God is not just saving individuals and preparing them for heaven; rather, He is creating a people among whom He can live and who in their life together will reproduce God’s life and character.

Christian ethics is not primarily an individualistic, one-on-one-with-God brand of personal holiness; rather it has to do with living the life of the Spirit in Christian community and in the world.

It is far easier to be a Christian in isolation than it is to live out one’s faith in the context of all those other imperfect people who make up God’s church.

[P]salms are basically prayers and hymns, by their very nature they are addressed to God or express truth about God in song.

Among the Jews, especially in the Old Testament, teachings served not for the communication of religious truth, but rather to bring the one taught into direct confrontation with the Divine Will.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.

I'd rather clean all the bathrooms in Grand Central Station with my tongue than spend one more minute with you.

Let love lead your soul. Make it a place to retire to, a kind of monastery cave, a retreat for the deepest core of your being.

It is a good thing to happen to you, to have that taste of fame because then you don't hanker for it.

I don’t demand that all work be a masterpiece. What I am doing is the right thing for me - that is what I am and this is living. It reflects me and I reflect it.

When I'm writing something, I try not to get analytical about it as I'm doing it, as I'm writing it.

The old tale of Sleeping Beauty might end happily in French or English, but he was in Russia, and only a fool would want to live through the Russian version of any fairy tale.

Time is just a moment that we occupy in this brief spin around the planet.

When you're face to face with someone less worthy, tell them.

Though people see me in a good light all the time, I turn off my phone and take time to have a good conversation with myself while enjoying nature alone when I'm having a hard time.