Faith is not belief in spite of evidence, but life in scorn of consequences -- a courageous trust in the read more

Faith is not belief in spite of evidence, but life in scorn of consequences -- a courageous trust in the great purpose of all things, and pressing forward to finish the work which is in sight, whatever the price may be.

Commemoration of Richard Rolle of Hampole, Writer, Hermit, Mystic, 1349 I have often, on my knees, been shocked to read more

Commemoration of Richard Rolle of Hampole, Writer, Hermit, Mystic, 1349 I have often, on my knees, been shocked to find what sort of thoughts I have, for a moment, been addressing to God; what infantile placations I was really offering, what claims I have really made, even what absurd adjustments or compromises I was, half-consciously, proposing. There is a Pagan, savage heart in me somewhere. For unfortunately the folly and idiot-cunning of Paganism seem to have far more power of surviving than its innocent or even beautiful elements. It is easy, once you have power, to silence the pipes, still the dances, disfigure the statues, and forget the stories; but not easy to kill the savage, the greedy, frightened creature now cringing, now blustering in one's soul.

God, in a man who is made partaker of His nature, desireth and taketh no revenge for all the wrong read more

God, in a man who is made partaker of His nature, desireth and taketh no revenge for all the wrong that is or can be done unto Him. This we see in Christ when He saith: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." ... Theologia Germanica June 21, 1998 Alas! day by day we ask that His Will may be done, and yet, when it comes to the doing, we find it so hard! We offer ourselves so often to God -- we continually say, "Lord, I am Thine, I give Thee my heart," and when He accepts it, we are such cowards. How dare we call ourselves His, if we cannot shape our own wills to His?

Feast of William Tyndale, Translator of the Scriptures, Martyr, 1536 Christ had given the apostles a world-wide commission, read more

Feast of William Tyndale, Translator of the Scriptures, Martyr, 1536 Christ had given the apostles a world-wide commission, embracing all the nations; but intellectually they did not understand what He meant. They found that out as they followed the impulse of the Spirit.

Even in a day of overdone distinctions, one might point out that interpretations are not properly to be classified as read more

Even in a day of overdone distinctions, one might point out that interpretations are not properly to be classified as historical or dogmatic, but as true or false. If they are false, it does not matter whether they be called dogmatic or historical; and if they are true, they may quite well be both.

We can do nothing, we say sometimes, we can only pray. That, we feel, is a terribly precarious second-best. So read more

We can do nothing, we say sometimes, we can only pray. That, we feel, is a terribly precarious second-best. So long as we can fuss and work and rush about, so long as we can lend a hand, we have some hope; but if we have to fall back upon God -- ah, then things must be critical indeed!

Here is the Truth in a little creed, Enough for all the roads we go: In Love is all read more

Here is the Truth in a little creed, Enough for all the roads we go: In Love is all the law we need, In Christ is all the God we know.

At the resurrection the substance of our bodies, however disintegrated, will be united. We must not fear that the omnipotence read more

At the resurrection the substance of our bodies, however disintegrated, will be united. We must not fear that the omnipotence of God cannot recall all the particles that have been consumed by fire or by beast, or dissolved into dust and ashes, or decomposed into water, or evaporated into air.

Commemoration of Bartolomè de las Casas, Apostle to the Indies, 1566 An essential part of the ordination exam ought read more

Commemoration of Bartolomè de las Casas, Apostle to the Indies, 1566 An essential part of the ordination exam ought to be a passage from some recognized theological work set for translation into vulgar English -- just like doing Latin prose. Failure on this part should mean failure on the whole exam. It is absolutely disgraceful that we expect missionaries to the Bantus to learn Bantu, but never ask whether our missionaries to the Americans or English can speak American or English. Any fool can write learned language: the vernacular is the real test. If you can't turn your faith into it, then either you don't understand it or you don't believe it.