Newbigin: atomization
Western European civilization has witnessed a sort of
atomizing process, in which the individual is more and more set
free from his natural setting in family and neighborhood, and
becomes a sort of replaceable unit in the social machine. His
nearest neighbors may not even know his name. He is free to
move from place to place, from job to job, from acquaintance to
acquaintance, and -- if he has attained a high degree of
emancipation -- from wife to wife. He is in every context a
more and more anonymous and replaceable part, the perfect
incarnation of the rationalist conception of man. Wherever
western civilization has spread in the past one hundred years,
it has carried this atomizing process with it. Its
characteristic product in Calcutta, Shanghai, or Johannesburg,
is the modern city into which myriads of human beings, loosened
from their old ties in village or tribe or caste, like grains
of sand fretted by water from an ancient block of sandstone,
are ceaselessly churned around in the whirlpool of the city --
anonymous, identical, replaceable units. In such a situation,
it is natural that men should long for some sort of real
community, for men cannot be human without it. It is
especially natural that Christians should reach out after that
part of Christian doctrine which speaks of the true, God-given
community, the Church of Jesus Christ. We have witnessed the
appalling results of trying to go back to some sort of
primitive collectivity based on the total control of the
individual, down to the depths of his spirit, by an
all-powerful group. Yet we know that we cannot condemn this
solution to the problem of man's loneliness if we have no other
to offer. It is natural that men should ask with a greater
eagerness than ever before, such questions as these: "Is there
in truth a family of God on earth to which I can belong, a
place where all men can be truly at home? If so, where is it
to be found, what are its marks, and how is it related to, and
distinguished from, the known communities of family, nation,
and culture? What are its boundaries, its structure, its terms
of membership? And how comes it that those who claim to be the
spokesmen of that one holy fellowship are themselves at war
with one another as to the fundamentals of its nature, and
unable to agree to live together in unity and concord?" The
breakdown of Christendom has forced such questions as these to
the front. I think that there is no more urgent theological
task than to try to give them plain and credible answers.
... Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998), The Household of God [1953]
_______________________________________________________________
Men have, for the most part, done with lamenting their lost
faith. Sentimental tears over the happy, simple Christendom of
their fathers are a thing of the past. They are proclaiming
now their contempt for Christ's character, and their disgust at
the very name of love. Scorn and hatred, difference and
division, must be more than ever our lot, if we would be the
followers of Christ in these days. Conventional religion and
polite unbelief are gone forever.
... John Neville Figgis (1866-1919)
_______________________________________________________________
A simple rule, to be followed whether one is in the light
or not, gives backbone to one's spiritual life, as nothing else
can.
... Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)
_______________________________________________________________
A human being is happiest and most successful when dedicated to a
cause outside his own individual, selfish satisfaction.
Benjamin Spock
(1903-, American Pediatrician)
============================================
Here's the Quotation for Friday, November 28, 2003
Apparent failure may hold in its rough shell the germs of a
success that will blossom in time, and bear fruit throughout eternity.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
============================================
When you give away a little piece of your heart, you're giving
away the only thing you can give away, which, after you do, you got
more
left than you had before you gave some of it away.
Don Hutson
(American Sales Trainer)
============================================
At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed
one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more
deal.
You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child or a
parent.
Barbara Bush
(1925-, American First Lady, Wife of President George Bush)
============================================
Be generous! Give to those you love; give to those who love you;
give to the fortunate; give to the unfortunate - yes, give especially
to
those you don't want to give. You will receive abundance for your
giving.
The more you give, the more you will have!
W. Clement Stone
(1902-, American Businessman, Author)
============================================
Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to
delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?
Rose F. Kennedy
(1890-1995, Mother of President John F. Kennedy)
============================================
Christians seeking social justice have a special
responsibility. Much more is required than the bringing of
aid to people who are homeless and in need, and contributing to
their support. There are real dangers to be faced. It must
never be allowed to appear that charity is dispensed to the
unfortunate by superior beings... Much greater care must be
taken to identify the giver with those whom he comes to serve.
... A. C. MacInnes
_______________________________________________________________
What is the Christian? Everywhere the man who, so far as
he comprehends Jesus Christ, so far as he can get any knowledge
of Him, is His servant -- the man who makes Christ a teacher of
his intelligence and the guide of his soul -- the man who obeys
Christ as far as he has been able to understand him... I would
know any man as a Christian, would rejoice to know any man as a
Christian, whom Jesus would recognize as a Christian; and Jesus
Christ, I am sure, in these old days recognized His followers
even if they came after Him with the blindest sight, with the
most imperfect recognition and acknowledgment of what He was
and of what He could do.
... Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), The Law of Growth [1902]
_______________________________________________________________
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
-----------------------------
A hero is a man who does what he can.
-- Roman Rollard
-----------------------------
I find that it is not the circumstances in which we are placed, but
the spirit in which we face them, that constitutes our comfort.
-- Elizabeth T. King
-----------------------------
Faith that the thing can be done is essential to any great
achievement.
-- Thomas N. Carruther
-----------------------------
One day in retrospect the years of struggle will strike you as the
most beautiful.
-- Sigmund Freud
-----------------------------
The most important thing I have learned over the years is the
difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self
seriously. The first is imperative, and the second disastrous.
-- Margaret Fontey
-----------------------------
Time and money spent in helping men do more for themselves is far
better than mere giving.
-- Henry Ford (1863-1947) American Industrialist
-----------------------------
The highest reward for man's toil is not what he gets for it but what
he becomes by it.
-- John Ruskin (1819-1900)
-----------------------------
Don't wait for your "ship to come in" and feel angry and cheated when
it doesn't. Get going with something small.
-- Irene Kassorla
-----------------------------
You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor
without having victims.
-- Harriet Woods (1927-) American Politician
-----------------------------
Rely on the ordinary virtues that intelligent, balanced human beings
have relied on for centuries: common sense, thrift, realistic
expectations, patience, and perseverance.
-- John C. Bogle (1929-) American Investor
-----------------------------
Attitude determines altitude.
-- Unknown
-----------------------------
All high achievers plan their work and work their plan, for they are
keenly aware that "luck" is most often being prepared to take
advantage of a situation.
-- Unknown
-----------------------------
The greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising up every
time we fall.
-- Confucius (551-479 BC) Chinese Philosopher
-----------------------------
Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long
enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.
-- Longfellow
-----------------------------
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to
do.
-- Epictetus (55-135 AD) Roman Philosopher
-----------------------------
Blessed is he who carries within himself a God, an ideal, and obeys
it.
-- Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) French Scientist
-----------------------------
He who finds diamonds must grapple in mud and mire because diamonds
are not found in polished stones. They are made.
-- Henry B. Wilson
-----------------------------
A mother should give her children a superabundance of enthusiasm,
that after they have lost all they are sure to lose in mixing with
the world, enough may still remain to prompt and support them through
great actions.
-- Julius C. Hare (1795-1855) English Cleric
-----------------------------
To think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If
you leave your mind to itself it will spiral down into ever
increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however, requires
effort. This is one of the things that discipline - training - is
about.
-- James Clavell, in his novel "Shogun"
-----------------------------
It is a glorious achievement to master one's own temper.
-- Anonymous
-----------------------------
In order to discover new lands, one must be willing to lose sight of
the shore for a very long time.
-- Andre Gide (1869–1951) French Writer
-----------------------------
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I
don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world
are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want,
and, if they can't find them, make them.
-- George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish Playwright
-----------------------------
No man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle and
good, without the world being better for it, without somebody being
helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness.
-- Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) American Bishop
-----------------------------
A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong,
which is but saying that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.
-- Alexander Pope (1688-1744) English Poet
-----------------------------
A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write,
if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be,
he must be.
-- Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) American Psychologist
-----------------------------
The nearest way to glory -- a shortcut, as it were -- is to strive to
be what you wish to be thought to be - quoted in Cicero, 44 BC.
-- Socrates (469-399 BC) Greek Philosopher
-----------------------------
The most absurd and reckless aspirations have sometimes led to
extraordinary success.
-- Vauvenargues
-----------------------------
I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty
to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.
-- Helen Keller (1880-1968) American Writer
-----------------------------
Good friendships are fragile things and require as much care as any
other fragile and precious thing.
-- Randolph S. Bourne (1886-1918) American Writer
-----------------------------
When we accept tough jobs as a challenge to our ability and wade into
them with joy and enthusiasm, miracles can happen.
-- Arland Gilbert
-----------------------------
Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to "jump at the Sun."
We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the
ground.
-- Zora Neale Hurston (1903-1960) American Writer
-----------------------------
If you have made mistakes...there is always another chance for
you...you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this
thing we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying
down.
-- Mary Pickford (1893-1979) Canadian Actress
-----------------------------
As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our
presence automatically liberates others.
-- Nelson Mandela
-----------------------------
Let no man turn aside, ever so slightly, from the broad path of
honour, on the plausible pretence that he is justified by the
goodness of his end. All good ends can be worked out by good means.
-- Charles Dickens (1812-1870) English Novelist
-----------------------------
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior
teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.
-- William Arthur Ward
-----------------------------
Activity and sadness are incompatible.
-- Christian Bovee
-----------------------------
Man's greatest actions are performed in minor struggles. Life,
misfortune, isolation, abandonment and poverty are battlefields which
have their heroes - obscure heroes who are at times greater than
illustrious heroes.
-- Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French Writer
-----------------------------
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they
will surprise you with their ingenuity.
-- General George S. Patton
-----------------------------
When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced
courses of action you should take - choose the bolder.
-- W.J. Slim
-----------------------------
I praise loudly; I blame softly.
-- Catherine the Second
-----------------------------
You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those
who can do nothing for them or to them.
-- Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990) American Publisher
-----------------------------
Little progress can be made by merely attempting to repress what is
evil; our great hope lies in developing what is good.
-- Calvin Coolidge
-----------------------------
I will make love my greatest weapon and none on who I call can defend
against its force....My love will melt all hearts liken to the sun
whose rays soften the coldest day.
-- Og Mandino
-----------------------------
Good manners make any man a pleasure to be with. Ask any woman.
-- Peter Mayle
-----------------------------
Compromise: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody
believes he got the biggest piece.
-- Sherry Rothfield
-----------------------------
If you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed.
-- David Viscott
-----------------------------
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly
smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration
that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him
and is willing to trust him with his friendship.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
-----------------------------
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
-- Lao Tzu
A hero is a man who does what he can.
-- Roman Rollard
-----------------------------
I find that it is not the circumstances in which we are placed, but
the spirit in which we face them, that constitutes our comfort.
-- Elizabeth T. King
-----------------------------
Faith that the thing can be done is essential to any great
achievement.
-- Thomas N. Carruther
-----------------------------
One day in retrospect the years of struggle will strike you as the
most beautiful.
-- Sigmund Freud
-----------------------------
The most important thing I have learned over the years is the
difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self
seriously. The first is imperative, and the second disastrous.
-- Margaret Fontey
-----------------------------
Time and money spent in helping men do more for themselves is far
better than mere giving.
-- Henry Ford (1863-1947) American Industrialist
-----------------------------
The highest reward for man's toil is not what he gets for it but what
he becomes by it.
-- John Ruskin (1819-1900)
-----------------------------
Don't wait for your "ship to come in" and feel angry and cheated when
it doesn't. Get going with something small.
-- Irene Kassorla
-----------------------------
You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor
without having victims.
-- Harriet Woods (1927-) American Politician
-----------------------------
Rely on the ordinary virtues that intelligent, balanced human beings
have relied on for centuries: common sense, thrift, realistic
expectations, patience, and perseverance.
-- John C. Bogle (1929-) American Investor
-----------------------------
Attitude determines altitude.
-- Unknown
-----------------------------
All high achievers plan their work and work their plan, for they are
keenly aware that "luck" is most often being prepared to take
advantage of a situation.
-- Unknown
-----------------------------
The greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising up every
time we fall.
-- Confucius (551-479 BC) Chinese Philosopher
-----------------------------
Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long
enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.
-- Longfellow
-----------------------------
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to
do.
-- Epictetus (55-135 AD) Roman Philosopher
-----------------------------
Blessed is he who carries within himself a God, an ideal, and obeys
it.
-- Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) French Scientist
-----------------------------
He who finds diamonds must grapple in mud and mire because diamonds
are not found in polished stones. They are made.
-- Henry B. Wilson
-----------------------------
A mother should give her children a superabundance of enthusiasm,
that after they have lost all they are sure to lose in mixing with
the world, enough may still remain to prompt and support them through
great actions.
-- Julius C. Hare (1795-1855) English Cleric
-----------------------------
To think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If
you leave your mind to itself it will spiral down into ever
increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however, requires
effort. This is one of the things that discipline - training - is
about.
-- James Clavell, in his novel "Shogun"
-----------------------------
It is a glorious achievement to master one's own temper.
-- Anonymous
-----------------------------
In order to discover new lands, one must be willing to lose sight of
the shore for a very long time.
-- Andre Gide (1869–1951) French Writer
-----------------------------
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I
don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world
are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want,
and, if they can't find them, make them.
-- George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish Playwright
-----------------------------
No man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle and
good, without the world being better for it, without somebody being
helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness.
-- Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) American Bishop
-----------------------------
A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong,
which is but saying that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.
-- Alexander Pope (1688-1744) English Poet
-----------------------------
A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write,
if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be,
he must be.
-- Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) American Psychologist
-----------------------------
The nearest way to glory -- a shortcut, as it were -- is to strive to
be what you wish to be thought to be - quoted in Cicero, 44 BC.
-- Socrates (469-399 BC) Greek Philosopher
-----------------------------
The most absurd and reckless aspirations have sometimes led to
extraordinary success.
-- Vauvenargues
-----------------------------
I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty
to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.
-- Helen Keller (1880-1968) American Writer
-----------------------------
Good friendships are fragile things and require as much care as any
other fragile and precious thing.
-- Randolph S. Bourne (1886-1918) American Writer
-----------------------------
When we accept tough jobs as a challenge to our ability and wade into
them with joy and enthusiasm, miracles can happen.
-- Arland Gilbert
-----------------------------
Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to "jump at the Sun."
We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the
ground.
-- Zora Neale Hurston (1903-1960) American Writer
-----------------------------
If you have made mistakes...there is always another chance for
you...you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this
thing we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying
down.
-- Mary Pickford (1893-1979) Canadian Actress
-----------------------------
As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our
presence automatically liberates others.
-- Nelson Mandela
-----------------------------
Let no man turn aside, ever so slightly, from the broad path of
honour, on the plausible pretence that he is justified by the
goodness of his end. All good ends can be worked out by good means.
-- Charles Dickens (1812-1870) English Novelist
-----------------------------
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior
teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.
-- William Arthur Ward
-----------------------------
Activity and sadness are incompatible.
-- Christian Bovee
-----------------------------
Man's greatest actions are performed in minor struggles. Life,
misfortune, isolation, abandonment and poverty are battlefields which
have their heroes - obscure heroes who are at times greater than
illustrious heroes.
-- Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French Writer
-----------------------------
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they
will surprise you with their ingenuity.
-- General George S. Patton
-----------------------------
When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced
courses of action you should take - choose the bolder.
-- W.J. Slim
-----------------------------
I praise loudly; I blame softly.
-- Catherine the Second
-----------------------------
You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those
who can do nothing for them or to them.
-- Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990) American Publisher
-----------------------------
Little progress can be made by merely attempting to repress what is
evil; our great hope lies in developing what is good.
-- Calvin Coolidge
-----------------------------
I will make love my greatest weapon and none on who I call can defend
against its force....My love will melt all hearts liken to the sun
whose rays soften the coldest day.
-- Og Mandino
-----------------------------
Good manners make any man a pleasure to be with. Ask any woman.
-- Peter Mayle
-----------------------------
Compromise: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody
believes he got the biggest piece.
-- Sherry Rothfield
-----------------------------
If you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed.
-- David Viscott
-----------------------------
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly
smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration
that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him
and is willing to trust him with his friendship.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
-----------------------------
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
-- Lao Tzu
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