As Christians, we wouldn't question the phenomenal impact that the Bible has on our everyday lives. It's teachings are a source of guidance, comfort, education and inspiration. But in a society that's increasingly disinterested in religion generally and Christianity more specifically, it's common to hear claims that as an ancient text, the Bible is outdated and irrelevant.
Regardless of views on the Bible's relevance, it's impossible to escape its influence. Depending on where you live, the Bible can be a model for everything from your country's laws and customs to your formal education and your holidays.
The central messages of the Bible have proved timeless and they aren't the only element of Scripture to stand the test of time.
Here are six phrases that the Bible popularised that we still use today.
Fight the good fight - There's nothing physical about this fight. The phrase which has biblical roots is today used to refer to engaging in a noble metaphorical battle.
"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:12)
In the twinkling of an eye – You've probably never seen the twinkling of someone's eye because it's so fast, seriously. This phrase and the interchangeable "blink of an eye" both refer to something happening very quickly.
"In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:52)
An eye for an eye – While this phrase is thankfully not widely employed in a literal sense today, the meaning – to retaliate in a like-minded manner – is consistent with what it alluded to in a biblical context.
"Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." (Exodus 21:24)
Eat, drink and be merry – Sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it? No wonder it's remained part of our celebratory rhetoric throughout the years. In modern usage, this saying is all about guilt-free indulgence.
"So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 8:15)
Bottomless pit – Could you end up in a bottomless pit if you take eating, drinking and being merry to excess? Possibly...The term bottomless pit is most commonly used to refer to something that's limitless.
"And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit." (Revelation 9:2)
By the skin of my teeth – At face value the thought of skin of teeth doesn't seem to make any sense but that didn't stop the phrase from becoming a fixture in everyday English language. It means to have managed to narrowly escape from something. Even for linguists and Bible scholars, the exact reason as to why it was expressed as "skin of my teeth", and what the "skin" is referring to remains something of a mystery.
"I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth." (Job 19:20)
