A man doesn't grow old because he has lived a certain number of years. A man grows old when he deserts his ideal. The years may wrinkle his skin, but deserting his ideal wrinkles his soul.

The gospel declares that no matter how dutiful or prayerful we are, we can't save ourselves. What Jesus did was sufficient.

We must go out into a desert of some kind (your backyard will do) and come into a personal experience of the awesome love of God.

The temptation of the age is to look good without being good.

Genuine self-acceptance is not derived from the power of positive thinking, mind games or pop psychology. IT IS AN ACT OF FAITH in the God of grace.

Ragamuffins are simple, direct and honest. Their speech is unaffected. They are slow to claim, "God told me..." As they make their way through the world, they bear wordless, prophetic witness.

I have been seized by the power of a great affection.

Those who have the disease called Jesus will never be cured.

The ragamuffin gospel says we can't lose, because we have nothing to lose.

Jesus was victorious not because he never flinched, talked back, or questioned, but having flinched, talked back, and questioned, he remained faithful.

And though it is true that the church must always dissociate itself from sin, it can never have any excuse for keeping any sinner at a distance

Those watercolourists who work from light to dark know that the darks do the damage.

Yankee Stadium, it's like everything else in this country. In Europe, they save all their old buildings for history. Here, we just tear them all down.

There is a rowdy strain in American life, living close to the surface but running very deep. Like an ape behind a mask, it can display itself suddenly with terrifying effect.

You can't please everybody all the time, but you can please a majority.

The lark that shuns on lofty boughs to build, Her humble nest, lies silent in the field.

Being an American is about having the right to be who you are. Sometimes that doesn't happen.

At the very least we want a witness. We can't stand the idea of our own voices falling silent finally, like a radio running down.

I don't watch television because I have a tiny baby daughter. I'm useless.

If you're in the so-called public eye you have to watch your P's and Q's.

I feel lucky that I can have people laugh solidly for a whole hour by just saying what I think and getting paid for it.