Quotes About Faith

emphasize quite strongly the responsibility of all individual Christians to think carefully about issues of faith for ourselves,

Christianity, like most religious traditions of any vintage, is inherently conservative.

be Thou the beginning and the end of all; the pattern whom I follow, the Redeemer in whom I trust, the Master whom I serve, the Friend to whom I look for sympathy. May I never shrink from my duty through any fear of man; make me faithful unto death; and bring me at last into Thy eternal Presence, where with the Father and the Holy Ghost, Thou livest and reignest for ever. Amen. —EDWARD BOUVERIE PUSEY (1800

but whether the Church universal will or should change its mind collectively.

Living Lord, You have watched over me, and put Your hand on my head during the long, dark hours of night. Your holy angels have protected me from all harm and pain. To You, Lord, I owe life itself. Continue to watch over me and bless me during the hours of day. Amen. —JACOB BOEHME (1575

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen. —ANCIENT EASTERN ORTHODOX PRAYER

I am saying that Christians have many resources for listening to God's voice and discerning God's will. But given human limits—even as humans with Jesus in front of us, the Bible open before us, and the Spirit within us—I am rejecting any inerrant path to infallible doctrine.

It seems ironic to acknowledge that a Catholic Mass almost certainly contains more Scripture than the average evangelical service.

But evangelicals are taught to pretend that there is no contradiction, because the Bible must not be questioned.

Majority Christian opinion on various issues has sometimes shifted profoundly.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea; Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity! Amen. —REGINALD HEBER (1783–1826)

Father, I thank Thee for the night, And for the pleasant morning light, For rest, and food, and loving care, And all that makes the world so fair. Help me to do the things I should, To be to others kind and good, In all I do, in work and play, To grow more loving every day. Amen. —REBECCA J. WESTON (1835

For Luther the religious was the thing of greatest importance on earth; for Erasmus it was the human.

I bind unto myself today The power of God to hold and lead, His eye to watch, His might to stay, His ear to hearken to my need, The wisdom of my God to teach, His hand to guide, His shield to ward, The Word of God to give me speech, His heavenly host to be my guard. Amen. —PATRICK OF IRELAND (c. 387–c. 460)

This is to affirm that since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, he is present bodily in the world through his people.

Take me, I pray Thee, O Lord of my life, into Thy keeping this night and for ever. O Thou light of lights, keep me from inward darkness; grant me so to sleep in peace, that I may arise to work according to Thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. —LANCELOT ANDREWES (1555–1626)

conclusion: evangelicalism was both incoherent and oppressive.

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: be gracious to all who have gone astray from Thy ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Thy Word, Jesus Christ Thy Son; who with Thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. —BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER

the identification of evangelical faith with conservative/Republican/Trumpist politics

The Nicene Creed

Jesus according to Jesus

Holy Lord, almighty and eternal Father, thank You for Your mercy that has protected me throughout this day. Let me pass through this night peacefully and with a pure mind and body, that rising with purity in the morning, I may serve You gratefully. Amen. —ALCUIN OF YORK (c. 735–804)

Test all statements (about God, theology, morality, faith, life) based on whether such statements would be credible in the kind of world in which two-year-olds have been thrown alive into pits of fire. I would hasten to add: the kind of world in which Jewish two-year-olds have been burned alive mainly by baptized Christians.24

There are millions of LGBTQ Christians.