What is the Christian? Everywhere the man who, so far as he comprehends Jesus Christ, so far as he can get any knowledge of Him, is His servant – the man who makes Christ a teacher of his intelligence and the guide of his soul – the man who obeys Christ as far as he has been able to understand him… I would know any man as a Christian, would rejoice to know any man as a Christian, whom Jesus would recognize as a Christian; and Jesus Christ, I am sure, in these old days recognized His followers even if they came after Him with the blindest sight, with the most imperfect recognition and acknowledgment of what He was and of what He could do.
— Phillips Brooks (1835–1893), Geistlicher
Topics: Discipleship, Faith & Trust, Church & Congregation
Occasions: For Reflection
Phillips Brooks
Phillips Brooks war ein US-amerikanischer Geistlicher und Bischof der Episkopalkirche im 19. Jahrhundert, der vor allem als einflussreicher Kanzelredner an der Trinity Church in Boston wirkte. Bekannt wurde der Vertreter der liberalen „Broad Church“-Strömung als Textdichter des Weihnachtsliedes „O Little Town of Bethlehem“ sowie durch seine Definition der Predigt als Vermittlung von Wahrheit durch Persönlichkeit. Heutigen Bibellesern begegnet er vor allem durch Zitate, die eine persönliche Christusbeziehung, Seelsorge und tätige Nächstenliebe über dogmatische Streitigkeiten stellen.
All quotes by Phillips Brooks (35)
Jesus calls us not to a new religion, but to life.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Prayer does not equip us for greater works – prayer is the greater work.
Oswald Chambers
In a sense, learning to follow Jesus is simply learning to pray the Lord’s Prayer.
N.T. Wright
Being a Christian is not a 'do-it-yourself' affair.
Jerry Bridges
God has not called us to success, only to faithfulness.
Mother Teresa
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
Jim Elliot
Do not be afraid of Christ. He demands nothing and he gives everything.
Pope Benedict XVI
A Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent.
C.S. Lewis