{"author":"Timothy J. Keller","author_id":"Timothy+J.+Keller","total_quotes":108,"quotes":[{"text":"We are continuing God’s work of forming, filling, and subduing. Whenever we bring order out of chaos, whenever we draw out creative potential, whenever we elaborate and “unfold” creation beyond where it was when we found it, we are following God’s pattern of creative cultural development.","author":"Timothy J. Keller","tags":["creativity","dominion","redemption","work"],"id":11694,"author_id":"Timothy+J.+Keller"},{"text":"This principle - that your spouse should be capable of becoming your best friend - is a game changer when you address the question of compatibility in a prospective spouse. If you think of marriage largely in terms of erotic love, then compatibility means sexual chemistry and appeal. If you think of marriage largely as a way to move into the kind of social status in life you desire, then compatibility means being part of the desired social class, and perhaps common tastes and aspirations for lifestyle. The problem with these factors is that they are not durable. Physical attractiveness will wane, no matter how hard you work to delay its departure. And socio-economic status unfortunately can change almost overnight. When people think they have found compatibility based on these things, they often make the painful discovery that they have built their relationship on unstable ground. A woman 'lets herself go' or a man loses his job, and the compatibility foundation falls apart.","author":"Timothy J. Keller","tags":["compatiblity","love","marriage","romance"],"id":15054,"author_id":"Timothy+J.+Keller"},{"text":"If believers in God don't honor the cries and claims of the poor, we don't honor him, whatever we profess, because we hide his beauty from the eyes of the world. When we pour ourselves out for the poor—that gets the world's notice.","author":"Timothy J. Keller","tags":["glory","god","grace","justice","poverty"],"id":16803,"author_id":"Timothy+J.+Keller"},{"text":"A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection. Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts — not only their own but their friends' and neighbors'. It is no longer sufficient to hold beliefs just because you inherited them. Only if you struggle long and hard with objections to your faith will you be able to provide the grounds for your beliefs to skeptics, including yourself, that are plausible rather than ridiculous or offensive. And, just as important for our current situation, such a process will lead you, even after you come to a position of strong faith, to respect and understand those who doubt.","author":"Timothy J. Keller","tags":["doubt","faith","reason"],"id":20327,"author_id":"Timothy+J.+Keller"},{"text":"If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.","author":"Timothy J. Keller","tags":["belief","resurrection","skepticism"],"id":29067,"author_id":"Timothy+J.+Keller"},{"text":"At Gethsemane: 'Jesus is subordinating His loudest desires to His deepest desires.","author":"Timothy J. Keller","tags":["discipleship","emotion","suffering"],"id":32670,"author_id":"Timothy+J.+Keller"},{"text":"What keeps the marriage going is your commitment to your spouse's holiness.","author":"Timothy J. Keller","tags":["gospel","marriage"],"id":32849,"author_id":"Timothy+J.+Keller"},{"text":"Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God's saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us. The merciful commitment strengthens us to see the truth about ourselves and repent. The conviction and repentance moves us to cling to and rest in God's mercy and grace.","author":"Timothy J. Keller","tags":["god","love"],"id":38348,"author_id":"Timothy+J.+Keller"},{"text":"The popular concept–that we should each determine our own morality–is based on the belief that the spiritual realm is nothing at all like the rest of the world. Does anyone really believe that? For many years after each of the morning and evening Sunday services I remained in the auditorium for another hour to field questions. Hundreds of people stayed for the give-and-take discussions. One of the most frequent statements I heard was that 'Every person has to define right and wrong for him- or herself.' I always responded to the speakers by asking, 'Is there anyone in the world right now doing things you believe they should stop doing no matter what they personally believe about the correctness of their behavior?' They would invariable say, 'Yes, of course.' Then I would ask, “Doesn’t that mean that you do believe there is some kind of moral reality that is 'there' that is not defined by us, that must be abided by regardless of what a person feels or thinks?' Almost always, the response to that question was silence, either a thoughtful or a grumpy one.","author":"Timothy J. Keller","tags":["morality","postmodernism"],"id":38494,"author_id":"Timothy+J.+Keller"},{"text":"There is a third quality to friendship, and it is not as easy to put into a single word. The right word, literally, is 'sympathy' - sym-pathos, common passion. This means that friendships are discovered more than they are created at will.","author":"Timothy J. Keller","tags":["friend","friendship","passion"],"id":40132,"author_id":"Timothy+J.+Keller"}],"pagination":{"page":1,"page_size":10,"total":108,"pages":11,"next":"?page=2\u0026page_size=10"}}