The word theologian doesn't appear in the Bible. Old Testament writers used a warmer, user-friendly expression, describing people who "walked with God." A theologian takes a long walk through life with God — living in his presence, going his way, learning to see the world through his eyes, and getting to know his character so that trusting him in the dark

God calls women to run—to trust him and invest ourselves in the race he has marked out—to participate, contribute and fight for what is right.

God's vision for us doesn't just reassure us that we matter and that our lives do count for something. God's vision compels us to look beyond ourselves, to ponder a picture of how things were meant to be that leaves us aching for his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, and to look for ways to participate in moving the world toward that goal. One of the biggest issues confronting us today is the battle cry of Amy Carmichael and the burning challenge of Half the Sky.

With a keen eye to take in every detail, we are to focus on who he [God] is, see the world through his eyes, love what he loves, grieve what he hates, and join his cause.

The Bible's message for women doesn't depend on ideal circumstances, but applies fully to those who live in the brutal outskirts of society where poverty engulfs, education is nonexistent, women's bodies are ravaged, and lives are in constant peril simply because they are female.

The widow becomes God's Exhibit A to teach the world (and his people in particular) how far we have to go before our thoughts and actions line up with his.

We need a global conversation because the Bible itself is global. God's Word has never been the exclusive property of the elite. God's Word is for the world. If anything, the Bible gives priority to the weak, the oppressed, and the poor and is tougher on privileged people who hold the reins of wealth and power but refuse to wield their advantages for the good of others.

We represent him [God] in this world--speaking and acting on his behalf. He is counting on his daughters along with his sons to be guardians of the whole earth and to rule it as he himself would.

I want a kinder, gentler nation.

Today we affirm a new commitment to live out our nation's promise through civility, courage, compassion and character.

Our nation is chosen by God and commissioned by history to be a model to the world of justice.

Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.