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Thursday 30 September 2010

It always seems inexplicable to me that those who claim free will so
very boldly for man should not also allow some free will to God. Why
should not Jesus Christ have the right to choose His own bride?" - Charles H. Spurgeon

Sin is a disposition of self-love that obeys every
temptation to its own lordship. Sin is literally
self-centered rule, a disposition that rules the
life apart from God. -Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)

The trouble with trouble is it starts out as fun. ~Naomi Judd 1946-

What sinners remember best is that they were happy while sinning. - C. S. Lewis

An enemy is a danger, but the danger is not what he can do to you. It is what he makes you do. If he fills you with envy, malice, hatred and all uncharitableness, he has done you real harm. But you can prevent that. Pray for him. If you say you cannot trust him, then watch and pray. But you cannot hate a man you pray for. - E. S. Waterhouse

Wednesday 29 September 2010

Occupants of public offices love power and are prone to abuse it. -
George Washington, 1732 - 1799

The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments.- George Washington, 1732 - 1799

The best and sweetest things in life are things you cannot buy;
The music of the birds at dawn, the rainbow in the sky.
The dazzling magic of the stars, the miracle of light.
The precious gifts of health and strength, of hearing, speech and sight.
The peace of mind that crowns a busy life of work well done.
A faith in God that deepens as you face the setting sun,
The boon of love, the joy of friendship. As years go by,
You find the greatest blessings are the things you cannot buy. -Patience Strong

Being happy with God now means:
Loving as he loves,
Helping as he helps,
Giving as he gives,
Serving as he serves,
Rescuing as he rescues,
Being with him twenty-four hours,
Touching him in his distressing disguise.- Mother Teresa

The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that one is loved; loved for oneself, or better yet, loved despite oneself.- Victor Hugo, 1802 - 1885

Tuesday 28 September 2010

The attempt by man to impose his word on God's Universe, and to replace God's order with a man-made system, is sin, insanity and death- R. J. Ryushdoony

History has never been dominated by majorities, but only by dedicated minorities who stand unconditionally on their faith -Rousas John Rushdoony

When we disobey God we defy His authority and despise His holiness. BUT WHE WE FAIL TO TRUST GOD WE DOUBT HIS SOVEREIGNTY AND QUESTION HIS GOODNESS.-Jerry Bridges

To know God is to know him as Lord and therefore to pursue knowledge of him in a godly way. As we come to know God, we recognize that he initiates our knowledge, that his Word is the ultimate authority for our knowledge, and that in knowing God we come into a personal relationship with him. Theology is the application of Scripture to all areas of human life. Exegetical, biblical, and systematic theology look at the whole Bible from various perspectives -John Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord, pg. 72

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.- Marcus Tullius Cicero
He that knows nothing will believe anything. —Thomas Fuller

If there is no knowledge, there is no understanding; if there is no understanding, there is no knowledge. —The Talmud

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance — it is the illusion of knowledge. —Daniel Boorstin

A fact merely marks the place where we have agreed to let investigation cease. —Bliss Carmen

Strange how much you've got to know before you know how little you know. —Duncan Scott

Monday 27 September 2010

Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.- Charles Darwin

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.- Galileo Galilei, 1564 - 1642

Wine is sunlight, held together by water.- Galileo Galilei, 1564 - 1642

God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters.- J. H. Jowett

It is true that [people] are praying for a worldwide
revival. But it would be more timely, and more scriptural, for
prayer to be made to the Lord of the harvest, that He would
raise up and thrust forth laborers who would fearlessly and
faithfully preach those truths which are calculated to bring
about a revival.- A. W. Pink (1886-1952), Eternal Punishment, Swengel, Pa. : Bible Truth Depot, 1951, Introduction

Sunday 26 September 2010

He has hedged me in and put me where I am. He has Placed me, Not Misplaced me. He knows exactly where I am and how to care for me.-Joni, A Lifetime of Wisdom

Let Christ stay throughout the meal. Don't dismiss Him with the blessing.-Unknown

"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead . . . I charge you!" 2 Timothy 4:1
Life is very serious! We are always standing before God who is our Judge. Our commonest days--are judgment days.
We should learn to do everything "in the presence of God". This makes every word and act serious.
If only we were more conscious of God and of eternity--we would live better!- J. R. Miller, "Paul's Message for Today" 1904

Fix your affections upon the things that are above, and this will enable you to mortify sin. Heavenly things are blessed and suitable objects--God Himself, in His beauty and glory; the Lord Jesus Christ, who is 'altogether lovely,' the 'chief of ten thousand'; grace and glory; and the blessed promises of the gospel.
Were our affections filled, taken up, and possessed with these things, as it is our duty that they should be--and it is our happiness when they are--what access could sin, with its painted pleasures, with its sugared poisons, with its envenomed baits, have into our souls? How should we loathe all sin's proposals, and say unto them, "Away with you, you abominable thing!" For what are the vain, transitory pleasures of sin--in comparison to the heavenly glories which are proposed unto us?-John Owen

The church is the great lost and found department.- Robert Short

Graham J Weeks M.R.Pharm.S
http://christianquoter.blogspot.com/ My blog
http://www.christiansquoting.org.uk 10201 quotes 654 topics 2452 authors
http://christiansquoting-dailyquotes.blogspot.com/ Daily quotes
http://iuhuru.com/category/columnists/graham-weeks/ - my weekly column
http://grahamslaughs.blogspot.com/ - humour only
http://www.ipc-ealing.co.uk/ Our church
-----------------------------
Question reality. Question authority.
-----------------------------

Saturday 25 September 2010

Professor Richard Dawkins has become the self-appointed infallible prophet of the sharia of biological evolution. - archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com/

The founders of the world's religions say, "Do! Do! Do!" but Christ says, "Done! It is finished!"-Steve Kumar

Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once and a while, or the light won't come in.-Alan Alda

If you would lift me up you must be on higher ground.- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friday 24 September 2010

The back side of a tapestry appears to be a mystery of tangle and confusion--but there is a beautiful picture on the other side. Just so--we are looking at our lives, largely on the back side. We cannot see the Master's plan--until 'afterwards'.-J. R. Miller, Miller's Year Book--a Year's Daily Readings

The second coming of Christ shall be utterly unlike the first.
He came the first time . . .in weakness,a tender infant,born of a poor woman in the manger at Bethlehem, unnoticed, unhonored, and scarcely known.
He shall come the second time in royal dignity, with the armies of heaven around Him, to be known, recognized and feared, by all the tribes of the earth!
He came the first time to suffer - to bear our sins, to be reckoned a curse,to be despised, rejected, unjustly condemned and slain.
He shall come the second time- to put down every enemy beneath His feet,to take the kingdom of this world for His inheritance,to rule them with righteousness, to judge all men and to reign forevermore!- J. C. Ryle

We do not segment our lives, giving some time to God, some to our business or schooling, while keeping parts to ourselves. The idea is to live all of our lives in the presence of God, under the authority of God, and for the honor and glory of God. That is what the Christian life is all about.- R. C. Sproul

Thursday 23 September 2010

I know well there is no comfort for this pain of parting: the wound always remains, but one learns to bear the pain, and learns to thank God for what He gave, for the beautiful memories of the past, and the yet more beautiful hope for the future.-Max Muller

I am born for God only. Christ is nearer to me than father,
or mother, or sister,--a near relation, a more affectionate
friend; and I rejoice to follow Him, and to love Him. Blessed
Jesus! thou art all I want--a forerunner to me in all I ever
shall go through, as a Christian, a minister, or a missionary.-Henry Martyn (1781-1812), Life and letters of the Rev.Henry Martyn, B.D., with John Sargent, London:Seeley, Jackson & Halliday, 1862, p. 140

Fear not the knife that God wields, for his hand is sure.-Francois Fenelon

How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them.- Benjamin Franklin, 1706 - 1790

For some years now I have read through the Bible twice
every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty tree and
every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these
branches because I wanted to know what it was and what it
means. -Martin Luther (1483-1546), Preface to the Prophets [1532], in What Luther Says: an anthology, v. I, Ewald Martin Plass, ed., Concordia Pub. House, 1959, p. 83

Wednesday 22 September 2010

To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are
distant and which is animated only by Faith and Hope, will glide by
degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by
external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary
influence of example."
-- Samuel Johnson: Milton (Lives of the Poets)

A church family will help keep you from backsliding.
None of us are immune to temptation. Given the
right situation, you and I are capable of any sin.
God knows this, so he has assigned us as individuals
the responsibility of keeping each other on track.
The Bible says, "Encourage one another daily . . .
so that none of you may be hardened by sin's
deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:13).
--Rick Warren (1954- )
_The Purpose Driven Life_ [2002], Chapter 17

Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.-Benjamin Disraeli, 1804 - 1881

The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.-Benjamin Disraeli, 1804 - 1881

No success in public life can compensate for failure in the home.-Benjamin Disraeli, 1804 - 1881

Tuesday 21 September 2010

There is no use for the incantation that Islam is a religion of peace. The incantation is false; Islam, like other religions, is theologically a religion of war and a religion of peace. In our time, it is a religion in distress, fought over, hijacked at times, by a militant breed at war with the modern world. -FOUAD AJAMI

Hope is necessary in every condition. The miseries
of poverty, sickness, of captivity, would, without
this comfort, be insupportable. --Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) _The Rambler_ [1750-1752], Number 67

Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us. - Henri Matisse, 1869 - 1954

Sometimes one has simply to endure a period of depression for what it may hold of illumination if one can live through it, attentive to what it exposes or demands.
- May Sarton, 1912 - 1995

Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate. - Thomas Aquinas, 1225 - 1274

The person who takes the banal and ordinary and illuminates it in a new way can terrify. We do not want our ideas changed. - Frank Herbert

Monday 20 September 2010

Tradition wears a snowy beard, romance is always young..-John Greenleaf Whittier, 1807 - 1892

We cannot attain to the understanding of Scripture either
by study or by the intellect. Your first duty is to begin by
prayer. Entreat the Lord to grant you, of His great mercy, the
true understanding of His Word. There is no other interpreter
of the Word of God than the Author of this Word, as He Himself
has said, "They shall be all taught of God." (John 6:45) Hope
for nothing from your own labors, from your own understanding:
trust solely in God, and in the influence of His Spirit.
Believe this on the word of a man who has experience.-Martin Luther (1483-1546), in a letter (see What Luther Says: An Anthology, #233), quoted in History of the Great Reformation of the Sixteenth Century in Germany, Jean Henri Merle d'Aubigne, London: Walther, 1838, p. 320

Contentment comes when we remember that what God chooses is far better than what we choose.-Unknown

There must be a constant and increasing appreciation that
though sin still remains it does not have the mastery. There is
a total difference between surviving sin and reigning sin, the
regenerate in conflict with sin and the unregenerate complacent
to sin. It is one thing for sin to live in us: it is another
for us to live in sin... It is of paramount concern for the
Christian and for the interests of his sanctification that he
should know that sin does not have the dominion over him, that
the forces of redeeming, regenerative, and sanctifying grace
have been brought to bear upon him in that which is central in
his moral and spiritual being, that he is the habitation of God
through the Spirit, and that Christ has been formed in him the
hope of glory.-John Murray (1898-1975), Redemption, Accomplished and Applied, Grand Rapids: W. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1955, p. 145-146

Sunday 19 September 2010

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.-Thomas Jefferson

When a Goverment fears the people, They get Liberty, But when the people fear the Goverment, They get Tyranny. - Thomas Jefferson.

There are stars whose radiance is visible on earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark.- Hannah Szenes, 1921 - 1944

It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. - Neil Armstrong

The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.- Philip K. Dick, 1928 - 1982

God has one Son who lived without sin, but he has no Son who lived without prayer.- Unknown

A little girl was taking a long journey, and in the course of the day her train crossed a number of rivers. The water seen in advance always awakened doubts and fears in the child. She did not understand how it could safely be crossed. As they drew near the river, however, a bridge appeared and furnished the way over. Several times the same thing happened, and finally the child leaned back with a long breath of relief and confidence: "Somebody has put bridges for us all the way." So God does likewise for His children all through life.- Unknown

Saturday 18 September 2010

There must be no facile accommodation to the spirit of the age,- Pope Benedict XVI, speech at Westminster Hall, 17 September 2010

Britain has emerged as a pluralist democracy which places great value on freedom of speech, freedom of political affiliation and respect for the rule of law, with a strong sense of the individual's rights and duties, and of the equality of all citizens before the law. While couched in different language, Catholic social teaching has much in common with this approach, in its overriding concern to safeguard the unique dignity of every human person, created in the image and likeness of God, and in its emphasis on the duty of civil authority to foster the common good.Each generation, as it seeks to advance the common good, must ask anew: What are the requirements that governments may reasonably impose upon citizens, and how far do they extend? By appeal to what authority can moral dilemmas be resolved? These questions take us directly to the ethical foundations of civil discourse.Pope Benedict XVI, speech at Westminster Hall, 17 September 2010

If the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident - herein lies the real challenge for democracy The inadequacy of pragmatic, short-term solutions to complex social and ethical problems has been illustrated all too clearly by the recent global financial crisis.There is widespread agreement that the lack of a solid ethical foundation for economic activity has contributed to the grave difficulties now being experienced by millions of people throughout the world.=Pope Benedict XVI, speech at Westminster Hall, 17 September 2010

... the world of reason and the world of faith - the world of secular rationality and the world of religious belief - need one another and should not be afraid to enter into a profound and ongoing dialogue, for the good of our civilisation. Religion, in other words, is not a problem for legislators to solve, but a vital contributor to the national conversation. - Pope Benedict XVI, speech at Westminster Hall, 17 September 2010

In this light, I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalisation of religion, particularly of Christianity, that is taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place a great emphasis on tolerance.There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere. There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none. And there are those who argue - paradoxically with the intention of eliminating discrimination - that Christians in public roles should be required at times to act against their conscience.These are worrying signs of a failure to appreciate not only the rights of believers to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, but also the legitimate role of religion in the public square. - Pope Benedict XVI, speech at Westminster Hall, 17 September 2010

Friday 17 September 2010

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line

I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day's through
Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you
Because you're mine, I walk the line

Johnny Cash (1932-2003)

Mac OS X is like living in a farmhouse in the country with no locks,
and Windows is living in a house with bars on the windows in the bad
part of town.- Charlie Miller, quoted at Daily Tech

We make war that we may live in peace. Aristotle (384-322 BC) _Nicomachean Ethics_, Book 10, Chapter 7

The BBC (Bolcheviks Brainwashing Corporation) - Derek Torrens

If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.-Mark Twain"

Let’s eat Grandma” or “Let’s eat, Grandma”- Punctuation saves lives.



Graham J Weeks M.R.Pharm.S
http://christianquoter.blogspot.com/ My blog
http://www.christiansquoting.org.uk 10201 quotes 654 topics 2452 authors
http://christiansquoting-dailyquotes.blogspot.com/ Daily quotes
http://iuhuru.com/category/columnists/graham-weeks/ - my weekly column
http://grahamslaughs.blogspot.com/ - humour only
http://www.ipc-ealing.co.uk/ Our church
-----------------------------
Question reality. Question authority.
-----------------------------

Thursday 16 September 2010

An error is the more dangerous in proportion to the degree of truth which it contains. -Henri Frederic Amiel

Cleverness is serviceable for everything, sufficient for nothing. -Henri Frederic Amiel

Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one's liberty. -Henri Frederic Amiel

Every life is a profession of faith, and exercises an inevitable and silent influence. -Henri Frederic Amiel

Everything you need for better future and success has already been written. And guess what? All you have to do is go to the library. -Henri Frederic Amiel

I'm not interested in age. People who tell me their age are silly. You're as old as you feel. -Henri Frederic Amiel

Wednesday 15 September 2010

Christ's riches are unsearchable, and this doctrine of the gospel is the field this treasure is hidden in.- Thomas Goodwin

To die well is not a thing of that light moment as some imagine: it is no easy matter. But to die well is a matter of every day. Let us daily do some good that may help us at the time of our death. Every day by repentance pull out the sting of some sin, that so when death comes, we may have nothing to do but to die. To die well is the action of the whole life.- Richard Sibbes

If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves. ~Sir Winston Churchill

In the person of Christ we see infinite glory and lowest humility.--Jonathan Edwards

I know without a doubt that it's the hand of God that's brought me through a lot of my self- destructive times. I can almost hear Him say, "Not yet, Cash. I'm not through with you yet." He'd straighten me out and slap me. -Johnny Cash (1932-2003) (In Raymond Obstfeld's _Twang: The Ultimate Book of Country Music Quotations_ [1997], "Homespun Truth & Spirituality")

Tuesday 14 September 2010

I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes— that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit, as well as the sun in the heavens— that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses. The creeping of an aphid over the rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence— the fall of sere leaves from a poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche.- C. H. Spurgeon

We serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage- John Newton

Schools have not necessarily much to do with education...they are mainly institutions of control, where basic habits must be inculcated in the young. Education is quite different and has little place in school. ~Winston Churchill

Men of authority and influence may promote good morals. Let them in their several stations encourage virtue . . . let them favor and take part in any plans which may be formed for the advancement of morality.- William Wilberforce

It is the endeavor of an evil man to quench a great deal of good for a little ill; but Christ cherishes a little grace though there be a great deal of corruption, which yet is as offensive to Him as smoke to us, therefore we should labor to gain all we can by love and meekness.- Richard Sibbes

Monday 13 September 2010

It is because man has an inadequate conception of sin that he has an
inadequate conception of the grace of God. - Martyn Loyd-Jones,
Ephesians - God's Ultimate Purpose
If God actually stood powerless before the majesty of man's lordy will,
there would be but little use to pray for Him to convert anyone. It
would then be more reasonable for us to direct our petitions to the man
himself. -Loraine Boettner

Of himself, the fallen sinner can no more repent evangelically,
believe in Christ savingly, come to Him effectually, than he can create a
world. ‘With men it is impossible’ [Mk 10:27] rules out of court all
special pleading for the power of man's will. Nothing but a miracle of
grace can lead to the saving of any sinner. - A.W. Pink

There can be no grace when there is no sovereignty. Deny God’s right to
choose whom He will and you deny His right to save whom He will. Deny
His right to save whom He will and you deny that salvation is of grace.
If salvation is made to hinge upon any desert or fitness in man, seen or
foreseen, grace is at an end. -H. Bonar

Those who are quick to censure may be very acute in judgment, but they are as
yet very immature in heart. He who grows in grace remembers that he is
but dust, and he therefore does not expect his fellow Christians to be
anything more; he overlooks ten thousand of their faults, because he
knows his God overlooks twenty thousand in his own case. - Spurgeon

Graham J Weeks M.R.Pharm.S
http://christianquoter.blogspot.com/ My blog
http://www.christiansquoting.org.uk 10201 quotes 654 topics 2452 authors
http://christiansquoting-dailyquotes.blogspot.com/ Daily quotes
http://iuhuru.com/category/columnists/graham-weeks/ - my weekly column
http://grahamslaughs.blogspot.com/ - humour only
http://www.ipc-ealing.co.uk/ Our church
-----------------------------
Question reality. Question authority.
-----------------------------

Sunday 12 September 2010

We shall inform you of the results when it is concluded. We regret these killings and strongly assert that this is not the work of the Taliban who will never do harm to genuine aid workers… as soon as we manage to apprehend those responsible for this act, we shall subject them to whatever punishment our laws prescribe.- Qari Malang, the representative of the Western Nuristan Taliban. He said that commanders from Nuristan had not carried out the killings of 10 aid wprkers and they had launched an investigation to find out who had.

We have checked the facts regarding these foreigners, and our people in the area have confirmed that they were bona fide aid workers and had been providing assistance to the population. Furthermore, we have learnt that among the killed foreigners, was Dan Terry, who had a long history of helping our people, including in Kunar and Laghman provinces and that he had previously provided welfare assistance to the families of those civilians martyred in bombardments… We pass on our condolences to the families of those killed.- Qari Malang (the representative of the Western Nuristan Taliban)
( My wife and I were entertained by the Terrys in their Kabul home four years ago)

If you start teaching aggression to the whole community, you end up pandering to the negative elements in everyone.  You know what that leads to: Such people will assault us. -Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) (In Carl Bernstein and Marco Politi's _His Holiness: John Paul II And The  Hidden History of Our Time_ [1996])

In today's world, no one is innocent and no one is neutral. George Habash, leader of the PFLP, c.1970s-80s

We are the soldiers of God and we crave death...Violence will remain our only path. - statement issued by Islamic Jihad, 1980s

Often, the more you understand, the less you forgive. - Jillian Becker, Director, Institute for the Study of Terrorism

Saturday 11 September 2010

In Conspiracy A Biblical View, Gary North wrote that only three world views are serious contenders, the three which have an an eschatology of victory; biblical Christianity, Islam and Marxism. He wrote before the collapse of the 'evil empire'. Marxism is now only in places like N Korea and Western universities. The contenders are true Christianity and Islam. Unfortunately many Christians have not an eschatology of victory, only seeing things decline until Christ comes.- GJW

Not 'Cogito ergo sum' but 'Amor ergo sum'. I'm loved, therefore I am. - N.T. WRIGHT

Keep, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy: and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.- Collect for 12 September, Book Common Prayer

What i don't understand is why you are trying so hard to fit in when you were made to stand out?! - What a Girl Wants

Libertarian free will is a myth. We have only a free will to act according to our nature. Men are sinners. Men thus are free to sin.~ Bret L. McAtee

Friday 10 September 2010

From a moral point of view, there is no excuse for terrorist acts, regardless of the motive or the situation under which they are carried out. - Jurgen Habermas (1929 -  )

For the normative self-understanding of modernity, Christianity has functioned as more than just a precursor or catalyst. Universalistic egalitarianism, from which sprang the ideals of freedom and a collective life in solidarity, the autonomous conduct of life and emancipation, the individual morality of conscience, human rights and democracy, is the direct legacy of the Judaic ethic of justice and the Christian ethic of love. This legacy, substantially unchanged, has been the object of a continual critical reappropriation and reinterpretation. Up to this very day there is no alternative to it. And in light of the current challenges of a post-national constellation, we must draw sustenance now, as in the past, from this substance. Everything else is idle postmodern talk. - Jurgen Habermas 


The civilization of Christian Europe was built by people whose purpose was not that of constructing a “Christian civilization”. We owe it to people who believed in Christ, not to people who believed in Christianity. - Rémi Brague


But I think that the lofty idea of `the war on racism' is gradually turning into a hideously false ideology. And this anti-racism will be for the 21st century what communism was for the 20th century. A source of violence. Today, Jews are attacked in the name of anti-racist discourse: the separation fence, `Zionism is racism.'- Alain Finkielkraut


It is certain that Europe will emerge changed from its confrontation with Islam. It is far less certain that Islam will prove assimilable. Europe finds itself in a contest with Islam for the allegiance of its newcomers. For now, Islam is the stronger party in that contest, in an obvious demographic way and in a less obvious philosophical way.... When an insecure, malleable, relativistic culture meets a culture that is anchored, confident, and strengthened by common doctrines, it is generally the former that changes to suit the latter'-Christopher Caldwell, Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam and the West, 

Thursday 9 September 2010

The term ‘multicultural’ has come to define both a society that is particularly diverse, usually as a result of immigration, and the policies necessary to manage such a society. It has come to embody, in other words, both a description of a society and a prescription for managing it. Multiculturalism is both the problem and the solution – and when the problem and the solution are one and the same we can only be dealing with political snake oil. - Kenan Malik, From Fatwa to Jihad: Legacies of the Salman Rushdie affair

Multiculturalists assumed that minority groups would not want to jettison the past but to embrace it, that those born here would want to define themselves through their parents’ cultures and traditions. They imagined Britain as a, ‘community of communities’, and pushed second generation Britons of immigrant stock back into the traditional cultures that they had rejected. And so those second generation migrants found themselves adrift without any cultural ballast. - Kenan Malik, From Fatwa to Jihad: Legacies of the Salman Rushdie affair

Now the great thing is this: we re consecrated and dedicated to God in order that we may thereafter think, speak, meditate, and do nothing except to His glory." ~John Calvin

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. — Philip K. Dick, How To Build A Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later.

The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants. - Albert Camus

Wednesday 8 September 2010

I know that worry works because nothing I have ever worried about has happened - Anon

Discontent makes us lose what we have; contentment gets us what we lack. -Thomas Jacombe (1622-1687)

Truth exists; only lies are invented.

From each as they choose, to each as they are chosen. ~Nozick

Oddities only strike ordinary people. Oddities do not strike odd people. This is why ordinary people have a much more exciting time, while odd people are always complaining of the dullness of life. ~ G.K. Chesterton

Tuesday 7 September 2010

Patience is a virtue that carries a lot of wait. Amish Proverb

If you can't see the bright side, polish the dull. -Amish Proverb

Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly. -Amish Proverb

Instead of complaining that the rosebush is full of thorns, be glad that 
the thornbush has roses. -Amish Proverb

Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds you down or polishes you up 
depends on what you are made of. -Amish Proverb

You can tell when you're on the right track. It's usually uphill. -Amish Proverb

They who trim themselves to suit others will soon whittle themselves away. -Amish Proverb

If the grass looks greener on the other side, fertilize. -Amish Proverb

Monday 6 September 2010

CAUTION! Non-exposure to the Son will cause burning.

My life goes on in endless song
• Above earth's lamentations,
• I hear the real, though far-off hymn
• That hails a new creation.

• Through all the tumult and the strife
• I hear it's music ringing,
• It sounds an echo in my soul.
• How can I keep from singing?

• While though the tempest loudly roars,
• I hear the truth, it liveth.
• And though the darkness 'round me close,
• Songs in the night it giveth.

• No storm can shake my inmost calm,
• While to that rock I'm clinging.
• Since love is lord of heaven and earth
• How can I keep from singing?

• When tyrants tremble in their fear
• And hear their death knell ringing,
• When friends rejoice both far and near
• How can I keep from singing?

• In prison cell and dungeon vile
• Our thoughts to them are winging,
• When friends by shame are undefiled
• How can I keep from singing?
• Eva Cassidy, How Can I Keep From Singing


There is a net of love by which you can catch souls. - Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
     In Martin H. Manser's _The Westminister Collection
       of Christian Quotations_ [2001], "Evangelism")

The biggest disease today is not leprosy or
tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of
being unwanted, uncared for and
deserted by everybody.
     --Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
      _The Observer_ [October 3, 1971]

If you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither
praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.
     --Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
      (In Martin H. Manser's _The Westminister Collection
       of Christian Quotations_ [2001], "Humility")

I see God in every human being.  When I wash the
leper's wounds I feel I am nursing the Lord himself.
     --Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
      _Guardian_ [September 6, 1997], "Obituaries"

Sunday 5 September 2010

My hands are raised in awesome wonder of His grace to me.
I seek the words to say but cannot for only His face I see.
Lift me up oh Lord in the shadow of your wings.
Up and away from this world, this world of things.
Cause me to hear and say and feel and taste and see
Only those joys that truely satisfy, those joys of Thee.
Keep me always vigilant, a watchman on the wall.
That I may teach the ones entrusted to me,
Oh Lord, to teach them to recognize Your Call. Amen.
Allan L Winger

There is no higher priority in the believer's life than to delight himself in the love of Christ.- Maurice Roberts

Theosophists for instance will preach an obviously attractive idea
like re-incarnation; but if we wait for its logical results, they are
spiritual superciliousness and the cruelty of caste. For if a man is a
beggar by his own pre-natal sins, people will tend to despise the
beggar. But Christianity preaches an obviously unattractive idea, such
as original sin; but when we wait for its results, they are pathos and
brotherhood, and a thunder of laughter and pity; for only with
original sin we can at once pity the beggar and distrust the king. - G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, 1908

Christlikeness is the result of making Christlike
choices and depending on his Spirit to help you
fulfill those choices. Once you decide to get
serious about becoming like Christ, you must
begin to act in new ways.
You will need to let go of some old routines,
develop some new habits, and intentionally change
the way you think. You can be certain that the
Holy Spirit will help you with these changes.
The Bible says, "Continue to work out your salvation
with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in
you to will and act according to his good purpose."
(Philippians 2:12-13)
This verse shows the two parts of spiritual growth:
"work out" and "work in." The "work out" is your
responsibility, and the "work in" is God's role.
Spiritual growth is a collaborative effort between
you and the Holy Spirit. God's Spirit works with
us, not just in us.
This verse, written to believers, is not about how to be saved, but how to grow. It does not say "work for" your salvation, because you can't add anything to what Jesus already did. During a physical "workout," you exercise to develop your body, not to get a body. -Rick Warren (1954- ) _The Purpose Driven Life_ [2002], Chapter 23

Saturday 4 September 2010

The providence of God is the unceasing activity of the Creator whereby, inoverflowing bounty and goodwill, He upholds His creatures in ordered existence,guides and governs all events, circumstances, and free acts of angels and men, and directs everything to its appointed goal, for His own glory. -JI Packer

Almighty and most merciful Father, I again appear in Thy
presence the wretched misspender of another year which Thy
mercy has allowed me. O Lord, let me not sink into total
depravity, look down upon me, and rescue me at last from the
captivity of sin. Impart to me good resolutions, and give me
strength and perseverance to perform them. Take not from me Thy
Holy Spirit, but grant that I may redeem the time lost, and
that by temperance and diligence, by sincere repentance and
faithful obedience, I may finally attain everlasting happiness,
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), Prayers and Meditations,London: Verner, Hood, and Sharpe, 1806, Jan. 1, 1766, p. 53-54

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.- Siddhartha Gautama, 563 - 483 BC

We all walk in the dark and each of us must learn to turn on his or her own light - Earl Nightingale, 1921 - 1989

The lights of stars that were extinguished ages ago still reaches us. So it is with great men who died centuries ago, but still reach us with the radiations of their personalities. - Kahlil Gibran, 1883 - 1931

Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself. - Desiderius Erasmus, 1466 - 1536


There is strong shadow where there is much light. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749 - 1832

Friday 3 September 2010

The dark night of the soul always gives way to the brightness of the noonday light of the presence of God. - R.C. Sproul

Men are idolaters, and want something to look at and kiss and hug, or throw themselves down before; they always did, they always will; and if you don't make it of wood, you must make it of words. --Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) _The Poet at the Breakfast Table_ [1872]

A sound mind in a sound body, is a short but full description of a happy state in this world. --John Locke (1632-1704) _Some Thoughts Concerning Education_ [1693], Section 1

Measure your growth in grace by your sensitiveness to sin. --Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) _Disciples Indeed_ [1955]

We have but a very few sins which we can observe and detect, compared
with those which are hidden to ourselves and unseen by our fellow
creatures. I doubt not it is true of all of us who are here, that in
every hour of our existence in which we are active, we commit tens of
thousands of unholinesses for which conscience has never reproved us,
because we have never seen them to be wrong, seeing we have not studied
God's laws as we ought to have done. .... Let all of us who know our
sins, offer this prayer after all our confessions: "Lord, I have
confessed as many as I know, but I must add an etcetera after them, and
say, 'Cleanse thou me from secret faults.'~ Rev. C. H. Spurgeon 1834-92, Sermon (No. 116) Delivered on Sabbath Morning, February 8, 1857, at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.

Thursday 2 September 2010

That which is infinite is as much above what is great as it is above what is small. Thus God, being infinitely great, He is as much above kings as He is above beggars; He is as much above the highest angel as He is above the meanest worm.- Jonathan Edwards

When an unskillful servant gathers many herbs, flowers, and
seeds in a garden, you gather them out that are useful, and
cast the rest out of sight. Christ deals so with our
performances. All the ingredients of self that are in them on
any account He takes away, and adds incense to what remains,
and presents it to God. This is the cause that the saints at
the last day, when they meet their own duties and performances,
they know them not, they are so changed from what they were
when they went out of their hand. "Lord, when saw we Thee naked
or hungry?" So God accepts a little, and Christ makes our
little a great deal.-John Owen (1616-1683), An Exposition upon Psalm CXXX [1668], in Works of John Owen, v. VI, New York: R. Carter amp Bros., 1851, p. 603

We came equals into this world, and equals shall we go out of it.- George Mason, 1725 - 1792

A few years' experience will convince us that those things which at the time they happened we regarded as our greatest misfortunes have proved our greatest blessings.- George Mason, 1725 - 1792

When the same man, or set of men, holds the sword and the purse, there is an end of liberty.- George Mason, 1725 - 1792

Freedom of religion, you see, means much more than freedom of worship. Freedom of religion means you can practice your faith in public; you can educate your children in the faith, you can evangelize. Imagine that in any Muslim country today! Freedom of worship, however, is something less. It means you can worship how you please, so long as you keep it private. Citizens of the former Soviet Union could do that. And China has that law today.- Chuck Colson

Wednesday 1 September 2010

I had come to like and admire George (Bush). I was asked recently which of the political leaders I had met had the most integrity. I listed George near the top. Some people were aghast... thinking I was joking. He had genuine integrity and as much political courage as any leader I ever met. He was, in a bizarre sense... a true idealist.- Tony Blair

Once, near the end, he asked me whether I thought God wanted him to make the deal that would seal the peace process. I wanted to say yes, but I hesitated; though I was sure God would want peace, God is not a negotiator. Tony Blair on
IAN PAISLEY AND NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE DEAL

The sympathy of Jesus never wearies or slumbers, it never chills or
forgets. It entwines with our every cross—attaches to our every
burden—and frosts with sparkling light, each darkling cloud. - O. Winslow

Most of the verses written about praise in God's Word were voiced by people faced with crushing heartaches, injustice, treachery, slander, and scores of other difficult situations. ~ Joni Eareckson Tada

Some forms of homosexuality today are of a similar nature, in that they are not just homosexuality but a philosophic expression. One must have understanding for the real homophile's problem. But much modern homosexuality is an expression of the current denial of antithesis. It has led in this case to an obliteration of the distinction between man and woman. So the male and the female as complementary partners are finished. This is a form of homosexuality which is a part of the movement below the line of despair. In much of modern thinking all antithesis and all the order of God's creation is to be fought against — including the male-female distinctions. The pressure toward unisex is largely rooted here. -
Francis A. Schaeffer- THE GOD WHO IS THERE, (DOWNERS GROVE, IL: INTERVARSITY PRESS, 1968), P57.