“A novel is balanced between a few true impressions and the multitude of false ones that make up most of what we call life. It tells us that for every human being there is a diversity of existences, that the single existence is itself an illusion in part, that these many existences signify something, tend to something, fulfill something; it promises us meaning, harmony, and even justice.” HumansJusticeHuman BeingsExistenceNovelPromiseDiversityIllusionHarmonyImpressionBalancedMultitudesBeing There Author:Saul Bellow
“Few human creatures would consent to be changed into any of the lower animals for a promise of the fullest allowance of a beast's pleasures; no intelligent human being would consent to be a fool, no instructed person would be an ignoramus, no person of feeling and conscience would be selfish and base, even though they should be persuaded that the fool, the dunce, or the rascal is better satisfied with his lot than they are with theirs.” ShouldHumansPersonsFeelingsWould BeHuman BeingsPleasureAnimalChangedFoolPromiseCreaturesConscienceIntelligentSelfishSatisfiedBeastConsentAllowanceBeing SelfishRascalsDunces Book:The Classical Utilitarians: Bentham and Mill Source: The Classical Utilitarians: Bentham and Mill
“I'd like to turn the whole Jesus story around and look at it from a different vantage point, to consider that he was a human being who achieved such promise of humanity that he entered into what I think God is: mainly, the power of life, the power of love and what Paul Tillich, a German theologian of the mid-twentieth century, called "the ground of all being."” ThinkingHumansLooksDifferentWholeStoriesHumanityTurnsJesusHuman BeingsCenturyPromiseTheologianTwentieth CenturyPower Of LoveVantage Point Author:John Shelby Spong
“I think the beauty of images is that they are by definition fetishes and every image (banal or not) as a fetish holds within it the promise of a sensuousness that (without generalizing) at least I, as a human being, am drawn to.” ThinkingHumansHuman BeingsPromiseDefinitionsFetish Author:Anton Yelchin
“Christian faith, as I understand it, is not primarily a matter of signing on for the proposition that there exists a Supreme Being, but the kind of commitment made manifest by a human being at the end of his tether, foundering in darkness, pain, and bewilderment, who nevertheless remains faithful to the promise of a transformative love.” HumansKindMadeEndsMatterChristianPainHuman BeingsDarknessPromiseCommitmentRemainsSupremeFaithfulManifestNeverthelessPropositionsChristian FaithSigningSupreme BeingBewilderment Author:Terry Eagleton
“Together, we can create a world in which peace is real; in which every human being can thrive; in which all share the promise of our century. I believe we can succeed.” WorldBelieveHumansRealTogetherI BelieveHuman BeingsShareCenturyPromiseSucceedThriveBeing RealTogether We Can Author:Abdallah II
“Indeed, religion allows people to imagine that their concerns are moral when they are highly immoral - that is, when pressing these concerns inflicts unnecessary and appalling suffering on innocent human beings. This explains why Christians like yourself expend more "moral" energy opposing abortion than fighting genocide. It explains why you are more concerned about human embryos than about the lifesaving promise of stem-cell research. And it explains why you can preach against condom use in sub-Saharan Africa while millions die from AIDS there each year. (25)” PeopleYearsHumansUseChristianSufferingDiesFightingEnergyHuman BeingsMoralMillionsImaginePromiseResearchConcernConcernedAidsInnocentCellsAbortionGenocideImagine ThatUnnecessaryStemImmoralOpposingCondomStem CellLike YourselfEmbryosStem Cell ResearchSub Saharan AfricaCondom Use Book:Letter to a Christian Nation Source: Letter to a Christian Nation
“[Jesus] matters because of what he brought and what he still brings to ordinary human beings, living their ordinary lives and coping daily with their surroundings. He promises wholeness for their lives. In sharing our weaknesses he gives us strength and and imparts through his companionship a life that has the quality of eternity." (Dallas Willard in Ruthless Trust - Brennan Manning)” GivingHumansStillsMatterJesusHuman BeingsQualityPromiseOrdinaryWeaknessEternityWholenessCompanionshipSurroundingsRuthlessCopingImpartOrdinary LifeDallas Author:Brennan Manning