Christian Teleology Quotes

The unbiblical idea of "spirituality" is that the truly "spiritual" man is the person who is sort of "non-physical," who doesn't get involved in "earthly" things, who doesn't work very much or think very hard, and who spends most of his time meditating about how he'd rather be in heaven. As long as he's on earth, though, he has one main duty in life: Get stepped on for Jesus. The "spiritual" man, in this view, is a wimp. A Loser. But at least he's a Good Loser. ~ David H. Chilton

Eve doubted God, and I as a child of God am now to be exactly the opposite: I am to believe him. Eve doubted, and mankind in revolt doubts God. To believe him, not just when I accept Christ as Savior, but every moment, one moment at a time: this is the Christian life, and this is true spirituality. ~ Francis Schaeffer

sometimes it is when we feel the most helpless, and the most alone, that we are actually the closest to knowing our true nature. ~ Allison D. Reid

Jesus died for our sins" has been understood. Among some Christians, it is seen as an essential doctrinal element in the Christian belief system. Seen this way, it becomes a doctrinal requirement: we are made right with God by believing that Jesus is the sacrifice. The system of requirements remains, and believing in Jesus is the new requirement. Seeing it as a metaphorical proclamation of the radical grace of God leads to a very different understanding. "Jesus died for our sins" means the abolition of the system of requirements, not the establishment of a new system of requirements. ~ Marcus J. Borg

Curtis looked up into those sparkling green eyes, full of life, full of kindness, full of potential love, with just a hint of mischief. But that was going to make going out with Genesis so much fun. Curtis needed a lot more of that in his life. It'd been lacking for many years. He had his family now and hopefully a new man. He knew Genesis would be the perfect Southern gentleman until he turned eighteen, but that was okay. It was more than okay. He may be a superstar athlete, but he was raised by a good Christian mom who'd taught her sons well. Curtis was going to do everything he could to be a good match for Genesis Godfrey. "You're ~ A.E. Via

The whole Christ seeks after each sinner, and when the Lord finds it, he gives himself to that one soul as if he had but that one soul to bless. How my heart admires the concentration of all the Godhead and humanity of Christ in his search after each sheep of his flock. ~ Charles Spurgeon

I'm not a serpent, Father. I'm a crow. ~ Eli Easton

Pray with expectation to get an answer. ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

There are some who are still weak in faith, who ought to be instructed, and who would gladly believe as we do. But their ignorance prevents them...we must bear patiently with these people and not use our liberty; since it brings to peril or harm to body or soul...but if we use our liberty unnecessarily, and deliberately cause offense to our neighbor, we drive away the very one who in time would come to our faith. Thus St. Paul circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:3) because simple minded Jews had taken offense; he thought: what harm can it do, since they are offended because of ignorance? But when, in Antioch, they insisted that he out and must circumcise Titus (Gal. 2:3) Paul withstood them all and to spite them refused to have Titus circumcised... He did the same when St. Peter...it happened in this way: when Peter was with the Gentiles he ate pork and sausages with them, but when the Jews came in, he abstained from this food and did not eat as he did before. Then the Gentiles who had become Christians though: Alas! we, too, must be like the Jews, eat no pork, and live according to the law of Moses. But when Paul learned that they were acting to the injury of evangelical freedom, he reproved Peter publicly and read him an apostolic lecture, saying: "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" (Gal. 2:14). Thus we, too, should order our lives and use our liberty at the proper time, so that Christian liberty may suffer no injury, and ~ Martin Luther

My idea of the Christian religion is, that it is an inspiration and its vital consequences
an inspiration and a life
God's life breathed into a man and breathed through a man
the highest inspiration and the highest life of every soul which it inhabits; and, furthermore, that the soul which it inhabits can have no high issue which is not essentially religious. ~ J.G. Holland

It is the nature of thought to find its way into action. ~ Christian Nestell Bovee

I played my role as the good Christian girl and spared everyone the drama of an argument. But that decision to remain silent split me in two. It convinced me that I could never really be myself in church. That I had to check my heart and mind at the door. ~ Rachel Held Evans

It is certain that the labors of these early workers in the field of natural knowledge were brought to a standstill by the decay and disruption of the Roman Empire, the consequent disorganisation of society, and the diversion of men's thoughts from sublunary matters to the problems of the supernatural world suggested by Christian dogma in the Middle Ages. And, notwithstanding sporadic attempts to recall men to the investigation of nature, here and there, it was not until the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that physical science made a new start, founding itself, at first, altogether upon that which had been done by the Greeks. Indeed, it must be admitted that the men of the Renaissance, though standing on the shoulders of the old philosophers, were a long time before they saw as much as their forerunners had done. ~ Thomas Henry Huxley

Don't doubt your dreams. ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

The racial perception gap highlights one of the most powerful - but also least discussed - divisions between Americans on the topic of race: the rift between the descendants of White Christian America and the rest of the country. ~ Robert P. Jones

You can graciously live through every struggle. ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

I've been dealing with physical pain these past few days and here is one of the things it has made me realize: a lot of times we find ourselves in situations, and the mindset that got you into the situation cannot be the mindset that frees you from the situation. Whether it is physical pain or emotional pain - you've got to see yourself beyond the pain. See yourself healthy and healed in the midst of the pain. By His Stripes... ~ Bobby F. Kimbrough Jr.

This is what Christians consider themselves: perfected Jews. ~ Ann Coulter

One of the Christian's responsibilities in following Christ is to have a new attitude toward work. So many young people want Christ without responsibility ... whatever work a Christian does ... he should do his best. ~ Billy Graham

Being a Christian is not a political orientation for the president, but he is a centrist. ~ Cornel West

Be attentive to the voice of grace. ~ Elizabeth Ann Seton

The apostles were very sure that everything of theirs which had to do with salvation was a gift to them from God. 'Increase our faith' (Lk. 17:5). They did not presume that the fullness of faith would come to them merely because they freely opted for it. They believed, rather, that it was a gift of God which would have to be granted to them. ~ John Cassian

Among the things most characteristic of organisms--most distinctive of living as opposed to inorganic systems--is a sort of directedness. Their structures and activities have an adaptedness, an evident and vital usefulness to the organism. Darwin's answer and ours is to accept the common sense view...[that] the end ("telos") [is] that the individual and the species may survive. But this end is (usually) unconscious and impersonal. Naive teleology is controverted not by ignoring the obvious existence of such ends but by providing a naturalistic, materialistic explanation of the adaptive characteristics serving them. [Book review in "Science," 1959, p. 673.] ~ George Gaylord Simpson

A great many people wonder why it was that Christ did not come at once to Martha and Mary, whom He loved, whenever He heard of their affliction. It was to try them, and it is the same with His dealings toward us. If He seems not to come to us in our affliction, it is only to test us. ~ Dwight L. Moody

Oersted would never have made his great discovery of the action of galvanic currents on magnets had he stopped in his researches to consider in what manner they could possibly be turned to practical account; and so we would not now be able to boast of the wonders done by the electric telegraphs. Indeed, no great law in Natural Philosophy has ever been discovered for its practical implications, but the instances are innumerable of investigations apparently quite useless in this narrow sense of the word which have led to the most valuable results. ~ William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

It is a very ill omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout "Well done" to the Christian man. ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Kind of paradoxically, men are very open minded or very even handed with their votes of women. ~ Christian Rudder

The Holy Spirit can rejuvenate a tired Christian, captivate an indifferent believer, and empower a dry church. ~ Billy Graham

People are not so interested,' Kim Sang-hun, director of the Database Center, told the Christian Science Monitor after his organization published the book. 'The indifference of South Korean society to the issue of North Korean rights is so awful. ~ Blaine Harden

Abruptly, with the shock of the Conquest, the sober and puritanical man of the Christian Inquisition encountered, through their violent and upsetting nature, peoples who through their rituals were identified with the gods. ~ Jean-Marie G. Le Clezio

Your happiness is my happiness. ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

You did not just say that. I have the feeling were on the verge of hugging and coming up with cute nicknames for each other." -Christian
"I already have a nickname for you, but I'll get n trouble if I say it in class." - Rose ~ Richelle Mead