“Throughout the Old Testament we see God choosing what is weak and humble to represent him (the stammering Moses, the infant Samuel, Saul from an insignificant family, David confronting Goliath, etc). Paul tells us that God chooses the weak things of the world to confound the mighty. Here, however, we have a striking contradiction. In Constantine God is supposedly choosing an Augustus, a triumphant military leader. This vision and this miracle are totally impossible. But they are not impossible in the context of Christianity that is already off the rails, that thinks of God as the one who directs history and is the motive power in politics.”

— Jacques Ellul

Source: The Subversion of Christianity (1984), p. 123

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Jacques Ellul 125

French sociologist, technology critic, and Christian anarch… 1912–1994

Madeleine L'Engle book A Wrinkle in Time

Source: A Wrinkle in Time

“God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty”

Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936) 19th-20th century Spanish writer and philosopher

The Tragic Sense of Life (1913), VIII : From God to God
Context: And He is the God of the humble, for in the words of the Apostle, God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty (I Cor. i. 27) And God is in each of us in the measure in which one feels Him and loves Him. "If of two men," says Kierkegaard, "one prays to the true God without sincerity of heart, and the other prays to the an idol with all the passion of an infinite yearning, it is the first who really prays to the idol, while the second really prays to God." It would be better to say that the true God is He to whom man truly prays and whom man truly desires. And there may even be a truer revelation in superstition itself than in theology.

“God gave us relatives. Thank god we can choose our friends.”

Этель Уоттс Мамфорд

“It’s the word of God. It’s in the Bible. You can choose, and God’s given us the ability to choose to reject that or not. But it is truth.”

Greg Steube (1978) U.S. Representative from Florida

Rep. Greg Steube Rejects Democrat Colleagues’ Dismissal of Scripture:’ It’s Pertinent to the Discussion’ https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/03/02/rep-greg-steube-rejects-democrat-colleagues-dismissal-of-scripture-its-pertinent-to-the-discussion/ (2 March 2021)

“The suffering in the world is due to our living on a planet polluted by sin - not God's hatred or neglect. Humans choose to murder when God gave us the intellect to cure disease. Humans choose to pollute when God gave us a pure planet rich in every resource we need.”

Ray Comfort (1949) New Zealand-born Christian minister and evangelist

You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence, But You Can't Make Him Think (2009)

“We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them.”

Oswald Chambers (1874–1917) British missionary

“To fear God is first of all to see, on the level of action, consequences in causes, sanction in sin, suffering in error; to love God is first to choose God, that is to say, to prefer what brings one nearer Him over what estranges from Him.”

Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998) Swiss philosopher

[2005, Stations of Wisdom, World Wisdom, 102, 978-0-94153218-1]
God, Reverential fear and love

“My theory is that for those of us who are too weak to remain single, God gives us a spouse. For those of us who are too hung up to handle marriage, God gives us celibacy. So, pick your weakness. Pick your poison, I guess. But anyway, for those of you who do choose to be in love and stuff, go for it.”

Rich Mullins (1955–1997) American christian musician

Anderson, Indiana http://www.kidbrothers.net/words/concert-transcripts/anderson-indiana-nov1695.html (November 16, 1995)
In Concert

“Many of us, utterly overcome by Tamas, the dark and heavy demon of inertia, are saying nowadays that it is impossible, that India is decayed, bloodless and lifeless, too weak ever to recover; that our race is doomed to extinction. It is a foolish and idle saying. No man or nation need be weak unless he chooses, no man or nation need perish unless he deliberately chooses extinction.”

Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru and poet

Bhawani Mandir, 1905
India's Rebirth

“In choosing a president, we really don't choose a Republican or Democrat, a conservative or liberal. We choose a leader.”

Rudy Giuliani (1944–2001) American businessperson and politician, former mayor of New York City

Speech before the Republican Party convention in New York. August 30, 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3613480.stm

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