Mark 4:18-19

Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

Leviticus 23:22

When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.

Genesis 4:19

Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.

Genesis 1:26

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

2 Corinthians 6:14

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

Ephesians 4:31

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

Exodus 22:25

If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.

1 Corinthians 11:6

If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.

Luke 6:34

And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full.

1 Peter 2:17

Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

1 Corinthians 7:8

Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am.

Matthew 6:24

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

1 John 4:18

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Luke 12:25

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?

Ecclesiastes 2:24

Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.

Mark 11:25

But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Introduction to the 21st Century Picture Bible

We often times read the Bible and affirm what it has to say. It's full of powerful sayings. But what do these passages mean in the context of our globalized 21st Century world?

In 2006, I was in Poland at the SLOT Art Festival. A Christian-anarchist group from the Chech Republic called Godarchy was giving out a booklet called OBRAZKOWA BIBLIA XXI WIEKU ("21st Century Picture Bible"). The pictures juxtaposed with the scripture verses were compelling, and life altering.

You might find some of the pictures offensive - I find some of the pictures offensive. I'm doing this so that we can ask ourselves, Why am I offended by this? Do we hold onto these things so tightly we don't allow the scripture to challenge it?

The scriptures are a "double-edged sword." We use it to cut others down all the time, to prove ourselves righteous. But the scriptures also cut at us, down to the "marrow" - the very center of our being.

I hope you are as challenged by these images as much as I am.