The Quote Thread.

[gskowal]

There are matters in the Bible, said to be done by the express commandment of God, that are shocking to humanity and to every idea we have of moral justice.
Thomas Paine

[NotReady]

Charles Williams - War in Heaven

"One shouldn't sniggre over Jeeves any more than one should snivel over Othello. Perfect art is beyond these easy emotions. I think Jeeves--the whole book, preferably with the illustrations--one of the final classic perfections of our time. It attains absolute being. Jeeves and his employer are one and yet diverse. It is the Don Quixote of the twentieth century."

[Splendour]

"TRUTH, not eloquence, is to be sought in reading the Holy Scriptures; and every part must be read in the spirit in which it was written. For in the Scriptures we ought to seek profit rather than polished diction.

Likewise we ought to read simple and devout books as willingly as learned and profound ones. We ought not to be swayed by the authority of the writer, whether he be a great literary light or an insignificant person, but by the love of simple truth. We ought not to ask who is speaking, but mark what is said. Men pass away, but the truth of the Lord remains forever. God speaks to us in many ways without regard for persons."

Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

[HENLEYS]

^^That seems contradictory to me.

[Splendour]

Having a Humble Opinion of Self

EVERY man naturally desires knowledge; but what good is knowledge without fear of God? Indeed a humble rustic who serves God is better than a proud intellectual who neglects his soul to study the course of the stars. He who knows himself well becomes mean in his own eyes and is not happy when praised by men.

If I knew all things in the world and had not charity, what would it profit me before God Who will judge me by my deeds?

Shun too great a desire for knowledge, for in it there is much fretting and delusion. Intellectuals like to appear learned and to be called wise. Yet there are many things the knowledge of which does little or no good to the soul, and he who concerns himself about other things than those which lead to salvation is very unwise.

Many words do not satisfy the soul; but a good life eases the mind and a clean conscience inspires great trust in God.

The more you know and the better you understand, the more severely will you be judged, unless your life is also the more holy. Do not be proud, therefore, because of your learning or skill. Rather, fear because of the talent given you. If you think you know many things and understand them well enough, realize at the same time that there is much you do not know. Hence, do not affect wisdom, but admit your ignorance. Why prefer yourself to anyone else when many are more learned, more cultured than you?

If you wish to learn and appreciate something worth while, then love to be unknown and considered as nothing. Truly to know and despise self is the best and most perfect counsel. To think of oneself as nothing, and always to think well and highly of others is the best and most perfect wisdom. Wherefore, if you see another sin openly or commit a serious crime, do not consider yourself better, for you do not know how long you can remain in good estate. All men are frail, but you must admit that none is more frail than yourself.

Thomas a Kempis

[ILOVEPOKER929]

Originally Posted by tame_deuces

"I'm fairly certain that at some point in future history this whole thing about growing up and getting serious is going to be looked at as one of the worst cultural norms ever and something only a few crazy people cling to.

Well, atleast I hope so."

.

[NotReady]

Hammett - The Dain Curse

Nobody thinks clearly, no matter what they pretend. Thinking's a dizzy business, a matter of catching as many of those foggy glimpses as you can and fitting them together the best you can. That's why people hang on so tight to their beliefs and opinions; because, compared to the haphazard way in which they're arrived at, even the goofiest opinion seems wonderfully clear, sane, and self-evident. And if you let it get away from you, then you've got to dive back into that foggy muddle to wrangle yourself out another to take its place.

[EnlightenedRaise]

Nelson Mandela

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

[Splendour]

“Silence is not merely negative – a pause between words, a temporary cessation of speech – but, properly understood, it is highly positive: an attitude of attentive alertness, of vigilance, and above all of listening. The hesychast, the person who has attained hesychia, inner stillness or silence, is par excellence the one who listens. He listens to the voice of prayer in his own heart, and he understands that this voice is not his own but that of Another speaking within him.” — Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia, The Power of the Name

He asked for strength that he might achieve
he was made weak that he might obey.
He asked for health that he might do greater things;
he was given infirmity that he might do better things.
He asked for riches that he might be happy;
he was given poverty that he might be wise.

He asked for power that he might have the praise of men;
he was given weakness that he might feel the need of God.
He asked for all things that he might enjoy life;
he was given life that he might enjoy all things.
He has received nothing that he asked for, but all that he hoped for.
His prayer is answered.

- Col. R. H. Fitzhugh, The Paradox of Prayer

[Splendour]

we must suppose ourselves to be in a perfect love with God - drunk with, drowned in, dissolved by, that delight which, far from remaing pent up within ourselves as incommunicable, hence hardly tolerable, bliss, flows out from us incessantly again in effortless and perfect expression, our joy no more separable from in which it liberates and utters itself than the brightness a mirror receives is separable from the brightness it sheds. The Scotch [i.e.,Westminster Shorter] Catechism says that man's chief end is to "glorify God and enjoy him forever." But we shall then know that these are the same thing...In commanding us to glorify him, God is inviting us to enjoy him.
C.S. Lewis

On the quote above J.I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom explain:

"Here then we have the final answer to Lewis's own question: why does God so constantly and insistently require us to praise him? The answer is: So that we may get into the habit of doing what in heaven we will do spontaneously, and wholeheartedly in and from and for enjoyment of God. God's joy and our joy in praising will then coincide. Lewis knew that performing the duty of praise may for the moment bring us little or no delight, just as the five-finger exercises prescribed to budding pianists are ordinarily felt as a joyless bore. Nevertheless, he says "the duty exists for the delight...[W]e are like people digging channels in a waterless land, in order that when at last the water comes, it may find them ready." And "there are happy moments, even now, when a trickle creeps along the dry beds, and happy the souls to whom this happens often." Indeed, the number of these praising psalms in which these trickles already find expression (trickles, by comparison with what awaits us, floods, in relation to where we are now) show that already in this life, heartfelt adoration will again and again bring heartfelt joy."

From Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty to Delight

[EnlightenedRaise]

Robert Anton Wilson

“The function of Theology:
The recitation of the incomprehensible by the unspeakable to pick the pockets of the unthinking.”

[Splendour]

Proverbs 16:25 is a familiar scripture: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." "Way" can be understood both as a narrow, single issue within one event or an entire package of values within a course of conduct. The proverb's point is that mankind is frequently driven by blind self-deception or ignorance. He often has no absolute certainty regarding right and wrong because his standards have been merely absorbed and never seriously compared against God's. How do ours compare?

Quote from John W. Ritenbaugh writing on The First Commandment

Read more: http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseact...#ixzz1oeXzoSIT

[Lord Cochrane]

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition.

[Pooter]

I'm sorry if my atheism offends you. But guess what - your religious wars, jihads, crusades, inquisitions, censoring of free speech, brainwashing of children, murdering of albinos, forcing girls into underage marriages, female genital mutilation, stoning, pederasty, homophobia, and rejection of science and reason offends me.

-Mike Treder

[EnlightenedRaise]

Jesus spoke:

Luke 17:20-21

Darby Translation (DARBY)

20And having been asked by the Pharisees, When is the kingdom of God coming? he answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation;

21nor shall they say, Lo here, or, Lo there; for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.