Jan David Hettinga > Quotes

“Few of us have killed another human in cold blood. But Jesus says this three decades after his birth: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment” (Matt. 5:21–22). Jesus places murder and anger in the same category because anger turns into hate, and hate into violence, and violence into murder. Accumulated or stored anger turns into rage. The older anger grows, the more toxic it becomes and the more likely it results in words and actions precipitating harm, pain, and death.”
― Jan David Hettinga, Still Restless: Conversations That Open the Door to Peace

“Forgiveness started with a decision and then became many choices, a way of life.) Still”
― Jan David Hettinga, Still Restless: Conversations That Open the Door to Peace

“The Bible summarizes it: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Heb. 1:3). That means the Creator God is humble, self-giving, and the safest kind of leader—because that’s who Jesus is. If you see Jesus, then the Bible claims you are seeing God.”
― Jan David Hettinga, Still Restless: Conversations That Open the Door to Peace

“A God she visits in church feels less disruptive than one who leads her life. The God of organized religion makes little impact on the real world of her day-to-day existence.”
― Jan David Hettinga, Still Restless: Conversations That Open the Door to Peace

“Two of the most violent criminals in US history were Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. Bundy preyed on girls and women; Dahmer on boys and men. Both violent sex addicts gave themselves wholly over to dark compulsions. They murdered dozens of innocent people to gratify out-of-control lust. Law enforcers eventually caught and convicted these men, but only after reigns of terror and death. The state of Florida executed Ted Bundy in 1989 at age 42. A fellow prisoner bludgeoned Dahmer to death in 1994 while he served a life sentence. Dahmer was 34. These two monsters shared another characteristic in common: they both professed Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. They received his forgiveness while in prison. Many of us would exclaim, “No way!” I did. How can such miserable excuses for human beings be let off the hook by a just God? If this is true that means even Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse-tung, and Pol Pot could have repented and God would have forgiven them. That’s entirely too much grace and mercy in my book! Such unmerited and massive forgiveness feels unfair and impossible to believe, but it’s consistent with biblical accounts of Jesus’s character and teachings. He lives by a different book than we do. Even when put to death unjustly, he still forgives.”
― Jan David Hettinga, Still Restless: Conversations That Open the Door to Peace

“Critics describe the Christian belief system as non-intellectual or even anti-intellectual. But could the reverse actually be true? What if genuine, thinking faith does not demand that all questions need answers? What if we leave room for mystery or unknowns? The existence of doubt does not mean suspending belief. Skepticism does not automatically invalidate hypotheses or theories. If it did, we’d need to declare scientific research invalid and a time waster. Scientists know skepticism can lead to exploration and deeper insights, from doubt to plausible reasons to believe.”
― Jan David Hettinga, Still Restless: Conversations That Open the Door to Peace

“God’s activity in our lives and in our world is self-evident if we choose to remember, recognize, and credit it. What has God already done? That’s the key question.”
― Jan David Hettinga, Still Restless: Conversations That Open the Door to Peace

“Come on; wake up to the fact that constructing your own reality is another way of defining insanity!”
― Jan David Hettinga, Still Restless: Conversations That Open the Door to Peace

“Physics is all about order and design. About laws that govern the forces making up our universe. We didn’t create them. We just discovered them and learned how to use them. It is now my humble opinion that when you have laws, you have a lawgiver. When you have overwhelming evidence of intelligent design, you have an intelligent designer. Unless such a conclusion gets in the way of your personal autonomy and career.”
― Jan David Hettinga, Still Restless: Conversations That Open the Door to Peace

“In fact, we can turn faith into attempts to cut deals or harness God with our agendas, ambitions, and priorities. Our religious creativity amounts to keeping our kingdom and still trying to participate in God’s kingdom at the end.”
― Jan David Hettinga, Still Restless: Conversations That Open the Door to Peace

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” —C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce”
― Jan David Hettinga, Still Restless: Conversations That Open the Door to Peace

“In my experience, Jesus always welcomes honest doubters. He reveals himself and reasons with us while we process his truth. He tenderly reminds us what we already know but sometimes forget. Many times Jesus has met me in my fog of incomplete and inadequate perceptions. I cried out in intellectual confusion and frustration, and he answered with gentleness and patience, providing the help I needed. He will do the same for anyone not at war with him.”
― Jan David Hettinga, Still Restless: Conversations That Open the Door to Peace

“Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. People feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it that does not prove the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only arouse it, to suggest the real thing. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity”
― Jan David Hettinga, Still Restless: Conversations That Open the Door to Peace