To be spiritually dead is to be diabolically alive
R. C. SproulRead
Without God man has no reference point to define himself.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that without a higher power, individuals struggle to understand their true identity.
R. C. Sproul emphasizes the idea that humans need a reference point beyond themselves, such as God, to have a clear understanding of their identity and purpose. In a secular context, it implies that without a spiritual or moral anchor, individuals may find themselves lost or lacking direction in life, leading to existential questions about who they are and why they exist.
In practice
A speaker at a conference discussing the importance of faith in personal development might use this quote.
To be spiritually dead is to be diabolically alive
Iβve often wondered where Jesus would apply His hastily made whip if He were to visit our culture. My guess is that it would not be money-changing tables in the temple that would feel His wrath, but the display racks in Christian bookstores.
The real crisis of worship today is not that the preaching is paltry or that it's too drafty in church. It is that people have no sense of the presence of God, and if they have no sense of His presence, how can they be moved to express the deepest feelings of their souls to honor, revere, worship, and glorify God?
We talk about predestination because the Bible talks about predestination. If we desire to build our theology on the Bible, we run head on into this concept. We soon discover that John Calvin did not invent it.
I do not want to drive across a bridge designed by an engineer who believed the numbers in structural stress models are relative truths.
Prayer does change things, all kinds of things. But the most important thing it changes is us. As we engage in this communion with God more deeply and come to know the One with whom we are speaking more intimately, that growing knowledge of God reveals to us all the more brilliantly who we are and our need to change in conformity to Him. Prayer changes us profoundly.
This perfection must come through the practice of holiness and love.
Mankind censure injustice fearing that they may be the victims of it, and not because they shrink from committing it.
Have you ever confused a dream with life? Or stolen something when you have the cash? Have you ever been blue? Or thought your train moving while sitting still? Maybe I was just crazy. Maybe it was the 60's. Or maybe I was just a girl... interrupted.
But what we can do, as flawed as we are, is still see God in other people, and do our best to help them find their own grace. That's what I strive to do, that's what I pray to do every day.
He whose intellect overcomes his lust is higher than the angels; he whose lust overcomes his intelligence is less than an animal.
We so often tend to think our democracies are ruled by procedures and laws, but they are also governed by implicit rules and assumptions and one of them is the ability to feel shame - that you can be shamed.
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