Joe

“Humans will tend to adopt and retain those elements of culture that appear to produce “better” results, while those that appear to be less rewarding will tend to be discarded.”
― Rodney Stark, Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief

“There are no shortcuts in growing up. The path to maturity is long and arduous. Hurry is no virtue. There is no secret formula squirreled away that will make it easier or quicker. But stories help.”
― Eugene H. Peterson, Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ

“Where I live, being considered “good” has little to nothing to do with institutional religion. The social benchmarks for moral applause have more to do with whether one eats organic, rides his or her bike to work, and supports a humanitarian initiative in Africa. Things like these—even if good things that contribute to the flourishing of our world, in a manner similar to many traditional religious works—comprise our contemporary bars of righteousness by which one’s social capital is improved. In corporate culture, these bars may have more to do with how much money we’ve made or the size of our portfolio. In political culture, how much power we’ve attained or the heights up the ladder we’ve climbed. In popular culture, how much sex we’ve had or the number of Twitter followers who are interested in what we have to say. The cultural decline of institutional religion has simply meant the relocation, not the destruction, of social norms through which we pursue personal justification and social acceptance for our existence.”
― Joshua Ryan Butler, The Skeletons in God's Closet: The Mercy of Hell, the Surprise of Judgment, the Hope of Holy War

“Do you want to know the biggest difference between Consequences and Wisdom? Wisdom teaches you the lesson before you make the mistake. On the other hand, consequences demand that you make the mistake first.”
― Wayne Cordeiro, The Divine Mentor: Growing Your Faith as You Sit at the Feet of the Savior