WIST Quotations

Taylor, Barbara Brown -- Interview (2013-12-19), “Material Faith,” by Meghan Larissa Good, The Other Journal, No. 23

Dave — Tue, 06 May 2025 22:28:06 +0000

There seems to be a lot more interest in bypassing perishability than in engaging it, to the point that Christians who confess to being in a lot of pain can be accused of not having enough faith. Just yesterday I passed a church sign that read, “Do not fear; trust Jesus.” That is wonderful advice, but it leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Trust Jesus to do what? What is it that you are afraid of? Can you put it into words? If you can, then what is it that you trust Jesus to give you, or take away from you, to relieve you of your fear? Is that reasonable, based on what you know of his life story? What might your fear have to teach you, if you gave it a chance? Are you willing to do your part? Maybe I’m just cranky, but I don’t know many Christians who are interested in answering those kinds of questions.

Barbara Brown Taylor (b. 1951) American minister, academic, author
Interview (2013-12-19), “Material Faith,” by Meghan Larissa Good, The Other Journal, No. 23

Russell, Bertrand -- “Is There a God?” (1952)

Dave — Wed, 01 May 2024 22:46:14 +0000

People will tell us that without the consolations of religion they would be intolerably unhappy. So far as this is true, it is a coward’s argument. Nobody but a coward would consciously choose to live in a fool’s paradise. When a man suspects his wife of infidelity, he is not thought the better of for shutting his eyes to the evidence. And I cannot see why ignoring evidence should be contemptible in one case and admirable in the other.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Is There a God?” (1952)

Essay commissioned by Illustrated magazine in 1952, but never published there. First publication in Russell, Last Philosophical Testament, 1943-68 (1997) [ed. Slater/Köllner].

Orwell, George -- Essay (1946-03-22), “In Front of Your Nose,” “As I Please” column, Tribune Newspaper

Dave — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 22:16:06 +0000

The point is that we are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right. Intellectually, it is possible to carry on this process for an indefinite time: the only check on it is that sooner or later a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield.

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1946-03-22), “In Front of Your Nose,” “As I Please” column, Tribune Newspaper

Orwell, George -- Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)

Dave — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 18:10:35 +0000

In nationalist thought there are facts which are both true and untrue, known and unknown. A known fact may be so unbearable that it is habitually pushed aside and not allowed to enter into logical processes, or on the other hand it may enter into every calculation and yet never be admitted as a fact, even in one’s own mind.

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)