Quotes About Meaning

The book of Revelation is filled with symbols, yet these symbols refer to things that are literal. They have literal referents (see, for example, the explanation that appears in Revelation 1:20).

The idealist view has no interpretive anchor that helps hold Revelation together. This view is extremely reader-centered and not tied to the original meaning of the text.

Idealism is not a reliable guide to the meaning of Revelation.

Step two of properly interpreting a symbol in Revelation is to recognize that all the symbols in the book are explained either in Revelation itself or in other parts of the Bible.

whatever is not thus explained is to be taken as literal.

A metaphor is not merely a linguistic expression (a form of words) used for artistic or rhetorical purposes; instead, it is a process of human understanding by which we achieve meaningful experience that we can make sense of. A metaphor, in this "experiential" sense, is a process by which we understand and structure one domain of experience in terms of another domain of a different kind.

And your God-given purpose in life is to maximize your potential. You must use the gifts God gave you in order to be fulfilled in life. If you are not fulfilled, it is because you have not yet learned to operate in your gifts.

To exist (in mathematics), said Henri Poincaré, is to be free from contradiction. But mere existence does not guarantee survival. To survive in mathematics requires a kind of vitality that cannot be described in purely logical terms.

The music just tends to be a vehicle for that poetry.

Discerning when and how these commands apply to us involves discerning the heart of God behind the text.

Whether considering action of the United States abroad or on its home front, I presume two closely related spheres of meaning for this notion of "terror." This word means to put in a state of fright (Latin terror, from terrere, "to frighten," "built on the root," tres-, "to tremble"). The mix of fear and trembling usually immobilizes, works severe injury, or creates lasting disintegration or death on targeted bodies.

If I were asked to give a commencement speech (which I'll never be), I'd say basically: They're all gonna laugh at you. Life is pretty much like Carrie's prom. So ... stay secret.

joy is not just about being happy. Joy is a rigorous spiritual practice of saying yes to life on life's terms

But I was right and the real world seemed increasingly nonsensical. Why train for years to do a job you bitched about all day? Didn't it make more sense to follow your dreams and maybe do a little good at the same time? I didn't want to be a lawyer or a bank manager or a goddamn burger flipper. We only get one life and I wanted mine to be exciting...

To find meaning and truth in life place a blindfold on and observe your surroundings, you may find it right in front of you."-Mark Miller

we think that accomplishing things will complete us, when it is experiencing life that will.

Given the world, given the situation, the question that remains is whether having children is a statement of hope, an insistence on the beauty and meaningfulness and basic worth of being here, or an act of human sacrifice.

In passato l'apocalisse, dal punto di vista religioso ma anche secolare, è sempre stata considerata un evento singolo improvviso, un flash accecante dal cielo, una bomba nucleare. Oggi, pensiamo al cambiamento climatico, la fine dei tempi appare più come una lenta dissoluzione. E questo fa sì che non abbiamo il paradigma mitologico per darle un senso, non sappiamo come pensarla, come darle una forma.

Mark Oppenheimer

In other words, journalists should not seek and report facts as news, but launder their news gathering priorities and the facts themselves through a progressive ideology to give them meaning and purpose.

Judicial review involves a court overturning an act of Congress or of the executive branch on the grounds that the act in question contravenes the federal Constitution. It is founded on the principle that courts will be unbiased guardians of the clear meaning of the Constitution.

If you are only moved by color relationships, you are missing the point. I am interested in expressing the big emotions - tragedy, ecstasy, doom.

Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit.

La culpa no la tiene ninguna de las personas a las que llamo amigos, sino yo. Me falta algo. Y con el paso de los años me he ido dando cuenta poco a poco de que las decisiones que he tomado y la vida que he vivido han sido una respuesta a esa falta. Lo más significativo de mí, supongo, es lo que me falta.