Whatever else we may say about it, the atonement fulfills the Jewish principle that only one who has been hurt can forgive. At Calvary, God chose to be hurt.

When I pray for another person, I am praying for God to open my eyes so that I can see that person as God does, and then enter into the stream of love that God already directs toward that person.

I have learned that faith means trusting in advance what will make sense only in reverse.

Yet as I read the birth stories about Jesus I cannot help but conclude that though the world may be tilted toward the rich and powerful, God is tilted toward the underdog.

In a nutshell, the Bible from Genesis 3 to Revelation 22 tells the story of a God reckless with desire to get his family back.

Grace, like water, flows to the lowest part.

The proof of spiritual maturity is not how pure you are but awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to grace.

Any discussion of how pain and suffering fit into God's scheme ultimately leads back to the cross.

No one ever converted to Christianity because they lost the argument.

In the stories of extravagant grace given to us by Jesus, there are no loopholes disqualifying us from God's love.

I doubt God keeps track of how many arguments we win; God may indeed keep track of how well we love.

But that did not stop her heart from shattering into countless pieces or her soul from shredding into slivers.

Something inside me clicks. It's like I've spent my whole life fiddling with a complicated combination only to discover I was toying with the wrong lock.

When there is no attachment-abhorrence

I submit to you that when in each man the dream of personal greatness dies, democracy loses the real source of its future strength.

I don't want to lose my accent, I just want it to become smaller.

People generally express more in between their sentences when they're not speaking. Words are usually there to disguise who someone is or what they're feeling.

I determine nothing; I do not comprehend things; I suspend judgment; I examine.

When Socrates was about 30, and his father was long dead, he was still pursuing the art of sculpture, but from necessity, and without much inclination.

Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.

I like 'Breaking Bad' and 'Game of Thrones.' I like that era. I like that fantasy world.