"My future husband was becoming to me my whole world; and more than the world: almost my hope of heaven. He stood between me and every thought of religion, as an eclipse intervenes between man and the broad sun. I could not, in those days, see God for his creature: of whom I had made an idol."
Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, Chapter 24, closing paragraph.
In light of the importance of presuppositions about the supernatural on the outcome of one's work, authors should make clear from the start the position they take on this matter. It is misleading to say that 'due to their investigation of the accounts' authors conclude that Jesus was not born of a virgin, that the miracles are later myths created by the church, that the faith of the early church gave rise to the accounts of the resurrection and not the other way around, and so on. All these conclusions were predetermined before any investigation began. It should come as no surprise that when one starts with the view that miracles cannot happen, the conclusion is that the miracles investigated did not happen.
Robert H. Stein, Jesus the Messiah: A Survey of the Life of Christ,
http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Messiah-Survey-Life-Christ/dp/0830818847/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320782363&sr=1-1
"What is the secret of your service for God," someone once asked Muller.
"There was a day when I died, utterly died," he replied, and as he spoke he bent lower and lower until he almost touched the floor, "died to George Muller, his opinions, preferences, tastes, and will--died to the world, its approval and censure--died to the approval and blame of even my brethren and friends--and since then I have studied to show myself approved only unto God."
Roger Steer, George Muller Delighted in God
"...It is sometimes suggested that Bible translations should capitalize pronouns referring to deity. It has seemed best not to capitalize deity pronouns in the ESV, however, for the following reasons: first, there is nothing in the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts that corresponds to such capitalization; second, the practice of capitalizing deity pronouns in English Bible translations is a recent innovation, which began only in the mid-twentieth century; and, third, such capitalization is absent from the KJV Bible and the whole stream of Bible translations that the ESV seeks to carry forward."
"Many people say that while religions may differ in their outward forms, they are identical in their essential content. As Chesterton has observed, this view is precisely backward. The forms of religion often are the same--patterns of worship and sacrifice, shared symbols such as blood and serpents. The difference is the content, what these forms mean. A statue of a woman with a child might represent an actual family, a fertility goddess, or the Virgin Mary, who, in turn might be thought of as a heavenly intercessor or simply as a biblical example of faith. Problems generally inhere not in the work of art--Jeremiah says of the physical objects that had been turned into idols, 'Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good' (Jer. 10:5). Interpretation is always necessary, as is careful theological reflection."
Gene Edward Veith, State of the Artss
"The Bible takes sin seriously because it takes humanity seriously. As we have seen, Christians do not deny the fact--in some circumstances--of diminished responsibility, but we affirm that diminished responsibility always entails diminished humanity. To say that somebody 'is not responsible for his actions' is to demean him or her as a human being. It is part of the glory of being human that we are held responsible for our actions. Then, when we also acknowledge our sin and guilt, we receive God's forgiveness, enter into the joy of his salvation, and so become yet more completely human and healthy. What is unhealthy is every wallowing in guilt which does not lead to confession, repentance, faith in Jesus Christ, and so forgiveness."
--John R.W. Stott, The Cross of Christ
