To be cheerful when others are in despair, to keep the faith when others falter, to be true even when we feel forsaken—all of these are deeply desired outcomes during the deliberate, divine tutorials which God gives to us—because He loves us. The...
Yes, I run with the hare and hunt with the hounds, I pray and I meditate as well. I just believe in the old saying “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”. Why I do this? Well, there is a deep-rooted imperfection in me which nested in my DNA and cause...
Many people think that being Christian makes you sort of subhuman or, at least, less than fully human. Guys out there on the street (people think) are having a wonderful time enjoying human life to the fullest, and we in the church are sort of crampe...
The "show business," which is so incorporated into our view of Christian work today, has caused us to drift far from Our Lord's conception of discipleship. It is instilled in us to think that we have to do exceptional things for God; we have not. We ...
The purpose of the local church is not primarily to be one's church home or extended family, though it can be at times. And it is not to survive by obtaining more people for its support base. Its purpose is to invite people to be part of the true mis...
The best way we can honor the pioneers—the best way for us to repay our debt of gratitude to them—goes beyond making and hearing speeches, marching in parades, or attending fireworks celebrations. “The best way we can show our gratitude is by i...
In books I find the dead as if they were alive; in books I foresee things to come; in books warlike affairs are set forth; from books come forth the laws of peace. All things are corrupted and decay in time; Saturn ceases not to devour the children t...
The frustration of not knowing which way to turn in life is similar to a traffic jam. You’re stuck! Don’t you feel relief when the cars start rolling? Look at life this way, pick a path and see where it leads. Bring God’s grace with you so you�...
It doesn't seem to me that this fantastically marvelous universe, this tremendous range of time and space and different kinds of animals, and all the different planets, and all these atoms with all their motions, and so on, all this complicated thing...
I feel that we should stop wasting our time trying to please the supernatural and concentrate on improving the welfare of human beings. I think that, uh, we should use our energy and our initiative to solve our problems, and stop relying on prayer an...
The division in human religion has always been between those who see the fall of man as a fall into freedom and those who see it as an act of defiance against the tyranny of an all-powerful father. But Adam and Eve were never in heaven; they were in ...
The standard cosmological theory--an expanding universe--does not really solve the problem of God. It simply makes it more problematical. Once the creator-creation model is discarded as primitive mythology, we still have not touched the ancient conun...
What do you know of gods and saints?” I ask, filling my voice with scorn. His fingers drift to the silver oak leaf of Saint Camulos on his cloak. “I know that what our saints want is not always made clear to us. Sometimes, it is their wish for us...
The term ‘Grace’ has been explained by people just to fulfill the vested interest. But what is its actual meaning? Thakur (Sri Ramkrishna) has said ‘When God within the body wishes to liberate himself, then there will be actual liberation of �...
There are no shortcuts to moral insight. Nature is not intrinsically anything that can offer comfort or solace in human terms -- if only because our species is such an insignificant latecomer in a world not constructed for us. So much the better. The...
It is the doing of your calling that attracts the support of the God of the Universe. When I stepped into that space, the wind in my life changed direction. The doing rallied the Heavens. It was the voice of my faith. If you don’t do out of your be...
Did you slip in some cheese? Did it make you hate cheese, which you had previously loved? Why not sue a cheese-maker? Sue him for all the cheese he's got, drive him out of the cheese-making business! Did you burn your face with an iron? Why not sue P...
Number three: Stay away from the church. In the battle over science vs. religion, science offers credible evidence for all the serious claims it makes. The church says, 'Oh, it’s right here in this book, see? The one written by people who thought t...
And the best, most redeeming, exciting thing I can imagine, from the smashed-up, broken place I've been, is that something beautiful could blossom out of the wreckage... This is what I know: God can make something beautiful out of anything, out of da...
The more I consider it, the more the U.S. Constitution becomes one of the most "God-awful" works ever created by man. Please explain "more perfect" alongside the constitutional make-up of everything left in its wake. What about the story of a girl in...
All of a sudden, we've lost a lot of control. We can't turn off our internet; we can't turn off our smartphones; we can't turn off our computers. You used to ask a smart person a question. Now, who do you ask? It starts with g-o, and it's not God. [ ...