Can The Bible Warp Our Minds?
Cosmic Mystery Series
Bible
CAN THE BIBLE WARP OUR MINDS?
Tune: DIX 77.77.77
Arr. William Henry Monk 1823-89
From a chorale by
Conrad Kocher 1786-i1872
- Can the Bible warp our minds?
Yes if only read in part.
Bible truth evolves and grows
To religion of the heart
From the vengeful gods of war
To the peace we all can start.
- If an evil can be met
Tooth for tooth and eye for eye (Exodus 21/24)
As the Bible says it could
We should hear Christ’s anguished cry
“Love all those who wish you dead (Matthew5/44)
And don’t hope that they may die.”
- If we read God gifted land
To a wealthy Israelite,
If we think wealth is God’s gift
To us as our sacred right
We should note Christ’s warning words
“Woe to you with wealth and might”.(Luke 5/14)
- When St Paul made claim all wives
Should be subject to their man (Titus 2/9)
And that slaves should all obey (Colossians 4/1)
Christ would say that’s not God’s plan.
Once the proud are cut to size
All are equal in God’s clan. (Matthew 19/30)
- So be careful what we read
Lest it bring us deep dismay;
Only read the Hebrew texts
In the light of Christ’s new way
And remember that St Paul
Is not one to whom we pray.
- When we hear God’s word, rejoice
In whatever way it comes.
It brings judgement for the rich
And rejoicing in the slums.
But whoever we may be
It brings love that overcomes!
Text © William Livingstone Wallace
Click Here for Sheet Music – DIX
Click Here for Full Index to William L. Wallace’s Series Hymns “Cosmic Mystery”
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William (Bill) Livingstone Wallace is a retired New Zealand Methodist Minister and one of our most prolific contributors. Bill says that his work springs from communicating with the fire in his gut and his observation of both the internal and external aspects of the Cosmos. Since an early age, he has been both sympathetic to and critical of the church, announcing at the age of 13 his belief in evolution. In his youth, he struggled with the disconnection between art and spirituality in his own and other denominations and with the way in which all of the liturgies prior to the sermon were regarded as preliminaries and longer sermons were viewed as superior to more concise ones.
He holds a B.A. in philosophy and a Dip. Ed. and is the author of nine published collections of his hymns as well as other resources on our website. His aim is to help people be empowered by the divine within them and the Cosmos and to work to overthrow the forces of personal and institutional greed which destroy both the ecosystem and human society.
Click Here for a Full Biography of William L. Wallace
Click here for a complete list of his work on ProgressiveChristianity.org