StephenBarkley.com » Weekend Wisdom

No Dominion Without Serving God | Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Stephen Barkley — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:00:44 +0000

We do not rule, we are ruled. The thing, the world, rules man. Man is a prisoner, a slave of the world, and his rule is illusion. Technology is the power with which the earth grips man and subdues him. And because we rule no more, we lose the ground, and then the earth is no longer our earth, and then we become strangers on earth. We do not rule because we do not know the world as God’s creation, and because we do not receive our dominion as God-given but grasp it for ourselves. There is no “being-free-from” without “being-free-for.” There is no dominion without serving God.

—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Creation and Fall” in Careation and Fall; Temptation: Two Biblical Studies, 42.

The Myth of Righteous Violence | Daniel L. Smith-Christopher

Stephen Barkley — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:00:07 +0000

There is no such thing as “righteous” violence, as if brutal actions are somehow transformed by calling them aspects of the struggle for justice. Such manipulation is as offensive in progressive circles as are the more nationalistic versions of justification of violence by using patriotic terms. Both sides only succeed in justifying violence.

—Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, “Daniel” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. VII, 96.

To See Jesus | Frederick Buechner

Stephen Barkley — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:00:30 +0000

To see him with the heart is not only to believe in him but little by little to become bearers to each other of his healing life until we become finally healed and whole and alive within ourselves.

—Frederick Beuchner, “The Seeing Heart” in Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons, 264.

Homeless with Homes | Frederick Buechner

Stephen Barkley — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:00:37 +0000

To be homeless the way people like you and me are apt to be homeless is to have homes all over the place but not to be really at home in any of them.

—Frederick Beuchner, “The News of the Day” in Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons, 250.

Using Wisdom | Lloyd Alexander

Stephen Barkley — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:00:31 +0000

The odd thing about wisdom is the more you use it the more it grows; and the more you share, the more you gain. You’d be amazed how few understand that.

—Lloyd Alexander, “The Foundling” in The Fantastic Imagination: An Anthology of High Fantasy, 270.

Love and Light | George MacDonald

Stephen Barkley — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:00:44 +0000

“I can see your face. It gives out light.” … The fact was, that the moment he began to love Alice, his eyes began to send forth light. What he thought came from Alice’s face, really came from his eyes.

—George MacDonald, The Wise Woman and Other Fantasy Stories, 148.

To Whom Should We Confess? | John Calvin

Stephen Barkley — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:00:17 +0000

Since it is the Lord who forgives, forgets, and wipes out sins, let us confess our sins to him in order to obtain pardon. He is the physician; therefore, let us lay bare our wounds to him. It is he who is hurt and offended; from him let us seek peace. He is the discerner of hearts, the one cognizant of all thoughts; let us hasten to pour out our hearts before him. He it is, finally, who calls sinners: let us not delay to come to God himself.

—John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, III.iv.9.

Prayer Life Reversal | Calvin Miller

Stephen Barkley — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:00:38 +0000

If I had it all to do over again … I would reverse my prayer life. I wouldn’t talk to him so much; I would listen more. I still wonder after a lifetime of chatty prayers, if I had not been so noisy in his presence, would he have told me more from his giant heart?

—Calvin Miller, Life is Mostly Edges, 367.

The Emergent Church | Calvin Miller

Stephen Barkley — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:00:09 +0000

Herein lies my greatest fears for the Emergent Church: in its attempt to start where the culture is, it rarely stops and asks, “Is this where the culture should be?”

—Calvin Miller, Life is Mostly Edges, 286.

Anonymous Gifts | Calvin Miller

Stephen Barkley — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:00:53 +0000

I had always disliked anonymous gifts. They force you to be nice to everyone, because you just never know.

—Calvin Miller, Life is Mostly Edges, 119.