Is Taking the Lord's Name in Vain a Sin?
Lord, help me, is a good prayer, if well put up; and it is pity that it should be turned into a byword, and that we should take God's name in vain in it.
Matthew Henry, 1714
What has the church said about it?
Real quotes from Christian writers, from the second century to the twentieth, cited to the source.
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The most searched questions in each category. New questions are added regularly.
Ethics
- Is Lust a Sin?178 passages · 52 writers
- Is Divorce a Sin?143 passages · 37 writers
- Is Cussing / Swearing a Sin?136 passages · 35 writers
- Is Premarital Sex a Sin?246 passages · 54 writers
- Is Gambling a Sin?71 passages · 32 writers
Doctrine
- What Is Purgatory?154 passages · 41 writers
- What Is Baptism?273 passages · 63 writers
- What is repentance?514 passages · 85 writers
- What Are the Seven Deadly Sins?61 passages · 12 writers
- What Is Sanctification?294 passages · 52 writers
Life
- How Do I Forgive Someone?196 passages · 45 writers
- What Is Lent, and Should Christians Fast?372 passages · 73 writers
- How Do I Deal With Grief?227 passages · 37 writers
- How Do I Pray?415 passages · 63 writers
- What Is the Meaning of Life?157 passages · 46 writers
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In their own words
Each quotation is word for word, dated, and cited on its question page.
Is Premarital Sex a Sin?
Adultery or fornication committed after a contract, being detected before marriage, giveth just occasion to the innocent party to dissolve that contract.
Westminster Assembly, 1647
How Do I Forgive Someone?
Do not remain away from Holy Communion because of a small trouble or vexation but go at once to confession and willingly forgive all others their offenses.
Thomas à Kempis, 1418–1427
What Is the Punishment for Lying?
A lie, or any word designed to slander any one, he abominated, as one who knew that lies come from the devil, and that the Lord will destroy all that utter a lie.
Basil of Caesarea, 357–378
What Is Baptism?
Christ is Himself present in Baptism, so that we need not consider the person of His ministers.
Ambrose of Milan, c. 374–397
What Is Faith?
Let us learn, in the last place, what a precious thing is the grace of faith.
J.C. Ryle, 1856
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What’s in the library
590 works, 398,503 passages
Public-domain English translations, from the apostles’ own generation to the mid-twentieth century.
| Era | Authors | Works | Passages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apostolic | 5 | 9 | 849 |
| Ante-Nicene | 45 | 132 | 29,846 |
| Nicene | 25 | 137 | 58,371 |
| Post-Nicene | 21 | 69 | 32,847 |
| Medieval | 13 | 27 | 29,348 |
| Reformation | 25 | 95 | 91,563 |
| Modern | 30 | 126 | 155,679 |
| The whole library | 147 | 590 | 398,503 |
Counts are of passages in our searchable library. Editors’ introductions and notes are not counted. More about the library and its limits.
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The library has about 590 works, from early Christian writers to the mid-twentieth century.
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Each quotation is word-for-word from a public-domain translation, dated, and cited to its source.