God is not a cosmic bellboy for whom we can press a button to get things done. Harry Emerson Fosdick More Quotes by Harry Emerson Fosdick More Quotes From Harry Emerson Fosdick No virtue is more universally accepted as a test of good character than trustworthiness . Harry Emerson Fosdick virtuetestscharacter Of all mad faiths maddest is the faith that we can get rid of faith. Harry Emerson Fosdick madfaith We must take the abiding spiritual values which inhere in the deep experiences of religion in all ages and give them new expression in terms of the framework which our new knowledge gives us. Science forces religion to deal with new ideas in the theoretical realm and new forces in the practical realm. Harry Emerson Fosdick spiritualscienceknowledge Real Christians do not carry their religion, their religion carries them. It is not weight, it is wings. Harry Emerson Fosdick burdenweightwings Atheism is a theoretical formulation of the discouraged life. Harry Emerson Fosdick discouragedtheoreticalatheism Every human life involves an unfathomable mystery, for man is the riddle of the universe, and the riddle of man in his endowment with personal capacities. Harry Emerson Fosdick mysterycapacitymen He is a poor son whose sonship does not make him desire to serve all men's mothers. Harry Emerson Fosdick familymotherson Life consists not simply in what heredity and environment do to us, but in what we make out of what they do to us Harry Emerson Fosdick heredity-and-environmentpositiveinspirational One of the most amazing things ever said on this earth is Jesus's statement: "He that is greatest among you shall be your servant." Nobody has one chance in a billion of being thought really great after a century has passed except those who have been the servants of all. That strange realist from Bethlehem knew that. Harry Emerson Fosdick chanceearthjesus It is going to be a long, hard haul; it will require patience, courage, faith that hangs on when hope fails, if we are to tame the rude barbarity of man, so that the atomic age becomes a blessing, not a curse. There never was such a day for the Christian gospel. God help us all in these years ahead to make that gospel live in men and nations! Harry Emerson Fosdick blessingchristiancourage The all but unanimous judgment seems to be that we, the democracies, are just as responsible for the rise of the dictators as the dictatorships themselves, and perhaps more so. Harry Emerson Fosdick dictatorjudgmentdemocracy A good sermon is an engineering operation by which a chasm is bridged so that the spiritual goods on one side-the 'unsearchable riches of Christ' - are actually transported into personal lives upon the other. Harry Emerson Fosdick engineeringrichesspiritual Whatever you laugh at in others, laughs at yourself Harry Emerson Fosdick laugh-at-yourselflaughing Every failure can be considered as a tragedy or a chance to learn something. The latter is healthier Harry Emerson Fosdick encouragementchancetragedy Every year the inventions of science weave more inextricably the web that binds man to man, group to group, nation to nation. Harry Emerson Fosdick menscienceyears A supremely religious man or woman is one who believes deeply and consistently in the veracity of his highest experiences. He has his hours in the cellar ... but he believes in the truth of the hours he spends upstairs. Harry Emerson Fosdick religiousmenbelieve Great living starts with a picture, held in your imagination, of what you would like to do or be. Harry Emerson Fosdick imagination Nothing else matters much...not wealth, nor learning, nor even health...without this gift: the spiritual capacity to keep zest in living. This is the creed of creeds, the final deposit and distillation of all important faiths: that you should be able to believe in life. Harry Emerson Fosdick encouragingspirituallife He is a poor patriot whose patriotism does not enable him to understand how all men everywhere feel about their altars and their hearthstones, their flag and their fatherland. Harry Emerson Fosdick patriotic4th-of-julymen Preaching is personal counseling on a group basis. Harry Emerson Fosdick preachingcounselinggroups
