Quote of the Day

My way of trying to encounter God within a church community may well be poison for others.  We all bring our backgrounds with us.  We're all running from something.  For instance, I know several people raised in the Orthodox Church who have fled to evangelical communities and found God there, or at least found a happier version of themselves.  I know other people who share my sort of religious background and they can only find spiritual solace in gatherings of atheists.  More power to them!  We are all recovering from what we've experienced in captivity to ourselves.

-- Frank Schaeffer, Why I Am an Atheist Who Believes in God, p. 89

Quote of the Day

Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity.  It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity.

-- Brene Brown, Daring Greatly, p. 34

Quote of the Day

Stay centered, do not overstretch.  Extend from your center, return to your center.

-- Jack Kornfield, Buddha's Little Instruction Book, p. 69

Quote of the Day

I discovered that language had to be engineered in a way, just like the bridges and roads I was designing.

-- Richard Blanco, For All of Us, One Today, p. 21

Quote of the Day

It was so dispiriting to have to continually defend the value of my faith and the methodology and places where I chose to share it.  To me, Christianity was more than a lifestyle club, where all the good kids wore WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelets and sang only Christian music.  Beyond the culture, there was an opportunity to discover inner peace and divine consideration.  Yet, with increasing regularity, I seemed to be running into Christians devaluing the path of the journeyman.

-- Jennifer Knapp, Facing the Music, p. 146

Quote of the Day

No matter how famous they get, the forward-thinking artists of today aren't just looking for fans or passive consumers of their work, they're looking for potential collaborators, or co-conspirators.  These artists acknowledge that good work isn't created in a vacuum, and that the experience of art is always a two-way street, incomplete without feedback.  These artists hang out online and answer questions.  They ask for reading recommendations.  They chat with fans about the stuff they love.

-- Austin Kleon, Show Your Work!, p. 126

Quote of the Day

Christians, don't let racist, misogynistic, and homophobic comments "slide."  Stand up for the bullied, not the bullies.  Advocate for the oppressed, not the oppressors.  And don't let anyone shame you as "divisive" when you do so.

-- Rachel Held Evans, "Changing the Culture that Enabled Mark Driscoll: 6 Ways Forward"

Quote of the Day

Then again, if I only wanted to attend a church that was good, true and without error -- according to my transitory ego-stoked beliefs -- I'd have to invent my own religion.  But wait a moment.  There'd be a problem.  I'd have to excommunicate the priest and his entire congregation!  You see, I know that particular bishop/priest/congregation too well.  With apologies to Groucho Marx: I'd never want to join a church that had someone like me for their founding bishop, especially if I was the only member!

-- Frank Schaeffer, Why I Am an Atheist Who Believes in God, p. 85

Quote of the Day

What makes this constant assessing and comparing so self-defeating is that we are often comparing our lives, our marriages, our families, and our communities to unattainable, media-driven visions of perfection, or we're holding up our reality against our own fictional account of how great someone else has it.   

-- Brene Brown, Daring Greatly, p. 26

Quote of the Day

Everything that has a beginning has an ending.  Make your peace with that and all will be well.

-- Jack Kornfield, Buddha's Little Instruction Book, p. 68

Quote of the Day

Every story begins inside a story that's already begun by others.

-- Richard Blanco, For All of Us, One Today, p. 6

Quote of the Day

Music, for me, was about what it did when you told it your secrets.  Music seemed to turn our inner longings into prayers.  Played back, shared, and transmitted, the impossible happened.  We knew that we were known.  By someone, somewhere.

-- Jennifer Knapp, Facing the Music, p. 122

Quote of the Day

When people realize they're being listened to, they tell you things.

-- Richard Ford

Quote of the Day

If we are to change the culture that far too often prioritizes the reputation of the bully/abuser over the health and safety of the bullied/abused, we have to stop shaming victims who come forward with their stories as "gossips" and dismissing Christians who call for accountability as "divisive."  We also have to ensure that our churches are prepared to respond to bullying and abuse when it happens.
 
-- Rachel Held Evans, "Changing the Culture that Enabled Mark Driscoll: 6 Ways Forward"

Quote of the Day

I choose to try my best to be honest about problems in the church of my choice.  Jesus did that too.  He criticized everything religious around him yet still participated in the traditional liturgical formal worship of his day even though it was led by hypocrites he denounced.

-- Frank Schaeffer, Why I Am an Atheist Who Believes in God, p. 84

Quote of the Day

When I look at narcissism through the vulnerability lens, I see the shame-based fear of being ordinary.  I see the fear of never feeling extraordinary enough to be noticed, to be lovable, to belong, or to cultivate a sense of purpose.  Sometimes the simple act of humanizing problems sheds an important light on them, a light that often goes out the minute a stigmatizing label is applied.

-- Brene Brown, Daring Greatly, p. 22

Quote of the Day

When you walk, just walk; when you eat, just eat.

-- Jack Kornfield, Buddha's Little Instruction Book, p. 65

Quote of the Day

I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.  Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.

-- Tim Cook, "Tim Cook Speaks Up"

Quote of the Day

The best of what Christianity would ever teach me was that even on my darkest days, no matter what condition I was in, I was a person made to be loved.

-- Jennifer Knapp, Facing the Music, p. 105

Quote of the Day

Teaching people doesn't subtract value from what you do, it actually adds to it.  When you teach someone how to do your work, you are, in effect, generating more interest in your work.  People feel closer to your work because you're letting them in on what you know.

-- Austin Kleon, Show Your Work!, p. 119

Quote of the Day

Perhaps the most effective silencing technique in Christian culture is telling those who challenge abusive or bullying behavior among church leaders that their objections are "gossip" and "slander" contributing to "disunity in the Church."
 
-- Rachel Held Evans, "Changing the Culture that Enabled Mark Driscoll: 6 Ways Forward"

Quote of the Day

My question isn't, "Did I create God who creates me?" but, "Do I need God, however he, she or it came to be?"  My question isn't "Can I find a church, mosque, synagogue, a gathering of atheists or some other temple that's perfect to stroke me?" but "Where can I find spiritual beauty that feeds my soul?"

-- Frank Schaeffer, Why I Am an Atheist Who Believes in God, p. 83

Quote of the Day

The topic of narcissism has penetrated the social consciousness enough that most people correctly associate it with a pattern of behaviors that include grandiosity, a pervasive need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.  What almost no one understands is how every level of severity in this diagnosis is underpinned by shame.  Which means we don't "fix it" by cutting people down to size and reminding folks of their inadequacies and smallness.  Shame is more likely to be the cause of these behaviors, not the cure.

-- Brene Brown, Daring Greatly, p. 21

Quote of the Day

 Inner freedom is not guided by our efforts; it comes from seeing what is true.

-- Jack Kornfield, Buddha's Little Instruction Book, p. 64

Quote of the Day

I don't consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I've benefited from the sacrifice of others.  So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it's worth the trade-off with my own privacy.

-- Tim Cook, "Tim Cook Speaks Up"

Quote of the Day

In my own life, I was eager to move beyond the Christian idea of flawed humanity and get on with living life to the full.  If we are what we are -- that is, inescapably human -- then part of my responsibility is to learn how to honor myself and others along the way.  From a Christian perspective, if Christ's sacrifice was to represent how my sinful nature (read: human nature) is reconciled with God's perfect holiness, then why should I be afraid to acknowledge my true self?

-- Jennifer Knapp, Facing the Music, p. 105

Quote of the Day

The minute you learn something, turn around and teach it to others.  Share your reading list.  Point to helpful reference materials.

-- Austin Kleon, Show Your Work!, p. 117

Quote of the Day

When Christians measure a church's "success" by numbers rather than the fruit of the Spirit, we create a culture that looks nothing like the Kingdom Jesus preached.  But Scripture does not teach us that the fruit of the Spirit is satellite campuses, book sales, and market share.  Scripture teaches us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Jesus said that we identify false preachers, not by their position on obscure theological matters, but by the degree to which their lives exhibit this type [of] fruit.  In other words, getting men to go to church is not the same as making disciples of Jesus, and we best not confuse the two.

-- Rachel Held Evans, "Changing the Culture that Enabled Mark Driscoll: 6 Ways Forward"

Quote of the Day

Scientists and theologians can't offer better than circular arguments, because there are no other kinds of arguments.  Bible believers quote the Bible, and scientists quote other scientists.  How do either scientists or theologians answer this question about the accuracy of their conclusions: "In reference to what?"

-- Frank Schaeffer, Why I Am an Atheist Who Believes in God, p. 78

Quote of the Day

The main concern of Wholehearted men and women is living a life defined by courage, compassion, and connection.

-- Brene Brown, Daring Greatly, p. 11