“It took time for the church to come to terms with the ignominy of the cross. Church fathers forbade its depiction in art until the reign of the Roman emperor Constantine.... Now, though, the symbol is everywhere: artists beat gold into the shape of the Roman execution device, baseball players cross themselves before batting, and cancy confectioners even make chocolate crosses for the faithful to eat during Holy Week. Strange as it may seem, Christianity has become a religion of the cross--the gallows, the electric chair, the gas chamber, in modern terms.” MayArtSeemsArtistFatherTermChurchChristianityPlayerWeekModernStrangeHolyShapesBeatsCrossesGoldBaseballSymbolsFaithfulGasChairsDevicesChocolateExecutionElectricReignChamberEmperorBaseball PlayerBattingDepictionGallowsConstantineGas ChambersElectric ChairChurch FathersIgnominyRoman EmperorHoly WeekEmperor Constantine Author:Philip Yancey
“The nation, like the church, has its visible symbols and insignia, its parchments engrossed with the revealed word, its dogmas, hymns, liturgy, holy day celebrations, its early Fathers, prophets and martyrs, its priesthood and its lay sodality, its myths of sacred genesis and apocalyptic crises, its world-saving mission and its missionaries.” WorldFatherNationsChurchHolyCrisisSacredLaysMissionsMythSymbolsSavingProphetVisibleCelebrationDogmaMartyrGenesisHymnsPriesthoodApocalypticLiturgyHoly Days Book:The Anti-communist Impulse Source: The Anti-communist Impulse
“The Bible begins gloriously with Paradise, the symbol of youth, and ends with the everlasting kingdom, with the holy city. The history of every man should be a Bible.” MenShouldEndsCitiesYouthHolyBibleEvery ManKingdomsSymbolsParadiseEverlasting Author:Novalis
“The mother's first kiss teaches the child love; the first holy kiss of the woman he loves teaches man hope and faith in life; and love and faith create a desire for perfection and the power of reaching towards it step by step; create the future, in short, of which the living symbol is the child, link between us and the generations to come.” MenFirstsChildrenMotherDesireStepsTeachGenerationsHolyKissingPerfectionAnd LoveSymbolsReachingLinksLife And LoveFirst KissHope And FaithChildren LoveFaith And Love Book:The Duties of Man and Other Essays Source: The Duties of Man and Other Essays
“I pray for a world where we live in partnership rather than domination; where "man's conquest of nature" is recognized as suicidal and sacrilegious; where power is no longer equated with the blade, but with the holy chalice: the ancient symbol of the power to give, nurture, enhance life. And I not only pray, but actively work, for the day when it will be so.” MenWorldGivingPeacePrayingHolyAncientSymbolsPartnershipNurtureConquestDominationSuicidalBladesI PraySacrilegiousChalice Author:Riane Eisler
“You may have the best vegetables, you may be the most capable cook, but, if the copper vessel in which you prepare the vegetable soup is not tinned, the concretion you cook will be highly poisonous! So 'tin' your heart with truth, right conduct, peace and divine love; it will then become a vesssel fit for repeating holy name or symbols, meditation, religious vows, pilgrimage, ritualistic worship and the other dishes that you prepare in it.” IfsHeartMayNamesReligiousMeditationDivineFitHolyWorshipCapableSymbolsCooksVegetablesDishesSoupDivine LoveVesselVowPilgrimagePoisonousTinCopperRight Conduct Author:Sathya Sai Baba
“Jesus is a personal symbol of the Holy Spirit. Having been totally healed by the Holy Spirit, Jesus became one with him. Every thought, action, and deed of Jesus was guided by the Holy Spirit instead of ego.” ActionSpiritJesusHolyEgoDeedsSymbolsHoly SpiritHealed Author:Marianne Williamson
“[Pope Francis] has done this not through angry speeches, but through the powerful symbols and examples of embracing a badly deformed man, welcoming refugees to the Vatican, strolling through a shanty town in Rome, visiting a home for the elderly, washing the feet of prisoners on Holy Thursday, and going to a hospital for newborns.” MenDoneHomePowerfulFeetExampleHolySpeechTownsAngryWelcomeSymbolsHospitalsPrisonerRomePopeRefugeeElderlyWashingVisitingStrollingThursday Author:John I. Jenkins
“Don't tell anyone, but on the pagan day of the sun god Ra, I kneel at the foot of an ancient instrument of torture and consume ritualistic symbols of blood and flesh. ...And if any of you care to join me, come to the Harvard chapel on Sunday, kneel beneath the crucifix, and take Holy Communion.” IfsCareSunBloodFeetHolyInstrumentsAncientFleshSymbolsTortureSundayCommunionHarvardPaganChapelHoly CommunionSun God Author:Dan Brown
“You must realize that the true desire to express affection can be motivated by things other than true love.... In short, one might simply say: save your kisses--you might need them someday. And when anyof you--men and women--are given entrance to the heart of a trusting young friend, you stand on holy ground. In such a place you must be honest with yourself--and with your friend--about love and the expression of it's symbols.” MenNeedsHeartMightYoungDesireGivenRealizingHonestExpressionHolyKissingMen And WomenAffectionSymbolsBeing HonestSomedayMotivatedEntrancesHonest With YourselfBe Honest With YourselfYoung FriendsHoly Ground Author:Bruce C. Hafen
“Does the evolutionary doctrine clash with religious faith? It does not. It is a blunder to mistake the Holy Scriptures for elementary textbooks of astronomy, geology, biology, and anthropology.” IfsMeanDoeScienceFaithReligiousMistakeEvolutionHolyConflictCreatorAstronomyScriptureAriseDoctrineSymbolsBiologyImaginaryScience And ReligionAccusedReligious FaithClashAnthropologySystematicTextbooksBlasphemyGeologyBlundersHoly ScripturesEvolutionary BiologyNothing Makes Sense Author:Theodosius Dobzhansky
“He who prohibited the making of a graven image would never himself have made an image in the likeness of holy things [i.e., by creating an image of them here on earth]. Nor is there at all any composite thing or creature endowed with sensation [made by God here on earth] like those in heaven. But the face is a symbol of the rational soul, the wings are the lofty ministers and energies of powers right and left, and the voice is delightful glory in endless contemplation.” MadeSoulEarthFacesEnergyLeftHeavenVoiceReligiousHolyCreaturesCreatingGloryWingsEndlessRationalSymbolsMinistersContemplationSensationsDelightfulLoftyComposites Author:Clement of Alexandria