Religious Quotes

The Bible, Genesis 10:9:

"He was a mighty hunter by the grace of the Lord; hence the saying, `Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter by the grace of the Lord.'"

The Bible, Luke 11:21:

""When a strong man fully armed guards his own homestead, his possessions are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied, and distributes his plunder."

The Bible, Luke 22:35-36:

"And he said unto them, when I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said, Nothing. Then he said unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip, and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." Jesus speaking to the disciples

The Bible, Zechariah 9:8:

"But I will defend my house against marauding forces. Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now I am keeping watch."

The Bible, Exodus 22:2:

"If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him."

The Bible, Exodus 22:22-24:

"[22] Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

[23] If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

[24] And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless."

The Bible, Proverbs 24:10-12:

"[10] If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.

[11] If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;

[12] If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?"

The Bible, Joel 3:9-10:

"[9] Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:

[10] Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong."

The Bible, I Samuel 13:19-23:

"[19] Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:

[20] But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock.

[21] Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.

[22] So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

[23] And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash."

The Koran:

"So whatever thing you are given, that is only a provision of this world's life, and what is with Allah is better and more lasting for those who believe and rely on their Lord. And those who shun the great sins and indecencies, and whenever they are angry they forgive. And those who respond to their Lord and keep up prayer, and their rule is to take counsel among themselves, and who spend out of what We have given them. And those who, when great wrong afflicts them, defend themselves. And the recompense of evil is punishment like it, but whoever forgives and amends, he shall have his reward from Allah; surely He does not love the unjust. And whoever defends himself after his being oppressed, these it is against whom there is no way (to blame). The way (to blame) is only against those who oppress men and revolt in the earth unjustly; these shall have a painful punishment." The Counsel: 42.36 - 42.42

The Koran:

"Except those who believe and do good and remember Allah much, and defend themselves after they are oppressed; and they who act unjustly shall know to what final place of turning they shall turn back." The Poets: 26.227

The Koran:

"And when you are among them and keep up the prayer for them, let a party of them stand up with you, and let them take their arms; then when they have prostrated themselves let them go to your rear, and let another party who have not prayed come forward and pray with you, and let them take their precautions and their arms; (for) those who disbelieve desire that you may be careless of your arms and your luggage, so that they may then turn upon you with a sudden united attack, and there is no blame on you, if you are annoyed with rain or if you are sick, that you lay down your arms, and take your precautions; surely Allah has prepared a disgraceful chastisement for the unbelievers." The Women: 4.102

The Talmud:

"Death for the wicked, conclude our Sages, is a benefit for them and for the world while death for the righteous is bad for them and bad for the world." Sanhedrin 72a

St. Augustine (354-430):

"Though defensive violence will always be 'a sad necessity' in the eyes of men of principle, it would be still more unfortunate if wrongdoers should dominate just men."

Pope John Paul II:

"legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another's life, the common good of the family or of the State. Unfortunately, it happens that the need to render the aggressor incapable of causing harm sometimes involves taking his life. In this case, the fatal outcome is attributable to the aggressor whose actions brought it about, even though he may not be morally responsible because of a lack of the use of reason." From his Encyclical Letter from 1995, EVANGELIUM VITAE

Rev. Billy Graham:

"A gun cannot harm anyone unless there is a human being to pull the trigger. Ten million guns would be harmless unless some human became stimulated by hate, greed or prejudice. So, the gun controversy becomes a spiritual problem. While strict gun laws might have some effect in showing the world that we are concerned about the problem of violence, violence is really a thing of the human heart and conscience. If men harbor the desire to kill and maim, they will find a way, guns or no guns." November 1968

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Religious Quotes / Revised January 1999