“For What It’s Worth”

What are your favorite Bible verses? When did you learn them?

I learned two of my favorite verses in decidedly non-church settings.

From the Old Testament, I have Ecclesiastes 3: 1 – “To everything there is a season, and time and purpose for everything under heaven”. It is probable that I first heard this verse when I heard the Byrds sing “Turn, turn, turn.” I would find out later that Pete Seeger wrote this song and, of course, it was based on the passage from Ecclesiastes.

From the New Testament, I have John 8: 32 – “Seek the truth and the truth shall set you free.” The first time that I ever really came across this verse was while I was reading a Tom Clancy novel and he pointed out that this verse happens to be the motto of the Central Intelligence Agency.

“Good Shepherd”, the song sung by Jefferson Airplane and Crosby, Stills, and Nash, has its origins in the Gospel of John 21: 1 – 19 and was originally written by a Methodist minister in the 1840’s (see my notes on this song in “A Rock and Roll Revival”).

So what Bible verses did you learn in life and not from the Bible?