“
Some guy hit my fender the other day, and I said unto him, 'Be fruitful, and multiply'. But not in those words.
”
”
Woody Allen
“
He was the firstborn Bridgerton of a firstborn Bridgerton of a firstborn Bridgerton eight times over. He had a dynastic responsibility to be fruitful and multiply.
”
”
Julia Quinn (The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons, #2))
“
Inside marriage, those feelings are pure. God wouldn't order us to be fruitful and multiply if He didn't want us to share intimacy. It fosters a special closeness.
”
”
Cathy Marie Hake (Serendipity (Only in Gooding, #5))
“
God had commanded: Be fruitful and multiply! It costs men nothing and women everything.
”
”
Nikki Marmery (Lilith)
“
The mind is the root from which all things grow if you can understand the mind, everything else is included. It’s like the root of a tree. All a tree’s fruit and flowers, branches and leaves depend on its root. If you nourish its root, a tree multiplies. If you cut its root, it dies. Those who understand the mind reach enlightenment with minimal effort.
”
”
Bodhidharma (The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma (English and Chinese Edition))
“
Be fruitful, and multiply.
”
”
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater)
“
The painter pondered the mournful puzzle of life demanding to be born and, once born, demanding to be fruitful ... to multiply and to live as long as possible—to do all that on a very small planet that would have to last forever.
”
”
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (2 B R 0 2 B)
“
On the evenings when my parents held parties, the drawing-room mirrors multiplied to infinity the scintillations of a crystal chandelier. Mama would take her seat at the grand piano to accompany a lady dressed in a cloud of tulle who played the violin and a cousin who performed on a cello. I would crack between my teeth the candied shell of an artificial fruit, and a burst of light would illuminate my palate with a taste of blackcurrant or pineapple: all the colours, all the lights were mine, the gauzy scarves, the diamonds, the laces; I held the whole party in my mouth.
”
”
Simone de Beauvoir (Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter)
“
Multiply me when necessary. Transform me into light where there is shadow.
”
”
Ingrid Rojas Contreras (Fruit of the Drunken Tree)
“
I try to be a good investment to God. All the good things he’s given me, I aim to multiply and return to him and his purposes a maximum ROI. I’m just a tree in his fruit garden aiming to produce good fruit.
”
”
Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr.
“
Multiply me when necessary,
make me disappear
when peremptory.
Transform me into light when there is shadow,
into a star
when in the desert.
”
”
Ingrid Rojas Contreras (Fruit of the Drunken Tree)
“
Once it was necessary that the people should multiply and be fruitful if the race was to survive. But now to preserve the race it is necessary that people hold back the power of propagation.
”
”
Helen Keller
“
Redemption is not just about being saved *from* the consequences of sin, it is also about being saved *to* something- to resume the task for which we were originally created. And what was that task? In Genesis, God gives what we might call the first job description: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it."
"Be fruitful and multiply", means to develop the social world: build families, churches, cities, governments, laws.
The second phrase, "subdue the earth" means to harness the natural world: plant crops, build bridges, design computers, compose music.
This passage is sometimes called the "cultural mandate" because it tells us that our original purpose was to create cultures and build civilizations- nothing less.
”
”
Nancy R. Pearcey (Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity)
“
Judaism takes the verse in Genesis, 'Be fruitful and multiply,' as part of its statutory law. Because it is the first law in the Torah it holds a special eminence.
”
”
Herman Wouk (This is My God: A Guidebook to Judaism)
“
The beauty of a living organism-be it good or evil-is that it will follow the law of God with singular vision.
Be fruitful and multiply.
-Bertrand Zobrist
”
”
Dan Brown (Inferno (Robert Langdon, #4))
“
Eve is a figure for the soul that each human should love. The commandment to be fruitful and multiply did not originally refer to the flesh but to “a spiritual brood of intellectual and immortal joys filling the earth.
”
”
Stephen Greenblatt (The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve: The Story that Created Us)
“
When I speak of God, I mean that god who prevented man from putting forth his hand and taking also of the fruit of the tree of life that he might live forever; of that god who multiplied the agonies of woman, increased the weary toil of man, and in his anger drowned a world—of that god whose altars reeked with human blood, who butchered babes, violated maidens, enslaved men and filled the earth with cruelty and crime; of that god who made heaven for the few, hell for the many, and who will gloat forever and ever upon the writhings of the lost and damned.
”
”
Robert G. Ingersoll (Some Mistakes of Moses)
“
Adam and Eve were placed in the garden with a mission. God said, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28). It was God’s intention that as they bore more children, who also lived under God’s rule, they would be extending the boundaries of His garden (His government) through the simplicity of their devotion to Him.
”
”
Bill Johnson (When Heaven Invades Earth: A Practical Guide to a Life of Miracles)
“
The innocuous-sounding term “fertility treatment” enables the wealthy to breed their own kind, buying sperm and eggs at “baby centers” around the country. Abortion and birth control, meanwhile, are for evangelical conservatives a violation of God’s will that all people should be fruitful and multiply, and yet this same fear of unnatural methods of reproduction does not engender opposition to fertility clinics. Antiabortion activists, like eugenicists, think that the state has the right to intervene in the breeding habits of poor single women. Poor
”
”
Nancy Isenberg (White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America)
“
Aesthetic racism is almost always a sign of inexperience. Those who have not made their way far enough into the world of amorous delights judge women only by what can be seen. But those who really know women understand that the eye reveals only a minute fraction of what a woman can offer us. When God bade mankind be fruitful and multiply, Doctor, He was thinking of the ugly as well as of the beautiful. I am convinced I might add, that the aesthetic criterion does not come from God but from the devil. In paradise no distinction was made between ugliness and beauty.
”
”
Milan Kundera
“
Our Master puts the desire to procreate in us to be sure that we are fruitful and multiply. He knows how important animals are to the planet because most animals He allows to reproduce in great number. He put every one of us on the ark for a reason. Do you think it’s a mistake that dogs and cats have litters of 8, 9, 10 or more and people typically only have one or maybe two? It’s no mistake. It’s because God intends that there is more than enough four-legged love to go around.
”
”
Kate McGahan (Jack McAfghan: Return from Rainbow Bridge: A Dog's Afterlife Story of Loss, Love and Renewal (Jack McAfghan Pet Loss Series Book 3))
“
When the Lord said be fruitful and multiply, did he mean this man?
”
”
Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1))
“
I told him to be fruitful and multiply, but not in those words.
”
”
Woody Allen
“
And God said to them, s“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth
”
”
Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
“
I told him to be fruitful and multiply, but not in those words.
”
”
Steven Pinker (The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human Nature)
“
Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
”
”
Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
“
Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. GENESIS 1:28 Abide in me. JOHN 15:4 Go . . . [to] all nations. MATTHEW 28:19 Stay . . . and go. Jesus is our staying power in all our going. If you’ll stay while you go, you may not always know where you’re going. But you can know that wherever you end up, He will walk you there. [1] Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed.
”
”
Beth Moore (Chasing Vines: Finding Your Way to an Immensely Fruitful Life)
“
Bodily delight is a sensory experience, not any different from pure looking or the pure feeling with which a beautiful fruit fills the tongue; it is a great, an infinite learning that is given to us, a knowledge of the world, the fullness and the splendor of all knowledge...the individual...can remember that all beauty in animals and plants is a silent, enduring form of love and yearning, and he can see the animal, as he sees plants, patiently and willingly uniting and multiplying and growing, not out of physical pleasure, not out of physical pain, but bowing to necessities that are greater than pleasure and pain, and more powerful than will and withstanding. If only human beings could more humbly receive this mystery---which the world is filled with...
”
”
Rainer Maria Rilke (Letters to a Young Poet)
“
The world is changing rapidly, and everyone changes along with the world. Discoveries is now becoming rampant; intellectually, technologically,etc, each having its advantage and disadvantage.
”
”
Michael Bassey Johnson
“
In an age of stagnant or declining birthrates, too, these communities’ willingness to heed the admonition to be fruitful and multiply has led to speculation about what the demographer Philip Longman calls “the survival of the godliest.
”
”
Ross Douthat (Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics)
“
Churches that don’t celebrate children aren’t going to celebrate evangelism. After all, the “be fruitful and multiply” clause in Genesis is echoed in the Great Commission of Jesus (Matt. 28:16–20), a mission that also seeks to fill the entire earth.
”
”
Russell D. Moore (Adoption: What Joseph of Nazareth Can Teach Us about This Countercultural Choice)
“
My creed is this: To make sure that every single ounce of true kindness given to me, will never be forgotten, and not only remain unforgotten, but that those acts of true kindness will multiply and bear fruit just because they were planted in me. To make people’s acts of true kindness towards me multiply like investments. That’s my creed. So that a person who has bestowed a goodness upon me, will never be able to regret that act and will in fact say to herself or himself “I am so glad that I did that for her, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. A good investment.” And I know for sure that the people who have shown me any amount of true kindness, can say for certain, that it's one of the best things they’ve done in life, because I make sure that they can say that about me. Ask anyone who’s been kind to me, and they will tell you. Because this is my creed in life. There is no greater evil, in my opinion, than the evil that infests a person who takes for granted any amount of true kindness given to her/him. To forget a kindness done unto you, is to be just like a donkey. Donkeys might even be better. And so this is the creed that I live by.
”
”
C. JoyBell C.
“
As full and equal partners Adam and Eve were responsible to tend the garden, to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, to subdue the earth, and to rule over the creatures. In other words, together they were given stewardship of the earth because they were equals.
”
”
Alan F. Johnson (How I Changed My Mind about Women in Leadership: Compelling Stories from Prominent Evangelicals)
“
Increase. Being fruitful is a good and necessary start, but it should grow into the next phase, increase. Once again, even though the idea here is to multiply or reproduce, sexual procreation is only part of the meaning. The Hebrew word for increase also can mean “abundance,” “to be in authority,” “to enlarge,” and “to excel.” It carries the sense of refining your gift until it is completely unique. It is impossible to reproduce what you have not refined. In this context, then, to increase means not only to multiply or reproduce as in having children, but also to improve and excel, mastering your gift and becoming the very best you can possibly be at what you do. It also means learning how to manage the resources God has given you and developing a strategy for managing the increase that will come through refinement. By refining your gift, you make room for it in the world. The more refined your gift, the more in demand you will be. Proverbs 18:16 (KJV) says, “A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.” By refining your gift, you make room for it in the world. What is your fruit—your gift? What are you known for? What do you have that is reproducible? What quality or ability do you have that causes people to seek you out? What brings you joy? What are you passionate about? What do you have to offer the world, even just your little part of it? Fruit must be reproducible or else it is not genuine fruit. “Be fruitful” means to produce fruit; “increase” means to reproduce it.
”
”
Myles Munroe (The Purpose and Power of Love & Marriage)
“
I want to live somewhere where it rains a lot and things grow furiously. I want to see the fruits of the earth multiply and all that sort of thing. I want to make provision for the future. I want to lay up riches on earth since I don’t believe in heaven. Not material riches— I want green fields and fat cows and oak trees.
”
”
Penelope Lively (Moon Tiger)
“
Well! we are all condamnes, as Victor Hugo says: we are all under sentence of death but with a sort of indefinite reprieve—les hommes sont tous condamnes a mort avec des sursis indefinis: we have an interval, and then our place knows us no more. Some spend this interval in listlessness, some in high passions, the wisest, at least among "the children of this world," in art and song. For our one chance lies in expanding that interval, in getting as many pulsations as possible into the given time. Great passions may give us this quickened sense of life, ecstasy and sorrow of love, the various forms of enthusiastic activity, disinterested or otherwise, which come naturally to many of us. Only be sure it is passion—that it does yield you this fruit of a quickened, multiplied consciousness. Of this wisdom, the poetic passion, the desire of beauty, the love of art for art's sake, has most; for art comes to you professing frankly to give nothing but the highest quality to your moments as they pass, and simply for those moments' sake.
”
”
Walter Pater
“
Multiply your fruitfulness! Attract what it takes to rule the world.
”
”
Anyaele Sam Chiyson (It Is Time to Get Very Rich)
“
But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
”
”
Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
“
they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
”
”
Anonymous (The Holy Bible, King James version 1611 (Annotated))
“
Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
”
”
Anonymous (The Holy Bible, King James version 1611 (Annotated))
“
Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion
”
”
Anonymous (The Holy Bible: King James Version)
“
becoming French.” Meanwhile, as the birth rate of Europe’s indigenous population remains stagnant, the newcomers are fruitful and multiplying. Over time, resentment toward them has grown, along with
”
”
Madeleine K. Albright (Fascism: A Warning)
“
Abortion and birth control, meanwhile, are for evangelical conservatives a violation of God’s will that all people should be fruitful and multiply, and yet this same fear of unnatural methods of reproduction does not engender opposition to fertility clinics. Antiabortion activists, like eugenicists, think that the state has the right to intervene in the breeding habits of poor single women. Poor
”
”
Nancy Isenberg (White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America)
“
I will tell you a thing about your new name,” Stilgar said. “The choice pleases us. Muad’Dib is wise in the ways of the desert. Muad’Dib creates his own water. Muad’Dib hides from the sun and travels in the cool night. Muad’Dib is fruitful and multiplies over the land. Muad’Dib we call ‘instructor-of-boys.’ That is a powerful base on which to build your life, Paul-Muad’Dib, who is Usul among us. We welcome you.” Stilgar
”
”
Frank Herbert (Dune (Dune, #1))
“
Every species of animals naturally multiplies in proportion to the means of their subsistence, and no species can ever multiply beyond it. But in civilised society it is only among the inferior ranks of people that the scantiness of subsistence can set limits to the further multiplication of the human species; and it can do so in no other way than by destroying a great part of the children which their fruitful marriages produce.
”
”
Adam Smith (An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Crofts Classics))
“
When will it all cave in? The sky, I mean; our networks; our intricate pretensions. We were too good at what we did, at being fruitful, at multiplying, and now there’s too much breathing. We eat dangerous foods, our shit glows in the dark, the cells of our bodies turn on us like sharks. Every system is self-limiting. Will we solve ourselves as the rats do? With war, with plagues, with mass starvation? These thoughts come with breakfast, like the juice from murdered fruits. Your depression, my friend, is the revenge of the oranges.
”
”
Margaret Atwood (Good Bones and Simple Murders)
“
I don’t mean this to sound cruel,” Tish began, “but it seems like part of your heart can never work if you don’t have kids. Like it will always be shut off.” “I agree,” Katie said. “I didn’t really become a woman until I felt Mackenzie inside me. I mean, there’s all this talk these days of God versus science, but it seems like, with babies, both sides agree. The Bible says be fruitful and multiply, and science, well, when it all boils down, that’s what women were made for, right? To bear children.” “Girl power,” Becca muttered under her breath.
”
”
Gillian Flynn (Sharp Objects)
“
The essential mark of maturity in Christians—as in peach trees—is generativity. Mature faith bears fruit. Mature Christians are branches on which God’s love is multiplied and offered for the nourishment of others. As Jesus pointed out, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples” (John 15:8). By nurturing and offering the life-giving fruits of the Spirit (e.g., love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control [Gal. 5:22–23]), we become branches of divine grace, vehicles Christ uses to extend himself to others.
”
”
Kenda Creasy Dean (Almost Christian : What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church)
“
What we prayed for was emptiness, so we would be worthy to be filled: with grace, with love, with self-denial, semen and babies. Oh God, King of the universe, thank you for not creating me a man. Oh God, obliterate me. Make me fruitful. Mortify my flesh, that I may be multiplied. Let me be fulfilled... Some
”
”
Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1))
“
What is the meaning of life? Why are we here?
Philosophers have pondered that question for centuries. I'm afraid the answer is disappointingly simple: Mating.
That's it.
Christians seem to think that life is a test, and that the goal is to get into Heaven. But that's like saying your job is to get a promotion. No, your job is to work. And then, if you worked hard, then you get promoted. Heaven is supposed to be a reward or promotion, for a job well done. And what's our job? "Be fruitful and multiply." We are here to mate and procreate. That's it. That's all there's to it.
That's the meaning of life. Mating.
”
”
Oliver Markus Malloy (Why Men And Women Can't Be Friends: Honest Relationship Advice for Women (Educated Rants and Wild Guesses, #1))
“
To St. Gertrude it was revealed that however small the good work might be that was done for the glory of God, if but one “Our Father” is said for the welfare of the Church, the Son of God receives that work with ineffable delight as the fruit of His Passion, gives thanks to God for it, blesses it, and in blessing, multiplies it.
”
”
Mary Potter (Devotion For The Dying: Mary's Call to Her Loving Children)
“
Yes, You did tell them to ‘Be fruitful and multiply,’ but you didn’t tell them to breed like rabbits. They are breaking out of the natural restraints You put on them. All creatures have population restraints to keep the world in balance. Rabbits have foxes, worms have birds, and the stronger ones are killed by disease. These restraints work fine on other animals, but the humans have killed off every natural predator they’ve ever had and cured every disease that has threatened their numbers. If they haven’t found a cure for it, then they’ve found a way to patch the patient up well enough so that he or she can make more babies. God, Your people have a problem and it’s their own fault.
”
”
Russell A Mebane (Squirrels & Puppies: Dark Morality Tales)
“
The battle of good versus evil is the oldest and most re-occurring story tale in the book of life. It never ends because no matter how you cut off the tail of evil, it will always grow back again and again. This old story will always continue into infinity until we closely examine our past errors to prevent giving the snake a new head in the future. You can destroy a demon, but a new one will always come back later in time. You can bring down a corrupt leader, but another one will rise up again with time. As long as the ego overcomes the heart of a man, evil will always exist, and the enemies of God will continue to multiply and thrive. If a tree is bearing bad fruit, you do not destroy the tree by cutting off its branches or eliminating its fruit, but by destroying its roots. I want you to look at the world as this poisoned tree. Even if we eliminate our enemies today, we will create new ones tomorrow. The forumla to cut off the head of the snake once and fall is very simple, and this basic solution is written in all your holy books — 'LOVE IS THE ANSWER'. The strongest counterspell to destroy all forces of black magic is love. Pure unconditional love. However, to be able to emit the right frequency of love, one must first succeed in their own personal battle of good versus evil: heart (conscience) vs. mind (ego). Once you learn how to use your heart to embrace all living things as you do your own reflection, and use your heart to detect truths and dictate your actions, your heart will not be fully activated to love all of mankind the right way. Where there is love, there will be truth and light. Take away the love or truth, and we will forever remain in the dark. Truth, light and love must all co-exist in perfect harmony to overcome evil on earth. And they cannot just be secluded to one part of the world, but reign as divine royalty across the entire globe.
”
”
Suzy Kassem (Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem)
“
Sugar substitutes aren’t any better. Many people (including me when I was overweight) turn to artificial sugars to quell their cravings without packing on the pounds. Back then I would have happily performed heart surgery with a Diet Coke in my hand if only I could have found a way to sterilize it! But ironically, although these products are supposed to aid in weight loss, they do just the opposite. That’s because products such as sucralose, saccharin, aspartame, and other nonnutritive artificial sweeteners kill your gut buddies and allow the bad bugs to multiply. Believe it or not, a Duke University study28 showed that a single Splenda packet kills 50 percent of normal intestinal flora! It’s sad but true: if you eat too much of anything sweet, your gut buddies will starve to death, and your bad bugs will live long and prosper—and multiply. Even fructose, the sugar in fruit, has been shown to be a mitochrondrial poison! There goes the neighborhood.
”
”
Steven R. Gundry (The Longevity Paradox: How to Die Young at a Ripe Old Age (The Plant Paradox, #4))
“
As long as the ego overcomes the heart of a man, evil will always exist, and the enemies of God will continue to multiply and thrive. If a tree is bearing bad fruit, you do not destroy the tree by cutting off its branches or eliminating its fruit, but by destroying its roots. I want you to look at the world as this poisoned tree. Even if we eliminate our enemies today, we will create new ones tomorrow. The solution is very simple and this formula is written in all your holy books. LOVE IS THY ANSWER. The strongest weapon to destroy the snakes of hate and evil is LOVE. PURE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. However, to be able to emit the right frequency of love, you must succeed daily in your own personal battle of good versus evil: heart (conscience) vs. mind (ego). Once you learn how to use your heart to embrace all living things as you do your own reflection, and use your heart to detect truths and dictate your actions, your heart will not be fully activated to LOVE. Where there is LOVE, there will remain Truth and LIGHT. Take away the LOVE, and you will always remain in the dark.
”
”
Suzy Kassem (Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem)
“
What is this food in my head, anyway? Let’s see...it’s green and good for you and so delicious. It’s prepared by angels with love. The minute you bite into it, it’s savory, chewy, nourishing, and whole- some. You feel instantly revitalized. A small, tiny amount, just a few bites, rejuvenates every cell, deepens your breath, clears your mind, heals your wounds, and mends your heart. It’s made from joyous plants that voluntarily separate themselves from their stalks, laying themselves at the feet of the approaching gardener who gathers them. They eagerly offer their vital energies to nourish living spirits. The angels in their chef hats, singing mantras, cook it tenderly to retain all the benefits of the generous plants. It’s barely sweet, barely salty, and contains all the freshness of spring herbs, summer fruit, spreading leaves, and burgeoning seeds. It comes premade in bags or boxes...you just open it up, sit down, and enjoy. It’s a full meal, enough maybe for a whole day, maybe for a week, maybe for your family, maybe for your friends and neighbors. It multiplies like loaves and fishes, in little biodegradable containers that vaporize instantly the moment you finish them, without any greenhouse emissions. Nothing to clean up!
”
”
Kimber Simpkins (Full: How one woman found yoga, eased her inner hunger, and started loving herself)
“
The Florida side of my family is huge. People married young. Were Fruitful. Multiplied. As a kid a family fish fry might see 50 gather in someone's First District yard. A great-uncle frying mullet. Adults in the shade as kids played. Games of tag with complex rules. Jumping Live Oak roots. Flinging Chinaberries. You'd limp to the shade bruised and breathless. Hear a story about a cousin caught stealing hogs. Quickly get sent away – "Go play! This is Grown People Business!" We'd head back out. Climb trees. Make palm frond swords. Years passed. I grew up and found that most of those relatives were gone. I had missed the Grown People Business.
”
”
Damon Thomas
“
The Florida side of my family is huge. People married young. Were Fruitful. Multiplied. As a kid a family fish fry might see 50 gather in someone's First District yard. A great-uncle frying mullet. Adults in the shade as kids played. Games of tag with complex rules. Jumping Live Oak roots. Flinging Chinaberries. You'd limp to the shade bruised and breathless. Hear a story about a cousin caught stealing hogs. Quickly get sent away – "Go play! This is Grown People Business!" We'd head back out. Climb trees. Make palm frond swords. Years passed. I grew up and found that most of those relatives were gone. I had missed the Grown People Business.
”
”
Damon Thomas (Some Books Are Not For Sale (Rural Gloom))
“
Only a fool says in his heart
There is no Creator, no King of kings,
Only mules would dare to bray
These lethal mutterings.
Over darkened minds as these
The Darkness bears full sway,
Fruitless, yet, bearing fruit,
In their fell, destructive way.
Sterile, though proliferate,
A filthy progeny sees the day,
When Evil, Thought and Action mate:
Breeding sin, rebels and decay.
The blackest deeds and foul ideals,
Multiply throughout the earth,
Through deadened, lifeless, braying souls,
The Darkness labours and gives birth.
Taking the Lord’s abundant gifts
And rotting them to the core,
They dress their dish and serve it out
Foul seeds to infect thousands more.
‘The Tree of Life is dead!’ they cry,
‘And that of Knowledge not enough,
Let us glut on the ashen apples
Of Sodom and Gomorrah.’
Have pity on Thy children, Lord,
Left sorrowing on this earth,
While fools and all their kindred
Cast shadows with their murk,
And to the dwindling wise,
They toss their heads and wryly smirk.
The world daily grinds to dust
Virtue’s fair unicorns,
Rather, it would now beget
Vice’s mutant manticores.
Wisdom crushed, our joy is gone,
Buried under anxious fears
For lost rights and freedoms,
We shed many bitter tears.
Death is life, Life is no more,
Humanity buried in a tomb,
In a fatal prenatal world
Where tiny flowers
Are ripped from the womb,
Discarded, thrown away,
Inconvenient lives
That barely bloomed.
Our elders fare no better,
Their wisdom unwanted by and by,
Boarded out to end their days,
And forsaken are left to die.
Only the youthful and the useful,
In this capital age prosper and fly.
Yet, they too are quickly strangled,
Before their future plans are met,
Professions legally pre-enslaved
Held bound by mounting student debt.
Our leaders all harangue for peace
Yet perpetrate the horror,
Of economic greed shored up
Through manufactured war.
Our armies now welter
In foreign civilian gore.
How many of our kin are slain
For hollow martial honour?
As if we could forget, ignore,
The scourge of nuclear power,
Alas, victors are rarely tried
For their woeful crimes of war.
Hope and pray we never see
A repeat of Hiroshima.
No more!
Crimes are legion,
The deeds of devil-spawn!
What has happened to the souls
Your Divine Image was minted on?
They are now recast:
Crooked coins of Caesar and
The Whore of Babylon.
How often mankind shuts its ears
To Your music celestial,
Mankind would rather march
To the anthems of Hell.
If humanity cannot be reclaimed
By Your Mercy and great Love
Deservedly we should be struck
By Vengeance from above.
Many dread the Final Day,
And the Crack of Doom
For others the Apocalypse
Will never come too soon.
‘Lift up your heads, be glad’,
Fools shall bray no more
For at last the Master comes
To thresh His threshing floor.
”
”
E.A. Bucchianeri (Vocation of a Gadfly (Gadfly Saga, #2))
“
Cockroaches are survivors. Turn on the lights and you will see a scattering of casino hosts in three thousand dollar bespoken suits, corporate fruit flies in empty suits, lawyer-class slime on their way to the courthouse to go shopping for other people's money, bankers shilling bad loans by bundling them together with good ones and sending them down the financial pipeline knowing that they stand protected by the political scum from every level of government who have risen to breathtaking heights of mediocrity, tossing a couple of bucks from the public till to the obedient myrmidons in exchange for their votes. While decaying empire crumble, cockroaches multiply among the ruins. - Bonjour Amigos
”
”
David Gustafson
“
Thus the focal points of the Hebrew Paradise story, the woman, the man, the serpent, and the tree, were mostly likely re-interpretations of earlier Near Eastern iconography and mythology. An original myth and icon, which consisted of goddess, sacred snake, sacred tree, and male consort, perhaps the one who aroused the wrath of the goddess by eating her sacred fruit, become re-interpreted, among the Hebrews, into a story involving a foolish woman; a tree bearing fruit which must not be plucked but was plucked nonetheless by the foolish woman; a seductive snake; and a man who gave birth to a female. The Hebrew story not only changes the roles of the main characters in the story; it even shifts the birth process.
The Hebrew myth, then, was not the earliest word on the status of women. The antecedents of the Hebrew myth show quite clearly that at least the idealized woman, the goddess, held high status in early Near Eastern societies. This early status was considerably altered later in time by the Hebrews. The Near Eastern goddess, among the Hebrews, degenerated into a mortal scapegoat, one responsible for the ‘greatly multiplied sorrow,’ and the subservience of women in the ensuing centuries.
”
”
Miriam Robbins Dexter
“
Temptation...
What would the warning label in your life say? Something like this..
"You will think this is a way to ease the loneliness you feel. You will think it will make you feel all the things you deserve to feel: beautiful, respected, noticed, appreciated for who you are, and validated as special. You will think that you are the exception in being able to handle a flirty friendship without crossing any lines and that it won't hurt anyone. You will think this is going wonderful, because it stirs up such warm feelings in those places deep inside your heart that have felt cold for so long. You will think all those warm fuzzies are good for you. But it's all a lie. You are being blinded with desire. You are being made deaf to truth. You are reaching for a forbidden fruit that looks so good on the outside but is filled with razors on the inside. You can't even take a bite without getting cut. And, worst of all, even though you are bleeding from that first bite, you'll get so enamored with it's alluring sweetness that you'll keep eating it. You will devour this sin without realizing its devouring you. Trust me, your feelings are lying to you. This won't fix your disappointments. It will only multiply them into devastations.
”
”
Lysa TerKeurst (It's Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered)
“
Ultimately the reason for both the work of evangelism and the work of justice is not simply the relief of suffering, whether present or eternal. It is the restoration of God’s true image in the world, made known in the one true Image and Icon, Jesus Christ, and refracted and reflected in fruitful, multiplying image bearers set free by his death and resurrection to reclaim their true calling. Our mission is not primarily driven by a calculation of which suffering, present or eternal, we need to relieve most urgently; it is the fruit of glorious promises that call us into a new kingdom where the world is full of truth-bearing images. No image bearer can fully return to their true calling without finding themselves rescued and redeemed by the true Image Bearer, so no serious Christian witness in the world can fail to call people to put their trust in Jesus and the true God he makes known. And no image bearer can bear full witness to the glory of the Creator without the conditions for flourishing that are summed up in the rich biblical conception of justice. “He comes to make his blessings flow / far as the curse is found.” Because idolatry and injustice are the twin fruits of the curse, the work of evangelism and the work of justice are one.
”
”
Andy Crouch (Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power)
“
And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 24 ¶ And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 26 ¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
”
”
Anonymous (Holy Bible: Old and New Testaments - King James Version - Full Navigation)
“
In a way, Star Wars could be interpreted as an extended reflection on what might have happened if Jesus had said yes to Satan’s offer. Qui-Gon wants to train Anakin to be a member of the Jedi, a diverse group of humans and other creatures who have a special connection to “the Force” (a kind of cosmic, spiritual energy). He believes that Anakin is “the chosen one,” born to defeat the dark side and restore balance to the Force, but he must convince the Jedi Council. As the council begins to interview Anakin, Yoda (a froglike Jedi with unusual syntax) probes his fear: Yoda: How feel you? Anakin: Cold, sir. Yoda: Afraid are you? Anakin: No, sir. Yoda: See through you we can. Mace Windu: Be mindful of your feelings. Ki-Adi-Mundi: Your thoughts dwell on your mother. Anakin: I miss her. Yoda: Afraid to lose her I think, hmm? Anakin: What has that got to do with anything? Yoda: Everything! Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.20 Yoda’s words foreshadow the path that will lead Anakin to embrace evil and ultimately become Darth Vader. Nonetheless, many on the council believe Anakin to be the chosen one, spoken of by the prophets, and they allow him to train. In Episode II, Anakin’s fear becomes reality as his mother is kidnapped and killed by the sandpeople. Anakin is filled with rage, and he attacks their village, murdering not only the men but women and children as well. This scene augurs a later, even darker moment in Episode III, when Anakin will slay a gathering of children who are being trained as Jedis. As Yoda predicted, Anakin’s fear has multiplied and born fruit in anger, hate, and suffering.
”
”
Scott Bader-Saye (Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear (The Christian Practice of Everyday Life))
“
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1965
My fellow countrymen, on this occasion, the oath I have taken before you and before God is not mine alone, but ours together. We are one nation and one people. Our fate as a nation and our future as a people rest not upon one citizen, but upon all citizens.
This is the majesty and the meaning of this moment.
For every generation, there is a destiny. For some, history decides. For this generation, the choice must be our own.
Even now, a rocket moves toward Mars. It reminds us that the world will not be the same for our children, or even for ourselves m a short span of years. The next man to stand here will look out on a scene different from our own, because ours is a time of change-- rapid and fantastic change bearing the secrets of nature, multiplying the nations, placing in uncertain hands new weapons for mastery and destruction, shaking old values, and uprooting old ways.
Our destiny in the midst of change will rest on the unchanged character of our people, and on their faith.
THE AMERICAN COVENANT
They came here--the exile and the stranger, brave but frightened-- to find a place where a man could be his own man. They made a covenant with this land. Conceived in justice, written in liberty, bound in union, it was meant one day to inspire the hopes of all mankind; and it binds us still. If we keep its terms, we shall flourish.
JUSTICE AND CHANGE
First, justice was the promise that all who made the journey would share in the fruits of the land.
In a land of great wealth, families must not live in hopeless poverty. In a land rich in harvest, children just must not go hungry. In a land of healing miracles, neighbors must not suffer and die unattended. In a great land of learning and scholars, young people must be taught to read and write.
For the more than 30 years that I have served this Nation, I have believed that this injustice to our people, this waste of our resources, was our real enemy. For 30 years or more, with the resources I have had, I have vigilantly fought against it. I have learned, and I know, that it will not surrender easily.
But change has given us new weapons. Before this generation of Americans is finished, this enemy will not only retreat--it will be conquered.
Justice requires us to remember that when any citizen denies his fellow, saying, "His color is not mine," or "His beliefs are strange and different," in that moment he betrays America, though his forebears created this Nation.
LIBERTY AND CHANGE
Liberty was the second article of our covenant. It was self- government. It was our Bill of Rights. But it was more. America would be a place where each man could be proud to be himself: stretching his talents, rejoicing in his work, important in the life of his neighbors and his nation.
This has become more difficult in a world where change and growth seem to tower beyond the control and even the judgment of men. We must work to provide the knowledge and the surroundings which can enlarge the possibilities of every citizen.
The American covenant called on us to help show the way for the liberation of man. And that is today our goal. Thus, if as a nation there is much outside our control, as a people no stranger is outside our hope.
”
”
Lyndon B. Johnson
“
I don't mean this to sound cruel," Tish began, "but it seems like part of your heart can never work if you don't have kids. Like it will always be shut off."
"I agree," Katie said. "I didn't really become a woman until I felt Mackenzie inside me. I mean, there's all this talk these days of God versus science, but it seema like, with babies, both sides agree. The Bible says be fruitful and multiply, and science, well, when it all boils down, that's what women were made for, right? To bear children."
"Girl power," Becca muttered under her breath.
”
”
Гиллиан Флинн
“
6 sn I will bless you. The blessing of creation is now carried forward to the patriarch. In the garden God blessed Adam and Eve; in that blessing he gave them (1) a fruitful place, (2) endowed them with fertility to multiply, and (3) made them rulers over creation. That was all ruined at the fall. Now God begins to build his covenant people; in Gen 12-22 he promises to give Abram (1) a land flowing with milk and honey, (2) a great nation without number, and (3) kingship.
”
”
Anonymous (NET Bible (with notes))
“
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28†And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
”
”
Anonymous (Holy Bible - ESV MacArthur Study Bible)
“
Biblical Context The Genesis story is about God’s entering into relationship with the people he created in his image. He began by creating us to be in relationship with him. Genesis 1–11 traces the increase of sin alongside the continuing evidence of covenant blessing. In Genesis 12–50 the author turns our attention to the covenant. The blessing in Genesis 1–11 (“be fruitful and multiply”) becomes a promise to Abraham (“I will make of you a great nation”). Through the covenant, God revealed himself to and through Abraham and his family. Each narrative shows either how the covenant was progressing (in terms of land, family, or blessing) or how God was in the process of overcoming obstacles to the covenant, whether perceived or real. By the time we reach the Joseph stories, the covenant is progressing nicely. Abraham’s descendants have been established in the land and have become a large family through Jacob’s twelve sons. These stories turn our attention to God’s blessing as he places Joseph somewhere that Joseph can bring blessing to the world as a representative of Abraham’s family. Yet we continue to see the obstacles of favoritism and flawed character.
”
”
John H. Walton (The Bible Story Handbook: A Resource for Teaching 175 Stories from the Bible)
“
BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY! Yes! The First Command there is; is “Be Fruitful! Then Multiply. What is your seed? What is your gift? Plant it. Make a fruit out of it and then…MULTIPLY IT!
”
”
Emmanuel C. Ezike II (The Greatest Ten Self-help Books In The World)
“
{10:1} Israel is a leafy vine, its fruit has been suitable to him. According to the multitude of his fruit, he has multiplied altars; according to the fertility of his land, he has abounded with graven images.
”
”
The Biblescript (Catholic Bible: Douay-Rheims English Translation)
“
For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality.” 2 Corinthians 8:13–14
”
”
Adam Houge (Be Fruitful and Multiply the Disciples)
“
(When God said, “Be fruitful and multiply” [Genesis 1:28], he wasn’t giving math homework.)
”
”
Gregory K. Popcak (Beyond the Birds and the Bees: Raising Sexually Whole and Holy Kids)
“
For you to be able to be fruitful, to multiply and saturate the earth with your products, you have to first know how to properly use the currency of time.
”
”
Sunday Adelaja (How To Become Great Through Time Conversion: Are you wasting time, spending time or investing time?)
“
When you invest your time you will notice that you are being fruitful and that you are multiplying your life.
”
”
Sunday Adelaja (How To Become Great Through Time Conversion: Are you wasting time, spending time or investing time?)
“
We are called to be fruitful, multiply, subdue, rule, and make disciples. These callings are given to families in general and must be accomplished regardless of our unique callings. The New Testament is clear that everyone is called to make disciples and everyone is given a spiritual gift (or gifts), which means we all have the same general ministry (disciple-making) and we each have a special ministry (our spiritual gifts). We must do both. Yes, they may overlap, which is great. If your gift is to teach, that greatly overlaps with a calling to make disciples; but at any point if someone were to ask how your family’s ministry is making disciples you must be able to draw a direct line between the ministry efforts of your family and specific disciples who are growing and reproducing.
”
”
Jeremy Pryor (Family Revision: How Ancient Wisdom Can Heal the Modern Family)
“
Be fruitful and multiply” is often described as the very first command given to us in Scripture. However, that’s technically not the case. As John Sailhamer points out, the subtlety of the Hebrew text is not to be overlooked: “The imperatives ‘Be fruitful,’ ‘increase,’ and ‘fill’ are not to be understood as commands in this verse since the introductory statement identifies them as a ‘blessing.
”
”
Voddie T. Baucham Jr. (Family Shepherds: Calling and Equipping Men to Lead Their Homes)
“
Africans must realize that it is time to be fruitful and multiply.
”
”
KENNETH MWALE
“
After all, a pro-imperialist and anti-environmentalist stance is con tent with the church's long history of making strategic alliances v and conferring spiritual blessings on conquistadores and others v raped the land and the indigenous populations of the "new world exploit its resources. This history of conquest may in turn seen follow a tradition that ostensibly began in the Book of Genesis, w God said to the first human beings: "Be fruitful and multiply, and the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that mi upon the earth.
”
”
George A. Dunn (Avatar and Philosophy: Learning to See (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series))
“
Marriage is God’s doing because it was his design in the creation of man as male and female. This was made plain earlier in Genesis 1:27–28: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.’” But it is also clear here in the flow of thought in Genesis 2. In verse 18, it is God himself who decrees that man’s solitude is not good, and it is God himself who sets out to complete one of the central designs of creation, namely, man and woman in marriage. “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Don’t miss that central and all-important statement: God himself will make a being perfectly suited for him—a wife. Then he parades the animals before Adam so that he might see there is no creature that qualifies. This creature must be made uniquely from man so that she will be of his essence—a fellow human being in God’s image, just as Genesis 1:27 said. So we read in verses 21–22, “So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman.” God made her. This text ends in verses 24–25 with the words, “They shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” In other words, this is all moving toward marriage. So the first thing to say about marriage being God’s doing is that marriage was his design in creating man male and female.
”
”
John Piper (This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence)
“
Despite the divine direction to be fruitful and multiply, barren-ness is a common theme in the Bible.
”
”
Karen Stollznow (Missed Conceptions: How We Make Sense of Infertility)
“
If the essence of the Cultural Mandate could be distilled into three headings, it would be these: 1. The blessing of God on the human race. The heart of humanity’s calling is to know the covenant presence of the Lord God, who is our God just as we are his people. As he has done everything to shower his love on us, he has given us all the gifts we need to flourish and return his love. 2. To be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with our productive presence. The human race was to populate the entire earth, always with the purpose of discovering God’s life-giving purposes for us, in all our diversity and talents. 3. To rule over the creation with gentle lordship. Always under the greater lordship of God, we are vicegerents in this marvelous place, taming what is untamed so that it redounds to God’s greater glory.
”
”
Doug Serven (Firstfruits of a New Creation: Essays in Honor of Jerram Barrs)
“
In vain do you seek repose from beds of roses: in vain do you hope for enjoyment from the most delicious wines and fruits. Your indolence itself becomes a fatigue; your pleasure itself creates disgust. The mind, unexercised, finds every delight insipid and loathsome; and ere yet the body, full of noxious humours, feels the torment of its multiplied diseases, your nobler part is sensible of the invading poison, and seeks in vain to relieve its anxiety by new pleasures, which still augment the fatal malady.
”
”
David Hume (On Suicide)
“
We have largely lost the sense that a life lived sacrificially for Christ, in obscurity, among those who have little, in places where there is no private medicine, few domestic comforts, low literacy rates, but a desperate need for the gospel and the teaching and training of Christians, can be a life whose fruit for eternity can be amazingly multiplied. Such were the brothers Cyril and Methodius. Their modern counterparts are, like them, living in obscurity. But are they a diminishing number?
”
”
Sinclair B. Ferguson (In the Year of Our Lord: Reflections on Twenty Centuries of Church History)
“
Just as snow and rain do not return to the heavens until they have watered the earth, making it fruitful, so God’s word does not return to him without accomplishing its purpose. Paul adapts this principle of the effective power of God’s word in a more specific sense. He wants the Corinthians to appreciate that God will supply and multiply their seed, that is, God will continue to bestow ample material resources on them.[10]
”
”
Thomas D. Stegman (Second Corinthians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture): (A Catholic Bible Commentary on the New Testament by Trusted Catholic Biblical Scholars - CCSS))
“
When branches are pruned, more of the life of the vine goes into producing the fruit. Without pruning, each year more and more of the sap of the vine goes into sustaining more and more branches and leaves, and each year the fruit is a bit smaller than it was last year. Just as God prunes our lives, removing those good things that bore fruit in the previous season of our lives so all of our energy can be poured into new areas of growth, God does the same thing in the church.
”
”
Eddy Hall (The More-with-Less Church: Maximize Your Money, Space, Time, and People to Multiply Ministry Impact)
“
One of Jesus’s secrets to fruitfulness in ministry is pruning.
”
”
Eddy Hall (The More-with-Less Church: Maximize Your Money, Space, Time, and People to Multiply Ministry Impact)
“
On the very first page of the Bible, then, power, flourishing and image bearing are connected. Power is for flourishing—teeming, fruitful, multiplying abundance. Power creates and shapes an environment where creatures can flourish, making room for the variety, diversity and unpredictability of coral reefs and tropical forests, but also the surprising biological richness of high deserts and ocean depths. And image bearing is for power—for it is the Creator’s desire to fill the earth with representatives who will have the same kind of delighted dominion over the teeming creatures as their Maker. Which means image bearing is for flourishing. The image bearers do not exist for their own flourishing alone, but to bring the whole creation to its fulfillment.
”
”
Andy Crouch (Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power)
“
He b turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, 34 c a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants. 35 He d turns a desert into pools of water, e a parched land into springs of water. 36 And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish f a city to live in; 37 they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. 38 g By his blessing they multiply greatly,
”
”
Anonymous (ESV Global Study Bible)
“
Well the Lord said, be fruitful and multiply.
”
”
K. Elliott (Kingpin Wifeys Part 8: The Season Finale)
“
Be fruitful and multiply” is both a blessing and a command. The union of one man with one woman is intended to produce children. This command is the antithesis of the pro-abortion and pro-homosexual agenda. It is not possible for two men or two women to produce a child. God created “male and female,” making marriage between two men or two women a clear violation of the law of God. God will only bless the union He created; therefore He blessed the union of marriage between a man and a woman with children,
”
”
John Hagee (The Power of the Prophetic Blessing: An Astonishing Revelation for a New Generation)
“
As Native American resistance hardened, the states demanded more and more insistently that the federal government should honour its commitment to extinguish Indian title, even if this meant unilaterally abrogating treaty obligations to tribes who were unwilling to move. Indian treaties, they maintained - in the words of Governor Gilmer of Georgia - were merely ‘expedients by which ignorant, intractable, and savage people were induced without bloodshed to yield up what civilized people had the right to possess by virtue of that command of the Creator delivered to man upon his formation -be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.
”
”
James Wilson (The Earth Shall Weep: A History of Native America)
“
God the Father invented the family. He’s the one who determines its meaning, purpose, and role. He’s the one who instituted marriage as a lifelong covenant between husband and wife. He’s the one who enables couples to be fruitful and multiply. He’s the Patēr (Father) from whom every patria (family) in heaven and earth is named. Marriage and family were created by Him and exist for Him.
”
”
Mary A. Kassian (True Woman 201: Interior Design - Ten Elements of Biblical Womanhood (True Woman))
“
Our God, the almighty Lord of heaven and earth,” he began in a clear, authoritative voice, “bless these two here before you with your grace. Grace to keep one another in sickness and in health. Grace to learn together to serve as you would have them serve. Grace to give them strength for daily toil and duty. Grace to keep them in the hour of temptation or weakness. Grace that will enable them to give and love and labor. Make them fruitful. Bless them with your presence. Wrap them in your peace. And multiply their love—for you, for others, for one another. In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. Amen.
”
”
Janette Oke (The Centurion's Wife (Acts of Faith, #1))
“
Be ye angry, and sin not: * the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds. 4:6 Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: * many say, Who sheweth us good things? 4:7 The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: * thou hast given gladness in my heart. 4:8 By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, * they are multiplied. 4:9 In peace in the selfsame * I will sleep, and I will rest: 4:10 For thou, O Lord, singularly * hast settled me in hope.
”
”
Gregory Bellarmine (The Roman Breviary: in English, in Order, Every Day for November & December 2016)
“
Before leaving the hospital, Myron played lawyer and warned Loren Muse not to speak to his client Lex Ryder without legal counsel. She responded that he should be fruitful and multiply, but not in those exact words. Win and Esperanza arrived. Win filled him in on his prison encounter with Frank Ache. Myron wasn’t sure what to make of it. “Perhaps,
”
”
Harlan Coben (Live Wire (Myron Bolitar, #10))
“
To truly increase and multiply, you need to recognize, develop and deploy your gifts.
”
”
Bidemi Mark-Mordi
“
fruitful and multiply and fill the earth
”
”
Anonymous (ESV Study Bible)
“
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” (Gen 1:26–28). Twice these verses affirm that humans were made in God’s image, and both times they go on to say that God granted humans dominion over the rest of creation. God created all humans in his image precisely because he wanted the entire race to share responsibility for creation. There is no superior class, ethnic group, gender, or territory. Humans must learn to share authority and responsibility in ways that affirm and uphold the dignity of all humans.
”
”
John C. Nugent (Endangered Gospel: How Fixing the World is Killing the Church)