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turn away from evil

“but I — I say to you, not to resist the evil“ Matthew 5:39
“To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and without faith, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted [troubled, shameful, shaming].” Titus 1:15
(The audio includes extra commentary.)
“I am conscious of this, and am certain in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself; but for the man in whose opinion it is unclean, for him it is unclean [troubling evil, shameful].” Romans 14:14
“It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth…. the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you [troubles you].” Matthew 15:11,18
“You have knowledge that it was said, Have love for your neighbour, and hate for him who is against you: But I say to you, Have love for those who are against you, and make prayer for those who are cruel to you. [whoever you consider wicked, unjust, troublesome etc]” Matthew 5:43-44
“You have knowledge that it was said in old times, You may not put to death; and, Whoever puts to death

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Stained glass at St John the Baptist’s Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus’ description of himself “I am the Good Shepherd” (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: “To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

will be in danger of being judged. But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment [resentment, etc]! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court [and punished for slander]. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.”

Beware of contempt. Do not add fuel to your own frustration.

 

Matthew 5:21-22
“…Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10Out of the same mouth doth come forth blessing and cursing; it doth not need, my brethren, these things so to happen.” [praising God yet cursing God's creation]

James 3:5-10

“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” James 1:19
“but I — I say to you, not to resist the evil” Matthew 5:39
      The source of so much suffering is ill will. If something troubles you, y

Stained glass panel in the transept of St. Joh...

Stained glass panel in the transept of St. John’s Anglican Church, Ashfield, New South Wales (NSW). This scene depicts Mary holding a young Jesus. They are framed in front of a background of indistinct faces. The window is approximately 1m in diameter. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ou might turn your attention away from it. If something disgusts you or sickens you, you might abstain from focusing on it. This has been the teaching of so many elders for many thousands of years. Turn away from what repulses you, what you detest. Turn away from evil.

 
But what exactly does it mean to “turn away from evil?” Repent, by the way, means “turn away.” What does it mean to turn away from sin or to turn away from wickedness or to turn away from corruption or to turn away from trouble?” Does it simply mean to turn away from what disturbs, what enrages us, what disgusts us?
 
“A wise person turns away from evil and is cautious [responsible?], but a fool is hotheaded, careless and overconfident.” Proverbs 14:16
“Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom [conceit, arrogance, opinions]. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” Proverbs 3:7
“…Turning from evil is disgusting to fools.” Proverbs 13:19
“…‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’” Job 28:28
“Turn away from evil, do good, and live forever.” Psalm 37:27
“Turn away from evil, and do good; make a search for peace, desiring it with all your heart.” Psalm 34:14
“And let him turn away from evil, and do good; Let him seek peace, and pursue it.” 1 Peter 3:11
“[S]eek ye first the reign of God [the Kingdom of God] and his justice [peace?]…” Matthew 6:33, Luke 12:31
“And having been questioned … when the reign of God doth come, [Jesus] answered them, and said, ‘The reign of God doth not come with observation; nor shall they say, ’Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ for the reign of God is within you.’” Luke 17:20-21
Please note that my use of scriptures only from the Old and New Testament is, to me, trivial and purely incidental. I have personally found so far that the teachings of the Christian ministers that I have personally known have been far less in harmony with the above scriptures than the teachings of certain presenters who, to the best of my knowledge, have not labeled themselves as Christian. 
“Do not make any vows!” Matthew 5:34
New International Version (©1984)
But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.New Living Translation (©2007)
But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.English Standard Version (©2001)
But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

International Standard Version (©2008)
But I tell you not to resist an evildoer. On the contrary, whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English (©2010)
But I am saying to you, you shall not rise up against an evil person, but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him also the other.

GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995)
But I tell you not to oppose an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn your other cheek to him as well.

King James 2000 Bible (©2003)
But I say unto you, That you resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.

American King James Version
But I say to you, That you resist not evil: but whoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.

American Standard Version
but I say unto you, resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other:

Darby Bible Translation
But I say unto you, not to resist evil; but whoever shall strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other;

English Revised Version
but I say unto you, Resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Webster’s Bible Translation
But I say to you, That ye resist not evil: but whoever shall strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Weymouth New Testament
But I tell you not to resist a wicked man, but if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well.

World English Bible
But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Young’s Literal Translation
but I — I say to you, not to resist the evil, but whoever shall slap thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other;

Published on: Feb 6, 2011
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This entry was posted on March 28, 2012 at 3:34 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “turn away from evil”

  1. freestonepeaches Says:
    March 28, 2012 at 8:25 pm | Reply

    Very nice article! You know the scriptures better than most. Have you read the Bible? And what do you mean that they are trivial and purely incidental?

    • jrfibonacci Says:
      March 28, 2012 at 9:24 pm | Reply

      No, Carl, I have not read the entire Bible. I think I’ve read the first few books of the New Testament a few times in their entirety, plus I have read Thomas Jefferson’s study on the Bible at least two times. I think the key thing for me is to have been exposed to Douglas Harding and Mooji and even Alan Watts and others familiar directly with what is being referenced and translated in the Bible. A few first-hand accounts are worth more than thousands of second-hand accounts. Also, as my personal experience has grown, my interest and attention to specific scriptures has decreased. I use scripture citations in part for my appreciation of them and in part because I recognize that other people could be interested in a subject simply because of a Biblical citation. As for “trivial and incidental,” my point is just that I cited the Old and New Testament exclusively because I am most familiar with them, plus the website http://www.bible.cc makes it very easy to find quotations and parallel verses from the Old and New Testament, while other scriptures are not so well-represented on the online research tools that I use. So, that is about why I do not have lots of quotes from the Book of Mormon or Talmud or Koran or eastern Sutras.

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