--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Does not the New Testament exhort us to…" description: "\"“Does not the New Testament exhort us to extend a hand to one who has fallen? Professor Sumner would have us place a foot on the fallen one as he lies ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/wally-lamb-1817_new-testament_does-not-the-new-testament-exhort-us-to_2393152.png" --- # Does not the New Testament exhort us to extend a hand to… ![“Does not the New Testament exhort us to extend a hand to one who has fallen? Professor Sumner would have us place a foot on the fallen one as he lies prone and pitiable, the better to remain his superior.” quote by Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/wally-lamb-1817_new-testament_does-not-the-new-testament-exhort-us-to_2393152.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/wally-lamb-1817_new-testament_does-not-the-new-testament-exhort-us-to_2393152.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/wally-lamb-1817_new-testament_does-not-the-new-testament-exhort-us-to_2393152.png) > ““Does not the New Testament exhort us to extend a hand to one who has fallen? Professor Sumner would have us place a foot on the fallen one as he lies prone and pitiable, the better to remain his superior.”” [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A critique of moral superiority that treats the vulnerable as objects to dominate rather than to help. **In simple terms:** Superiority over the fallen is misguided. Key Takeaway Treat the fallen with compassion, not dominance. Themes compassion humility ethics Mood reflective critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - charity work - conflict resolution - leadership - social services Key Concepts power dynamics empathy moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can we help without asserting superiority? - What does true compassion look like? A Different Perspective It ignores the dignity and agency of those in need. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [New testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-testament/) ## Related quotes > [I think it's not enough for us to extend the hand of love. I think it's important that that goes both ways. It's important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/i-think-it-s-not-enough-for-us-to-extend-the-hand-of-love-i-think-it/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [“extend your hand to help other,s but don't expect anything back from them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guraisha/extend-your-hand-to-help-other-s-but-don-t-expect-anything-back-from/) Guraisha > [Those who have suffered understand suffering and therefore extend their hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/those-who-have-suffered-understand-suffering-and-therefore-extend/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“all I have to do is extend my hand but I can't run that far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/all-i-have-to-do-is-extend-my-hand-but-i-can-t-run-that-far/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [Long-lived persons have one or two lines which extend through the whole hand; short-lived persons have two lines not extending through the whole hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/long-lived-persons-have-one-or-two-lines-which-extend-through-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“I write, I extend my hand; without my knowing it, this is already a prayer, I extend my hand to you so that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/i-write-i-extend-my-hand-without-my-knowing-it-this-is-already-a/) [Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [“I don’t have to extend my hand to greet you. A wink can reach across the room. And a wink in a telescope can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-don-t-have-to-extend-my-hand-to-greet-you-a-wink-can-reach-across/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [It seems to me that the only way one can be helpful is to extend one's hand to someone else involuntarily, and without ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/it-seems-to-me-that-the-only-way-one-can-be-helpful-is-to-extend-one/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [We must make every effort to extend a hand to the stranger, and continue to fight to make sure we don't give up on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacky-rosen/we-must-make-every-effort-to-extend-a-hand-to-the-stranger-and/) [Jacky Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacky-rosen/) > [If you shake your fist, the other guy will shake his too. But if you extend your hand to shake their hand, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricardo-montalban/if-you-shake-your-fist-the-other-guy-will-shake-his-too-but-if-you/) [Ricardo Montalban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricardo-montalban/) > [We have got to extend the hand of friendship, we have got to take the peacelines down brick by brick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ervine/we-have-got-to-extend-the-hand-of-friendship-we-have-got-to-take-the/) David Ervine > [Extend your hand with the strongest reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-anne-radmacher/extend-your-hand-with-the-strongest-reach/) [Mary Anne Radmacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-anne-radmacher/) > [When I return to the world, I will be a man. I will walk among you. I will lick my lips with my small,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/when-i-return-to-the-world-i-will-be-a-man-i-will-walk-among-you-i/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [Extend a hand whether or not you know it shall be grasped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryunosuke-satoro/extend-a-hand-whether-or-not-you-know-it-shall-be-grasped/) [Ryunosuke Satoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryunosuke-satoro/) > [“While it is in one sense a result of God’s presence within us, the New Testament also describes a process involved in our “putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/while-it-is-in-one-sense-a-result-of-god-s-presence-within-us-the-new/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) ## More by Wally Lamb > [“Sometimes we want something to be true so badly that we convince ourselves that it is true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/sometimes-we-want-something-to-be-true-so-badly-that-we-convince/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [I like to write first-person because I like to become the character I'm writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-like-to-write-first-person-because-i-like-to-become-the-character-i/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [But I think this: that whatever prices I've paid, whatever sorrows I shoulder, well, I have blessings, too. Not just my family now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/but-i-think-this-that-whatever-prices-i-ve-paid-whatever-sorrows-i/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“why would white dudes want to change things when they held all the cards?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/why-would-white-dudes-want-to-change-things-when-they-held-all-the/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“And in taking on the subject of themselves-making themselves vulnerable to the unseen reader-they have exchanged powerlessness for for the power that comes with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/and-in-taking-on-the-subject-of-themselves-making-themselves/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“People had always amazed him, he began. But they amazed him more since the sickness. For as long as the two of them had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/people-had-always-amazed-him-he-began-but-they-amazed-him-more-since/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“So I got my stuff and the girl at the register puts these other things in my bag, too. Little free samples: gum and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/so-i-got-my-stuff-and-the-girl-at-the-register-puts-these-other/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [What if I don’t like adventure? Then cultivate a taste for it. Take a chance. That’s how you grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/what-if-i-don-t-like-adventure-then-cultivate-a-taste-for-it-take-a/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“Guess what?' I said. 'I have a psychic.' His head tilted questioningly, birdlike. A sidekick?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/guess-what-i-said-i-have-a-psychic-his-head-tilted-questioningly/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [The evidence of God exists in the roundness of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/the-evidence-of-god-exists-in-the-roundness-of-things/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [Life is a whoopee cushion, a chair pulled away just as you were taking a seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled-away-just-as-you-were-taking/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“What I remembered about those seesaw rides was the way Thomas would get mad at me, midride, and evacuate. Send me crashing back down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/what-i-remembered-about-those-seesaw-rides-was-the-way-thomas-would/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“I didn't respond to him. Couldn't speak at all. Couldn't look at his self-mutilation--not even the clean, bandaged version of it. Instead, I looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-didn-t-respond-to-him-couldn-t-speak-at-all-couldn-t-look-at-his/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [I write to find out what the story means to me, that is what I try to do especially with the first draft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-write-to-find-out-what-the-story-means-to-me-that-is-what-i-try-to/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“As anxious and limited as that love might have been, it had been love nonetheless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/as-anxious-and-limited-as-that-love-might-have-been-it-had-been-love/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) [Explore all 204 Wally Lamb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) ## More New testament quotes > [“While it is in one sense a result of God’s presence within us, the New Testament also describes a process involved in our “putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/while-it-is-in-one-sense-a-result-of-god-s-presence-within-us-the-new/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [“days of the earliest Church? I ask you: Do you want things to go on as usual, or do you want to see God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-t-kendall/days-of-the-earliest-church-i-ask-you-do-you-want-things-to-go-on-as/) [R. T. Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-t-kendall/) > [The definition of a Church is crystal clear in the New Testament. We see the picture of it. They came together the first day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/the-definition-of-a-church-is-crystal-clear-in-the-new-testament-we/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) > [“Intellectualism is a poor master over passion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twe-stephens/intellectualism-is-a-poor-master-over-passion/) Twe Stephens > [“‎A careful reading of the Old and New Testaments shows that idolatry is nothing like the crude picture that springs to mind of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-keyes/a-careful-reading-of-the-old-and-new-testaments-shows-that-idolatry/) Richard Keyes > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. What is it the New Testament teaches us? - to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-raping-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Someone gave me a New Testament. I had never before read it systematically. Some parts made sense, some parts shocked me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-blue/someone-gave-me-a-new-testament-i-had-never-before-read-it/) [Lionel Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-blue/) > [“The church has a reputation for being antipleasure. Many characterize Christians in general the way H. L. Mencken wryly described Puritans: people with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tish-harrison-warren/the-church-has-a-reputation-for-being-antipleasure-many-characterize/) [Tish Harrison Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tish-harrison-warren/) > [Who wrote the Bible? Current scholarship, to my knowledge, assumes that the material that constitutes the Old Testament was put together from various oral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/who-wrote-the-bible-current-scholarship-to-my-knowledge-assumes-that/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I'm a New Testament Christian. I reject and throw out titles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bright/i-m-a-new-testament-christian-i-reject-and-throw-out-titles/) [Bill Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bright/) > [“Consider these questions: Did Jesus ever suggest by word of example that we should aspire to acquire, let alone take over, the power of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/consider-these-questions-did-jesus-ever-suggest-by-word-of-example/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [“The New Testament uses five main Greek words for sin, which together portray its various aspects, both passive and active. The commonest is hamartia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-w-stott/the-new-testament-uses-five-main-greek-words-for-sin-which-together/) [John R.W. Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-w-stott/) > [In the New Testament alone there are Gospels, acts, epistles, and an apocalypse. 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Or New Testament, once Our Heavenly Father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/which-god-is-the-forgiving-one-exactly-old-testament-where-he-got-his/) [Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/) > [“the New Testament offers more instruction regarding elders than on other important church subjects such as the Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s Day, baptism, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-strauch/the-new-testament-offers-more-instruction-regarding-elders-than-on/) [Alexander Strauch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-strauch/) [Browse all 809 New testament quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-testament/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Does not the New Testament exhort us to extend a hand to one who has fallen? 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