Luke

“Babylon makes two kinds of promises - maximum control and maximum freedom. With maximum control, I am in complete control of my destiny. I form my identity and justify my existence, needing noone else to define or shape my life. I belong to myself.

Maximum freedom is a newer development. In previous societies, people identified themselves as citizens and neighbours. But now, we are primarily consumers and spectators.”
― John Starke, The Secret Place of Thunder: Trading Our Need to Be Noticed for a Hidden Life with Christ

“Jesus began his work with those who were supposed to be invisible at the party ... Jesus starts in hidden places with forgettable people, intentionally steering away from crowd-pleasers.”
― John Starke, The Secret Place of Thunder: Trading Our Need to Be Noticed for a Hidden Life with Christ

“The Judge of all has declared his creation - of which you are no small part … - to be good.There is no countermanding that declaration … When we choose to affirm what God has done in creating us, what God I’d already doing in granting us breath and in preserving His world and us in it, we worship Him.”
― Alan Noble, On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living, Library Edition

“Strange gods don't take the same form nowadays as temples, icons and sacrifices, but they stick to the same scheme of manipulating the desires and cravings of our hearts. They seem trustworthy and reasonable ... we grasp for paths and promises that desensitize us to his love, but if we will come in an undefended state ("open wide your mouths"), he will fill us.”
― John Starke, The Secret Place of Thunder: Trading Our Need to Be Noticed for a Hidden Life with Christ