CNN 2011-06-11

All right. So let's talk about what your favorite bible verse is, OK? How about this? "God helps those who help themselves."

Do you like that one? Well, that's great but there's just one problem. It is not in the bible.

How about, "God works in mysterious ways."

Let's see, what book, what chapter and verse is that in? Well, you're going to be looking forever because it's not in the bible either.

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness."

Nope, sorry, that's not in there either.

John Flake¹ is a long-time religion writer. His article on CNN.com calls that expression that sound biblical but they're not.

John, welcome.

Thank you.

All right. Now here's one that stood out to me. Let me go ahead and get out my notes here.

Somebody actually thought, "This dog won't hunt," was a bible verse? I mean, that sounds like something out of "Dukes of Hazard."

Right. And this person was a student in a college religion class. So you would think they would know better. But that's how pervasive² biblical literacy is. I think the bible is kind of like the constitution. We quote it, we revere³ it but a lot of people don't read it.

And also, too, you sort of add your little touches here and there.You kind of decide, this might sound a little better this way and the next thing you know, it's become a verse to people.

Right, right. People kind of embellish⁴ things. Like, if I told you a story right now and I went downstairs, five minutes later,the story has changed.And so people like to embellish, and a little poetic⁵ touches and that changes the scripture⁶ in the stories.

It's like the game of telephone. Remember, you'd whisper something and by the time it got around the room it was totally different from what you whispered?

Right. Right, right.

I'm going a long way back. You may not remember that game, John.

I do.

OK. Let's take a look at some other examples, shall we?

OK, how about,well, actually, let me ask you this first. How did these expressions actually become biblical to people? Is it just because they heard them from somebody and then kind of took it as the truth or how did it,what'd you find?

Well, that's one way. Just various ways. Often, one way is that people would tell bible stories through pictures. So, for example, if you take the Garden of Eden, there is no Satan in the Garden of Eden if you read the book of Genesis.There's a serpent but he's never identified as Satan.But, if you're an artist and you want to draw a picture, it's so much better if you draw the Satan as a devilish tempter. So that's one way these stories became biblical,even though they're not really biblical.

I got it. And then it sticks in your mind because you've seen that one image.

Right.

OK. Now, we've heard political figures, our parents, even our coaches say what we think are verses from the bible to inspire us, to get us motivated.

Right.

And you found one actually from Coach Ditka.

Let's take a listen.

Scripture tells you that all things shall pass, this too shall pass.

I am so disappointed because that's not in the bible.

No

I thought it was.

There was a religion professor who lived in Chicago at the time who saw that live press conference and he said, wait a minute, that's not in the bible. And he kind of figured out where Ditka got that.

I mean, on one level, it's kind of funny. We can talk about this and say these things aren't really in the bible.But at another level, it can become dangerous.

How can it become dangerous?

Well, people can impose their own values on the bible. Like, for example, the phantom⁷ biblical scripture,"God helps those who help themselves."That's not in the bible but a lot of people think it is.And we say, well that's a good scripture because it celebrates self- reliance and individual liberty.

But that's not what the bible is about.

Well, the bible's about helping⁸ the poor,the outcasts. The ultimate virtue⁹ is not what you do for yourself, but for your neighbor who needs you.

Boy, you and I could talk about this.I feel like I just went to church, John.Thank you so much.

Thank you.

And if you want to learn how to quote the bible correctly,then you've got to look at John's article. It's actually not in the bible but it should be, because he totally nails it.It's a big hit on CNN.com.So check it out, our belief blog,CNN.com/belief.

We're checking stories cross country;in Orlando, Florida prosecutors¹⁰ in the Casey Anthony trial introduced more forensic¹¹ evidence.Anthony is accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. Yesterday,jurors heard how a dog trained to detect remains¹² reacted as it sniffed¹³ the defendant's vehicle shortly after Caylee was declared missing.

Near Ft.Meyers, Florida, drivers got an earful at the Bayshore road,I-75 interchange yesterday actually,a large boom truck flipped¹⁴.And it took hours to get it right side up. Luckily nobody was hurt.

1 flake   

v.使成薄片；雪片般落下；n.薄片

参考例句：

• Drain the salmon,discard the skin,crush the bones and flake the salmon with a fork.将鲑鱼沥干，去表皮，粉碎鱼骨并用餐叉子将鱼肉切成小薄片状。
• The paint's beginning to flake.油漆开始剥落了。

2 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

3 revere   

vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏

参考例句：

• Students revere the old professors.学生们十分尊敬那些老教授。
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven.中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。

4 embellish   

v.装饰，布置；给…添加细节，润饰

参考例句：

• I asked him not to embellish the truth with ideas of his own.我要他不对事实添油加醋。
• Can you embellish your refusal just a little bit?你可以对你的婉拒之辞略加修饰吗？

5 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

6 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

7 phantom   

n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的

参考例句：

• I found myself staring at her as if she were a phantom.我发现自己瞪大眼睛看着她，好像她是一个幽灵。
• He is only a phantom of a king.他只是有名无实的国王。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

10 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

11 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。