Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial.

I think that the Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin, but the Bible also teaches that pride is a sin, jealousy is a sin, and hate is a sin, evil thoughts are a sin. So I don’t think that homosexuality should be chosen as the overwhelming sin that we are doing today.

When one has the feeling of dislike for evil, when one feels tranquil, one finds pleasure in listening to good teachings; when one has these feelings and appreciates them, one is free of fear.

It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.

Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone.

I cannot possibly believe that I have it made while so many black brothers and sisters are hungry, inadequately housed, insufficiently clothed, denied their dignity as they live in slums or barely exist on welfare.

Doctors will have more lives to answer for in the next world than even we generals.

May be is very well, but Must is the master. It is my duty to show justice without recompense.

It’s that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so ‚don’t fuss, dear; get on with it.‘

The truth is that you can only come to know God when you give up the past and the future in your mind and merge totally into the now, because God is always here now.

I consider wisdom supernatural because it isn’t taught by men – it’s a gift from God.

Men are only as great as they are kind.

I think Buddhism should open the door of psychology and healing to penetrate more easily into the Western world.

Like religion, politics, and family planning, cereal is not a topic to be brought up in public. It’s too controversial.

The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free.

God is the same God, always and everywhere. He is omnipresent not virtually only, but also substantially, for virtue cannot subsist without substance.

Those who ‚abjure‘ violence can do so only because others are committing violence on their behalf.

Any man may easily do harm, but not every man can do good to another.

Some like to think that a keen appreciation of art can actually make us better people – more just, more moral, more sensitive, more understanding. Perhaps that is true – in certain rare, isolated cases.

Charity bestowed upon those who are worthy of it is like good seed sown on a good soil that yields an abundance of fruits. But alms given to those who are yet under the tyrannical yoke of the passions are like seed deposited in a bad soil. The passions of the receiver of the alms choke, as it were, the growth of merits.

Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God.

Violence is both unavoidable and unjustifiable.

There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in – that we do it to God, to Christ, and that’s why we try to do it as beautifully as possible.

It’s certainly not wrong to want to be a better person. God gave us that desire.

In the Church, and in the journey of faith, women have had and still have a special role in opening doors to the Lord.

There’s plenty about God that I don’t understand and can’t explain. But I come back to my core belief that God is good, that He’s for us.

I do put a lot of God in my music, but not because I’m super religious. There are a lot of demons in my music, too. I acknowledge both.

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

We teach that God’s love for His children is infinite.

The God of this world is riches, pleasure and pride.

When the people become involved in their government, government becomes more accountable, and our society is stronger, more compassionate, and better prepared for the challenges of the future.

Religion is the frozen thought of man out of which they build temples.

Knowledge becomes evil if the aim be not virtuous.

Sometimes I just sit still and enjoy God’s presence.

Slavery takes hold of few, but many take hold of slavery.

Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men.

Those who have virtue always in their mouths, and neglect it in practice, are like a harp, which emits a sound pleasing to others, while itself is insensible of the music.

There are techniques of Buddhism, such as meditation, that anyone can adopt. And, of course, there are Christian monks and nuns who already use Buddhist methods in order to develop their devotion, compassion, and ability to forgive.

The last thing the devil wants you to do is be an obedient Christian.

I’m sick of giving creeps money off my soul.

A black person grows up in this country – and in many places – knowing that racism will be as familiar as salt to the tongue. Also, it can be as dangerous as too much salt. I think that you must struggle for betterment for yourself and for everyone.

All human laws are, properly speaking, only declaratory; they have no power over the substance of original justice.

The highest revelation is that God is in every man.

There’s a deceptive sin that can keep us from walking in love: pride. It’s deceptive because when you have pride, you’re usually too proud to admit it. I know this because I used to have teachings on pride and they didn’t sell well.

A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.

I am for people. I can’t help it.

To be safe at the expense of the liberty of other people is a difficult equation.

Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

If a person is successful, we imagine they are probably also ethical, conscientious and deserving of their good fortune. This obscures the fact that many people who get ahead have done so by doing less than moral actions, which they cleverly disguise from view.

No iron chain, or outward force of any kind, can ever compel the soul of a person to believe or to disbelieve.

Seek always to do some good, somewhere. Every man has to seek in his own way to realize his true worth. You must give some time to your fellow man. For remember, you don’t live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here too.

Vanity, showing off, is an attitude that reduces spirituality to a worldly thing, which is the worst sin that could be committed in the church.

You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.

We moralize among ruins.

Charity creates a multitude of sins.

A good thing to remember is somebody’s got it a lot worse than we do.

Strength and compassion are not mutually exclusive.

Gold was a gift to Jesus. If it’s good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me!

If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive.

We have two evils to fight, capitalism and racism. We must destroy both racism and capitalism.