18 May 2015

When searching for the source of last week’s quotation, I came across this from the theologian and ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr:

“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible;
but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.”

Reinhold Niebuhr (From ‘The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness’ 1944)

11 May 2015

A well-known prayer which expresses a wise attitude to life whatever your faith or world-view:

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1771, American theologian and ethicist)
The origin of this is in doubt as similar sentiments have been expressed by a number of earlier authors.

4 May 2015

A final quotation from the letter from the Church of England bishops concerning the forthcoming election – this time about the environment:

“We need an honest account of how we must live in the future if generations yet to come are not to inherit a denuded and exhausted planet.”

“Who is my neighbour?” paragraph 27 (www.churchofengland.org/GeneralElection2015)

27 Apr 2015

The letter from the Church of England bishops concerning the forthcoming election emphasises the importance of the common good:

“Unless a political vision emerges which reaffirms the bonds which tie us together as a nation, as localities, as communities and as neighbours, we shall be left with the spectacle of politicians claiming more and more powers and yet achieving less and less that is worthwhile.”

“Who is my neighbour?” paragraph 57 (www.churchofengland.org/GeneralElection2015)

20 Apr 2015

A quotation from a letter by Church of England bishops concerning the forthcoming election:

“The purpose of education is not simply to prepare people to be economic units but to nurture their ability to flourish as themselves and to seek the flourishing of others.”

“Who is my neighbour?” paragraph 85 (www.churchofengland.org/GeneralElection2015)

23 Mar 2015

Last week’s Thought drew a response quoting from Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring”, published in 1962. Rachel, a marine biologist, advanced the environmental movement with this book. Here is an earlier quotation by her:

“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us the less taste we shall have for the destruction of our race. Wonder and humility are wholesome emotions, and they do not exist side by side with a lust for destruction.”

Rachel Carson (1907-1964; John Burroughs Medal acceptance speech, 1952)

16 Mar 2015

A quotation continuing on the theme of environmental diversity (but this quotation could apply to our relationships with others as well as the environment):

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

Dame Jane Goodall (b. 1934; English primatologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace)

9 Mar 2015

Moving on from the last few quotations about diversity among humans, here is a quotation – and a challenge – about environmental diversity:

“We do justice to what we are as human beings when we seek to do justice to the diversity of life around us; we become what we are supposed to be when we assume our responsibility for life continuing on earth. And that call to do justice brings with it the call to re-examine what we mean by growth and wealth.”

Rowan Williams (Anglican bishop, theologian and poet; Lecture given on 13/10/2009)

2 Mar 2015

Continuing on the theme of ‘Diversity’:

“Diversity is not about how we differ. Diversity is about embracing one another’s uniqueness.”

Ola Joseph (Nigerian-born speaker, author & trainer)

23 Feb 2015

Another quotation on the theme of ‘Diversity’:

“If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse gift will find a fitting place.”

Margaret Mead (from “Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies” 1935, p322)

16 Feb 2015

Over the next few weeks, I’ll share some quotations on the theme of ‘Diversity’ (the University’s “Celebrating Diversity” Day is on 4 March).

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”

Audre Lorde (1934-1992; Caribbean-American writer, poet & activist)

9 Feb 2015

Another thought about ‘wisdom’:

“To know is not to be wise…
But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”

Charles H Spurgeon (1834-1892; British Reformed Baptist preacher)

2 Feb 2015

Continuing some thoughts about ‘wisdom’.

“One’s first step in wisdom is to question everything”

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-99; professor of physics at Göttingen University)

26 Jan 2015

Over the next few weeks I’ll share some thoughts about ‘wisdom’. Wisdom is needed in order to deal with all the problems in our lives, both personal and international.

The poet T S Eliot in his ‘Four Quartets’ was either critical or sceptical about the wisdom of old age and wrote:

“The only wisdom we can hope to acquire
Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.”

T S Eliot (East Coker, one of the Four Quartets)

19 Jan 2015

One reflection on the recent incidences in France focused on the virtues which France lives by: liberty, equality and fraternity.

“Liberty and equality aren’t gods; they’re conditions for making an open and just society. But we’ve neglected the third word in this venerable motto: fraternity... The issue isn’t straining to uphold liberty: it’s working out what to do with people who won’t. The real challenge isn’t how to live: it’s how to live together.”

The Revd Dr Sam Wells (Radio 4 Thought for the Day, 9/1/2015)
Universities have a huge role to play in ‘how to live together’.

8 Dec 2014

This quotation about Christmas could refer either to the religious or secular aspect:

“Christmas renews our youth by stirring our wonder. The capacity for wonder has been called our most pregnant human faculty, for in it [is] born our art, our science, our religion.”

Ralph W Sockman
(Now to Live!, Kessinger Publishing, 2005)

1 Dec 2014

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. My optimism, then, does not rest on the absence of evil, but on a glad belief in the preponderance of good and a willing effort always to cooperate with the good, that it may prevail. I try to increase the power God has given me to see the best in everything and every one, and make that Best a part of my life.”

Helen Keller (Optimism: An Essay). Helen Keller (1880-1968) was a deaf and blind writer and social activist.

24 Nov 2014

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure …There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you… As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson (A Return to Love, Thorsons, New Edition, 1996)

17 Nov 2014

Interfaith Week begins on Sunday 16 November and during the week many will be celebrating the richness and diversity of faith, recognising that we all belong to one human race. So some suitable words from Nelson Mandela:

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

Nelson Mandela (Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus, 1995)

10 Nov 2014

During the Second World War, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, academic, theologian and pastor, was imprisoned then executed for helping to smuggle Jews out of Germany. He regularly preached about peace and justice but also plotted to kill Hitler and had to reconcile himself with his involvement to kill another human being.

“We are not simply to bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Life Together, SCM Press, 1954)