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Clergy Quotes

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Clergy Quotes

“My 'morals' were sound, even a bit puritanic, but when a hidebound old deacon inveighed against dancing I rebelled. By the time of graduation I was still a 'believer' in orthodox religion, but had strong questions which were encouraged at Harvard. In Germany I became a freethinker and when I came to teach at an orthodox Methodist Negro school I was soon regarded with suspicion, especially when I refused to lead the students in public prayer. When I became head of a department at Atlanta, the engagement was held up because again I balked at leading in prayer. I refused to teach Sunday school. When Archdeacon Henry Phillips, my last rector, died, I flatly refused again to join any church or sign any church creed. From my 30th year on I have increasingly regarded the church as an institution which defended such evils as slavery, color caste, exploitation of labor and war. I think the greatest gift of the Soviet Union to modern civilization was the dethronement of the clergy and the refusal to let religion be taught in the public schools.”

WarEvilCivilizationSlaveryAtheistGermanyOrthodoxRebelMoralsExploitationSoviet UnionQuestionsPublic SchoolHarvardFreethinkerClergyAtlantaUssrCreedDeaconOrthodox ReligionPublic PrayerPuritanic
Book:The Autobiography of W.E.B. Du Bois: A Soliloquy on Viewing My Life from the Last Decade of Its First Century
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“We are like the moon. The moon shines anyway, but it does not produce its own light. It reflects the light illuminated onto its surface by the Sun and is never proud to say "I am the source of light". God shines through us, hence He deserves the glory; not us.”

LoveGodLightJesusChristHuman BeingsAbilitySunProduceHumilityPlanetsSourcePrideProudBlessingMoonWorshipGloryReflectionBibleJesus ChristPraiseShiningFood For ThoughtIsraelmore AyivorHumbleSurfaceSunshineHonourWord Of GodPreachingPastorAdorationIlluminationGlowingGlorifyShineSolar SystemClergyOwnReflectIlluminateGlowGod Is GoodPraise The LordGod Loves MeSermonBishopOwnerKing Of KingsShinesReflectsLord Of LordsRadiatesLuminaryLight RaysWork For God
Author:Israelmore Ayivor
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“If the people of Europe had known as much of astronomy and geology when the bible was introduced among them, as they do now, there never could have been one believer in the doctrine of inspiration. If the writers of the various parts of the bible had known as much about the sciences as is now known by every intelligent man, the book never could have been written. It was produced by ignorance, and has been believed and defended by its author. It has lost power in the proportion that man has gained knowledge. A few years ago, this book was appealed to in the settlement of all scientific questions; but now, even the clergy confess that in such matters, it has ceased to speak with the voice of authority. For the establishment of facts, the word of man is now considered far better than the word of God. In the world of science, Jehovah was superseded by Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler. All that God told Moses, admitting the entire account to be true, is dust and ashes compared to the discoveries of Descartes, Laplace, and Humboldt. In matters of fact, the bible has ceased to be regarded as a standard. Science has succeeded in breaking the chains of theology. A few years ago, Science endeavored to show that it was not inconsistent with the bible. The tables have been turned, and now, Religion is endeavoring to prove that the bible is not inconsistent with Science. The standard has been changed.”

BookGodFactsInspirationScienceReligionBeliefKnowledgeIgnoranceProveAuthorityBibleDiscoveryEuropeIntelligentBelieverAstronomyTheologyDoctrineChainsAuthorTrueWord Of GodMosesInconsistentGeologyJehovahChristiansClergyYahwehThe BibleStandardCopernicusDescartesKeplerGalileoJohannes KeplerLaplaceNicolaus CopernicusGalileo GalileiAlexander Von HumboldtHumboldtPierre Simon LaplaceAlexander HumboldtRené DescartesWilhelm HumboldtWilhelm Von HumboldtDes CartesLa PlaceMarquis De LaplacePierre Simon
Book:Some Mistakes of Moses
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“Let us not, however, have temples from which issue beautiful nude priests and priestesses already half in ecstasy and ready to copulate with any man or woman, lover or stranger who desires union with the deep godhead of the blood, although that was my first idea. But really it would be better not to have any temples in Omelas – at least, not manned temples. Religion yes, clergy no. Surely the beautiful nudes can just wander about, offering themselves like divine soufflés to the hunger of the needy and the rapture of the flesh.”

JoyReligionSexSensualityClergy
Book:The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
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“The religious issue was dragged out, and stirred up flames of hatred and intolerance. Clergymen, mobilizing their heaviest artillery of thunder and brimstone, threatened Christians with all manner of dire consequences if they should vote for the 'in fidel' from Virginia. This was particularly true in New England, where the clergy stood like Gibraltar against Jefferson.”

HatredIntoleranceClergyInfidelClergymenThomas JeffersonJeffersonBrimstoneGibraltar
Book:Jefferson: A Great American's Life and ideas
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“Sometimes silences are pregnant and sometimes not. It is hard to know what to make of the silence of much of the New Testament about the Lord’s Supper. Perhaps it is simply an accident of time and circumstance. There was not a felt need to address the matter. What we should not likely conclude is that it was not seen as an important matter in the latter part of the first century A.D. What we can observe is that the Lord’s Supper continued to be an in-home ceremony taken in the context of a fellowship meal. We also now know it was important in both Gentile and Jewish contexts in the church in the second half of the first century, and beyond. We see no evidence anywhere in this material that clerics of any kind are in charge of the meal and its distribution. Even in the Didache, prophets, who were mouthpieces for God, are only allowed to say the thanksgiving prayer as often as they like. The low ecclesiology, coupled with the ever-present eschatology, suggest that the Didache does indeed go back to the end of the first century A.D. But one precedent in the Didache does stand out: the Lord’s Supper is for baptized Christians, and in particular for those who repent of their sins. We are on the way to the church of the Middle Ages in some respects, but we have not begun to localize or confine grace to the elements of the Lord’s Supper itself and then have it controlled by clerics.”

BaptismEucharistClergyLord S SupperSacramentEarly ChurchDidache
Book:Making a Meal of It: Rethinking the Theology of the Lord's Supper
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“...Turn our thoughts, in the next place, to the characters of learned men. The priesthood have, in all ancient nations, nearly monopolized learning. Read over again all the accounts we have of Hindoos, Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Celts, Teutons, we shall find that priests had all the knowledge, and really governed all mankind. Examine Mahometanism, trace Christianity from its first promulgation; knowledge has been almost exclusively confined to the clergy. And, even since the Reformation, when or where has existed a Protestant or dissenting sect who would tolerate a free inquiry? The blackest billingsgate, the most ungentlemanly insolence, the most yahooish brutality is patiently endured, countenanced, propagated, and applauded. But touch a solemn truth in collision with a dogma of a sect, though capable of the clearest proof, and you will soon find you have disturbed a nest, and the hornets will swarm about your legs and hands, and fly into your face and eyes. [Letters to John Taylor, 1814, XVIII, p. 484]”

KnowledgeIslamPriestsHinduismMonopolyMuslimReformationPriesthoodClergyHinduScience Vs ReligionRomansCeltsGreeksProtestantSectTeutonsPersiansChaldeans
Book:The Letters of John and Abigail Adams
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“The Pope would have an easier job than the President of the United States in adopting a change of course. He has no Congress alongside him as a legislative body nor a Supreme Court as a judiciary. He is absolute head of government, legislator and supreme judge in the church. If he wanted to, he could authorize contraception over night, permit the marriage of priests, make possible the ordination of women and allow eucharistic fellowship with this Protestant churches. What would a Pope do who acted in the spirit of Obama?”

ReligionChurchChristianityPriestsCatholicismPopeEucharistPriesthoodClergyCelibacyContraceptionProtestantismEcumenismWomen Clergy
Author:Hans Küng
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“This is, indeed, an insightful observation. The Archbishop [Joseph L. Berardin] insists that the natural resemblance between Christ and his priests must not stop merely with the fact that they share a common masculinity. Our question is, 'Why must it BEGIN there?' If the faithful cannot see Christ in a male who exemplifies no godlike virtues - humility, gentleness, and self-effacing service - can they not see him in a female who does? Indeed, if the priest acts 'in persona Christi,' not 'in masculinitate Christi,' then 'NATURAL resemblance' between Christ and the priest, it would seem, does not entail PHYSICAL, that is SEXUAL resemblance, but a resemblance which is natural to the SPIRITUAL order with which the worshiping congregation has to do. And in this order there is neither male nor female, even as there is neither Jew nor Greek. We would, therefore, conclude that since the Word was made flesh, as the apostle John has declared him (John 1:14), we rightly heed those who, in the flesh, symbolize his presence as they speak and act in his name. But we see no reason to add to what the apostle said by insisting that the Word was made MALE flesh, for both male and female are equally bearers of the divine image. And since God created humankind in his image, male AND female, we can only conclude that women as well as men should be ordained to the priesthood, because femaleness, like maleness, is a fitting symbol (sacramental sign) of Deity.”

ChurchChristianityClergyImage Of GodOrdinationGalatiansWomen S OrdinationWomen In MinistryFemale OrdinationFemale Priests
Book:The Ordination of Women: An Essay on the Office of Christian Ministry
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“When Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning-rod, the clergy, both in England and America, with the enthusiastic support of George III, condemned it as an impious attempt to defeat the will of God. For, as all right-thinking people were aware, lightning is sent by God to punish impiety or some other grave sin—the virtuous are never struck by lightning. Therefore if God wants to strike any one, Benjamin Franklin [and his lightning-rod] ought not to defeat His design; indeed, to do so is helping criminals to escape. But God was equal to the occasion, if we are to believe the eminent Dr. Price, one of the leading divines of Boston. Lightning having been rendered ineffectual by the 'iron points invented by the sagacious Dr. Franklin,' Massachusetts was shaken by earthquakes, which Dr. Price perceived to be due to God's wrath at the 'iron points.' In a sermon on the subject he said, 'In Boston are more erected than elsewhere in New England, and Boston seems to be more dreadfully shaken. Oh! there is no getting out of the mighty hand of God.' Apparently, however, Providence gave up all hope of curing Boston of its wickedness, for, though lightning-rods became more and more common, earthquakes in Massachusetts have remained rare.”

GodAmericaReligionChristianityDesignDivineEnglandProvidenceLightningWickednessBostonPietySuperstitionFranklinClergyNew EnglandMassachusettsIdiocyHand Of GodBenjamin FranklinGeorge IiiImpiousLightning Rod
Book:An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish: A Hilarious Catalogue of Organized and Individual Stupidity
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“The false argument has been used that only a man can represent a male Jesus. But this portrays an inadequate understanding of the incarnation. The Son of God, in assuming our humanity, became a man, not to sanctify maleness, but our common humanity so that, be we men or women, we can see the dignity and beauty of our humanity sanctified in him.”

ChristianityPriesthoodClergyOrdinationWomen S OrdinationIn Persona Christi
Book:Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace
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“The early Mormons were even less concerned about ministerial training. On several occasions, a man heard a discourse, submitted to baptism and confirmation, received a call to priesthood, and was sent on a mission - all on the same day. Canadian Samuel Hall, for instance, found a Latter-Day Saint tract on a Montreal street and traveled to Nauvoo to hear the teachings of Joseph Smith himself. On the day of his arrival, he heard a sermon by Smith, requested baptism, received ordination, and started on a mission - without even pausing to change his wet clothes.”

MissionaryMinistryEvangelismBaptismClergyLatter Day SaintsOrdinationMormons
Book:The Democratization of American Christianity
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“He was to tell André Malraux later: “Clemeneau used to say: ‘War is a much too serious business to be left to the military.’ And look what happened to Communism when the Communists got hold of it or to the Catholic Church in the hands of the clergy. We are rapidly approaching a point when it will no longer be possible to trust scientists with science.”

ScienceChurchCommunismIronyClergyScientistsThe GaspCommunistsCannot Be Trusted
Book:The Gasp
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“There exists indeed an opposition to it [building of UVA, Jefferson's secular college] by the friends of William and Mary, which is not strong. The most restive is that of the priests of the different religious sects, who dread the advance of science as witches do the approach of day-light; and scowl on it the fatal harbinger announcing the subversion of the duperies on which they live. In this the Presbyterian clergy take the lead. The tocsin is sounded in all their pulpits, and the first alarm denounced is against the particular creed of Doctr. Cooper; and as impudently denounced as if they really knew what it is. [Letter to José Francesco Corrê a Da Serra - Monticello, April 11, 1820]”

ScienceOppositionPriestsDreadWitchesClergyPulpitScience Vs ReligionCreedReligious SectsPresbyterianUniversity Of VirginiaDuperiesFatal HarbingerWilliam And Mary
Book:Letters of Thomas Jefferson
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“Those members who are more gifted have a job: to equip and encourage the less gifted believers to do the work of building up. Today's system of clergy and laity, where a few believers do all the teaching and preaching but the majority stay passive year after years has not (and does not) equip believers to do what the clergies are doing; therefore they cannot build up the body of Christ. What should happen is that after receiving the equipping from the more gifted ministers, all of those saints would go and preach the gospel, teach the truth, and meet in fellowship with all other believers themselves. This would directly build up the body of Christ.”

TeachingPreachingFellowshipClergySaintsGiftednessBody BuildingPriesthood Of The BelieverUniversal PriesthoodLaity
Book:ONE: Unfolding God's Eternal Purpose from House to House
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“When spirituality becomes spiritualization, life in the body becomes carnality. When ministers and priests live their ministry mostly in their heads and relate to the Gospel as a set of valuable ideas to be announced, the body quickly takes revenge by screaming loudly for affection and intimacy. Christian leaders are called to live the Incarnation, that is, to live in the body, not only in their own bodies but also in the corporate body of the community, and to discover there the presence of the Holy Spirit.”

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Book:In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership
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“The barbarians, who possessed no books, no secular knowledge, no education, except in the schools of the clergy, and who had scarcely acquired the rudiments of religious instruction, turned with childlike attachment to men whose minds were stored with the knowledge of Scripture, of Cicero, of St. Augustine; and in the scanty world of their ideas, the Church was felt to be something infinitely vaster, stronger, holier than their newly founded States.”

MenWorldMindBookIdeasStatesSchoolFeltChurchReligiousStrongerScriptureAttachmentInstructionPossessedSecularBarbariansChildlikeClergyAugustine
Book:The History of Freedom: Great Event
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“The problem is that, regardless of what our theologies tell us about the purpose of the clergy, the actual effect of the clergy profession is to make the body of Christ lame. This happens not because clergy intend it (they usually intend the opposite) but because the objective nature of the profession inevitably turns the laity into passive receivers.”

ProblemBodyHappensPurposeTurnsChristEffectsOppositesProfessionTheologyObjectivesPassiveLameClergyReceiverBody Of Christ
Author:Christian Smith
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“The clergy profession is fundamentally self-defeating. Its stated purpose is to nurture spiritual maturity in the church - a valuable goal. In actuality, however; it accomplishes the opposite by nurturing a permanent dependence of the laity on the clergy. Clergy become to their congregations like parents whose children never grow up, like therapists whose clients never become healed, like teachers whose students never graduate.”

ChildrenSelfSpiritualPurposeGrowsParentGoalChurchGrowing UpTeacherStudentsOppositesValuableAccomplishProfessionPermanentMaturityGraduatesClientsNurtureDependenceHealedNurturingTherapistsCongregationClergyActualitySpiritual Maturity
Author:Christian Smith
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“There is in the clergy of all Christian denominations a time-serving, cringing, subservient morality, as wide from the spirit of the gospel as it is from the intrepid assertion and vindication of truth.”

ChristianSpiritAtheismMoralityPositive AtheismWideServingAssertionClergyDenominationsSubservientVindicationChristian Denominations
Book:Diary, 1794-1845: American Diplomacy and Political, Social, and Intellectual Life from Washington to Polk
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“Throughout this protracted and disgraceful assault on American womanhood, the clergy baptized each new insult and act of injustice in the name of the Christian religion, and uniformly asked God's blessing on proceedings that would have put to shame an assembly of Hottentots.”

ChristianNamesAtheismBlessingShameInjusticePositive AtheismInsultWomanhoodAssaultAssemblyClergyProceedingBaptizedDisgraceful
Book:History of woman suffrage
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“But the most dangerous Hypocrite in a Common-Wealth, is one who leaves the Gospel for the sake of the Law: A Man compounded of Law and Gospel, is able to cheat a whole Country with his Religion, and then destroy them under Colour of Law: And here the Clergy are in great Danger of being deceiv'd, and the People of being deceiv'd by the Clergy, until the Monster arrives to such Power and Wealth, that he is out of the reach of both, and can oppress the People without their own blind Assistance.”

PeopleMenCountryWholeAbleLawWealthCommonAtheismDangerousDangerBlindSakeMonstersColourCheatAssistanceHypocriteClergy
Book:The Political Thought of Benjamin Franklin
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“Two hundred years ago the forces of freedom challenged this idea. The children of the new enlightenment rose up to defy the tyranny of arrogant clergy and the censorship of pious bureaucrats. They boldly proclaimed that the state must be free from religious coercion and that religion must be free from state control. All individuals have the right to pursue the dictates of their own conscience. All citizens even have the right not to be religious at all.”

YearsChildrenTwoIdeasStatesIndividualForceReligiousAtheismCitizensEnlightenmentHundredConscienceYears AgoRoseTyrannyPursueCensorshipArrogantCoercionPiousBureaucratsClergy
Author:Sherwin Wine
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“It was in this year, 1828, that the standard of "the Christian Party in Politics" was openly unfurled... This was an evident attempt, through the influence of the clergy over the female mind - until this hour lamentably neglected in the United States - to effect a union of Church and State.”

YearsMindStatesChristianHoursChurchUnitedPartyUnited StatesAtheismInfluenceEffectsStandardsFemaleUnionsPositive AtheismEvidentNeglectedChurch And StateClergyFemale Mind
Author:Frances Wright
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