Answers to "Are these Common Sayings in the Bible?"

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If you haven’t taken the pop quiz, I recommend going here and taking it first.  It’s more fun that way!
Or, go head and peek, you lightweight… 😉
Answers:
1.  “God helps those who helps themselves” (nope, other.  This was Sydney Algernon)
2.  “Spare the rod, spoil the child” (Sort of.  Maybe not precisely these words, but Proverbs 13:24 indicates the potential importance of corporal punishment)
3.  “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”  (Other… possibly John Wesley, but not in the Bible)
4.  “God works in mysterious ways” (not precisely, though the concept of God’s ways being tough for us to comprehend is common, like in Job 37:5)
5.  “Pride goes before a fall” (very close… Proverbs 16:18)
6.  “a fool and his money are soon parted” (Other… Thomas Tusser in 1573)
7.  “To thine own self be true”  (nope, but it is in Hamlet Act 1 Sc 3)
8.  “…beggars can’t be choosers.” (Not the Bible… John Heywood)
9.  “Money is root of all evil” (Not this one, either… but the LOVE of money is apparently the root of all kinds of evil, 1 Tim 6:10)
10.  “A house divided against itself cannot stand” (Bible, Surprise! – like most great American leaders, Abraham Lincoln was quoting scripture when he used this phrase about the United States… Jesus said it, Mark 3:25)
11.  “…all things in moderation… “(not in the Bible… moderation was a Greek virtue and talked about regularly)
12.  “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Bible!  The golden rule is from Jesus… Matt 7:12)
13.  “The eye is the window to the soul.” (nope, opposite… Matt 6:22 says the eye is the lamp of the body)
14.  “The lion will lie down with the lamb.” (Not there… Amazingly, this pairing does NOT occur in the Bible.  It is close… Is 11:6, Is 65:25)
15.  “Repent and sin no more…” (not in the Bible just like this… close is John 8:11, “Go, and from now on, sin no more”.)
16.  The Seven deadly sins listed as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.  (This list does not appear in the Bible.  There are 7 things listed, though, in Proverbs 6:16-19)
17.  “Charity begins at home.” (This is another one NOT in the Bible – but instead from Thomas Browne)
18.  “Honesty is the best policy.” (Maybe true, but not in the Bible… Ben Franklin is given credit for this)
19.  “Love the sinner, hate the sin.”   (Not in the Bible in those words, though the concept is visible… but that phrase really probably comes from St. Augustine from a letter in AD211)
20.  “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” (Shakespeare, not Solomon… Hamlet Act I Sc 3)
21.  “The borrower is the servant of the lender.” (Now, this one is from the Bible, Prov 22:7)
22.  “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” (not in the Bible, but the concept can be found at John 7:24)
23.  “Don’t let the right hand know what the left hand is doing.” (Yes!  About giving, though, not poor communication….  Matt 6:3)
24.  “Forgive and forget.” (not in these words, but we are instructed consistently to forgive others, eg. Matt 6:14, Eph 4:32… However, God apparently intentionally doesn’t remember our sins (probably not the same as a passive forgetting – but an active not remembering, Hebrews 8:12))
25.  “Practice what you preach.” (not these words, but the concept can be found in Matt 23:3)
26.  “…better to reign in hell than serve in Heaven.” (Paradise Lost – again, not biblical.  Satan does not “reign in hell” – hell is created for his punishment, 2 Peter 2:4, Rev 20:10)
27.  God is the “great physician” (not in the Bible… in Col 4:14, Luke is called “the beloved physician”… but God regularly heals the sick throughout scripture)
28.  “All men are created equal” (Not in the Bible… in the Declaration of Independence)
29.  “A penny saved is a penny earned.” (nope… typically assigned to Ben Franklin)
30.  “Idle hands are the devils workshop.” (Not sure the source, maybe Isaac Watts, but not the Bible)
31.  “God’s will is the safest place to be…” (not in the Bible and worse, not biblical – not if safety is an earthly concept.  Being in the center of God’s will didn’t work out “safely” for Jesus (Luke 9:22) or Paul (2 Tim 1:12)…  or the early church (Rev 2:10).
32.  “Children should be seen, not heard.” (sorry, no.  In about 1450, there is an old English collection of “homilies” that says that young ladies should be seen, not heard)
33. followers of Jesus should be “in the world, but not of the world.” (Sort of.  John 15:19 and 17:14-18 both reference that Christ claims that we are not “of the world” but that He has sent us “into the world”; the most vital difference is that this has already been done – more identity oriented than merely activity.
34.  “God never gives us more than we can handle/bear.”  (not only is this not found in the Bible, but I feel so strongly, I wrote an article just about it:  you can read it here
Here are some resources I stole material from:
http://www.divinecaroline.com/self/self-discovery/that’s-not-bible-god-ground
Mary Saggie’s blog
The Phrase finder

0 thoughts on “Answers to "Are these Common Sayings in the Bible?"

  1. I took the quiz. Didn’t cheat. But I don’t know how to copy and paste So here’s my quick answers:
    1-9 correct. 10. a surprise yes! 13. I was wrong 14. the wolf will dwell with the lamb tho: Isaiah 11:6–9 15. opps 21. yes Ben F 22. oops 28. yea 29. Good ol Ben 32. This definitely came from my dad!!!!!!
    Thanks for the fun!
    ________________________________

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