Beginning a short series on authenticity: A mere form of religion does upon some accounts bring a man under a heavier sentence than if he were openly profane and irreligious. He that makes a show of religion flatters God, but all the while he acts and designs against him; whereas the profane man deals plainly, and tho' he be a monstrous and unnatural rebel, yet he is a fair and open enemy. And the kisses of a false friend are more hateful than the wounds of an open enemy.
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Feast of Mary Sumner, Founder of the Mothers' Union, 1921 When evangelicals call the Bible "inerrant", part at read more
Feast of Mary Sumner, Founder of the Mothers' Union, 1921 When evangelicals call the Bible "inerrant", part at least of their meaning is this: that, in exegesis and exposition of Scripture and in building up our biblical theology from the fruits of our Bible study, we may not (1) deny, disregard, or arbitrarily relativize, anything that the biblical writers teach, nor (2) discount any of the practical implications for worship and service that their teaching carries, nor (3) cut the knot of any problem of Bible harmony, factual or theological, by allowing ourselves to assume that the inspired writers were not necessarily consistent either with themselves or with each other. It is because the word "inerrant" makes these methodological points about handling the Bible, ruling out in advance the use of mental procedures that can only lead to reduced and distorted versions of Christianity, that it is so valuable and, I think, so much valued by those who embrace it.
Continuing a Lenten series on prayer: The primary object of prayer is to know God better; we and our read more
Continuing a Lenten series on prayer: The primary object of prayer is to know God better; we and our needs should come second.
Feast of Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, Martyr, 1980 Commemoration of Paul Couturier, Priest, Ecumenist, 1953 Continuing a Lenten read more
Feast of Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, Martyr, 1980 Commemoration of Paul Couturier, Priest, Ecumenist, 1953 Continuing a Lenten series on prayer: In our praying, we should speak to God about Himself -- that is praise; or about His gifts--that is thanksgiving; or about other people -- that is intercession; or about our sins--that is confession and penitence; or about our needs--that is petition. Prayer has five fingers, like a hand, and each in turn must be pointed to God, that our prayer may be full and complete.
Commemoration of Brooke Foss Westcott, Bishop of Durham, Teacher, 1901 Be not afraid to pray... to pray is right. Pray read more
Commemoration of Brooke Foss Westcott, Bishop of Durham, Teacher, 1901 Be not afraid to pray... to pray is right. Pray if thou canst with hope; but ever pray Though hope be weak, or sick with long delay. Whatever is good to wish, ask that of heaven; But if for any wish thou darest not pray, Then pray to God to cast that wish away.
Belief in law is essential to the philosophical conception of prayer. If the universe were a mere chaos of chances, read more
Belief in law is essential to the philosophical conception of prayer. If the universe were a mere chaos of chances, or if it were a result of absolute necessity, there would be no place for intelligent prayer; but if it is under the control of a Lawgiver, wise and merciful, not a mere manager of material machinery, but a true Father of all, then we can come to such a Being with our requests -- not in the belief that we change His great plans, nor that any advantage could result from this if it were possible, but that these plans may be made in his boundless wisdom and love to meet our necessities.
Commemoration of Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, 1945 The very strength and facility of the pessimists' read more
Commemoration of Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, 1945 The very strength and facility of the pessimists' case at once poses us a problem. If the universe is so bad, or even half so bad, how on earth did human beings ever come to attribute it to the activity of a wise and good Creator? Men are fools, perhaps; but hardly so foolish as that. The direct inference from black to white, from evil flower to virtuous root, from senseless work to a workman infinitely wise, staggers belief. The spectacle of the universe as revealed by experience can never have been the ground of religion: it must have always been something in spite of which religion, acquired from a different source, was held.
Take up the cross if thou the crown would'st gain.
[Lat., Tolle crucem, qui vis auferre coronam.]
Take up the cross if thou the crown would'st gain.
[Lat., Tolle crucem, qui vis auferre coronam.]
When all is done, there is no such error or heresy, nothing so fundamentally opposed to religion, as a wicked read more
When all is done, there is no such error or heresy, nothing so fundamentally opposed to religion, as a wicked life.
As, then, a consummate master teaches both by example and by precept, so Christ taught the obedience, which good men read more
As, then, a consummate master teaches both by example and by precept, so Christ taught the obedience, which good men are to render even at the cost of death, by Himself first dying in rendering it.
