5Why do you want more beatings?
Why do you keep rebelling?
Your head has a massive wound,
and your whole heart is afflicted.
6From the sole of your foot to the top of your head,
there is no soundness —
only wounds and welts and festering sores
neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.
7Your land is desolate;
your cities are burned with fire.
Foreigners devour your fields before you —
a desolation demolished by strangers.
8And the Daughter of Zion is abandoned
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a shack in a cucumber field,
like a city besieged.
9Unless the LORD of Hosts
had left us a few survivors,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have resembled Gomorrah.
10Hear the word of the LORD,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?”
says the LORD.
“I am full from the burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed cattle;
I take no delight in the blood of bulls
and lambs and goats.
12When you come to appear before Me,
who has required this of you —
this trampling of My courts?
13Bring your worthless offerings no more;
your incense is detestable to Me —
your New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations.
I cannot endure iniquity
in a solemn assembly.
14I hate your New Moons
and your appointed feasts.
They have become a burden to Me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
even though you multiply your prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.
16Wash and cleanse yourselves.
Remove your evil deeds from My sight.
Stop doing evil!
17Learn to do right;
seek justice and correct the oppressor.
Defend the fatherless
and plead the case of the widow.”
18“Come now, let us reason together,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they will be as white as snow;
though they are as red as crimson,
they will become like wool.
19If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best of the land.
20But if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
21See how the faithful city has become a harlot!
She once was full of justice;
righteousness resided within her,
but now only murderers!
22Your silver has become dross;
your fine wine is diluted with water.
23Your rulers are rebels,
friends of thieves.
They all love bribes
and chasing after rewards.
They do not defend the fatherless,
and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
24Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah, I will be relieved of My foes
and avenge Myself on My enemies.
— Isaiah 1:5-24

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The Nones
Article by Rubel Shelly

Are you a none? Rubel Shelly reminds us that the group of those who claim none for religion is growing quickly in the U.S. and that they do so because they are are tired of the hypocrisy.