[Karl Barth, the 20th-century theologian who pounded home the theme of God's sovereignty, saw no contradiction at all in a God who chooses to let prayers affect him.] He is not deaf, he listens; more than that, he acts. He does not act in the same way whether we pray or not. Prayer exerts an influence upon God's action, even upon his existence. That is what the word 'answer' means. ... The fact that God yields to man's petitions, changing his intentions in response to man's prayer, is not a sign of weakness. He himself, in the glory of his majesty and power, has so willed it. |
All sin has its being and origin in the fact that man wants to be his own judge. And in wanting to be that, and thinking and acting accordingly, he and his whole world is in conflict with God. It is an unreconciled world, and therefore a suffering world, a world given up to destruction. |
Conscience is the perfect interpreter of life. |
Faith in God's revelation has nothing to do with an ideology which glorifies the status quo. |
Faith is never identical with piety. |
Grace must find expression in life, otherwise it is not grace. |
In the Church of Jesus Christ there can and should be no non-theologians |
In the Church of Jesus Christ there can and should be no non-theologians |
It is always the case that when the Christian looks back, he is looking at the forgiveness of sins. |
It may be that when the angels go about their task praising God, they play only Bach. I am sure, however, that when they are together en famille they play Mozart. |
Jesus does not give recipes that show the way to God as other teachers of religion do. He is himself the way. |
Jews have God's promise and if we Christians have it, too, then it is only as those chosen with them, as guests in their house, that we are new wood grafted onto their tree. |
Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. |
Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God |
Man can certainly flee from God... but he cannot escape him. He can certainly hate God and be hateful to God, but he cannot change into its opposite the eternal love of God which triumphs even in his hate. |