townoak.com/quotes

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One of the main things that I'm interested in is marriage and how I believe it is under attack particularly within the church and particularly within the evangelical church. I won't say much more than that at the moment, but below are some quotes I thought were good.

The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 JN 1:7)(ESV) NIV Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name-the name you gave me-so that they may be one as we are one. (JN 17:11)(NIV)
Martin Luther's Here I Stand: The Speech That Launched the Protestant Reformation Martin Luther as quoted by Philip Melanchthon.

"Hier stehe ich. Ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir. Amen."

("Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me.")

Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ Doctrine affects behavior.
Lord Acton Below is what this wikipedia.com article refers to as Lord Acton's 'most famous pronouncement'. I refer to it as the PCAPCA quote (Power Corrupts, Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutly). Although the quote is often used in a political context, the wikipedia.com article referenced above indicates the original context was more religious. More of his quotes (including different versions of this one) are here at brainyquote.com.

"And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that. All power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Martin Niemöller (Rowohlts Monographien) (German Edition) This quote (or poem) is so famous it has it's own wikipedia article here.

The poem is usually attributed to Martin Niem”ller (in fact his wikipedia article says it is what he is best known for). However he himself said he isn't sure when he said it. See below from the wikipedia article.

"... Niem”ller said he was not quite sure when he had said the famous words but, if people insist upon citing them, he preferred this version:

In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

"It seems that nothing is more difficult for the average man to bear than the feeling of not being identified with a larger group. However much a German citizen may be opposed to the principles of Nazism, if he has to choose between being alone and feeling that he belongs to Germany, most persons will choose the latter." "the victim of the witchhunt or its modern equivalent not much has changed witchhunt or sexual harassment the tactics of persecution were much the same the loathed enemy was identified and then demonized and exactly the same emotions and energy that had gone into witchhunting now went into the pursuit of our preferred modern victims." Disk 3, track 20, 1:08-1:29 From Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith
The following is a quote from the Erwin Lutzer's book Hitler's Cross. I believe it shows how psychology can be a big influence in the evangelical church today.

"Jacques Ellul in The Subversion of Christianity wrote, 'Each generation thinks it has finally discovered the truth....Christianity becomes an empty bottle that successive cultures fill with all kinds of things.'3 Regrettably, the Christian bottle has been filled with many different agendas. Early in the history of the church, the Cross was obscured by sacramentalism, the idea that salvation was a grace given through the rituals of the church. Salvation was no longer a personal relationship with God, but was reduced to partnership with the ecclesiastical structure. ... Today the bottle of Christianity is often filled with psychology. Since Freud, the need for a religious conversion has been eliminated. Secular psychology denies that man fell from some previous state of holiness. Since he has not fallen, he has no need to be picked up, at least not by God. Salvation is simply a matter of having a healthy self-image. The cross of Christ is a symbol of man's alienation from himself; a reminder that man must be reconciled to who he already is. ... 194 ... CHAPTER 10: AMERICA'S OWN HIDDEN CROSS ... 3 Jacques Ellul, The Subversion of Christianity (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), 18. ... 216 "

"There are also some specific dif- ficult situations that require immediate help and careful guidance. We call them the "four As": Abandonment, Addictions, Abuse, Adultery 31 If you or your husband is struggling with any of these four circumstances, out hearts go out to you." Also important to remember is that if you have any relationship with a secret component, you are already in trouble. Marriages are relationships of oneness, and keeping secrets from your husband tears at that unity. 63
UNTANGLING THE TIGHTEST KNOTS ... 176 NEW STRATEGIES FOR OLD BATTLES ... If your spouse's anger and strife are too much for you to bear and you do not feel you can continue to put up with the situation, you are free to separate from your spouse. 177 p 173 ... But I cannot be abso- lutely certain whether it was alien to me because it was evil or whether I called it evil because it was so alien.
"You wouldn't worry so much about what other people thought about you if you knew how seldom they did." "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along?" Rodney King, 1 May 1992
Air Force One "Liberty 24 is changing call sign, Liberty 24 is now Air Force One!" from the movie Air Force One(a good way to explain salvation) Surprising Work of God, The: Harold John Ockenga, Billy Graham, and the Rebirth of Evangelicalism "hundreds of friends and family gathered ... to bid farewell to Harold John Ockenga.1 There to deliver the eulogy was an old friend, 'He was a giant among giants,' reflected Billy Graham. 'Nobody outside of my family influenced me more then he did. I never made a major decision without first calling and asking his advice and counsel. I thank God for his friendship and for his life.'2" ... 17 88 ... "Consequently, the question should not be 'Are we seeking unity?' but 'What is the nature of the unity we seek?' Genuine unity 'can only exist when compat- ible things are joined together.' The cross that 'unites Christians,' Ockenga continued, 'separates them' from all others. 'Christ has no concord with the devil' nor does the true believer have anything to do 'with an infidel.' Yet true believers 'recognize each other across denominational and sectarian lines,' they 'speak the same Biblical language,' and they 'enjoy fellowship with one another.' Their unity is 'organic and spiritual' rather then 'orga- nizational' or 'hierarchical.' A 'cathedral,' to use Ockenga's image, 'is a unity but it is not constructed by identical blocks of stone, nor is the temple of God constructed of uniform specimens of humanity.' Fundamentalists call for 'interdenominationalism.' Modernists call for 'ecumenicity.' Yet 'we must not seek uniformity but the unity of spiritual communication of the saints. The nature of the unity Christ seeks is a vital mystical union of believers in the life of Christ with one another."72 72. Harold John Ockenga, "The Nature of the Unity We Seek," sermon 1673, Ockenga Papers.
In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership

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