In this episode we look at the fourteenth saying in the Gospel of Thomas.
Jesus said to them, "If you fast, you will give rise to sin for yourselves; and if you pray, you will be condemned; and if you give alms, you will do harm to your spirits. When you go into any land and walk about in the districts, if they receive you, eat what they will set before you, and heal the sick among them. For what goes into your mouth will not defile you, but that which issues from your mouth - it is that which will defile you."
This saying deals with the issue of religion, and in particular religious practices or disciplines. Jesus previously dealt with this subject in part in the sixth saying. Here in the fourteenth saying, Jesus goes deeper into the topic of spiritual practices. He mentions the same four practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving and diet. But in this saying he emphasizes the dangers inherent in religious practices.
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