TTF Staff
If there never be a silence in the soul, and a man goes on always with his own thoughts and schemes and endeavours, it brings about a moral and spiritual madness. That is tenfold worse than mere madness in the brain, when a man judges everything by false ways, puts a wrong value on everything, thinks little of great things and much of little things—that is a common way with all of us more or less, only, thank God, with some of us it is growing less.
There comes a silence every now and then; and God makes it just to put a stop to this kind of thing, and give himself a chance of speaking.
Excerpted from George MacDonald’s sermon “Alone with God,” preached in Westminster Chapel, London; transcribed for the publication The Christian World Pulpit, reprinted in George MacDonald, ed. William J Peterson, Proving the Unseen (Ballantine Books, 1989). Thanks to the George MacDonald e-mail list.
2 Responses (comments are closed) • Fodder, Being Human, Character and Ethics, Thu 04 Dec 2008
One has only the choice between God and idolatry. If one denies God … one is worshiping some things of this world in the belief that one sees them only as such, but in fact, though unknown to oneself, imagining the attributes of Divinity in them.
Simone Weil
kj: Psalm 86: 11 - Teach me Your way, Lord, and I will live by Your truth. Give me an undivided…
Al Sikes: Excellent and most timely.
Great Courage: A Trinity Forum Readings Collection.
Four Readings booklets on faith and courage in tough times.
President Obama’s Proposals for a Second Fiscal Stimulus: Senior Fellow Prabhu Guptara: “Is there anything short of divine miracles which will be good for job creation, good for the small business sector, good for the economy as a whole, and good for President Obama?” (Renaissance: Insights for Action in Today’s World • 2010 02 09)
How the Victoria and Albert Museum dealt with the dying of Christianity: “This situation is unprecedented in western civilisation: even 50 years ago, when these galleries of one of the richest collections in the world were last displayed in the V&A, they could assume that everyone was familiar with the rudiments of Christianity. Now, in a twinkling of an eye, 2,000 years of culture in the profoundest meaning of the word have been largely forgotten.” (Anna Somers Cocks, The Art Newspaper, December 2009 • 2010 01 05)
The God that Fails: David Brooks: “Many people seem to be in the middle of a religious crisis of faith. All the gods they believe in — technology, technocracy, centralized government control — have failed them in this instance.” (New York Times, December 31, 2009 • 2010 01 05)
From Winchester to Westminster: Jonathan Aitken discusses Sir John Templeton recently in the American Spectator; here’s a quote from the late philanthropist on gratitude: “Thanksgiving opens the door to spiritual growth. If there is any day in our life which is not thanksgiving day, then we are not fully alive. Counting our blessing attracts blessings. Counting our blessings each morning starts a day full of blessings. Thanksgiving brings God’s bounty. From gratitude comes riches—from complaints, poverty. Thankfulness opens the door to happiness. Thanksgiving causes giving. Thanksgiving puts our mind in tune with the Infinite. Continual gratitude dissolves our worries.” (The American Spectator • 2009 09 11)
• Welcome, National Affairs (2009 09 08)
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• Why AI is a dangerous dream (2009 09 08)
• Restoring the Fresco of Progress (2009 08 28)
• The Case for Working With Your Hands (2009 06 04)
Unspeakable: Facing Up to Evil in an Age of Genocide and Terror by Os Guinness.
Using personal examples and reflections from prominent scholars, Os Guinness presents a compelling case for faith in the face of evil’s dark reality.
Quantico, VA
on 2008 12 08
Psalm 86: 11 - Teach me Your way, Lord, and I will live by Your truth. Give me an undivided mind to fear Your name. (HSCB)