Quotes about Belief

religious traditions build up meaning only over time and in a communal context. They can't be purchased like a burger or a pair of shoes.

Anyone who listens to the world, anyone who seeks the sacred in the ordinary events of life, has "problems about how to believe.

The concept of sin does not exist so that people who may need therapy more than theology can be convinced that they are evil and beyond hope. It is meant to encourage people to believe that they are made in the image of God and to act accordingly. Hope is the heart of it, and the ever-present possibility of transformation.

I began to appreciate religious belief as a relationship, like a deep friendship, or a marriage, something that I could plunge into, not knowing exactly what I was doing or what would be demanded of me in the long run.

I believe that where local congregational life is concerned, it is best to give the Holy Spirit all the room we can, because the Spirit has a way of reminding us that what we think is right—even what we think the Bible spells out as right—is not necessarily letter-perfect in the sight of God. If God did not choose to work in ways that confound us, grace would not be amazing. It would not be grace.

Faith is not faith until it is tested!

From now on we recognize no one according to the flesh" (2 Corinthians 5:16)—you are a brand-new creature! Old things have passed away and all things have become new. Now, beloved of God, live accordingly.

He resolved to never lose hope - not as long as breath was left in his body. And when death did come, he would release life in hope of the resurrection.

More recently, Britt Beemer, of America's Research Group, found that: One in six said their pastor said something to make them believe that the Book of Genesis contained myths and legends that we know are untrue.8 Over 20% (one in five) said their pastors taught that Christians could believe in an earth that is millions or billions of years old.

Regarding kids who attended church, Beemer found that: Eighty-three percent said their science teachers taught them that the earth was millions or billions of years old.10 What this means is that the secular, atheistic world is being more effective at training the church kids than the Church! It is time to reverse this trend!

Until the 1800s, most people from the Middle East to the Western World believed what the Bible records about creation and the global Flood. The secular idea of millions of years did not gain extensive popularity until the 1830s, under the influence of a man named Charles Lyell — who opposed a global Flood!

It is not a matter of whether one is biased or not. It is really a question of which bias is the best bias with which to be biased.