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Quotes by Theologian
"Principles are only tools in the hands of God they will soon be thrown away when they are no longer useful."
9
"When we fail we are merely joining the great parade of humanity that has walked ahead of us and will follow after us."
9
"A sentimentalist is one who delights to have high and devout emotions stirred whilst reading in an arm-chair, or in a prayer meeting, but he never translates his emotions into action. Consequently a sentimentalist is usually callous, self-centred and selfish, because the emotions he likes to have stirred do not cost him anything."
9
"Let me give you a definition of ethics: It is good to maintain and further life it is bad to damage and destroy life."
Life,
9
"A skilled listener can help people tap into their own wisdom."
9
"As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active power of the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of a woman comes from defect in the active power."
9
"Whenever we put other things first, there is confusion."
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"If Christ has been given us, if we are called to his discipleship we are given all things, literally _all_ things. He will see to it that they are added unto us. If we follow Jesus and look only to His righteousness, we are in his hands and under the protection of Him and His Father. And if we are in communion with the Father, nought can harm us. God will help us in the hour of need, and He knows our needs."
9
"Often it takes outer authority to send us on the path to our own inner authority."
9
"Ability to laugh at evil, to relativize symbols without dismissing them is usually a sign of a rather healthy person. Puritans and reformers can never laugh."
9
"A father acts on behalf of his children by working, providing, intervening, struggling, and suffering for them. In so doing, he really stands in their place. He is not an isolated individual, but incorporates the selves of several people in his own self. Every attempt to live as if he were alone is a denial of the fact that he is actually responsible. He cannot escape the responsibility, which is his because he is a father. This reality refutes the fictitious notion that the isolated individual is the agent of all ethical behavior. It is not the isolated individual but the responsible person who is the proper agent to be considered in ethical reflection."
9
"And if we ask how are we to know where our hearts are, the answer is just as simple - everything which hinders us from loving God above all things and acts as a barrier between ourselves and our obedience to Jesus is our treasure, and the place where our heart is."
9
"Fruit is always the miraculous, the created; it is never the result of willing, but always a growth. The fruit of the Spirit is a gift of God, and only He can produce it. They who bear it know as little about it as the tree knows of its fruit. They know only the power of Him on whom their life depends."
9
"Being free means "being free for the other," because the other has bound me to him. Only in relationship with the other am I free."
9
"The love of God pays no attention to my prejudices caused by my natural individuality."
9
"God's truth judges created things out of love, and Satan's truth judges them out of envy and hatred."
9
"God says Discipleship is not limited to what you can comprehend - it must transcend all comprehension. Plunge into the deep waters beyond your own comprehension, and I will help you to comprehend even as I do. Bewilderment is the true comprehension. Not to know where you are going is the true knowledge. My comprehension transcends yours."
9
"The person who waits upon moods in impoverished. If the painter only wanted to paint when in the mood for it, he would not get very far. In religion, as in art and science, along with the times of high excitement, there are times of sober work and practice. We must practice our communion with God, otherwise we will not find the right tone, the right word, the right language, when God surprises us with his presence."
9
"Never ask another person's advice about anything God makes you decide before Him."
9
"The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of principles to be obeyed apart from identification with Jesus Christ. The Sermon on the Mount is a statement of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is getting his way with us."
9
"It is not at all surprising that the disciples imagined that the law had been abrogated, when Jesus made promises like this. For these promises reversed all popular notions of right and wrong, and pronounced a blessing on all that was accounted worthless."
9
"When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else once you are back in the light."
9
"You ironically have to have a very strong ego structure to let go of your ego. You need to struggle with the rules more than a bit before you throw them out. You only internalize values by butting up against external values for a while."
9
"Your god may be your little Christian habit - the habit of prayer or Bible reading at certain times of your day. Watch how your Father will upset your schedule if you begin to worship your habit instead of what the habit symbolizes. We say, 'I can't do that right now; this is my time alone with God.' No, this is your time alone with your habit."
9
"Self - help courses will only help you if they teach you to pay attention to life itself."
9
"Life is all about practicing for heaven.' p 101."
9
"Beware of anything that would tarnish God's mirror in you. It is always something good stains it-good, but not best."
9
"By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are."
9
"In other times it may have been the business of Christianity to champion the equality of all men, its business today will be to defend passionately human dignity and reserve."
9
"The grace you had yesterday will not be sufficient for today."
9
"We have to take the first step as though there were no God. It is no use to wait for God to help us, He will not: but immediately we arise we find He is there."
9
"Seventy times seven' is a medicine for a healing community, not for a community with all the answers beforehand and all the appropriate punishments afterwards."
9
"To follow Jesus today is to follow a madman according to the ideals of present day civilization. We have the idea that our civilization is God-ordained, whereas it has been built up by ourselves. We have made a thousand and one necessities until our system of civilized life is as cast iron, and then we apologize to the Lord for not following Him."
9
"It never cost a disciple anything to follow Jesus, to talk about cost when you are in love with anyone is an insult."
8
"The life of faith is not a life of mounting up with wings, but a life of walking and not fainting."
8
"I would wonder if you could be a hero or heroine if you did not live in deep time, that is, Past, present, and future all at once."
8
"For animals that are overworked, underfed, and cruelly treated; for all wistful creatures in captivity that beat their wings against bars; for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry; for all that must be put to death...and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion and gentle hands and kindly words."
8
"If we indulge in inordinate affection, anger, anxiety, God holds us responsible; but He also insists that we have to be passionately filled with the right emotions."
8
"If we know our original blessing, we can easily handle our original sin. If we rest in a previous dignity, we can bear insults effortlessly. If you really know your name is on some eternal list, you can let go of the irritations on the small lists of time. Ultimate security allows you to suffer small insecurity without tremendous effort. If you are tethered at some center point, it is amazing how far out you can fly and not get lost."
8
"Our Lord never referred to unanswered prayer he taught that prayers are always answered. He ever implied that prayers were answered rightly because of the Heavenly Father's wisdom."
8
"The degree of panic activity in my life is equal to the degree of my lack of personal spiritual experience."
8
"It is only through love that we can attain to communion with God. All living knowledge of God rest upon this foundation: that we experience Him in our lives as Will-to-love."
8
"Paul was devoted to a Person, not a cause."
8
"God did not direct His call to Isaiah- Isaiah overheard God saying, ". . . who will go for Us?" The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God's call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude."
8
"Paul has no intention to instruct the Christian community about the task and responsibility of government. His entire concern is with the responsibility of the Christian community towards the State."
8
"Any honours that come our way are only stolen from him to whom alone they really belong, the Lord who sent us."
8
"The whole point of getting things done is knowing what to leave undone."
8
"Judgement is the forbidden objectivization of the other person which destroys single-minded love. I am not forbidden to have my own thoughts about the other person, to realize his shortcomings, but only to the extent that it offers to me an occasion for forgiveness and unconditional love, as Jesus proves to me."
8
"How do you sell emptiness, vulnerability, and nonsuccess?"
8
"A mystic doesn't say 'I believe. They say 'I know. A true mystic will ironically speak with that self - confidence but at the same time with a kind of humility. So when you see that combination of calm self - confidence, certitude, and humility all at the same time you have the basis for mysticism in general."
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