Abraham Quotes

“Sol wanted to know how any ethical system – much less a religion so indomitable that it had survived every evil mankind could throw at it – could flow from a command from God for a man to slaughter his son. It did not matter to Sol that the command had been rescinded at the last moment. It did not matter that the command was a test of obedience. In fact, the idea that it was the obedience of Abraham which allowed him to become the father of all the tribes of Israel was precisely what drove Sol into fits of fury.”
― Dan Simmons, Hyperion

“We encounter God in the face of a stranger. That, I believe, is the Hebrew Bible’s single greatest and most counterintuitive contribution to ethics. God creates difference; therefore it is in one-who-is-different that we meet god. Abraham encounters God when he invites three strangers into his tent.”
― Jonathan Sacks, The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations

“Change your mind and change your whole life experience.”
― C.G. Rousing, Thoughts To Die For

“Let the preacher tell the truth. Let him make audible the silence of the news of the world with the sound turned off so that in the silence we can hear the tragic truth of the Gospel, which is that the world where God is absent is a dark and echoing emptiness; and the comic truth of the Gospel, which is that it is into the depths of his absence that God makes himself present in such unlikely ways and to such unlikely people that old Sarah and Abraham and maybe when the time comes even Pilate and Job and Lear and Henry Ward Beecher and you and I laugh till the tears run down our cheeks. And finally let him preach this overwhelming of tragedy by comedy, of darkness by light, of the ordinary by the extraordinary, as the tale that is too good not to be true because to dismiss it as untrue is to dismiss along with it that catch of the breath, that beat and lifting of the heart near to or even accompanied by tears, which I believe is the deepest intuition of truth that we have.”
― Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale – A Fresh Look at the Many Dimensions of God and Humanity

“All Abraham's sons were taught that God would progressively reveal Himself. God's wholeness has yet to be realized. There will always be gaps in our understanding. Why should we fill those gaps with suspicion, bigotry and accusations? Men do it to women; Jews do it to Christians; Christians do it to Muslims. Yet, all these have an implied duty to Abraham.”
― Michael Ben Zehabe, Song of Songs: The Book for Daughters

“Your frequency is what you frequently see. Pay attention to synchronicity as there are valuable lessons to be learned in the repetition of your reality.”
― Jennifer Sodini

“And in all truth it can be said- yes the zionist jews were responsible for 9/11.”
― Henry Makow

“The central fact of biblical history, the birth of the Messiah, more than any other, presupposes the design of Providence in the selecting and uniting of successive producers, and the real, paramount interest of the biblical narratives is concentrated on the various and wondrous fates, by which are arranged the births and combinations of the 'fathers of God.' But in all this complicated system of means, having determined in the order of historical phenomena the birth of the Messiah, there was no room for love in the proper meaning of the word. Love is, of course, encountered in the Bible, but only as an independent fact and not as an instrument in the process of the genealogy of Christ. The sacred book does not say that Abram took Sarai to wife by force of an ardent love, and in any case Providence must have waited until this love had grown completely cool for the centenarian progenitors to produce a child of faith, not of love. Isaac married Rebekah not for love but in accordance with an earlier formed resolution and the design of his father. Jacob loved Rachel, but this love turned out to be unnecessary for the origin of the Messiah. He was indeed to be born of a son of Jacob - Judah - but the latter was the offspring, not of Rachel but of the unloved wife, Leah. For the production in the given generation of the ancestor of the Messiah, what was necessary was the union of Jacob precisely with Leah; but to attain this union Providence did not awaken in Jacob any powerful passion of love for the future mother of the 'father of God' - Judah. Not infringing the liberty of Jacob's heartfelt feeling, the higher power permitted him to love Rachel, but for his necessary union with Leah it made use of means of quite a different kind: the mercenary cunning of a third person - devoted to his own domestic and economic interests - Laban. Judah himself, for the production of the remote ancestors of the Messiah, besides his legitimate posterity, had in his old age to marry his daughter-in-law Tamar. Seeing that such a union was not at all in the natural order of things, and indeed could not take place under ordinary conditions, that end was attained by means of an extremely strange occurrence very seductive to superficial readers of the Bible. Nor in such an occurrence could there be any talk of love. It was not love which combined the priestly harlot Rahab with the Hebrew stranger; she yielded herself to him at first in the course of her profession, and afterwards the casual bond was strengthened by her faith in the power of the new God and in the desire for his patronage for herself and her family. It was not love which united David's great-grandfather, the aged Boaz, with the youthful Moabitess Ruth, and Solomon was begotten not from genuine, profound love, but only from the casual, sinful caprice of a sovereign who was growing old.”
― Vladimir Solovyov, The Meaning of Love

“Mungu hutumia watu 'wajinga' na 'wapumbavu' kufanya mambo makubwa katika maisha yao na ya watu wengine. Katika Biblia, Musa aliitwa mjinga alipokiuka amri ya Farao ya kuendelea kuwafanya watumwa wana wa Israeli nchini Misri; Nuhu aliitwa mpumbavu alipohubiri kwa miaka mia kuhusu gharika, katika kipindi ambacho watu hawakujua mvua ni nini; Daudi aliitwa mjinga alipojitolea kupambana na Goliati bonge la mtu, shujaa wa Gathi; Yusufu aliitwa mjinga alipokataa kulala na mke wa bosi wake, baada ya kuwa ameuzwa na nduguze kama mtumwa nchini Misri; Abrahamu aliitwa mjinga alipoamua kuhama nchi aliyoipenda na kwenda katika nchi ya ahadi, eti kwa sababu Mungu alimwambia kufanya hivyo; Yesu aliitwa mjinga mpaka akasulubiwa aliposema yeye ni Mfalme na Mwana wa Mungu. LAKINI, Musa alitenganisha Bahari ya Shamu na kuwapeleka Waisraeli katika nchi ya ahadi, ambako aliwakomboa kutoka utumwani. Nuhu aliokoa dunia. Daudi alimshinda Goliati. Yusufu aliokoa familia yake kutokana na njaa. Abrahamu alikuwa baba wa imani. Yesu aliyashinda mauti. Wakati mwingine tunatakiwa kufanya mambo makubwa kulingana na jinsi Roho Mtakatifu anavyotutuma, bila kujali watu au dunia itasemaje.”
― Enock Maregesi

“It was a black and hooded head; and hanging there in the midst of so intense a calm, it seemed the Sphynx’s in the desert. “Speak, thou vast and venerable head,” muttered Ahab, “which, though ungarnished with a beard, yet here and there lookest hoary with mosses; speak, mighty head, and tell us the secret thing that is in thee. Of all divers, thou hast dived the deepest. That head upon which the upper sun now gleams, has moved amid this world’s foundations. Where unrecorded names and navies rust, and untold hopes and anchors rot; where in her murderous hold this frigate earth is ballasted with bones of millions of the drowned; there, in that awful water-land, there was thy most familiar home. Thou hast been where bell or diver never went; hast slept by many a sailor’s side, where sleepless mothers would give their lives to lay them down. Thou saw’st the locked lovers when leaping from their flaming ship; heart to heart they sank beneath the exulting wave; true to each other, when heaven seemed false to them. Thou saw’st the murdered mate when tossed by pirates from the midnight deck; for hours he fell into the deeper midnight of the insatiate maw; and his murderers still sailed on unharmed—while swift lightnings shivered the neighboring ship that would have borne a righteous husband to outstretched, longing arms. O head! thou hast seen enough to split the planets and make an infidel of Abraham, and not one syllable is thine!”
― Herman Melville, Moby-Dick or, The Whale

“And one day, God would send another baby, a baby promised to a girl who didn't even have a husband. But this baby would bring laughter to the whole world. This baby would be everyone's dream come true.”
― Sally Lloyd-Jones, The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name

“Keep in mind too, our failures serve to teach us, and usually teach us more than our successes do. What we may perceive as a failure is also an opportunity for someone else to rise to the occasion and perform a mitzvah, or mitzvot. Do not begrudge someone their joyous performance of mitzvot. Sometimes, perhaps even more often then you may think, what we consider our failures were blessings in disguise for ourselves, or others, or everyone. Abraham did not change the world just because he himself changed, and followed his own destiny. He changed the world through his giving others opportunities to rise to their own greatness.”
― Laura Weakley, What The Torah Teaches Us About Life / Through The Themes Of The Weekly Torah Portions

“If you find that you're going through hell, keep moving. You will get to the end eventually.”
― Kimberly Brouillette, Abram's Journey: Quest For The Man In The Stars

“I tried to close my ears to the strange worshipful chanting and fix my mind on God, but the Egyptians’ idolatry weighed down my weary shoulders and brought tears to my closed eyes.”
― Kristen Reed, Five Nights With Pharaoh

“Should one of them after having caught the greatness of Abraham's deed, but also the appallingness of it, venture out on the road, I would saddle my horse and ride along with him. At every stop before we came to the mountain in Moriah I would explain to him that he could still turn back, could rue the misunderstanding that he was called to be tried in a conflict of this nature, could confess that he lacked the courage, so that if God wanted Isaac God must take him himself.”
― Johannes de Silentio, Fear and Trembling: Dialectical Lyric

“Abraham I cannot understand; in a way all I can learn from him is to be amazed. If one imagines one can be moved to faith by considering the outcome of this story, one deceives oneself, and is out to cheat God of faith's first movement, one is out to suck the life-wisdom out of the paradox. One or another may succeed, for our age does not stop with faith, with its miracle of turning water into wine; it goes further, it turns wine into water.”
― Johannes de Silentio, Fear and Trembling: Dialectical Lyric

“Did god make man too perfect,
So that a piece has to be removed
through circumcision?”
― A.J. Beirens

“Heeft god de man dan té volmaakt gemaakt
dat men er zo nodig een stuk moet van afsnijden?

Over 'besnijdenis' in "Gesels van een imaginaire god”
― A.J. Beirens

“And recite to them the news of Abraham
When he said to his father and his people: What do you worship?
They said, "We worship idols and remain to them devoted.
He said, "Do they hear you when you supplicate?
Or do they benefit you, or do they harm?
They said, "But we found our fathers doing thus.
He said, "Then do you see what you have been worshipping,
You and your ancient forefathers?
Indeed, they are enemies to me, except the Lord of the worlds,
Who created me, and He [it is who] guides me.
And it is He who feeds me and gives me drink.
And when I am ill, it is He who cures me
And who will cause me to die and then bring me to life
And who I aspire that He will forgive me my sin on the Day of Recompense.
(A Translation of Quran , 69-82)”
― Quran

“For a brief moment the previous day, I’d felt a flicker of kinship with him because of my own barrenness, but he brandished his brokenness like a sword, ready to cut anyone who displeased him because someone in Pharaoh’s household had once cut him.”
― Kristen Reed, Five Nights With Pharaoh

“You’re such an asshole,” I mumbled, staring at her perfect tits. “Why the fuck do I even like you?”
“Aw, you like me? Tomorrow can we make daisy chains to wear in our hair and paint each other’s toenails?”
“For some reason, your mouth is moving but I can’t hear anything past the sight of your nipples.”
― Nicole Jacquelyn, Change of Heart

“If you have the blessings of Abraham in your life, then you should also have his obedience, humility and ability to submit to others”
― Sunday Adelaja

“Siku moja, jambo baya litatokea. Labda babu yako au mnyama wako kipenzi atafariki au shangazi yako atagundulika na kansa. Labda utafukuzwa kazi au utaachika kwa mumeo au mkeo mliyependana sana. Labda rafiki yako kipenzi atapata ajali mbaya ya gari na utatakiwa kupeleka taarifa kwa ndugu na marafiki zake. Kutoa taarifa ya jambo baya kwa mtu ni kazi ngumu sawa na kupokea taarifa ya jambo baya kutoka kwa mtu. Kama umeteuliwa kupeleka taarifa ya kifo au ya jambo lolote baya kwa mtu fanya hivyo kwa makini. Toa taarifa ya msiba au ya jambo lolote baya kwa hekima na busara kama Ibrahimu alivyofanya kwa Sara kuhusiana na kafara ya Isaka, si kama Mbenyamini alivyofanya kwa Eli kuhusiana na kutwaliwa kwa sanduku la agano na kuuwawa kwa watoto wake wawili. Jidhibiti kwanza wewe mwenyewe kama umeteuliwa kupeleka taarifa ya kifo au ya jambo lolote baya. Angalia kama wewe ni mtu sahihi wa kupeleka taarifa hiyo. Pangilia mawazo ya kile unachotaka kwenda kukisema au unachotaka kwenda kukiandika. Mwangalie machoni, si usoni, yule unayempelekea taarifa kisha mwambie kwa sauti ya upole nini kimetokea.”
― Enock Maregesi

“Hakimu na Kuhani Mkuu wa Shilo Eli alipata matatizo makubwa wakati wa mgogoro wa Waisraeli na Wafilisti, kati ya mwaka 2871 na 2870 Kabla ya Kristo. Mara tu baada ya kupewa taarifa ya kifo cha watoto wake wawili, Hofni na Finehasi, na kutwaliwa kwa Sanduku la Agano la Bwana wa Majeshi lililohifadhi Amri Kumi za Mungu, Eli alianguka kutoka katika kiti chake na kufariki papo hapo akiwa na umri wa miaka 98. Aidha, mkwe wa Eli, mke wa Finehasi, alijifungua ghafla na kufariki alipopata taarifa ya kifo cha mkwewe na taarifa ya kuuwawa kwa mumewe na ya kutekwa nyara kwa Sanduku la Agano.

Mwanajeshi kutoka Benyamini falaula angetumia hekima na busara kutoa taarifa ya kifo na ya kutwaliwa kwa Sanduku la Agano huenda Eli asingefariki, na huenda mkwewe asingejifungua mtoto njiti na huenda asingekufa siku hiyo. Kwani Sanduku la Agano lilirejeshwa nchini Israeli, na Wafilisti wenyewe, baada ya miezi saba tangu litwaliwe, na kifo cha watoto wa Eli yalikuwa mapenzi ya Mungu. Hivyo Eli asingeweza kuzuia kifo cha watoto wake, na Wafilisti wasingeweza kukaa na Sanduku la Agano milele.

Lakini katika kafara ya Isaka ambapo Isaka aliamua kujitoa kafara mwenyewe kumfurahisha Mungu na baba yake kama Yesu alivyoamua kujitoa kafara mwenyewe kumfurahisha Mungu na baba yake wa mbinguni, Sara angekufa kama Ibrahimu hangetumia hekima alipomwambia anakwenda kumtolea Bwana kafara ya mwanakondoo wakati akijua anakwenda kumtoa Isaka mtoto wa pekee wa Sara. Hekima inatoka moyoni, busara inatoka mdomoni. Kwa vile suala la kutoa taarifa mbaya kwa mtu ni gumu kwa yule anayetoa na kwa yule anayepokea, hekima na busara havina budi kutumika.”
― Enock Maregesi

“Damu, mto wa maisha unaotiririsha maji yake mwilini kwa kusukumwa na pampu za moyo na kuchujwa na fizi za mapafu, inaundwa na seli na maji yaitwayo utegili au maji ya damu, ambayo kazi yake ni kusafirisha oksijeni na virutubisho katika kila sehemu ya mwili, ndani yake kuna roho. Mungu alitoa kafara ya damu kwa ajili ya Adamu na Hawa katika Bustani ya Edeni. Ibrahimu alitoa kafara ya damu kwa ajili ya Israeli ijapokuwa mapenzi ya Mungu kwa Israeli yalikwisha baada ya kusulubiwa kwa Yesu Kristo. Wana wa Israeli walitoa kafara za damu kwa ajili ya wokovu wa watoto wao wa kwanza na watoto wa kwanza wa wanyama wao nchini Misri. Mungu alitoa kafara ya damu ya Yesu Kristo nchini Israeli kwa ajili ya wanadamu wote duniani. Damu ya mwanakondoo ina nguvu kuliko maombi, imetiwa wakfu na Mwenyezi Mungu na ina uhusiano mkubwa na ulimwengu wa roho. Ukifunikwa na damu ya mwanakondoo Shetani hatakuona. Shetani asipokuona, utafanikiwa.”
― Enock Maregesi

“Lakini ukweli ni upi? Ukweli ni kwamba utajiri una changamoto nyingi kuupata na kuudumisha pia kuliko usomi na kwamba ukweli ni amani ya Mungu katika moyo wa mwanadamu. Heri msomi kuliko tajiri – Heri yule aliyesoma kuliko tajiri asiyesoma au yule aliyesoma kuliko vile alivyosoma tajiri au tajiri asiyesoma au aliyesoma lakini asiyekuwa na tamaa kabisa na dunia hii ambaye kukosa kwake tamaa na dunia hii kunamfanya msomi. Ndivyo Kristo anavyomaanisha. Si kwamba tajiri hawezi kuuona ufalme wa mbinguni. Ibrahimu, Isaka, Yakobo, Yusufu, Daudi, Sulemani, Yehoshafati, Hezekia, Zakayo, Yoana, Susana, na Lidia watauona ufalme wa mbinguni na walikuwa matajiri. Mali zao zilivyozidi hawakuangalia moyoni, hawakuwa na tamaa kabisa na dunia hii, bali walimtumaini Mungu kwa kila kitu walichokuwa nacho. Anaweza. Lakini asiipende dunia bali ayapende mambo ya ufalme wa Mungu kwa moyo wake wote.”
― Enock Maregesi