For Luther it (faith) is an undeviating trusting outlook appointment life a constant stance of the trustworthiness of the promises of God.
Our present world contains clues...to another world-a world which we can begin to experience now but will only know in all its fullness at the end of things.
At Oxford University the certainties of my atheist faith (and atheism is a faith) began to crumble
When the old poets made some virtue their theme they were not teaching but adoring
Clergy had a vested interest in retaining the old ways which made few demands of them as teachers as spiritual guides or as moral examples or agents.
We must not think that religious concerns swamped all other social activities. They simply provided a focal point for them.
The imaginative is produced by the human mind as it tries to respond to something greater than itself struggling to find images adequate to the reality.
The reading of literature opens our eyes offering us new perspectives on things that we can evaluate and adopt.
Rational argument does not create belief but it maintains a climate in which belief may flourish.
Surely the better way is to pursue a generous orthodoxy seeing disagreements in the context of the greater agreements which bind us together.
Manz formerly one of Zwingli's closest allies held that there was no biblical warrant for infant baptism. Refusing to recant his views he was tied up and drowned in the River Limmat.
Christianity israrely understood by those outside its bounds. In fact this is probably one of the greatest tasks confronting the apologistâ??to rescue Christianity from misunderstandings.
To reenchant nature is not merely to gain a new perspective for its integrity and well-being; it is to throw open the doors to a deeper level of existence.
One of the most effective ways of changing l the way people think is to change the way they worship.
One of the best introductions to the history and ideas of Calvinism packed with insight and wisdom.
The Christian faith allows us to see further and deeper to appreciate that nature is studded with signs radiant with reminders and emblazoned with symbols of God our creator and redeemer.
We live in a world of competing narratives. In the end we have to decide for ourselves which is right. And having made that decision we then need to inhabit the story we trust.
Within each of us exists the image of God however disfigured and corrupted by sin it may presently be. God is able to recover this image through grace as we are conformed to Christ.
The English experience suggested that nobody really doubted the existence of God until theologians tried to prove it.
Deep down within all of us is a longing to work out what life is all about and what we're meant to be doing.
Our desires cannot be and were never meant to be satisfied by earthly pleasures alone.
We live on earth; our homeland is in heaven.
Faith is not something that goes against the evidence it goes beyond it. The evidence is saying to us 'There is another country. There is something beyond mere reason'.
The idea of â??calling' was fundamentally redefined: no longer was it about being called to serve God by leaving the world; it was now about serving God in the world
A failure to understand something does not mean it is irrational. It may simply mean that it lies on the far side of our limited abilities to take things in and make complete sense of them.
Good does not triumph unless good people rise to the challenges around them.
If there is no ultimate reality it's pointless to think about how we might get there.
Hope is a settled state of mind in which we see the world in its true light and look forward to our final homecoming in heaven.
Hope is rooted in the trustworthiness of God.
Imagination is the gatekeeper of the human soul.
The hallmark of intelligence is not whether one believes in God or not but the quality of the processes that underlie oneâ??s beliefs.
To its critics the study of theology distracts from real life. But at its best theology inspires and informs precisely the committed and caring ministry.
All the important things in life lie beyond reason... and that's just the way things are.
Puzzles lead to logical answers; mysteries often force us to stretch language to its limits in an attempt to describe a reality that is just too great to take in properly.
The most radical question which anyone can be asked is not how much their possessions cost but whether they have found something of value - that is something that makes living worthwhile.
The true believer is not someone who disengages from this world in order to focus on heaven but rather the one who tries to make this world more like heaven.