Golden Rule Passages – Comprehensive Source List

Abrahamic Religions

Christianity

Matthew 7:12 – Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 12
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Luke 6:31 – Gospel of Luke, Chapter 6, Verse 31
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Mark 12:31 – Gospel of Mark, Chapter 12, Verse 31
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
John 13:34-35 – Gospel of John, Chapter 13, Verses 34-35
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Judaism

Leviticus 19:18 – Torah, Book of Leviticus, Chapter 19, Verse 18
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Talmud, Shabbat 31a – Oral Tradition
“What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.”

Islam

Hadith (Nawawi’s Forty Hadith, Hadith 13)
“None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”

Eastern Religions

Buddhism

Udana-Varga 5:18
“Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”

Hinduism

Mahabharata (Anusasana Parva, Section CXIII)
“One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one’s own self. This, in brief, is the rule of righteousness.”

Jainism

Acaranga Sutra
“One who disregards ethics and treats others as he would not wish to be treated himself acts wrongly and not rightly.”

Eastern Philosophical Traditions

Confucianism

Analects 15:23
“Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.”

Other Religious Traditions

Sikhism

Guru Granth Sahib
“Treat others as you would have them treat you.”

Baha’i Faith

Writings of Baha’u’llah
“Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself.”

Zoroastrianism

Dadistan-i-Dinik
“That nature only is good when it is helpful to others and does not injure them.”

Indigenous and Philosophical Traditions

Native American Wisdom

A common saying among various tribes
“Respect for all life is the foundation of a good life.”

Archaeological and Ancient Sources

Ancient Egypt

Papyrus of Ani (Egyptian Book of the Dead)
“Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do.”

Ancient Greece

Pittacus of Mytilene (c. 640-568 BCE)
“Do not do to your neighbor what you would take ill from him.”

Comparative Analysis

The universality of the Golden Rule suggests a fundamental human ethical insight that transcends cultural, religious, and geographical boundaries. Each tradition expresses the core principle slightly differently, but the essence remains consistent: empathy, reciprocity, and mutual respect form the cornerstone of ethical behavior.

Key observations:

The principle appears in virtually every major world religion and philosophical tradition
The formulation varies between positive (“do unto others”) and negative (“do not do to others”) constructions
The rule typically implies treating others with the same respect, kindness, and consideration one would desire for themselves

This comprehensive list demonstrates that the Golden Rule is not just a religious concept, but a fundamental human ethical principle that has emerged independently across different cultures and time periods.

Moving from Darkness to Light

Can We Keep Everyone in the Light and Help Others Come Out of the Dark?

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The age-old battle between light and darkness isn’t just religious metaphor – it’s deeply rooted in our DNA and shaped by our environment. As someone who is spending time studying both ancient wisdom and modern science, I’ve come to realize that our capacity for darkness is neither purely inherited nor entirely learned. It’s a complex dance between our genes and our experiences.

Think about death. Our ancestors knew something we often forget: how we treat death reveals everything about how we value life. Ancient cultures didn’t just acknowledge darkness – they developed intricate rituals to process it, understand it, and ultimately transcend it.

But here’s what keeps me up at night: if darkness lurks in both nature and nurture, can we ever truly help someone step into the light? Science suggests yes. Our genes aren’t our destiny, and our environment isn’t our fate. Modern research shows that the same genetic variants that can make someone vulnerable to darkness can also make them more responsive to light.

The real question isn’t whether we can help others find the light – it’s whether we’re willing to understand the darkness first. Every faith tradition that survived since ancient times has grappled with this challenge. They didn’t just condemn the darkness; they sought to understand it, contain it, and sometimes even transform it.

So maybe that’s our path forward. Not denying the darkness exists, but recognizing it as part of our shared human experience – one that we can help each other navigate through understanding, compassion, and deliberate action.

Because in the end, light doesn’t eliminate shadows. It helps us see them clearly enough to find our way through.

What are your thoughts on helping others find their way from darkness to light? Share your experiences in the comments below.

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Is God the joining of the Earth Father and The Earth Mother into one flesh, that which we call God

This morning my common law partner and I were embraced in the oneness God created to bring man and woman together as said in Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and will join with his wife and they will be one flesh. and Again Jesus says in Mark 10:6-8 But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife.and the two will become one, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. Again in Matthew 19:4-6 Matthew once again quoted these words from our Lord Jesus. In each of these passages God, both as father and son state very clearly that Man and Woman will bond and will become one with each other. we can see this as the beginning of what we know as the intimate act of a man and woman when they physically join as one.

Yet we must think deeper than this. Not only does man and woman join as God has ordained they also find deep and lasting enjoyment in this joining of the flesh. For each the feeling and the sense of intimacy is different. For the man, who I can speak for, it is an act that can, in some instances, be overpowering, it is an act that requires work as the man enters and pleasures his wife. It is a demonstration of his power and is work. For the woman, I can only imagine, it is a time when she receives her man within her womb. It is a time where she shares in the intimacy of the oneness and it is a time where the woman cherishes and brings comfort to her husband.

So this oneness of a couple must also be a demonstration of the difference between man and woman. The man is the stronger and more viral participate while the woman is the more giving and receiving participant. Is it in this, God ordained the merging of flesh, that we begin to note the differences God built into man so that he would be the stronger, the one that would go out and work the fields and hunt for food. While the woman is the more sensitive one that focuses on building binding relationships and meets her man in an act of intimacy pleasing to the two, reproductive of the species and most importantly a way of demonstrating her cherishing and giving spirit.

From these thoughts I then remembered, in Genesis 1:26 God said, “let us make man in our image, after our likeness”. This plurality suggests that God is not alone and that he made man in the image of the maleness of God and woman in the femaleness of God. Does this suggest that God is actually two who have joined as one?

Then we read of angels and wonder from where they come. Maybe it is from the joining of the male and female that is God.

Maybe the ancients or the gentiles who believed in concepts of an earth mother is simply an expression of the half of God that is female. Is it these same ancients who saw the powerful images of Zeus and Apollo, were they simply recognizing the maleness of what we know now as the one God, the union of the earth father and the earth mother?