The Bible must be the invention either of good men or angels, bad men or devils, or of God. However, it was not written by good men, because good men would not tell lies by saying 'Thus saith the Lord;' it was not written by bad men because they would not write about doing good duty, while condemning sin, and themselves to hell; thus, it must be written by divine inspiration
Interpretation
The quote suggests that the Bible's origin must be attributed to divinity, as it possesses qualities that neither good nor bad men would claim.
Charles Wesley's quote reflects on the nature of the Bible and its authorship, arguing that it cannot be the creation of morally good or evil individuals. Good men wouldn't deceive by claiming divine authority, while bad men wouldn't write about virtues while condemning sin. This line of reasoning leads to the conclusion that the Bible must be a result of divine inspiration, highlighting its significance in moral and spiritual discourse.
In practice
During a discussion on religious texts, one might quote Wesley to emphasize the idea of divine authorship.
Come to earth to taste our sadness, he whose glories knew no end;_x000D_ by his life he brings us gladness, our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend._x000D_ Leaving riches without number, born within a cattle stall;_x000D_ this the everlasting wonder, Christ was born the Lord of all.
Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, And looks to God alone; Laughs at impossibilities, And cries it shall be done.
O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise, the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of his grace!
And all things as they change proclaim _x000D_ The Lord eternally the same.
Expand Thy wings, celestial Dove, brood o'er our nature's night; on our disordered spirits move, and let there now be light.
Keep us little and unknown, prized and loved by God alone.
How could somebody be comfortable with authorizing legally the use of lethal force? My view is if you become comfortable with it, then you should get out of the job.
America is a nation with many flaws, but hopes so vast that only the cowardly would refuse to acknowledge them.
Old elephants limp off to the hills to die; old Americans go out to the highway and drive themselves to death with huge cars.
What we experience is our own concept of things. That is why no two people see quite the same world, and why, in many cases, different people see such different worlds. To put it another way, we make our own world by the way in which we think; for we really do live in a world of our own thoughts.
If the history of resistance to Darwinian thinking is a good measure, we can expect that long into the future, long after every triumph of human thought has been matched or surpassed by 'mere machines,' there will still be thinkers who insist that the human mind works in mysterious ways that no science can comprehend.
The only absolute truth is that there are no absolute truths.
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