And the operative word here is… (vain repetitions)

1918 Nusach Ashkenaz Siddur prayer book.

All good evangelicals of the prosperity gospel stripe are fond of reminding us that in this verse…

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:10, New Living Translation)

… it is the LOVE of money, not money itself, that is the root of evil, and so we are free to go out and collect as much as we like. It's not a sin to be rich. It's a blessing.

How about this one?

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. (Matthew 6:7, KJV)

The same group ignores the fact that "vain" is an adjective, and condemning all repetition is like saying "Don't eat poison mushrooms" equals "Don't eat mushrooms."

This translation is a little clearer:

When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. (New Living Translation)

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For the sake of context, the audience Jesus was addressing most likely prayed like Jews do today and repeated the same prayers.

Learn more about the Siddur, the Jewish prayer book >

[2014-08-05]

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