WIST Quotations

Taylor, Barbara Brown -- An Altar in the World, ch. 1 (2009)

Dave — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 18:44:24 +0000

People encounter God under shady oak trees, on riverbanks, at the tops of mountains, and in long stretches of barren wilderness. God shows up in whirlwinds, starry skies, burning bushes, and perfect strangers. When people want to know more about God, the son of God tells them to pay attention to the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, to women kneading bread and workers lining up for their pay. Whoever wrote this stuff believed that people could learn as much about the ways of God from paying attention to the world as they could from paying attention to scripture. What is true is what happens, even if what happens is not always right. People can learn as much about the ways of God from business deals gone bad or sparrows falling to the ground as they can from reciting the books of the Bible in order. They can learn as much from a love affair or a wildflower as they can from knowing the Ten Commandments by heart.

Barbara Brown Taylor (b. 1951) American minister, academic, author
An Altar in the World, ch. 1 (2009)
(Source)

Pope, Alexander -- “The Universal Prayer,” 9 (1738)

Dave — Tue, 12 May 2015 12:01:49 +0000

Teach me to feel another’s Woe;
To hide the Fault I see;
That Mercy I to others show,
That Mercy show to me.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744) English poet
“The Universal Prayer,” 9 (1738)

Brooks, Thomas -- A Cabinet of Jewels

Dave — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 13:46:08 +0000

It is certain that great prosperity and worldly glory are no sure tokens of God’s love.

Thomas Brooks (1608-1680) English Puritan divine, writer
A Cabinet of Jewels

Mead, Margaret -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 13:22:12 +0000

It is an open question whether any behavior based on fear of eternal punishment can be regarded as ethical or should be regarded as merely cowardly.

Margaret Mead (1901-1978) American anthropologist
(Attributed)

Quoted in Redbook (Feb 1971)

Kant, Immanuel -- Lecture, Königsberg (1775)

Dave — Thu, 26 Dec 2013 17:15:07 +0000

The wish to talk to God is absurd. We cannot talk to one we cannot comprehend — and we cannot comprehend God; we can only believe in Him. The uses of prayer are thus only subjective.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) German philosopher
Lecture, Königsberg (1775)

~Other -- Arn Lesikar, Belief-L listserv (6 Jun 1998)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The angels break into song at the sight of the throne and all the songs fit together as part of a greater song, but people seem to have to search to find the right song to sing. It is a matter of finding our proper nature.

(Other Authors and Sources)
Arn Lesikar, Belief-L listserv (6 Jun 1998)