Against the persecution of a tyrant the godly have no remedy but prayer.
John CalvinRead
The human heart is a factory of idols...Everyon e of us is, from his mother's womb, expert in inventing idols.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that humans inherently create false idols, or things we worship, often from a very young age.
John Calvin's quote emphasizes the notion that the human heart has a natural inclination to create idols, or objects of affection and desire, that can lead us astray. It implies that from our earliest days, we develop attachments to various ideals, beliefs, or material pursuits that can distract us from true purpose or virtue, making it crucial to be aware of our inclinations towards idolatry.
In practice
In a sermon about materialism, this quote can remind congregants of the dangers of idolizing possessions.
Against the persecution of a tyrant the godly have no remedy but prayer.
The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both.
Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty.
Whomever the Lord has adopted and deemed worthy of His fellowship ought to prepare themselves for a hard, toilsome, and unquiet life, crammed with very many and various kinds of evil.
For as the aged, or those whose sight is defective, when any book, however fair, is set before them, though they perceive that there is something written, are scarcely able to make out two consecutive words, but, when aided by glasses, begin to read distinctly, so Scripture, gathering together the impressions of Deity, which, till then, lay confused in our minds, dissipates the darkness, and shows us the true God clearly.
When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them wicked rulers.
Success has always been the greatest liar - and the "work" itself is a success; the great statesman, the conqueror, the discoverer is disguised by his creations, often beyond recognition; the "work," whether of the artist or the philosopher, invents the man who has created it, who is supposed to have create it; "great men," as they are venerated, are subsequent pieces of wretched minor fiction
A man with a machine and inadequate culture is a pestilence.
There is still much debate about whether torture has been effective in eliciting information - the assumption being, apparently, that if it is effective, then it may be justified.
You can't hear a word and just hear it as raw sound; it always evokes an associated meaning and emotion in the brain.
One can generally say this about men: that they are ungrateful, fickle, simulators and deceivers, avoiders of danger, greedy for gain; and while you work for their good they are completely yours, offering you their blood, their property, their lives, and their sons when danger is far away; but when it comes nearer to you, they turn away.
Out of our first century of national life we evolved the ethical principle that it was not right or just that an honest and industrious man should live and die in misery. He was entitled to some degree of sympathy and security. Our conscience declared against the honest workman's becoming a pauper, but our eyes told us that he very often did.
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