[Vision2020] Public Prayer

[Art Deco]

Donovan, Pat, and others who do not appear to be able to read well,

I post again the passages from Matthew from Young's Literal Translation of Bible with different emphasis and ask you to read them carefully.

Matthew 6



1'Take heed your kindness not to do before men, to be seen by them, and if not-reward ye have not from your Father who is in the heavens; 2whenever, therefore, thou mayest do kindness, thou mayest not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may have glory from men; verily I say to you-they have their reward!

3'But thou, doing kindness, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth, 4that thy kindness may be in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret Himself shall reward thee manifestly.

5'And when thou mayest pray, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites, because they love in the synagogues, and in the corners of the broad places-standing-to pray, that they may be seen of men; verily I say to you, that they have their reward.

6'But thou, when thou mayest pray, go into thy chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly.

7'And-praying-ye may not use vain repetitions like the nations, for they think that in their much speaking they shall be heard, 8be ye not therefore like to them, for your Father doth know those things that ye have need of before your asking him;


Unless I need to change glasses prescriptions again, the passage emphasized says:

"If you pray, pray in private."

I am aware that the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke) present some real problems for evangelists, "One Wayers", selective bible readers/propaganists, and proponents of biblical inerrancy.  The synoptic gospels are often at odds with other books of the New Testament not only with respect to public prayer but other even more critical issues.

For example, passages quoted many times in the last year on V 2020 make it clear that the authors of the Synoptic Gospels held that Jesus did not think it was necessary for a person to accept Jesus as the son of some alleged god and/or ask for forgiveness, nor even necessary to believe in the Christian God to be finely rewarded on the alleged day of judgment.

The passages from Luke about not judging others or casting the first stone also come to mind.

Interesting:  Of all the extant books of the present many versions of the bible, the Synoptic Gospels are believed to be those authored nearest to the date of the death of Jesus  - an estimated 40 -80 years separating the death with the authorships.

For those interested in a modern scholarly approach to such matters, reading the works of The Jesus Seminar may be quite enlightening.

http://virtualreligion.net/forum/


Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
deco at moscow.com
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