The Skeptics Annotated Bible (736 page)

(6.13b)
“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.”
These words (used in the Protestant version of “the Lord's Prayer”) were probably not in the original gospel, since they are not found in Luke's version (Luke 11.2-4) or in the oldest manuscripts of Matthew's gospel.

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

(6.15)
“If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Fair is fair!

16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

(6.23) “If thine eye be evil …” There's nothing worse than an evil eye.

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

(6.26)
“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.”
Jesus says that God feeds them. But, if so, he does one hell of a lousy job at it. Most birds die before leaving the nest, and the few who manage to fly soon die painful deaths of thirst, starvation, predation, disease, or exposure. If God is caring for them, pray that he stays away from you.

Speaking of birds, Jesus asks:
“Are ye not much better than they?”
This is meant as a rhetorical question, but the answer is far from obvious to me. I guess to Jesus, though, birds are not worth much compared to humans. So you can do whatever the hell you want with (and to) them.

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

(6.28) “Why take ye thought for rainment? Consider the lilies of the field.” A nice analogy, good advice (unless you live in cold climates), and a great movie.

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

(6.31-34) Jesus says that we should not concern ourselves with material things, But 1 Timothy 5.8 says that anyone who behaves that way has “denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”
343 Should Christians be concerned with material things?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(6.31)
“Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?”

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

(6.33)
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
If you seek God, then he'll take care of all of your needs. No need to work or worry.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

(6.34)
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow.”

7
Judge not, that ye be not judged.

(7.1)
“Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
126 To judge or not to judge

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

(7.3-4) Avoid hypocrisy. Consider your own faults rather than criticizing others.