“Those who, animal-like, live solely according to the senses... misuse God's creation in order to indulge the passions. They do not understand the principle of that wisdom which is revealed to all: that we should know and praise God through His creation and that by means of the visible world we should understand whence we came, what we are, for what purpose we were made and where we are going. On the contrary, they travel through this present age in darkness... with... ignorance of God.” KnowsWorldShouldMeanMadeAgeChristianPurposeOrderPassionAnimalPrinciplesDarknessCreationIgnorancePraiseContrarySensesVisibleOrthodoxIndulgeMisusePraise GodGod's Creation Author:Maximus the Confessor
“Those who seek the Lord should not look for Him outside themselves; on the contrary, they must seek Him within themselves through faith made manifest in action. For He is near you: 'The word is... in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith' (Rom. 10:8) - Christ being Himself the word that is sought.” ShouldLooksHeartMadeActionChristianChristLordMouthsContraryOrthodoxManifestOrthodox Christian Author:Maximus the Confessor
“And then the spirit brings hope, hope in the strictest Christian sense, hope which is hoping against hope. For an immediate hope exists in every person; it may be more powerfully alive in one person than in another; but in death every hope of this kind dies and turns into hopelessness. Into this night of hopelessness (it is death that we are describing) comes the life-giving spirit and brings hope, the hope of eternity. It is against hope, for there was no longer any hope for that merely natural hope; this hope is therefore a hope contrary to hope.” GivingKindMayPersonsChristianSpiritNightDiesTurnsHopeNaturalAliveEternityContraryHopelessnessDescribing Author:Soren Kierkegaard
“Why did the consensus of Christian churches not only accept these astonishing views but establish them as the only true form of Christian doctrine? . . . these religious debates - questions of the nature of God, or of Christ - simultaneously bear social and political implications that are crucial to the development of Christianity as an institutional religion. In simplest terms, ideas which bear implications contrary to that development come to be labeled as 'heresy'; ideas which implicitly support it become 'orthodox.'” IdeasChristianFormPoliticalReligionSocialTermChristChurchReligiousViewsAcceptingChristianitySupportDevelopmentBearsContraryDebateDoctrineOrthodoxCrucialSimplestConsensusAstonishingImplicationsHeresyChristian ChurchChristian Doctrine Author:Elaine Pagels
“Children of God should not make a general confession by acknowledging their innumerable sins in a vague manner, because such confession does not provide conscience opportunity to do its perfect work. They ought to allow the Holy Spirit through their conscience to point out their sins one by one. Christians must accept its reproach and be willing, according to the mind of the Spirit, to eliminate everything which is contrary to God.” ShouldMindChildrenDoeChristianSpiritOpportunitySinPerfectAcceptingWillingOughtHolyConscienceContraryHoly SpiritConfessionVagueChild Of GodReproachPerfect Work Book:The Spiritual Man Source: The Spiritual Man
“Contrary to common belief, Christian fiction did not begin with Catherine Marshall, Janette Oke, or Frank Peretti.” ChristianBeliefCommonFictionContraryFrank Author:Randy Alcorn
“Removing religious symbols from public places is not neutrality. On the contrary, it sends a highly negative message - that religion is something shameful, embarrassing, or at best strictly private.” ChristianReligiousMessagesNegativeContrarySymbolsEmbarrassingShamefulNeutrality Author:Charles Colson
“At root, evangelical anti-intellectualism is both a scandal and a sin. It is a scandal in the sense of being an offense and a stumbling block that needlessly hinders serious people from considering the Christian faith and coming to Christ. It is a sin because it is a refusal, contrary to Jesus' two great commandments, to love the Lord our God with our minds. Anti-intellectualism is quite simply a sin. Evangelicals must address it as such, beyond all excuses, evasions, or rationalizations of false piety.” PeopleMindTwoChristianJesusChristSinLordSeriousRootsExcuseContraryBlockAddressesCommandmentsConsideringOffenseScandalRefusalPietyChristian FaithEvangelicalHinderStumblingIntellectualismEvasionStumbling Blocks Author:Os Guinness
“"The myths," says Horace in his Ars Poetica, "have been invented by wise men to strengthen the laws and teach moral truths." While Horace endeavored to make clear the very spirit and essence of the ancient myths, Euhemerus pretended, on the contrary, that "myths were the legendary history of kings and heroes, transformed into gods by the admiration of the nations." It is the latter method which was inferentially followed by Christians when they agreed upon the acceptation of euhemerized patriarchs, and mistook them for men who had really lived.” MenHas BeensChristianLawSpiritNationsMoralTeachClearWiseKingsHeroEssenceMethodAncientMythContraryLatterAdmirationTransformedLegendary Author:H. P. Blavatsky
“You think Christianity is favorable to women? On the contrary. It is the Christian countries that have produced the prostitute and the most vile estimations of women in the world.” ThinkingWorldCountryChristianChristianityContraryEstimation Book:Pilgrimage Source: Pilgrimage