Brennan Manning on Being Poor in Spirit
March 26th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
To be poor in spirit means to cling to your impoverished humanity and to have nothing to brag about before God.
- Brennan Manning, Souvenirs of Solitude: Finding Rest in Abba’s Embrace
This attitude is something I need to cultivate more of.
Brennan Manning on The Wild, Uncontainable Love of God
March 11th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
I could more easily contain the Gulf of Mexico in a shot glass than I can comprehend the wild, uncontainable love of God.
- Brennan Manning, Souvenirs of Solitude: Finding Rest in Abba’s Embrace
What a great quote.
Amazing What A Little Context Will Do
February 15th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
This is an interesting quote:
Human sacrifice, in particular, is expensive but effective. – J. I. Packer
Of course, in context the quote is not quite as arresting. The quote is found in the book In My Place Condemned He Stood: Celebrating the Glory of Atonement. In the section where he made the quote Packer was discussing how ancient religions appeased their gods through the sacrifice and was specifically speaking of the Greek myth of Agamemnon who sacrificed his daughter to appease the goddess Artemis.
Of course I think we Christians are also guilty of misusing context when we pluck Bible verses out of context to fit our particular agenda. Taken out of context, Packer’s quote in and of itself seems to wholeheartedly condone human sacrifice. Having read quite a number of Packer’s works, I feel pretty certain that this is not the case.
It also seems like political seasons are times for people to take Bible verses out of context. Both parties this year have appealed to the Bible to support their opposing political positions. I’m not sure I would trust the hermeneutics of a politician or his cronies on that one.
Dean Karnazes On A Runner’s Awakening
December 1st, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Dean Karnazes‘ book “Ultramarathon Man” has some bits that make for really great quotes. For me, the book has a seminal quality. I love this passage where he talks about his running epiphany.
Every devout runner has an awakening. We know the place, the time and the reason we accepted running into our life. After half a lifetime, I’d been reborn. Most runners are able to keep a rational perspective on the devotion, and practice responsibly. I couldn’t, and became a fanatic.
After taking about five months off from running due to a reoccurring injury I’m back to running and really jazzed about it. I’m trying to keep my enthusiasm in check and ease back into some real mileage. My first 10 miler can’t come soon enough.
