Religion

1. Study the following:

1. The Book of Books

2. Bell, book and candle

3. Enter / go into the Church

4. Faith, hope and charity

5. Father Superior

6. Mother Superior

7. Practice what one preaches

8. The (straight and) narrow path

9. Cast one's bread upon the waters

10. God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb

11. A cross to bear

12. Peace of mind

13. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak

14. Man proposes, God disposes

15. Whom God would ruin, he first deprives of reason

16. All are not saints that go to church

17. A deadly / mortal sin

18. Commit a sin

19. You cannot serve both God and Mammon

20. Sell one's soul (to the devil)

21. He that serves God for money will serve the devil for better wages

22. God willing

23. For Christ's sake!

24. Get religion

25. Like an angel

26. An Act of God.

1. The Book of Books = the Book of God, the divine Book, the Good Book = the Bible – the holy book of the Christians, consisting of the Old Testament and the New Testament.

E.g.: The service included some readings from the Bible.

2. Bell, book and candle – a church bell, a reading from the Bible, burning candles used in a Christian service.

3. Enter / go into the Church – to become a priest.

4. Faith, hope and charity – three important good qualities in a Christian, according to Jesus Christ in the Bible.

5. Father Superior – (a title for) the head of a religious group.

6. Mother Superior – (a title for) the head of a religious group, a title for the woman in charge of a group of nuns.

7. Practice what one preaches – to do oneself what one advises others to do.

E.g.: Priests must practice what they preach.

8. The (straight and) narrow path – good behaviour.

E.g.: Nobody can make them abandon the narrow path of virtue.

9. Cast one's bread upon the water – to be good to somebody and do not expect anything in return. (Culture Context – 3)

E.g.: Please, consider your help as bread cast upon the water, and believe it will be returned a thousand fold.

10. God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb (proverb) – every person goes through some ordeal he can stand.

E.g.: – How are you getting on?

– Oh, I'm not complaining. God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.

11. A cross to bear – a cause of sorrow or suffering which tests one's patience or goodness. (Culture Context – 4)

E.g.: Every person has a cross to bear.

12. Peace of mind – freedom from anxiety or troubling thoughts; calmness.

E.g.: His words restored my peace of mind.

13. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak – Iwould like to do something but my body is not strong enough to do it.

E.g.: I stopped working daily, for though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.

14. Man proposes, God disposes – an old saying, meaning that people can make plans, but whether or not they are successful depends on the will of God.

15. Whom God would ruin, he first deprives of reason (proverb) – whom the Gods would destroy, they first make mad.

E.g.: He must come with us — /insist/ — Well, whom the gods would destroy they first make mad.

16. All are not saints that go to church (proverb) – not only good people go to church. (Culture Context – 5)

17. A deadly / mortal sin – an offence against God or a religious law.

E.g.: The Bible says adultery is a (deadly) sin. Which of us is without sin?

18. Commit a sin – to do something that breaks a religious law. E.g.: He committed the unforgivable sin of concealing the truth.

19. You cannot serve both God and Mammon — quote from the Bible. You cannot serve two gods, i.e. spend all your time trying to get rich and be a Christian. In the Bible, mammon was a word meaning wealth, but many people thought it meant a god of money.

E.g.: You cannot worship God and Mammon.

20. Sell one's soul (to the devil) – to do something bad in exchange for money, power, etc. (Culture Context – 6)

21. He that serves God for money will serve the devil for better wages (proverb) – You cannot worship God and Mammon.

22. God willing- if all goes well.

E.g.: I'll be back next month – God willing.

23. For Christ's sake! – used when asking strongly for something; used as an expression of annoyance. Both this expression and " for God's sake" may offend some people, and should be used with care. The gentlest expression is " for goodness sake". (Culture context – 7)

E.g.: For goodness sake don 'I tell her the truth! What's the matter now, for God's sake?

24. Get religion – suddenly become interested in religion in a way that seems strange to other people.

E.g.: They got religion when they were at college.

25. Like an angel – someone who is very kind, very good, or very beautiful. (Culture Context – 8)

E.g.: She cooks like an angel.

26. An Act of God – an event that is caused by natural forces, such as a storm, flood, or fire, which you cannot prevent or control. (Culture Context – 9)

E.g.: At last they admitted that they could do nothing. It was an act of God.

2. Match the following English idioms to their respective dic­tionary definitions and give the translation of the definitions.