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Quote by Julian Barnes

“In life you didn't have to explain if you didn't want to. Not because there was no audience: there was, and one habitually thirsty for motive at that. It was just that they didn't have any rights; they paid any box-office money to your life.”

Quote by Julian Barnes

Author

Julian Barnes
Julian Barnes

Julian Barnes, born on January 19, 1946, is a distinguished British writer. His works span across various genres including novels, essays, and criticism, known for their unique literary style and profound insights into human nature. more

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“When after celebrating the Glory of the Grace of God we find way too much self congratulatory glory taking by a person who seem to need "More Acclaim" than he actually deserve and if there is way too self referencing involved in one's Christian ministry, then that can be indisputable sign of one's failing to recognize his Bias and own Spiritual Blindness. Such a person can never be Right or Honest with God no matter what he claims. One will be tempted to be less than honest about what's really going on in his heart and ministry. In the light of above premise we have to understand that the underlying danger is if one is too caught up in searching his own will then he will never find the secret of discovering God's divine will.”

“Prophecy is not about declaring the words of blessing and sharing soothing words to please men. But instead prophecy is to see things in black and white through God's Holy Spirit and sharing boldly with others for their honest edification. The overall motive of any prophetical office is not to stop people from leaving the churches but to encourage them to genuinely repent of their personal Sins, assert spiritual discipline and avoid getting ultimately Driven Out from the Presence of God.”

“I have argued elsewhere (Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence [2005]) that we need to treat ethics in biblical texts just as we treat ethics in any other works of ancient literature. It is a vacuous exercise to pick and choose which atrocities were really ordained by any gods and which were not. We should have a zero-tolerance view of any text or collection of texts that at any time endorses genocide, misogyny, and other atrocities. We always judge ancient texts by modern ethical standards, and the Bible should not be treated differently.”

“I think that a good start at this problem is to enunciate our ethical theory that underlies our moral judgements. According to the version of divine command ethics which I’ve defended, our moral duties are constituted by the commands of a holy and loving God. Since God doesn’t issue commands to Himself, He has no moral duties to fulfill. He is certainly not subject to the same moral obligations and prohibitions that we are. For example, I have no right to take an innocent life. For me to do so would be murder. But God has no such prohibition. He can give and take life as He chooses. We all recognize this when we accuse some authority who presumes to take life as “playing God.” Human authorities arrogate to themselves rights which belong only to God. God is under no obligation whatsoever to extend my life for another second. If He wanted to strike me dead right now, that’s His prerogative. What that implies is that God has the right to take the lives of the Canaanites when He sees fit. How long they live and when they die is up to Him.”