Thematic Bible: Religious Intolerance
Thematic Bible
religious Intolerance » The jewish leaders » In persecuting paul
[Upon hearing this], the head priest Ananias ordered that those standing closest to Paul hit him on the mouth.
Verse Concepts
But [other] Jews became jealous and, recruiting certain ungodly riffraff, they gathered a mob and brought the city to near-riot conditions. They [even] attacked Jason's house and attempted to bring Paul and Silas before the [assembly of] people.
Verse Concepts
and said [about him], "This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law [of Moses]."
Verse Concepts
But the Jews incited the devoted [non-Jewish] women who held respected positions, and the principal men of the city, by stirring up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and [succeeded] in running them out of the region.
Verse Concepts
shouting, "[You] Israelites, help [us]! This man is teaching people everywhere [to be] against our people [i.e., the Jews], the law of Moses and this place [i.e., the Temple]; and in addition to that he has also brought Greeks [i.e., Gentiles] into the Temple and has [thereby] contaminated this holy place." (For the Jews had previously seen him on a city street with Trophimus, the Ephesian, whom they assumed Paul had taken into the Temple [with him]). [So], the entire city was stirred up, and the mob rushed together and attacked Paul, dragging him out of the Temple. Immediately the [Temple] doors were closed [i.e., to secure it from further intrusion]. read more.
And as they were attempting to kill Paul, the commander of the military unit was informed that the entire city of Jerusalem was rioting.
And as they were attempting to kill Paul, the commander of the military unit was informed that the entire city of Jerusalem was rioting.
The people had listened to Paul speaking up to this point [i.e., until he said the word "Gentiles"], then they raised their voices and shouted, "Do away with such a person from the earth; it is not right for him to live." And while the people shouted, waved around [torn] clothing and threw dust into the air,
religious Intolerance » The jewish leaders » In persecuting stephen
And Saul was in full agreement with Stephen being put to death. And a great persecution broke out against the Jerusalem church, and all the disciples, except the apostles, were scattered throughout the districts of Judea and Samaria. The godly men who buried Stephen's body mourned over his loss very deeply. But Saul brought devastation to the church by entering everyone's house and dragging men and women off to jail.
But several men from the synagogue, made up of freed slaves from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia, began arguing with Stephen. But they could not stand up to the wisdom and [power of] the Holy Spirit by which Stephen spoke. Then they enlisted men to say [i.e., to testify falsely against Stephen, verse 13], "We heard him criticizing Moses and [even] God." read more.
And they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the law of Moses and searched for him, seized him and brought him before the Council. They had arranged for the false witnesses to say, "This man will not stop speaking against the Temple and the law of Moses, for we [ourselves] heard him saying that this Jesus from Nazareth would destroy the Temple and change the customs handed down to us by Moses." Then, as all the Council members stared at Stephen, his face appeared to them like an angel's.
And they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the law of Moses and searched for him, seized him and brought him before the Council. They had arranged for the false witnesses to say, "This man will not stop speaking against the Temple and the law of Moses, for we [ourselves] heard him saying that this Jesus from Nazareth would destroy the Temple and change the customs handed down to us by Moses." Then, as all the Council members stared at Stephen, his face appeared to them like an angel's.
But they shouted loudly and refused to listen, and then all of them rushed at him. They threw him out of the city and stoned him [to death]. Those who witnessed [the incident] placed their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. So, they stoned Stephen [to death] as he called out to the Lord, saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit [as I die]."
religious Intolerance » Of idolatrous religions, taught by moses
religious Intolerance » The jewish leaders » In persecuting the disciples
But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that Paul was proclaiming the message of God at Berea also, they went there too, and incited and upset the crowds.
Verse Concepts
As they were speaking to the [crowd of] people, the [Jewish] priests, the captain of the Temple [guard] and the Sadducees [i.e., a sect of the Jewish religion] approached them and were greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that Jesus had been raised from the dead. So, these [Jewish] leaders arrested Peter and John and put them in jail until the next day because it was [already] evening.
But when the Council [of Jewish leaders] made Peter and John leave [the meeting], they discussed the matter among themselves, saying, "What should we do to these men? For we cannot deny that a significant miracle was performed by them, and everybody living in Jerusalem knows it. But we do not want this [teaching] to spread any further so let us threaten them [and demand] that they do not speak to anyone about Jesus anymore." read more.
And so they called Peter and John in and warned them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus [anymore]. But Peter and John replied, "You decide whether it is right before God to listen to you men or to Him; we cannot help but speak about the things we have seen and heard." And when the Council had threatened them some more, they [finally] released them because they could not find any reason to punish them. [Actually] they were worried about how the people felt [about the matter], since everybody was giving honor to God for the miracle that had been performed.
And so they called Peter and John in and warned them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus [anymore]. But Peter and John replied, "You decide whether it is right before God to listen to you men or to Him; we cannot help but speak about the things we have seen and heard." And when the Council had threatened them some more, they [finally] released them because they could not find any reason to punish them. [Actually] they were worried about how the people felt [about the matter], since everybody was giving honor to God for the miracle that had been performed.
religious Intolerance » Exemplified by » James and john
Then [the apostle] John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone driving out evil spirits by [using] your name, so we told him not to, because he was not following [you] with us."
Verse Concepts
[Then] John [the apostle] said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out evil spirits by using your name, so we told him to stop doing it, because he was not following [You] with us." But Jesus said, "Do not try to stop him, for there is not anyone who performs a supernatural deed using my name who will be able to quickly say something bad about me.