What are you reading?

A place to discuss your favorite authors and poets, Christian and secular

Postby Animus Seed » Fri Oct 06, 2006 1:57 pm

Brief Lives is the one where they're looking for Destruction, right?
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Postby bigsleepj » Fri Oct 06, 2006 2:52 pm

Animus Seed wrote:Brief Lives is the one where they're looking for Destruction, right?


Yes, that's the one.
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Postby Animus Seed » Fri Oct 06, 2006 4:51 pm

"Here it is. I knew it'd be in the last place I looked, so I looked there first."

Heh. One of the best lines ever. Hooray for Delirium!
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Postby uc pseudonym » Fri Oct 06, 2006 4:57 pm

I like Destruction. [/beggingtobetakenoutofcontext] As far as the Endless go, anyway. Brief Lives wasn't a bad volume of Sandman, but I don't recall it being one of my favorites, either. Then again, I've never been able to keep the volumes and events organized properly, partially because I unfortunately read some of the series out of order.
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Postby Animus Seed » Fri Oct 06, 2006 4:59 pm

Kindly Ones was my favorite, actually. And Doll's House a close second. Preludes and Nocturnes... I've never been sure about, with the blatant DC Comics references in it. I can't decide if that's a good thing or not.

As for the Endless themselves:

I <3 Death. [/also begging to be taken out of context]
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Postby Htom Sirveaux » Fri Oct 06, 2006 8:25 pm

Ooh, you're talking about The Sandman! I still need to read The Wake, but I've read all the other major story-arc ones. One of my favorite quotes from that series is out of Season of Mists: "Shut up, Desire. The next time you feel like talking, just shut up."
To get back on topic, the book I'm currently reading is The Blackstone Chronicles by John Saul. Great psych. thriller so far. I'm debating what to read next - Hannibal or Jurassic Park (I haven't read Jurassic Park since I was about 12 or 13 so although I've seen the movie a number of times I don't remember much about the book except that it was pretty good).
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Postby Sammy Boy » Sat Oct 07, 2006 12:53 am

Just finished:

[1] Concordat Between the Holy See and the German Reich
http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_ss33co.htm

and:

[2] MIT BRENNENDER SORGE
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XI

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_14031937_mit-brennender-sorge_en.html
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Postby Hinata » Sat Oct 07, 2006 7:09 am

To Kill a Mockingbird :) I think most everybody knows what its about and I don't wanna explain XD Haha
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Postby Doubleshadow » Sat Oct 07, 2006 10:38 am

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
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Robin: "If we close our eyes, we can't see anything."
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Postby bigsleepj » Sat Oct 07, 2006 12:06 pm

Animus Seed wrote:Kindly Ones was my favorite, actually. And Doll's House a close second. Preludes and Nocturnes... I've never been sure about, with the blatant DC Comics references in it. I can't decide if that's a good thing or not.


Preludes and Nocturnes: Neil Gaiman himself admitted that he was still 'finding his feet' in that volume. Also some of the drawings (especially the first few chapters) don't really work. It's only the last three chapters where the art really fits works (apparently the story switched artists which might explain it).

And UC, I like Destruction too. He and Death are probably the most human of the seven,
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Postby mitsuki lover » Sat Oct 07, 2006 2:11 pm

Just finished The Bad Popes and am thinking of reading Howard Zinn's book next:
A People's History of the United States.
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Postby uc pseudonym » Sat Oct 07, 2006 6:56 pm

bigsleepj wrote:Preludes and Nocturnes: Neil Gaiman himself admitted that he was still 'finding his feet' in that volume. Also some of the drawings (especially the first few chapters) don't really work. It's only the last three chapters where the art really fits works (apparently the story switched artists which might explain it).

I definitely agree this volume isn't "pure" Sandman material. Personally, I didn't find the DC crossover jarring so much as amusing, and if I recall Morpheus actually appears in a JLA arc near the end.

bigsleepj wrote:And UC, I like Destruction too. He and Death are probably the most human of the seven

They are, though actually I don't like Death. My next favorite Endless is probably Destiny, and he's one of the least human (at least in the sense of having a defined and realistic personality). But it is the human qualities of Destruction that I like best.
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Postby mitsuki lover » Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:15 pm

A People's History Of The United States by Howard Zinn.
What is infuriating is that he is so good at finding and marshalling facts that it is hard to argue with a lot of what he writes,he is even able to cite mainstream historians to make his point.
Recommended for anyone who wants to read American history with warts and all.
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Postby jon_jinn » Mon Oct 09, 2006 3:34 pm

I'm reading "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" for school.
for entertainment i'm reading:
Warriors the New Prophecy: Starlight and Ender's Game.
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"Sometimes we don't present the Gospel well enough for the non-elect to reject it."
- John MacArthur

"In the total expanse of the human life, there is not a single square inch of which Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare, 'That is mine'."
- Abraham Kuyper

"God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy."
- Westminister Confession of Faith (Chapter 5, Section 1)

"The wisdom of God has found a way for the love of God to deliver sinners from the wrath of God all the while upholding the righteousness of God!!"
- John Piper

"Grace is the pleasure of God to magnify the worth of God by giving sinners the right and power to delight in God without obscuring the glory of God!"
-John Piper

"The very One from Whom we need to be saved, is the One Who has saved us."
- R.C. Sproul

"All of Christian life is ceaseless worship of God the Father, through the mediatorship of God the Son, by the indwelling power of God the Spirit, doing what God commands in Scripture, not doing what God forbids in Scripture, in culturally contextualized ways, for the furtherance of the Gospel, when both gathered for adoration, and scattered for action, in joyous response to God's glorious grace."
- Mark Driscoll

"Believers do not pray with the view of informing God about things unknown to Him, or of exciting Him to do His duty, or of urging Him as though He were reluctant. On the contrary, they pray in order that they may arouse themselves to seek Him, that they may exercise their faith in meditating on His promises, that they may relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into His bosom; in a word, that they may declare that from Him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things."
- Martin Luther

"I have to tell you first that I am ready to die. I have put my affairs in order. Your supreme weapon is killing. My supreme weapon is dying, because when you kill me, people all over Romania will read my books and believe on the God that I preach - even more than they do now."
- Dr. Joseph Ton, the exiled Romanian pastor (quoted by James Montgomery Boice)

"The best prayer I ever prayed had enough sin in it to condemn the whole world."
- John Bunyan

"If the Christian has lost sight of Calvary, that shows that he has lost his way."
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Postby fairyprincess90 » Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:39 pm

the witch of blackbird pond is pretty good..... i read it a while ago.... but from what i remember it was cool.

im reading Maris by Grace Livingston Hill
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Postby SnoringFrog » Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:50 pm

I'm reading From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne.
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Postby jon_jinn » Mon Oct 09, 2006 8:58 pm

fairyprincess90 wrote:the witch of blackbird pond is pretty good..... i read it a while ago.... but from what i remember it was cool.


that's good to know. i'm only on the second chapter so i can't say much about it yet. however, when reading a book for school, it sorta ruins the book since you have to do all these projects, essays, and reports on the book and you sorta hate to book for that.
[SIZE="4"]*FASTING FROM CAA (9/25/08 - ???)*[/SIZE]

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"Sometimes we don't present the Gospel well enough for the non-elect to reject it."
- John MacArthur

"In the total expanse of the human life, there is not a single square inch of which Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare, 'That is mine'."
- Abraham Kuyper

"God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy."
- Westminister Confession of Faith (Chapter 5, Section 1)

"The wisdom of God has found a way for the love of God to deliver sinners from the wrath of God all the while upholding the righteousness of God!!"
- John Piper

"Grace is the pleasure of God to magnify the worth of God by giving sinners the right and power to delight in God without obscuring the glory of God!"
-John Piper

"The very One from Whom we need to be saved, is the One Who has saved us."
- R.C. Sproul

"All of Christian life is ceaseless worship of God the Father, through the mediatorship of God the Son, by the indwelling power of God the Spirit, doing what God commands in Scripture, not doing what God forbids in Scripture, in culturally contextualized ways, for the furtherance of the Gospel, when both gathered for adoration, and scattered for action, in joyous response to God's glorious grace."
- Mark Driscoll

"Believers do not pray with the view of informing God about things unknown to Him, or of exciting Him to do His duty, or of urging Him as though He were reluctant. On the contrary, they pray in order that they may arouse themselves to seek Him, that they may exercise their faith in meditating on His promises, that they may relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into His bosom; in a word, that they may declare that from Him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things."
- Martin Luther

"I have to tell you first that I am ready to die. I have put my affairs in order. Your supreme weapon is killing. My supreme weapon is dying, because when you kill me, people all over Romania will read my books and believe on the God that I preach - even more than they do now."
- Dr. Joseph Ton, the exiled Romanian pastor (quoted by James Montgomery Boice)

"The best prayer I ever prayed had enough sin in it to condemn the whole world."
- John Bunyan

"If the Christian has lost sight of Calvary, that shows that he has lost his way."
- J.I. Packer[/SIZE]
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Postby Kokhiri Sojourn » Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:36 pm

Just started The Wisdom of Each Other, by Eugene Peterson. It's a set of letters written to a friend, showing friendship as a means to grow to spiritual maturity.
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Postby Technomancer » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:53 am

The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design by Leonard Susskind. The title is somewhat misleading since it does not deal with "intelligent design" as it is espoused by Dembski et al. Rather than examining the more familiar evolution vs. creation debate, Susskind's book in the end is an examination of the anthropic principal from the point of view of string theory. Critics of the theory have in the past pointed out that it permits more than one kind of universe (10^500 to be exact). Susskind on the other hand argues that this is actually a strength of the theory and that laws of our universe are not inevitable. Rather, the fact that we live in just one of many possible universes provides a neat solution to the problem posed by the anthropic principal, which relates to the realization that our universe seems to be fine tuned for the existence of life.

http://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Landscape-String-Illusion-Intelligent/dp/0316155799/sr=1-1/qid=1160491883/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-0845015-1076904?ie=UTF8&s=books
The scientific method," Thomas Henry Huxley once wrote, "is nothing but the normal working of the human mind." That is to say, when the mind is working; that is to say further, when it is engaged in corrrecting its mistakes. Taking this point of view, we may conclude that science is not physics, biology, or chemistry—is not even a "subject"—but a moral imperative drawn from a larger narrative whose purpose is to give perspective, balance, and humility to learning.

Neil Postman
(The End of Education)

Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge

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Postby JasonPratt » Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:17 am

It-could've-been-different-but-wasn't still equals it-could've-been-different-but-wasn't. {shrug} Whatever defense the theory legitimately makes against the anthropic principle can be just as legitimately made without it. Or vice versa. {g}

i.e. if the "a priori" improbability looks suspicious one way, it still looks suspicious the other way. If the suspiciousness can be considered illusory one way, it can be considered illusory the other way. The temptation will be to think that 10^100 possible universes (or even actual ones) somehow makes it seem less improbable that we happened to be in _this_ actual universe.
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"For all shall be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." -- Mark 9:49-50 (my candidate for most important overlooked verse in Scripture. {g})


"We must
be strong and brave--
our home
we've got to save!

We must make
the fighting cease,
so Mother Earth
will be at peace!

Through all the fire and the smoke,
we will never give up hope:
if we can win,
the Earth will survive--
we'll keep peace alive!" -- from the English lyrics to the closing theme of _Space Battleship Yamato_


"It _was_ harsh. Mirei didn't have anything that would soften it either." -- the surprisingly astute (I might even call it inspired {s!}) theological conclusion to Marie Brennan's _Doppleganger_ (Warner-Aspect, April 2006)
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Postby Technomancer » Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:48 am

JasonPratt wrote:It-could've-been-different-but-wasn't still equals it-could've-been-different-but-wasn't. {shrug} Whatever defense the theory legitimately makes against the anthropic principle can be just as legitimately made without it. Or vice versa. {g}


String theory itself says nothing about the anthropic principle. What it does do is offer a deeper description of physical principles. However, it does not provide an "ultimate" answer in the sense that many physicists had been hoping for. That is, it does not offer a set of fundamental constants that can only be one value. Instead, one can describe many alternate universes with very different self-consistent laws of physics. Susskind does not see this as a problem if many different universes are constantly being spawned, all of which will have different basic constants.

i.e. if the "a priori" improbability looks suspicious one way, it still looks suspicious the other way. If the suspiciousness can be considered illusory one way, it can be considered illusory the other way.


This doesn't actually mean anything unless you specify the "ways" of looking at things.

The temptation will be to think that 10^100 possible universes (or even actual ones) somehow makes it seem less improbable that we happened to be in _this_ actual universe.


That is a temptation, but it would be fallacious to argue such a point. Following the anthropic principle, we can merely state that the laws of physics are what they are because otherwise we wouldn't be around to notice them. This is ultimately an unsatisfying answer, and it is why Susskind makes the points that he does.
The scientific method," Thomas Henry Huxley once wrote, "is nothing but the normal working of the human mind." That is to say, when the mind is working; that is to say further, when it is engaged in corrrecting its mistakes. Taking this point of view, we may conclude that science is not physics, biology, or chemistry—is not even a "subject"—but a moral imperative drawn from a larger narrative whose purpose is to give perspective, balance, and humility to learning.

Neil Postman
(The End of Education)

Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge

Isaac Aasimov
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Postby Tenshi no Ai » Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:52 am

Right now I'm reading "Cultural Anthropology"... just how can you tell it's for class? Still gotta get through my Narnia though :/ Almost halfway through with the series^^
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Postby mitsuki lover » Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:37 pm

I got as far as page 286 of Professor Zinn's book and couldn't get any further.
I need to read something light for awhile before my brains implode from too much
heavy reading.
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Postby JasonPratt » Wed Oct 11, 2006 6:19 am

Technomancer wrote:This doesn't actually mean anything unless you specify the "ways" of looking at things.


I meant, that string theory doesn't actually add or subtract any plausibility for our situation, in regard to the anthropic principle]That is a temptation, but it would be fallacious to argue such a point. Following the anthropic principle, we can merely state that the laws of physics are what they are because otherwise we wouldn't be around to notice them. This is ultimately an unsatisfying answer, and it is why Susskind makes the points that he does.[/QUOTE]

Ah. That's okay then--I had gotten the impression from your report, that Susskind was trying to state (or tacitly imply) that 10^500 possible-or-actual universes makes some kind of difference in evaluating the theistic argument of anthropic convenience. My bad. :)
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"For all shall be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." -- Mark 9:49-50 (my candidate for most important overlooked verse in Scripture. {g})


"We must
be strong and brave--
our home
we've got to save!

We must make
the fighting cease,
so Mother Earth
will be at peace!

Through all the fire and the smoke,
we will never give up hope:
if we can win,
the Earth will survive--
we'll keep peace alive!" -- from the English lyrics to the closing theme of _Space Battleship Yamato_


"It _was_ harsh. Mirei didn't have anything that would soften it either." -- the surprisingly astute (I might even call it inspired {s!}) theological conclusion to Marie Brennan's _Doppleganger_ (Warner-Aspect, April 2006)
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Postby JasonPratt » Wed Oct 11, 2006 6:29 am

Meanwhile!--with _Warrior and Witch_ due to arrive today or tomorrow in the mail, I started Marie Brennan's _Doppelganger_ last night. (It's been a couple of years since I read it, and I want to catch back up before going into the sequel.)

Tenshi might be especially interested in this, since Marie is a folk anthropologist (and so is probably helping _teach_ cultural anthopology classes right now up at Indiana University in Bloomington, while she works on her doctorates.)


Realized I hadn't ever actually read the most recent journal of papers sent by the Mythopoeic Society; so that's what I have at the dinner table. The current article discusses the tensions and connections between Charles Williams' Christian and semi-pagan mysticism. (He was a member of the Order of the Golden Dawn.)
this message has been brought to you by
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"For all shall be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." -- Mark 9:49-50 (my candidate for most important overlooked verse in Scripture. {g})


"We must
be strong and brave--
our home
we've got to save!

We must make
the fighting cease,
so Mother Earth
will be at peace!

Through all the fire and the smoke,
we will never give up hope:
if we can win,
the Earth will survive--
we'll keep peace alive!" -- from the English lyrics to the closing theme of _Space Battleship Yamato_


"It _was_ harsh. Mirei didn't have anything that would soften it either." -- the surprisingly astute (I might even call it inspired {s!}) theological conclusion to Marie Brennan's _Doppleganger_ (Warner-Aspect, April 2006)
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Postby yukinon » Wed Oct 11, 2006 7:09 am

I usually don't count magazines as actual reading, but I'm working on finishing up the Newtype my boyfriend got me for my anniversary. (I told him that getting something I want but would never buy for myself was a good gift idea and he took it quite seriously.) Of course there were other things as well...
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Postby Technomancer » Wed Oct 11, 2006 10:31 am

Now that I've finished Susskind's book, I'm reading Extinction: How Life Nearly Ended 250 Million Years Ago. The book investigates current theories regarding the cause the late Permian mass extinction event, in which ~82% of all species were wiped out (including 90% of all marine species). Unlike the much smaller event that wiped out the dinosaurs, the cause of this catastrophe remains uncertain.
The scientific method," Thomas Henry Huxley once wrote, "is nothing but the normal working of the human mind." That is to say, when the mind is working; that is to say further, when it is engaged in corrrecting its mistakes. Taking this point of view, we may conclude that science is not physics, biology, or chemistry—is not even a "subject"—but a moral imperative drawn from a larger narrative whose purpose is to give perspective, balance, and humility to learning.

Neil Postman
(The End of Education)

Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge

Isaac Aasimov
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Postby bigsleepj » Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:25 am

Technomancer wrote:Now that I've finished Susskind's book, I'm reading Extinction: How Life Nearly Ended 250 Million Years Ago. The book investigates current theories regarding the cause the late Permian mass extinction event, in which ~82% of all species were wiped out (including 90% of all marine species). Unlike the much smaller event that wiped out the dinosaurs, the cause of this catastrophe remains uncertain.


Amazing!! You're reading books I'd never be able to finish!! :) And I'm not being sarcastic or trying to put you down, I'm just amazed.
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Postby Technomancer » Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:07 am

It's not really that amazing. Both books were written with a popular audience in mind.
The scientific method," Thomas Henry Huxley once wrote, "is nothing but the normal working of the human mind." That is to say, when the mind is working; that is to say further, when it is engaged in corrrecting its mistakes. Taking this point of view, we may conclude that science is not physics, biology, or chemistry—is not even a "subject"—but a moral imperative drawn from a larger narrative whose purpose is to give perspective, balance, and humility to learning.

Neil Postman
(The End of Education)

Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge

Isaac Aasimov
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Postby jon_jinn » Thu Oct 12, 2006 3:26 pm

finished "To Kill a Mockingbird"
my class is now starting on, "The Crucible"
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[SIZE="1"]
"Sometimes we don't present the Gospel well enough for the non-elect to reject it."
- John MacArthur

"In the total expanse of the human life, there is not a single square inch of which Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare, 'That is mine'."
- Abraham Kuyper

"God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy."
- Westminister Confession of Faith (Chapter 5, Section 1)

"The wisdom of God has found a way for the love of God to deliver sinners from the wrath of God all the while upholding the righteousness of God!!"
- John Piper

"Grace is the pleasure of God to magnify the worth of God by giving sinners the right and power to delight in God without obscuring the glory of God!"
-John Piper

"The very One from Whom we need to be saved, is the One Who has saved us."
- R.C. Sproul

"All of Christian life is ceaseless worship of God the Father, through the mediatorship of God the Son, by the indwelling power of God the Spirit, doing what God commands in Scripture, not doing what God forbids in Scripture, in culturally contextualized ways, for the furtherance of the Gospel, when both gathered for adoration, and scattered for action, in joyous response to God's glorious grace."
- Mark Driscoll

"Believers do not pray with the view of informing God about things unknown to Him, or of exciting Him to do His duty, or of urging Him as though He were reluctant. On the contrary, they pray in order that they may arouse themselves to seek Him, that they may exercise their faith in meditating on His promises, that they may relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into His bosom; in a word, that they may declare that from Him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things."
- Martin Luther

"I have to tell you first that I am ready to die. I have put my affairs in order. Your supreme weapon is killing. My supreme weapon is dying, because when you kill me, people all over Romania will read my books and believe on the God that I preach - even more than they do now."
- Dr. Joseph Ton, the exiled Romanian pastor (quoted by James Montgomery Boice)

"The best prayer I ever prayed had enough sin in it to condemn the whole world."
- John Bunyan

"If the Christian has lost sight of Calvary, that shows that he has lost his way."
- J.I. Packer[/SIZE]
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jon_jinn
 
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