Category: Luke

The Fool Who Thinks He Is Wise Is Called a Fool Indeed

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Luke 24

44 Jesus said to them, “While I was still with you, I told you that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Books of the Prophets, and in the Psalms[d] had to happen.”

Proverbs 30

30 These are the sayings
    and the message
    of Agur son of Jakeh.
Someone cries out to God,
    “I am completely worn out!
    How can I last?[a]
2 I am far too stupid
    to be considered human.
3 I never was wise,
    and I don’t understand
    what God is like.”

4 Has anyone gone up to heaven
    and come back down?
    Has anyone grabbed hold
    of the wind?
Has anyone wrapped up the sea
    or marked out boundaries
    for the earth?
If you know of any
    who have done such things,
    then tell me their names
    and their children’s names.

5 Everything God says is true—
    and it’s a shield for all
    who come to him for safety.
6 Don’t change what God has said!
    He will correct you and show
    that you are a liar.

Egoism and Pride

Egoism, the inordinate preoccupation with one’s own self, makes people blind to the reality of God. the problem is compounded by pride—pride in oneself, pride in one’s wealth, knowledge or power. ego-ism and pride close us off from God. thinking ourselves to be independent, we cannot recognize that our very existence is dependent upon ultimate reality. pride makes us blind to the needs of others and too stubborn to accept help from others. pride makes us unable even to take an accurate measure of ourselves.  
   
    In Christianity, pride is regarded as the first step to the fall and rebellion against God. in Buddhism, grasping after the self and the sense of ego is the chief of all cravings and the deepest root of ignorance. in the Indic religions egoism is a fetter that binds people to the wheel of rebirth.
    Father Moon reiterates these universal teachings, but with particular emphasis on the social manifestations of pride and egoism among the affluent people of today’s wealthy and powerful nations. he warns America in particular that it had better repent for its arrogance, which is seeping into every cranny of the social fabric, or inevitably it will decline. he also links egoism and pride to the human Fall, which implanted that wicked propensity deep in the human mind. 
 
Verily man is rebellious
For he thinks himself independent.
Lo! unto thy Lord is the return.
    Qur’an 96.6-8
 
Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
    Proverbs 16.18

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
    Isaiah 5.21
 
 
Selfishness may be sweet for oneself, but no har-mony of the whole can come from it.
    Osashizu (Tenrikyo)
 
We maintain that all pain and suffering are results of want of Harmony, and that the one terrible and only cause of the disturbance of Harmony is selfishness in some form or another.
    Helena Blavatsky, The Key to Theosophy
 
In thinking, “This is I” and “That is mine,” he binds himself with his self, as does a bird with a snare.
    Maitri Upanishad 3.2 (Hinduism)
 
“Sons have I; wealth have I”: Thus is the fool worried. Verily, he himself is not his own. Whence sons? Whence wealth?
    Dhammapada 62 (Buddhism)
 
Where egoism exists, Thou are not experienced,Where Thou art, is not egoism.
    Adi Granth, Maru-ki-Var, M.1, p. 1092 (Sikhism)

But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked;
you waxed fat, you grew thick, you became sleek;
then he forsook God who made him,
and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.
     Deuteronomy 32.15

Nzame [God] is on high, man is on the earth.
Yeye O, Yalele, God is God, man is man.
Everyone in his house, everyone for himself. 
    Fang Tradition (African Traditional Religions)

For the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up and high;
against all the cedars of Lebanon
lofty and lifted up;
and against all the oaks of Bashan;
against all the high mountains
and against all the lofty hills;
against every high tower,
and against every fortified wall;
against all the ships of Tarshish,
and against all the beautiful craft.
And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
and the pride of men shall be brought low;
and the l ord alone will be exalted in that day.
    Isaiah 2.12-17

The fool who thinks he is wise is called a fool indeed.
    Dhammapada 63 (Buddhism)
 
Whoever proclaims himself good,
know, goodness approaches him not.
    Adi Granth, Gauri Sukhmani 12, M.5, p. 278 (Sikhism)
 
Confucius said, A faultless man I cannot hope ever to meet; the most I can hope for is to meet a man of fixed principles. Yet where all around I see Nothing pretending to be Something, Emptiness pretending to be Fullness, Penury pretending to be Affluence, even a man of fixed principles will be none too easy to find.
    Analects 7.25 (Confucianism)
 
He who tiptoes cannot stand;
He who strides cannot walk.
He who shows himself is not conspicuous;
He who considers himself right is not illustrious;
He who brags will have no merit;
He who boasts will not endure.
From the point of view of the Way, these are like “excessive food and useless excrescences” which all creatures detest.
He who has the Way does not abide in them.
    Tao Te Ching 24 (Taoism)

Pride has seven forms:
Boasting that one is lower than the lowly,
Or equal with the equal, or greater than
Or equal to the lowly
Is called the pride of selfhood.
Boasting that one is equal to those
Who by some quality are better than oneself
Is the pride of being superior. Thinking
That one is higher than the extremely high,
Who fancy themselves to be superior,
Is pride greater than pride;
Like an abscess in a tumor
It is very vicious.
Conceiving an “I” through ignorance
In the five empty [aggregates]
Which are called the appropriation
Is said to be the pride of thinking “I.”
Thinking one has won fruits not yet
Attained is pride of conceit.
Praising oneself for faulty deeds
Is known by the wise as wrongful pride.
Deriding oneself, thinking
“I am senseless,” is called
The pride of lowliness.
Such briefly are the seven prides.
    Nagarjuna, Precious Garland 406-12 (Buddhism)
 
 

This Perishable Nature Must Put on the Imperishable

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Luke 11

52 You teachers of the Law of Moses are really in for trouble! You carry the keys to the door of knowledge about God. But you never go in, and you keep others from going in.

Psalm 41

3 You always heal them
and restore their strength
    when they are sick.

The Passage Beyond

At the moment of death, the passage into the next life is a nearly impenetrable mystery. published accounts of near-death experiences by people who have been resuscitated from clinical death may give a clue. they report passing through a tunnel into another world, meeting a being of light, and feeling great warmth and accepting love. While these people did not, by definition, die, they may have experienced the first stage of the passage. Who can know how it ends?
     What can be known with some certainty is that there is survival after death. in fact, many people who die do not at first realize that they are dead, as they continue to experience themselves as conscious, sentient beings.
     Physical death is but a transition to a higher stage of existence. it is the putting on of a new body, like the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Father Moon calls it a second birth, by analogy to the birth of an infant who must leave the comfortable world of the womb. as the womb nourished the fetus until birth, when it is destroyed and the baby leaves it for life on the earth, the physical body nourishes the soul until death, when it expires and the soul departs for life in the spirit world. hence there are three stages of life: in the water-world of the womb, in the air-world of earthly existence, and in the spirit world where we breathe an atmosphere of love.
     Therefore, death is not something to be feared. on the other side it is celebrated as the soul’s birthday. the chief issue is whether we have adequately prepared our soul with the spiritual faculties to exist comfortably in that world. there, nothing matters but one’s ability to love.

  1. The Second Birth

1. The Second Birth
For this perishable nature must put on the imper-
ishable, and this mortal nature must put on
immortality. When the perishable puts on the
imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality,
then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is thy victory?
O death, where is thy sting?”
1 Corinthians 15.53-55

 

One who identifies himself with his soul regards
bodily transmigration of his soul at death fear-
lessly, like changing one cloth for another.
Pujyapada, Samadhishataka 77 (Jainism)

Look upon life as a swelling tumor, a protruding
goiter, and upon death as the draining of a sore
or the bursting of a boil.
Chuang Tzu 6 (Taoism)

Have you seen the seed which you emit?
Is it you who create it, or are We the Creator?
We have decreed death to be your common lot,
and We are not to be frustrated from changing
your forms
and creating you again in forms that you know
not.
And you certainly know already the first form
of creation:
Why then do you not celebrate His praises?
Qur’an 56.58-62

There is birth, there is death, there is issuing
forth, there is entering in. That through which
one passes in and out without seeing its form—
that is the Portal of God.
Chuang Tzu 23 (Taoism)

The world beyond is as different from this world
as this world is different from that of the child
while still in the womb of its mother. When the
soul attains the Presence of God, it will assume
the form that best befits its immortality and is
worthy of its celestial habitation.
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh 81
(Baha’i Faith)

The silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl
is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the foun-
tain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the
dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit
returns to God who gave it.
Ecclesiastes 12.6-7

As a man passes from dream to wakefulness, so
does he pass from this life to the next.
     When a man is about to die, the subtle
body, mounted by the intelligent self, groans—
as a heavily laden cart groans under its burden.
     When his body becomes thin through old
age or disease, the dying man separates himself
from his limbs, even as a mango or a fig or a
banyan fruit separates itself from its stalk, and
by the same way that he came he hastens to his
new abode, and there assumes another body, in
which to begin a new life.
     When his body grows weak and he becomes
apparently unconscious, the dying man gathers
his senses about him and, completely withdrawing
their powers, descends into his heart. No more
does he see form or color without.
     He neither sees, nor smells, nor tastes. He
does not speak, he does not hear. He does not
think, he does not know. For all the organs,
detaching themselves from his physical body,
unite with his subtle body. Then the point of
his heart, where the nerves join, is lighted by
the light of the Self, and by that light he departs
either through the eye, or through the gate of
the skull, or through some other aperture of the
body. When he thus departs, life departs; and
when life departs, all the functions of the vital
principle depart. The Self remains conscious,
and, conscious, the dying man goes to his abode.
The deeds of this life, and the impressions they
leave behind, follow him.
      As a caterpillar, having reached the end of
a blade of grass, takes hold of another blade and
draws itself to it, so the Self, having left behind
it [a body] unconscious, takes hold of another
body and draws himself to it.
     As a goldsmith, taking an old gold
ornament, molds it into another, newer and
more beautiful, so the Self, having given up the
body and left it unconscious, takes on a new and
better form, either that of the Fathers, or that of
the Celestial Singers, or that of the gods, or that
of other beings, heavenly or earthly.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.3.34-4.4.4 (Hinduism)

All that the Holy One Created in the World He Created in Man

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Luke 11

39 So the Lord said to him:

You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes, but on the inside you are greedy and evil. 40 You fools! Didn’t God make both the outside and the inside?[g] 41 If you would only give what you have to the poor, everything you do would please God.

42 You Pharisees are in for trouble! You give God a tenth of the spices from your gardens, such as mint and rue. But you cheat people, and you don’t love God. You should be fair and kind to others and still give a tenth to God.

43 You Pharisees are in for trouble! You love the front seats in the meeting places, and you like to be greeted with honor in the market. 44 But you are in for trouble! You are like unmarked graves[h] that people walk on without even knowing it.

Ecclesiastes 11

No one can explain how a baby breathes before it is born.[b] So how can anyone explain what God does? After all, he created everything.

6 Plant your seeds early in the morning and keep working in the field until dark. Who knows? Your work might pay off, and your seeds might produce.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 4

God’s Creation and Human Creativity

Microcosm and Macrocosm

A human being is a of the universe, encapsulating in him or herself the essences of all things. conversely, the entire universe resembles a human being in macrocosm. the world’s scriptures express this insight in both mythological and philosophical language.
As a microcosm, linked to all space and time, a human being has the foundation to know, use, and enjoy all things. of all creatures, humans have the widest scope of thought and action, encompassing all things, knowing and appreciating all things, guiding and prospering all things, and transcending all things. nevertheless, as Father Moon teaches, being a microcosm also brings with it the responsibility to love the universe and uphold the universe.

What is the source of the correspondence between macrocosm and microcosm? the Upanishads and other mystical texts describe a primordial person—Purusha, Metatron—a cosmic Man which pre-existed the creation and gave it shape. Father Moon speaks of a pre-existing human “prototype” in the mind of God. From that starting point, it was inevitable that all the elements of nature would recombine in human beings, when they arose. he goes on to describe the spirit world as shaped like a gigantic person.

All that the Holy One created in the world He
created in man.
Talmud, Abot de Rabbi Nathan 31 (Judaism)

The whole of existence arises in me,
In me arises the threefold world,
By me pervaded is this all,
Of naught else does this world consist.
Hevajra Tantra 8.41 (Buddhism)

The human form is built into the world struc-
ture; indeed, even the cosmos.
Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias (Christianity)

One who knows the inner self knows the exter-
nal world as well. One who knows the external
world knows the inner self as well.
Acarangasutra 1.147 (Jainism)

Man is the product of the attributes of Heaven
and Earth, by the interac­tion of the dual forces
of nature, the union of the animal and intelli-
gent souls, and the finest subtle matter of the
five elements…
The five elements in their movements
alternately displace and exhaust one another.
Each one of them, in the revolving course of the
twelve months of the four seasons, comes to be
in its turn the fundamental one for the time.
The five notes of harmony, with their
six upper musical accords and twelve pitch-
tubes, come each, in their revolutions among
themselves, to be the first note of the scale.
The five flavors, with the six condiments
and twelve articles of diet, come each one, in
their revolutions in the course of the year, to
give its character to the food.
The five colors, with the six elegant figures
which they form on the two robes, come each
one, in their revolutions among themselves, to
give the character of the dress that is worn.
Therefore Man is the heart and mind of
Heaven and Earth, and the visible embodiment
of the five elements. He lives in the enjoyment
of all flavors, the discriminating of all notes of
harmony, and the enrobing of all colors.
Book of Ritual 7.3.1-7 (Confucianism)

Consider a man’s body: his head rises up and is
round and resembles the shape of heaven. His
hair resembles the stars and constellations. His
ears and eyes, quick in their senses, resemble the
sun and the moon. The breathing of his nostrils
and mouth resembles the wind. The penetrating
knowledge of his mind resembles the spiritual
intelligence [of Heaven].
Tung Chung-Shu, Luxuriant Gems of the
Spring and Autumn Annals 56 (Confucianism)

In the beginning the Self alone was here—no
other thing that blinks the eye at all. He thought,
“What if I were to emanate worlds?”
He emanated these worlds, water, rays
of light, death, the waters. Water is up there
beyond the sky; the sky supports it. The rays of
light are the atmosphere; death the earth; what
is underneath, the waters.
He thought again, “Here now are these
worlds. What if I were to emanate guardians?”
He raised a Man (Purusha) up from the water
and gave him a form. 7
He brooded over him; when He had finished
brooding over him, a mouth broke open on him
the likeness of an egg. From the mouth came
speech and from speech Fire.
Nostrils broke open, from the nostrils came
breath, from breath the Wind.
Eyes broke open, from the eyes came sight,
from sight the Sun.
Ears broke open, from the ears came hearing,
from hearing the Points of the Compass.
Skin broke out, from skin grew hairs, from
the hairs plants and trees.
A heart broke out, from the heart came
mind, from the mind the Moon.
A navel broke open, from the navel came
the out-breath, from the out-breath Death.
A phallus broke forth, from the phallus
came semen, from semen Water…
Those deities [the macrocosmic beings],
Fire and the rest, after they had been sent forth,
fell into the great ocean. Besieged with hunger
and thirst, they begged, “Allow us a place in
which we may rest and take food.”
He led a cow towards them. They said,
“This is not enough.” He led a horse towards
them. They said, “This is not enough.” He led
man towards them. Then they said, “Well done,
indeed.” Therefore man is well done. He said
to them, “Enter the man, each according to his
place.”

Then Fire, having become speech, entered
the mouth; the Wind, having become breath,
entered the nostrils; the Sun, having become
sight, entered the eyes; the regions, having
become hearing, entered the ears; the plants
and trees, having become hairs, entered the
skin; the Moon, having become mind, entered
the heart; Death, having become out-breathing,
entered the navel; Water, having become semen,
entered the phallus…

The Self considered, “How could these
guardians exist without Me?… If, without Me,
speech is uttered, breath is drawn, eye sees,
ear hears, skin feels, mind thinks, sex organs
procreate, then what am I?” Whereupon,
opening the center of the skull, He entered. The
door by which He entered is called the door of
bliss. 8
Aitareya Upanishad 1.1-3.12 (Hinduism)



Be Praised My Lord with All Your Creatures

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Luke 7

6 So Jesus went with them.

When Jesus wasn’t far from the house, the officer sent some friends to tell him, “Lord, don’t go to any trouble for me! I am not good enough for you to come into my house. 7 And I am certainly not worthy to come to you. Just say the word, and my servant will get well. 8 I have officers who give orders to me, and I have soldiers who take orders from me. I can say to one of them, ‘Go!’ and he goes. I can say to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I can say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he will do it.”

9 When Jesus heard this, he was so surprised that he turned and said to the crowd following him, “In all of Israel I’ve never found anyone with this much faith!”

10 The officer’s friends returned and found the servant well.

Proverbs 29

29 If you keep being stubborn
    after many warnings,
    you will suddenly discover
    you have gone too far.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 4

God’s Creation and Human Creativity

The Sanctity of Nature

3. Mother Earth and Her Children

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegeta-
tion, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing
fruit in which is their seed, each according to its
kind, upon the earth.” And it was so. The earth
brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed,
and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their
seed, each according to its kind. And God saw
that it was good.
Genesis 1.11-12

Perhaps if we are lucky,
Our earth mother
Will wrap herself in a fourfold robe of white meal,
Full of frost flowers;
A floor of ice will spread over the world,
The forests because of the cold will lean to one
side,
Their arms will break beneath the weight of snow.
When the days are thus,
The flesh of our earth mother will crack with
cold.
Then in the spring when she is replete with
living waters,
Our mothers,
All different kinds of corn,
In their earth mother we shall lay to rest.
With their earth mother’s living waters
They will be made into new beings;
Into their sun father’s daylight
They will come out standing;
Yonder to all directions
They will stretch out their hands calling for rain.
Then with their fresh waters
The rain makers will pass us on our roads.
Clasping their young ones [the ears of corn] in
their arms,
They will rear their children.
Gathering them into our houses,
Following these toward whom our thoughts bend,
With our thoughts following them,
Thus we shall always live.
      Zuni Song (Native American Religions)

Set me, O Earth, amidst thy center and thy navel,
and vitalizing forces that emanate from thy body.
Purify us from all sides.
Earth is my Mother; her son am I;
and Heaven my Father: may he fill us with
plenty…
Whatever I dig from thee, Earth,
may that have quick growth again.
O purifier, may we not injure thy vitals or thy
heart…
As a horse scatters dust, so did Earth, since she
was born,
scatter the people who dwelt on the land,
and she joyously sped on, the world’s
protectress,
supporter of forest trees and plants.
What I [Earth] speak, I speak with sweetness;
what I look at endears itself to me;
and I am fiery and impetuous: others who fly at
me with wrath
I smite down.
Peaceful, sweet-smelling, gracious, filled with
milk,
and bearing nectar in her breast,
may Earth give with the milk her blessings to
me. Who brings the day, and you give light to us
through him.
How handsome he is, how radiant, with great
splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.
Thou art the vessel, the Mother of the people,
the fulfiller of wishes, far-extending.
Whatever is wanting in thee is filled
by Prajapati, first-born of Eternal Order [the
first god]. Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Moon and the
Stars.
In heaven you have formed them, bright, and
precious, and beautiful.
May those born of thee, O Earth,
be, for our welfare, free from sickness and
waste.
Wakeful through a long life, we shall become
bearers of tribute for thee.
Earth, my Mother! set me securely with bliss
in full accord with Heaven. Wise One,
uphold me in grace and splendor.
Atharva Veda 12.1 (Hinduism)

Most High, omnipotent, good Lord,
All praise, glory, honor, and blessing are yours.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong,
And no one is worthy to pronounce your name.

Be praised, my Lord, with all your creatures,
Especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who brings the day, and you give light to us
through him.
How handsome he is, how radiant, with great
splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Moon and the
Stars.
In heaven you have formed them, bright, and
precious, and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, for Brother Wind,
And for Air, for Cloud, and Clear, and all
weather.
By which you give your creatures nourishment.

Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Water,
She is very useful, and humble, and precious,
and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, for Brother Fire,
By whom you light up the night.
How handsome he is, how happy, how powerful
and strong!

Be praised, my Lord, for our Sister, Mother
Earth.
Who nourishes and governs us,
And produces various fruits with many-colored
flowers and herbs.
St. Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Sun (Christianity)

May Some Holy Aspiration Enter Our Hearts

Luke 4

31 Jesus went to the town of Capernaum in Galilee and taught the people on the Sabbath. 32 His teaching amazed them because he spoke with power. 33 There in the Jewish meeting place was a man with an evil spirit. He yelled out, 34 “Hey, Jesus of Nazareth, what do you want with us? Are you here to get rid of us? I know who you are! You are God’s Holy One.”

35 Jesus ordered the evil spirit to be quiet and come out. The demon threw the man to the ground in front of everyone and left without harming him.

36 They all were amazed and kept saying to each other, “What kind of teaching is this? He has power to order evil spirits out of people!” 37 News about Jesus spread all over that part of the country.

1 Chronicles 25

4 Heman had fourteen sons: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamtiezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. 5 Heman was one of the king’s prophets, and God honored Heman by giving him fourteen sons and three daughters. 6 His sons were under his direction and played cymbals, harps, and other stringed instruments during times of worship at the temple.

Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman took their orders directly from the king.

7 There were two hundred eighty-eight of these men, and all of them were skilled musicians. 8 David assigned them their duties by asking the Lord what he wanted.[b] Everyone was responsible for something, whether young or old, teacher or student.

9-31 The musicians were divided into twenty-four groups of twelve, and each group went by the name of their family leader. They were assigned their duties in the following order: Joseph, Gedaliah, Zaccur, Zeri, Nethaniah, Bukkiah, Asarelah, Jeshaiah, Mattaniah, Shimei, Uzziel, Hashabiah, Shebuel, Mattithiah, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Joshbekashah, Hanani, Mallothi, Eliathah, Hothir, Giddalti, Mahazioth, and Romamtiezer.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Purpose of Human Life

Sons and Daughters of God

Jewish and Christian scriptures call God our “heavenly Father”; this insight can be found in most of the world’s faiths. Therefore, human beings are supposed to be God’s sons and daughters. How genuine that Parent-child relationship can be is the subject of the passages in this section. Father Moon teaches that the depth and emotive power of our relationship with God should be even greater than the filial affection and obligation we feel toward our physical parents who gave us birth. The notion that a human being can and should share God’s heart, God’s situation, and God’s sense of responsibility for the world in the same way that a filial son carries burdens for his aging father—what profound implications this can have for our life with God!

1. Our Birthright as God’s Sons and Daughters

You are the children of the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 14.1

For all who are led by the spirit of God are sons of
God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery
to fall back into fear, but you have received the
spirit of sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!”
it is the Spirit himself bearing witness that we
are the children of God, and if children, then
heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
provided that we suffer with him in order that
we may also be glorified with him.
Romans 8.14-17

Anas and ‘Abdullah reported God’s Messenger
as saying, “All [human] creatures are God’s chil-
dren, and those dearest to God are those who
treat His children kindly.”
Hadith of Baihaqi (Islam)

We are the children of our Maker
And do not fear that He will kill us.
We are the children of God
And do not fear that He will kill.
Dinka Prayer (African Traditional Religions)

See what love the Father has given us, that we
should be called children of God; and so we
are.
1 John 3.1

Let the children come to me, and do not hinder
them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the
kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
Luke 18.16-17

I say, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you.
Psalm 82.6

May the words of the prophet Asaph apply—
“Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the
most High,”—lest we, abusing the Father’s most
indulgent generosity, render that unfettered
choice which He gave us harmful rather than
beneficial. May some holy aspiration enter our
hearts, so that we are not content with middling
things, but pant for the highest and strain to
achieve them, since we can if we will.
Pico della Mirandola, On the Dignity of Man
(Christianity)