Quotessence
Home / Authors / Criss Jami
Criss Jami

Criss Jami Quotes

Poet

Filter quotes by topic

AllLoveGodTruthMenApologeticsPeoplePrideHumilitySinChristWisdomFaithHeartThinkingFearIfsReligionHonestyGraceIntelligence

Famous Criss Jami Quotes

“The foundation of morality on the human sentiments of what is acceptable behavior versus repulsive behavior has always made morals susceptible to change. Much of what was repulsive 100 years ago is normal today, and - although it may be a slippery slope - what is repulsive today is possible to be normal 100 years into tomorrow; the human standard has always been but to push the envelope. In this way, all generations are linked, and one can only hope that every extremist, self-proclaimed progressive is considering this ultimate 'Utopia' to which his kindness will lead at the end of the chain.”

LovePhilosophyPastLawTimeReligionHumanitySpiritualityEvilPoliticsPeaceChangeFreedomCompassionKindnessPsychologyFateGenerationsSocietyAtheismMankindMoralityFutureBehaviorEternityFoundationConservativeGoodGood And EvilConsiderationMortalityTemporaryWrongPresentRightSkepticismStatus QuoDoomUtopiaExtremismComprehensionProgressionDescendantsRight And WrongNormalityTheismAncestorsApologeticsLiberalLawlessnessSlippery SlopeEraStandardPeriodAgesSkepticism And Religion
Book:Healology
Create image

“A utopian system, when established by men, is likely to be synonymous with a dystopian depression. The only way for perfect peace by man is absolute control of all wrongs. Bully-cultures find this: with each and every mistake, another village idiot is shamed into nothingness and mindlessly shut down by the herd. This is a superficial peace made by force and by fear, one in which there is no freedom to breathe; and the reason it is impossible for man to maintain freedom and peace for everyone at the same time. Christ, on the other hand, transforms, instead of controls, by instilling his certain inner peace. This is the place where one realizes that only his holiness is and feels like true freedom, rather than like imprisonment, and, too, why Hell, I imagine, a magnified version of man's never-ending conflict between freedom and peace, would be the flesh's ultimate utopia - yet its ultimate regret.”

WarPhilosophyGodRealityGovernmentPoliticalCultureForceHeavenFearPeaceChristFreedomSinHellGraceSocietyRegretBattleConflictDepressionForgivenessDevilMercyTransformationSalvationUnityChaosInner PeaceTyrannyTheologyConfusionOppressionVanityManSatanHolinessControlEstablishmentDictatorshipBullyUtopiaGood IntentionsDystopiaImprisonmentPolice StateApologeticsSuperficialityHerd MentalityArtificialityTotalitarian
Book:Healology
Create image

“Those small moments of pleasure men get from sin, from defying God, are perhaps grace - His final gift still to those who hard-heartedly choose to deny Him. Godless men may blatantly enjoy offending God not because they are free-spirited, but on the whole because He moves them to enjoy it. Sin is, in a sense, still touching God: for a strike involves a touch. Perhaps this is His divine kindness. Faithful men find everlasting fulfillment in His good company; but godless men who strike at the Author of Joy, who are completely ignorant of the greater, for them - and by God's love for His enemies - there is yet this small recoil known as 'pleasure' before the fall.”

LoveGodJoyJesusChristSinPleasureKindnessGraceAtheismGloryMercyGiftHolinessRepentanceEnemiesTheismApologeticsStrikeGodless
Book:Healology
Create image

“The study of Scripture I find to be quite like mastering an instrument. No one is so good that they cannot get any better; no one knows so much that they can know no more. A professional can spot an amateur or a lack of practice or experience a mile away. His technicality, his spiritual ear is razor-sharp. He is familiar with the common mistakes, the counter-arguments; and insofar as this, he can clearly distinguish the difference between honest critics of the Faith and mere fools who criticize that which they know nothing.”

MindPhilosophyWisdomTruthReligionLanguageMusicKnowledgePracticeLearningTeacherAtheismDevelopmentJudgmentBibleCriticismLiesLogicMetaphorImprovementFoolishScriptureTheologyMaturityProphetDeceitApplicationPreacherFalsehoodSimileDiscernmentAgnosticismProfessionalTheismApologeticsImmaturityDialectStudyingArgumentationInstrumentFallaciesAmateurFalse ProphetLogical FallaciesFigurativeLingoMasteringCounter ArgumentFalse TeachingMastering The MindMastering OneselfAntitheisticFalse Preaching
Book:Healology
Create image

“Initially, the God of the Old Testament might seem overwhelming and domineering to you, or tyrannical, or perhaps even evil, which is good. It is the first telling that God is indeed God, by sheer definition, and not some ear-tickling fairy by which one in his depravity is guaranteed to find another form of stale romanticism or love at first sight. For such a first impression as the latter would be problematic to the essence of Christianity. Therefore the Christians are right in saying that the nature of imperfect men cannot ultimately co-exist with the nature of a perfect God; and that the hope of each man is now desperately found in God's sending of Christ.”

LoveGodTruthReligionFaithSpiritualityEvilFearChristSinPerfectChristianityGraceAtheismHolyRespectBibleMercySalvationGoodTheologyRedemptionHolinessOverwhelmingSaviorImperfectJustificationSkepticismWrathNew TestamentOld TestamentAgnosticismSanctificationDepravityTheismApologeticsWrath Of GodTyrantJustification By FaithDomineeringSkepticism Of Religion
Book:Healology
Create image

“Realizing the seriously ruthless, venomous habits and agendas of evil always instills a more fierce passion and longing for a closer God. Men, out of pride, may claim their own authorities over what constitutes good and evil; they may self-proclaim a keen knowledge of subjective morality through religion or science. But that is only if they are acknowledging the work of evil as a cartoon-like, petty little rain cloud in the sky that merely wants to dampen one's spirits. On the contrary, a man could be without a doubt lit with the strength, the peace, and the knowledge of the gods, his gods, but when or if the devils grow weary in unsuccessful attempts to torment him, they begin tormenting his loved ones, or, if not his loved ones, anyone who may attempt to grasp his philosophies. No matter how godly he may become, God is, in the end, his only hope and his only grace for the pressures built around him - it is left up to a higher authority and a more solid peace and a wider love to eclipse not just one's own evils but all evils for goodness to ultimately matter. If all men were gods, each being would dwell in a separate prison cell, hopeless, before finally imploding into nothingness.”

LovePhilosophyGodSpiritualScienceReligionFaithSpiritualityEvilHopePeaceSinGraceSecurityHumilityPrideMoralityEgoGoodnessDevilMercyPrisonPossessionGoodSatanAngelsHopelessnessBadDemonsApologeticsSpiritsBadnessSpirit Realm
Book:Killosophy
Create image

“On the whole the modern world has been conditioned to have a chip on its shoulder against devoutly religious people. I disagree with this in some instances - particularly in, believe it or not, matters of integrity. Deep down I often rather believe the man who honestly thinks - or better yet even, prefers - that he has an omnipotent Judge breathing down his neck, holding his every word and his every move accountable, than the man who much like his modern peers, and ironically enough, claims or wishes to bask in complete independence. As it appears actually, the former is more free of guilt than the latter.”

GodTruthReligionFreedomModernHonestyIntegrityGuiltAccountabilityApologetics
Book:Healology
Create image

“Be careful not to appear obsessively intellectual. When intelligence fills up, it overflows a parody.”

ThinkingPhilosophyWisdomHumorCareFunnyScienceBrainKnowledgePsychologyComedyHonestyHumilityPrideGeniusLaughterProfoundAddictionIntelligenceAppearanceTheologyObsessionArroganceExcessNot KnowingJokeRidiculeCautionObsessiveCognitionParodyFunny But TrueApologeticsOverflowOverthinkingKnow It AllGlassPretentiousnessOverdoing ItEgghead
Book:Healology
Create image

“The aim is to love God because the pure heart loves loving God and because the true mind knows He deserves it. Unlike the accusations and beliefs of the critics and skeptics, it is neither an obligation of duty; nor a fear of damnation; nor a wish for power; nor a desire to appear more righteous than others; nor because God needs it; but because through all love, truth, reason, faith, honesty, and joy in and beyond oneself and the universe, He is worthy.”

LoveMindHeartReasonGodWisdomTruthChristianBeautifulJoyFaithUniverseJesusBeliefFearUnderstandingChristChristianityKnowledgePowerHellRelationshipHonestyDutyGratitudeHolyWorshipJesus ChristCriticismPraiseIntelligenceWorthyObligationPurityHolinessServiceRighteousnessSinceritySkepticismThankfulnessRelationship With GodWorthinessAccusationDamnationApologeticsInsincerityGlorificationHoliness Of GodMotivesChrist Jesus
Book:Killosophy
Create image

“Science is knowledge meeting humility meeting curiosity: ever-evolving, always learning. Atheism is often but knowledge meeting arrogance: a masquerade under the wing of the beauty of science. Religion is infamously a weight under the one wing; then under the other is atheism, the championed masquerade.”

CharacterGodFactsWisdomTruthScienceReligionFaithBeliefBeautyOpinionKnowledgeLearningAtheismInformationHumilityIgnoranceCuriosityIntelligenceArroganceSkepticismPretenseAgnosticismTheismApologeticsPantheismMasqueradeDeismFalse Knowledge
Book:Healology
Create image

“Knowledge is power, as some say. But on some days it is just as much pain and confusion as it is power; and any wise man worth his salt as a wise man at least understands this. One may be able to comprehend all the human perspectives in the universe, but this gives more to decipher regarding what is actually true; and even after discovering the truth, the challenge is in maintaining a patience for the infinite number of opinions that do not reflect that truth. Its consistency in man is challenge. A worldly knowledge ends at the former challenge of confusion, but the knowledge of Christ ends at the latter challenge of patience.”

WorldWisdomTruthPainJesusChristGriefOpinionKnowledgePowerPerspectiveSorrowDespairJesus ChristPatienceConfusionChallengeApologeticsChrist Jesus
Book:Killosophy
Create image

“Angels are good not simply because they see bad as bad, but also because they see bad as corny.”

WisdomHumorFunnySpiritualReligionSpiritualityEvilFearSinKnowledgeHumilityDivinePerspectivePrideGeniusMoralityEgoGoodnessPerceptionLaughterDevilExperienceIntelligenceStupidityGoodSillyVanityFearlessDumbMaturitySatanHolinessRebellionRighteousnessSense Of HumorSentimentalAngelsBadDemonsChillCornyMockeryCheesyFunny But TrueApologeticsImmaturityYouthfulnessSpiritsBadnessUselessnessAngels And DemonsCoolnessTrite
Book:Healology
Create image

“Without Christ a people may always have the freedom to do, but never the power to complete.”

WorldLoveHeartSoulCountryGodActionSuccessPurposeReligionFaithHumanitySpiritualityPeaceChristChurchWorkFreedomSinChristianityPowerStruggleSocietyMoralityGoodnessBibleConscienceSalvationConversionMeaningControlFree WillActivistSovereigntyHumanity And SocietyGood WillNationIncompleteCompletionApologeticsLegalismDeedGood WorksFalse SalvationFalse Conversion
Book:Healology
Create image

“People debate over whether or not there is a literal Hell, in the literal sense often described as fire and eternal torture, which, to many, seems to be too harsh a punishment. If men really want to fear something, they should be fearing separation from God, the supposedly more comforting alternative to a literal Hell. For separation from the authorship of love, mercy, and goodness is the ultimate torture. If you think a literal Hell sounds too bad, you are very much underestimating the pain of being absolutely, wholly separated from the goodness while exposed to the reality of the holiness of God.”

LovePhilosophyGodRealityPainReligionSufferingSpiritualityFearSinHellFireGraceComfortGoodnessBibleMercyEternityAtheistSeparationPunishmentTortureHolinessFundamentalismTheologianWrathEvangelismLiteralSkepticApologeticsTheistWrath Of GodPit Of Fire
Book:Killosophy
Create image

“Man's delight in the Lord is the absolute peak of human triumph. He praises God when full of joy, and when not, he praises God to become full of joy. For to know and to live as though God is worthy of all praise, in all one's circumstances, whether seemingly good or seemingly bad, is the primary definition of joy and the richest triumph for man under God.”

LoveGodHappinessJoyPeaceChurchPrayerMusicLordRichStrengthGreatnessTrustVictoryHonorWorshipSingingGloryRespectPraiseDelightManTriumphHolinessAweReverenceWorthinessApologeticsGlorificationGlorifying GodGlorification Of God
Book:Healology
Create image

“The Christian should never have to put others down in order to feel good about himself. Instead, he can simply check out the media's insistent portrayal of Christianity and feel grateful that he isn't as deceived as the masses who really swallow the garbage. Ignorance is ultimately how people put themselves down, and the mere Christian who knows what entails the mere Christian is ultimately free from such.”

LoveWisdomTruthSpiritualFaithChristianityHonestMediaConfidenceLiesPropagandaGossipDiscernmentSlanderApologeticsLibelPortrayal
Book:Killosophy
Create image

“God wants us to humbly and sincerely ask him things. How often do you enjoy people talking about you without taking the time to get to know you?”

LovePhilosophyGodWisdomTruthScienceReligionFaithSpiritualityPrayerKnowledgeMeditationRelationshipHumilityJudgingPridePrayingEgoRespectSeekingTheologyPropagandaArroganceHypocrisyGossipPraySincerityReverenceNot KnowingQuestionsQuestionSlanderRelationship With GodSelf RighteousnessApologeticsLibelRhetoricalRhetorical Question
Book:Healology
Create image

“God knew man would evolve. People think some of the Old Testament laws are absurd now because we live in a very different culture, a different time period. They had their problems and we have ours. God is constant but man is not, and he foreknew the ever-changing world his people would have to deal with; therefore, and if there is indeed an omniscient God, a Christ-like figure would be our only rational, possible connection to a constant, holy God throughout the evolution of culture and social law. The only answer that makes sense when it comes to relevance regarding religions and time periods is Christ, and the chances are slim that men could have invented it.”

LoveGodLawHumanityCultureJesusChristChangeFreedomEvolutionMoralityBibleJesus ChristConstantScriptureRationalComplexityHolinessConnectionAbsurdityRulesNew TestamentOld TestamentFickleApologeticsProfundityHoliness Of GodForeknowledgeSocial Law
Book:Killosophy
Create image

“A great many skeptics are unfortunately put to waste, in that they vainly focus their energy on ridiculing a certain tiny denomination of Biblical fundamentalism, a denomination seated just one chair away from unbelief. They, the skeptics, cannot believe because they are the most literal of fundamentalists: of those who must interpret Scripture as simply an obsolete, absolutely dead compilation of intellectual incompetence. Nevertheless, by all means, because, after all, that is supposed to happen - Scripture states of itself that all thought and interpretation is folly without the Holy Spirit - however the ironic thing is the case in which one believes that the Bible is, in its true essence, completely outdated. And like flashes in a pan, he hints at his naivety, that he knows little about the world around him, little about those who live in it. Either that, or he knows little about what Scripture really says in relation to the world around him, little about what it really says in relation to those who live in it. It is as though he is the one dead to the world and it to him. He has not the Spirit to give life to his own spirit; he can only possibly understand Scripture as long-deceased rather than the modern world's very living narrative.”

GodChristianityBibleScriptureHoly SpiritSkepticismFundamentalismApologeticsHermeneuticsEtymology
Book:Healology
Create image

“To me, many of what seemed to be Bible contradictions only pointed to the grace of Christ. It is not so much a rule book on how to be holy as it is a prophecy of the One who can make you holy. In this, I see God as the least bigoted of all in existence: While men always, in their hearts, delight in vengeance for being wronged, God is the only Being who wants to free you from the penalty of His own laws.”

LoveBookPhilosophyGodLawFaithJesusChristJusticeFreedomSinExistenceHellGraceMoralityBibleJesus ChristMercySalvationSavedKarmaScripturePunishmentTheologyComplexityHolinessContradictionBigotryForgivenVengeanceRulesNew TestamentGospelOld TestamentDamnationSaved SoulsApologeticsProfundityLegalismHoliness Of GodPenalty
Book:Healology
Create image

“Think outside the box? Indeed. But to add balance to that, one should not in the process forget what the inside of the box looks like as well. Those who are best at thinking outside the box do it not to puff themselves up, but to see how small they really are. As a contented fish in its fish tank appears to have a small, boring existence to us, imagine a larger, more perceptive kingdom (even by scientific taxonomy) to whom our contented existences may appear to be small and boring. This is where true creativity and massive perceptive abilities spawn a sense of intellectual humility; the kind which God adores.”

GodScienceArtistAtheismHumilityPerspectivePridePerceptionThoughtArroganceOriginalitySkepticismAgnosticismTheismApologeticsThink Outside The BoxTaxonomy
Book:Killosophy
Create image

“What's simple is that everything good comes from God, and everything bad comes from man. Where it gets complicated is that everything seemingly good but ultimately bad comes from man, and everything seemingly bad but ultimately good comes from God.”

LoveHeartReasonGodPainHappinessJoyDesirePurposeSufferingPassionEvilUnderstandingSinEmotionIgnoranceMoralityJudgmentGloryPerfectionUltimateSimplicityStupidityGoodLustManMeaningFallenComplexityHolinessBlindnessSovereigntyBadMisunderstoodDiscernmentComplicationDepravityApologeticsOmnipotenceOmniscienceScamStupidity Of ManBlindness Of ManOmnipresence
Book:Healology
Create image

“It is debatable whether blind faith is truly faith at all. Faith is the perceptive gray area where scientific facts meet an individual's experiential truths - the extreme of the former is left feeling in the dark whereas the latter is caught blinded by the light. By proper scientific method, it is intellectually dishonest for me to declare the existence of God with utmost certainty, but to my individual spirit, I would be intellectually dishonest to deny the existence of God even for a second. This leaves the best of both worlds, as the believer is called to be able to give reasons for his faith, a deviation from mere fantasy.”

ReasonGodFactsTruthSpiritualFaithLearningDoubtHonestyEvidenceLogicInsightCertaintyUncertaintyFalsehoodAgnosticismBlind FaithTheismApologeticsDebatesReasonable Faith
Book:Killosophy
Create image

“God is not a God of confusion, although at times one's judgment, for a period, may become clouded in the mi(d)st of one's growth process. I stopped fooling myself into thinking that Christ is always for the cool kids and never for those upright and uptight religious people everybody hates.”

ThinkingLoveGodLawReligionFaithHateSpiritualityPassionJesusUnderstandingGrowthChristSinCompassionChristianityDoubtAcceptanceMoralityJudgmentSalvationConfusionObedienceMaturityHolinessUnconditional LoveBigotrySkepticismGospelOpen MindednessApologeticsSolemnityLegalismClose MindednessSinlessPhariseeRighteous Judgment
Book:Healology
Create image

“If I were to believe in God enough to call him a murderer, then I might also believe enough that he, as a spirit, exists beyond death; and therefore only he could do it righteously. For the physical being kills a man and hatefully sends him away, whereas God, the spiritual being, kills a man and lovingly draws him nigh.”

LoveLifeSoulReasonGodPainSpiritualDeathSpiritReligionSufferingFaithHateHumanitySpiritualityBeliefHeavenJusticeHellDoubtAtheismLogicMurderAdversityRationalImmortalityHoly SpiritMourningHolinessLife And DeathMaterialismRighteousnessMortalityFuneralJustificationSkepticismEternal LifeKillHoly GhostHeaven And HellAgnosticismLife After DeathTheismPhysicalityApologeticsBurialGraveJustSuffering Of HumanityJustification By FaithImmortality Of The SoulReasonable FaithMateralism Vs Spiritualism
Book:Healology
Create image

“The wrong approaches to faith and to skepticism are equally detrimental to the path. For the former declares its answers too soon and is later found false; the latter rejects sound answers altogether and hashes itself useless.”

ReasonPhilosophyScienceFaithAnswersAtheismTheoryApproachEvidenceLogicTheologyRationalReasonableLogicalQuestioningSkepticismQuestionsTheismApologeticsDetrimentalPracticalAnsweringImpracticalReasonable FaithWrong Approach
Book:Healology
Create image

“The faithful are often mocked for saying that God works in mysterious ways because it sounds like lazy thinking, or a cop-out answer; but it's actually quite conclusive in many cases. One should consider the concept of omniscience: that a Being worthy of being called 'God' would know and utilize 12-D chess while humans are still playing checkers.”

GodFaithChessMysteriousFaith In GodFaithfulnessApologeticsOmniscienceCheckersUnderstanding God
Author:Criss Jami
Create image

“God is our final say in who and what's negative and who and what's positive in our lives. It is best not to have this so over-simplified as the illusioned superstitionists have it; an infinite being's tests may not always be so flowery, and the things we may see as positive are in many cases simply desires of our sinful nature. We are to protect our spirit without falling into the narcissistic mistake of trying to protect our selfish emotions, which the latter, in turn, is more than unlikely to bring peace and happiness. But rather guilt and emptiness. When one walks around constantly, in his mind, attempting to separate positive versus negative people, he is already controlled by something even worse than those he calls the 'negative people', and that is before he spots it soon enough to avoid it as he hypocritically tries to avoid them.”

GodSpiritualJudgmentPositivityNegativityDiscernmentSuperstitionApologeticsHypocritical Illusion
Book:Killosophy
Create image

“In my experiences, the common critic of Christianity, when he thinks of Christianity, imagines a sort of elementary, Sunday School blunder of elements: fiery Hell, an angry God, 'try not to sin', 'be good so that you can go to Heaven', absurd miracles, hyper-fundamentalist tales, religious hypocrites, and Jesus telling people not to judge. There is no horse more dead than such. I maintain that understanding Christianity and the Bible is quite like painting a piece of art. Let a toddler paint a puppy; then let an adult who is a long-time painter paint the very same puppy. They are both paintings of the puppy, but one is far more detailed, rational, realistic, and believable than the other. One is distorted and comical; the other is proportional and lively. One can write off Theology if he so pleases, but he might not be very wise in using the toddler's painting when it comes time to identify the real puppy or when trying to confront actual men of the Faith.”

GodFaithUnderstandingChristianityJudgmentCriticismHypocrisyFundamentalismApologeticsReligious Fundamentalism
Book:Healology
Create image

“Excuses will become self-refuting. No man who does not believe that Jesus is the perfect, sinless Son of God can, in his desperation and love for sin, reasonably use and misconstrue Jesus' words that unless a Christian is perfect, then that Christian cannot judge sin. Otherwise this non-believer is unconsciously entertaining a belief that Jesus, unlike any other man to ever live, was indeed perfect and sinless in His judgments and therefore that Christian is supposed to be like Him.”

GodChristianChristSinJudgmentJesus ChristPerfectionExcusesApologetics
Book:Killosophy
Create image

“The Christian does not avoid sin to achieve salvation, but rather salvation brings him to a desire not to sin. The closer that one's spirit is synchronized with the holy knowledge of God, the more he comprehends how and why sin is destructive to himself and others in each and every circumstance. The dwindling desire for sin is a premature gift of Heaven - where there will be no sin, where all will, too, possess that full and complete wisdom; all will have perfect reasons not to sin. In this way, free will might still exist, but the shared wisdom of God will simply outwit all desires, impulses, and needs to sin.”

GodWisdomChristianSinKnowledgeTransformationSalvationIntelligenceTemptationObedienceHolinessApologetics
Book:Killosophy
Create image

“Some of the simplest of truths are also some of the most difficult of truths, but such is Christianity: 'If it's not about Christ, it's not about life.”

LoveLifeGodTruthChristianDeathPurposeReligionFaithSpiritualityJesusPeaceChristChristianityGraceLivingForgivenessMercyDifficultySalvationSimplicityLifestyleTheologyRedemptionMeaningComplexityMeaning Of LifeOrthodoxParadoxPeace Of MindTruth Of LifeLiving LifeUnderstandComprehensionAccuracyEverythingLiving Life To The FullestSinsTheismApologeticsChristendomComplicationsSuch Is LifeFundamentalComprehension AccuracyFundamental TruthDifficulty Of Conversion
Book:Healology
Create image