Religion

Evolution of Beliefs, a sermon delivered at Christ Episcopal Church, Blacksburg VA on 25 February 2001

My favorite scripture verses:

• Romans 12:9-21:
  9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
  10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
  11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
  12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
  13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
  14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
  15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
  16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
  17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
  18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
  19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
  20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."
  21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
• Ecclesiasticus 44: 1-10,13-14:
  Let us now praise famous people, our ancestors in their generations. The Lord gave them great glory, his majesty from the beginning. There were those who ruled kingdoms, and made a name for themselves by their courage; those who gave advice because they were intelligent; those who were prophets; those who led the people by their wisdom and knowledge; those who wrote music or poetry; rich people, living peacefully in their homes--all these were honored in their day, and were the pride of their times. Some of them have left behind a name, so that others praise them. But of others there is no memory; they died without anyone knowing them; but these also were godly people, whose good deeds have not been forgotten; their children will continue forever, and their glory will never be blotted out. Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name lives on generation after generation.
• 1 Corinthians 13:
  1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
  2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
  3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
  4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
  5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
  6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
  7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
  8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
  9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
  10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
  11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
  12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
  13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.