and ill), has a group of disciples, and was rejected by many Jews but was ultimately saved by God. Still more people are in both the Bible and the Quran, such as John the Baptist, a prophet who comes before Jesus, and Noah, who built the ark to survive a great flood.
Wonder in the World
The world is an amazing place, and is highly unlikely to have developed to this point by pure chance. Science can explain many of the processes in our world, so let’s have a look at some amazing things that all exist together and you can decide why you think all this came about. Hopefully you will feel some reassurance that all this is more than a coincidence, and so feel some confidence that you have a life that continues on. You may feel they are many things to feel thankful for too.
EXAMPLES FOR REASSURANCE:
The Planet
Plants
Plants are important for all living things on the planet.
The sun is the ultimate source of energy. This is the food of green plants, along with carbon dioxide and water. Plants release oxygen, which animals and humans need to breathe. Animals and humans also eat plants, which gives them energy to survive.
Without plants there wouldn’t be the oxygen we need to breathe, or the energy needed in our food web.
The Water Cycle
We need water to survive, not just to drink, but also to water plants (see above). Only 1% of the water on our planet is freshwater, accessible as lakes, rivers, or rain. The water cycle process ensures this water is available to us.
Water is naturally recycled by the sun heating water on earth and the vapour rises into clouds. This then condenses and forms what we see as clouds. When the clouds get heavy with moisture this falls back to earth as rain or snow.
Temperature
The sun’s surface is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit and we are 93 million miles away from it – just the right distance. If the earth’s temperature was 50 degrees hotter or colder all life would cease.
Rotation
We rotate 365 times in a year as we pass around the sun. Suppose we only rotated 36 times? Well, our days and nights would be ten times longer. We would be terribly hot on one side, unbearably cold on the other, and life as we know it would cease
Air
Oxygen constitutes 21% of our atmosphere: the precise balance of air we need to breathe. Why not 50%? Because the first time somebody lit a match we would all be toast! So ask yourself, is the 21% by accident or design?
The Human Body
The eye
The eye in humans and many land mammals has a “tear film”, meaning our eyes are kept moist in order to keep working. This moisture is created by our bodies, and no external moisture is needed. Blinking renews this tear film and the process itself distributes tear fluid evenly over the eye. The eye is made in such a way that we can see the world around us; it has lids to protect our eyes; the “used” tear film (which may have dust, etc.) drains away from the eye between each blink. We do this without thinking of it, despite the muscles that help your eyes focus moving about 100,000 times per day.
Lungs
Our body needs oxygen to function, and a waste product of our body’s working is carbon dioxide, which needs to be removed. We breathe automatically at least 25,000 times a day, but we do this without having to think about it. Our lungs are sized so that we can take in the oxygen we need and expel the carbon dioxide waste product. To protect our lungs, they are protected by our skeleton rib cage.
Heart beat
To move the oxygen around the body it travels in our blood. This is pumped around our body due to the pulsing of the heart muscle. The heart beats about 100,000 times every day, but this can change depending on what we’re doing. Your muscles need more oxygen when they are active, and so your heart beats quicker. If you are exercising you will breath deeper and quicker to fill your lungs more too.
Skeleton
Our skeleton itself is constantly regenerating. Every year the adult skeleton repairs and replaces 10% of its blood vessels and nerves, to keep our skeleton healthy. Our skeleton is strong but also light. Bone strength can be regained even after weeks of not being used, for example if recovering from a bone break.
Internal temperature
Our body needs a particular temperature range to work. The body can make adjustments automatically to keep it within this range. Blood vessels dilate to allow heat to escape and so cool us down. Or sweat glands tighten and muscles shiver to warm us up.
Eating
We need food for nutrients and energy, but without saliva we wouldn’t be able to swallow food. It also helps us taste the food, and it has enzymes that helps fight infections (a reason why some animals lick their wounds). When you swallow the food, a soft palate covers the route to the nose so the food is directed down. The route to the lungs also closes, so the food goes to the stomach rather than towards the lungs.
Stomach
To break down the food we eat to get the nutrients out, our stomach uses hydrochloric acid – a very strong acid. To stop the acid breaking down the stomach itself and causing damage to our body, the stomach’s lining is regenerated every few days to keep it strong.
Healing
If our skin is cut, we bleed to help cleanse the wound. Our blood then clots to stop this blood flow. White blood cells kill bacteria that may have entered our body, and our skin repairs itself.
For more examples of the amazing, check out this site
For guidance on what you could do next towards your life that continues on, have a look at our Daily Life or Next Steps page
