Great Throughts Treasury

"Hope is believing in spite of the evidence, then watching the evidence change."

"I believe in the separation of church and state, absolutely. But I don't believe in the separation of public life from our values, our basic values, and for many of us, our religious values. "

"Some people believe the alternative to bad religion is secularism, but that's wrong . . . . The answer to bad religion is better religion--prophetic rather than partisan, broad and deep instead of narrow, and based on values as opposed to ideology."

"A billion dollars every week for Iraq, $87 billion for Iraq. We can't get $5 billion for childcare over five years in welfare reform."

"A budget is a moral document."

"But when one believes that you've been appointed by God for a particular mission in history, you have to be very careful about that, how you speak about that. Where is the self-reflection in that Where is the humility in that"

"Cynicism is a buffer against commitment."

"Careers are what people have to get what they want for themselves. In a Vocation you discover your gift. And a Vocation is where your gift meets the crushing needs of the world."

"God's Politics Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It ."

"I don't think we should discriminate against an organization or congregation because they're religious, if they're doing good work. But government can't subsidize proselytizing or worship or religious activity. It can't. I think it would be a great meeting for parents curious about what's going on to attend,"

"Hope unbelieved is always considered nonsense. But hope believed is history in the process of being changed."

"Our choice is between cynicism and hope. Hope is a decision you make. Hope means believing in spite of the evidence and then waiting for the evidence to change. Be the ones that we have been waiting for."

"No, we are not the master of the state, said King. We are not the servant of the state. We are the conscience of the state. The churches or the religious community should be, I think, the conscience of the state. We're not just service providers."

"It is the experience of touching the pain of others that is the key to change"

"In an economy with record-breaking prosperity, it's past time to put poor people on the political agenda."

"So when the only domestic social policy is tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthiest Americans, we say, 'Where is faith being put into action here'"

"Politicians wet their fingers and see which way the wind is blowing at the time. You don"

"On this budget, we have the starkest choice we've had in a long time -- tax cuts for the wealthiest versus food stamps and Medicaid."

"Sometimes it takes a natural disaster to reveal a social disaster."

"The Bible says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. I think of it this way: Faith is believing in spite of the evidence and then watching the evidence change."

"The country is not hungry for a religious left to counter a religious right."

"The left and right are not religious categories. They're often not even value categories."

"The great thing about social movements is everybody gets to be a part of them."

"There's a moral convergence happening among religious leaders on the issue of poverty"

"The disciplines of prayer, silence, and contemplation as practiced by the monastics and mystics are precisely that"

"The media seems to think only abortion and gay marriage are religious issues. Poverty is a moral issue, it's a faith issue, its a religious issue."

"These are political choices being made that are hurting low-income people. Don't make them the brunt of your deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility."

"This closed system of media-oriented political entertainment continually preempts genuine public dialogue and debate about the issues that most affect people"

"We are prophetic interrogators. Why are so many people hungry Why are so many people and families in our shelters Why do we have one of six of our children poor, and one of three of these are children of color 'Why' is the prophetic question."

"We can find common ground only by moving to higher ground."

"We are the ones we have been waiting for."

"We have to distinguish between people we can win over and those we can have a clear public conversation with. We are winning the battle on evangelical Christian college campuses it's just under the radar. We can't give up on everybody. We have to take back the faith."

"What changes History is not politicians, but social movements."

"When evangelical leaders can persuade the president to be concerned about what's happening in Sudan, or sex trafficking around the world, or HIV-AIDS, that's a very good thing. I am completely supportive of that."

"You can't be evangelical and associate yourself with Jesus and what he says about the poor and just have no other domestic concerns than tax cuts for wealthy people."

"We could put parking in the front yard and cut down some of the beautiful oak trees out there. I'd really hate to see it become a wall of parking. But I guess we could consider that."

"We have got some mountains to move. Three billion people - half of God's children - are living on less than 2 a day."

"What is my calling? What am I supposed to do? I think running for office, public office, can be a divine calling. I mean, I've wrestled with that very question myself."