“It is tragic that some Christians have been so battered with stories of a prideful, vindictive God that they have fled from Jesus' fold.”
“Of the seven deadly sins, anger has long been the one with the best box of costumes. When the guy in the next car rages at you, he's dangerous. When you rage at him, you're just. We can usually recognize the results of anger, especially in others, as destructive and evil.”
“The Bible, that powerful book, has many effects: it comforts, counsels, instructs, and brings us into the presence of God. But trying to erase offense as one of its functions is a fundamentally misguided task.”
“God's presence is not just Light, and Life, but Love. And Love invites, but does not compel.”
“Jesus showed us how to be courageous and sacrificial while we die for our beliefs, not while we kill for them.”
“Temptation coaxes us toward sin, and sin leads to sickness and death, and ultimately confinement in the realm of the evil one.”
“I think intellectualizing annoys me because it is the enemy of experience; you cannot experience the presence of God and analyze it at the same time. You can't analyze anything and experience it simultaneously.”
“The Church is the safe place to be. I can safely believe everything the Church teaches. It will not harm me, and in fact it will equip me to grow and grow and have a better and better ability to experience that direct presence.”
“The Church's teaching isn't an official statement, but the cumulative understanding of all the people who have loved and experienced Jesus through time.”
“I've been able to dig deeper into awareness of my own sinfulness, and take baby steps toward spiritual healing. I'm able to worship in an ancient communion full of awesome beauty, one that is now being blessed with quiet revival.”