#christianity

The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become. ↗

— Henry Martyn

#church #jesus #missions #theology #theology

I don't approve of mixing ideologies," Ivanov continued. "There are only two conceptions of human ethics, and they are at opposite poles. One of them is Christian and humane, declares the individual to be sacrosanct, and asserts that the rules of arithmetic are not to be applied to human units. The other starts from the basic principle that a collective aim justifies all means, and not only allows, but demands, that the individual should in every way be subordinated and sacrificed to the community--which may dispose of it as an experimentation rabbit or a sacrificial lamb. The first conception could be called anti-vivisection morality, the second, vivisection morality. Humbugs and dilettantes have always tried to mix the two conceptions; in practice, it is impossible. ↗

— Arthur Koestler

#communism #politics #communism

Our culture has filled our heads but emptied our hearts, stuffed our wallets but starved our wonder. It has fed our thirst for facts but not for meaning or mystery. It produces "nice" people, not heroes. ↗

— Peter Kreeft

#christianity #culture #culture-critique #heroes #jesus-shock

We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world....No doubt pain as God's megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. it removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of the rebel soul. ↗

— C.S. Lewis

#pain #suffering #rebellion

Islam is a religion of success. Unlike Christianity, which has as its main image, in the west at least, a man dying in a devastating, disgraceful, helpless death. ↗

— Karen Armstrong

#death #devastating #disgraceful #dying #helpless

If we who follow Christ, with all the facts before us and knowing what we are about, deliberately choose the kingdom of God as our sphere of interest, I see no reason why anyone should object. If we lose by it, the loss is our own; if we gain, we rob no one by so doing. ↗

— A.W. Tozer

#life #religion #religion

Every fundamentalist movement I've studied in Judaism, Christianity and Islam is convinced at some gut, visceral level that secular liberal society wants to wipe out religion. ↗

— Karen Armstrong

#convinced #every #fundamentalist #gut #i

Ever since the Crusades, when Christians from western Europe were fighting holy wars against Muslims in the near east, western people have often perceived Islam as a violent and intolerant faith - even though when this prejudice took root Islam had a better record of tolerance than Christianity. ↗

— Karen Armstrong

#better #christianity #christians #crusades #east

Perhaps as good a classification as any of the main types is that of the three lusts distinguished by traditional Christianity - the lust of knowledge, the lust of sensation, and the lust of power. ↗

— Irving Babbitt

#christianity #classification #distinguished #good #knowledge

Because I was raised in a Christian culture I never considered myself to be a totally free human being. ↗

— James Baldwin

#condemnation #freedom #religion #freedom