Quotes

Self-Regulation /  by Dale Decker

“Most crises cannot by their very nature be resolved (that is, fixed); they must simply be managed until they work their way through. This is generally a process that cannot be willed, any more than one can make a bean grow by pulling on it. This, of course, puts a premium on self-regulation and the management of anxiety instead of frantically seeking the right solution.”
— Edwin H. Friedman in his book A Failure Of Nerve

Self-control is a spiritual virtue that finds its strength in reliance on our heavenly Father’s provision for our future through Jesus Christ. As St. Paul said near the end of his life, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.” However, this wasn’t an instantly settled condition for Paul because in another context he said, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Never let a crisis go to waste. Always use it to learn contentment and reliance upon Jesus Christ.

Power Poison /  by Dale Decker

“Power is a poison well known for thousands of years. If only no one were ever to acquire material power over others! But to the human being who has faith in some force that holds dominion over all of us, and who is therefore conscious of his own limitations, power is not necessarily fatal. For those, however, who are unaware of any higher sphere, it is a deadly poison. For them, there is no antidote.”
— Solzhenitsyn - The Gulag Archipelago

The New Boogie Men /  by Dale Decker

“We are troubled not by spirits but by bots and opaque algorithmic processes, which alternately and capriciously curse or bless us. In the Digital City, individuals may be refused credit, passed over for job interviews, or denied welfare on the basis of systems built on digital data against which they have little to no recourse.”
— L. M. Sacasas

This quote is from the article The Analog City and the Digital City published in the Winter 2020 issue of The New Atlantis.

I can attest to the truth of this assessment. I applied for many jobs last Fall via the online portals touted as avenues to employment by the Digital City. I always had the feeling that I was not offering up the correct sacrifice to the GADs (gatekeeping algorithmic directives) and, so, the oracles never responded to me. Or rather they responded with a generically generated email telling me that my resume had been reviewed and the company was going in a different direction. I finally decided to bypass the GADs by sending a physical letter to a physical address in the hopes that a physical pair of eyes would read it. And it worked.

On Mission /  by Dale Decker

“Our task is to carry out our mission - to announce the coming of Jesus, his first and his second coming. His coming in mercy to save those who had defied his judgment, and his coming in judgment to save those who have not despised his mercy.”
— Douglas Farrow (Touchstone Conference 2019)

The Real Evil /  by Dale Decker

“Religion counsels that the real evil is not getting old but the indifference of the soul; it is more the desire to act than the power to do so that one loses over time.”
— Ronald W. Dworkin from "Belief Limbo" in the August/September 2019 issue of First Things

I’ve always been more passive by nature than I would like. I need reminders like this to fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith.

Something Improper /  by Dale Decker

“There is something improper in inviting materialists to discuss a religious question.”
— Augustine

Augustine makes this observation in The City Of God. I guess it’s kind of like asking a bachelor for marital advice, his frame of reference is only external; in truth, he has no in-sight, no internal witness of the experience about which he is being asked.

Don’t Just Assent /  by Dale Decker

“We don’t just assent to propositions. Christianity is not propositional. Propositions can explain some things about the faith, but Jesus Christ is a person.”
— Hans Jacobse

This assertion is made by Hans Jacobse in his presentation Pastoring Young Men Into Manhood at the 2018 Touchstone Conference.

I heartily agree. We can never let our doctrinal statements, our systematic theologies, our acronyms or acrostics take the place of knowing Jesus in the power of his resurrection and in the fellowship of his suffering.

Where God Looks /  by Dale Decker

“Standing in the gap is more dangerous and troublesome than getting behind the hedge. In the latter place you may be more secure and under the wind, but it is better to be where God looks for a man.”
— Jeremiah Burroughs

By this allusion to Ezekiel 22:30, Jeremiah Burroughs reminds us that the Christian life is one of striving against the forces arrayed against Christ and his Kingdom. But rather than the spear and the sword, Christians are to overcome evil with good.

A Desire To Receive /  by Dale Decker

“The prayer life of a mature disciple reflects a desire to receive from God those good gifts that will help him or her reflect Jesus’ heart and actions more closely, combined with the confidence that God will answer such prayers.”
— David A. DeSilva

This insightful observation is made by David A. DeSilva in A Sacramental Life: Spiritual Formation Through The Book Of Common Prayer

Lowest Ebb /  by Dale Decker

“I have reached, she thought, a human being’s lowest ebb; I have no curiosity about the future. I know what the future will be; the Rule sets it out for me.”
— Sister Philomena in the novel Fludd by Hilary Mantel

I read this at a time when I was contemplating my own future, having just turned 50.

The True Sense /  by Dale Decker

“The true sense of our sinfulness does not come from measuring the distance between our own conduct and the grandeur of the moral law. Oh no, it is only in the overwhelming presence of the Holy One Himself that we sinners know how utterly sinful we are.”
— Patrick Henry Reardon, Christ In The Psalms, Psalm 51

Pastor Reardon continues, “This overwhelming holiness of God, the source of profound repentance, is particularly related to the coming of the Holy Spirit, for it is our pride and sinfulness that grieve and impede the operation of God’s sanctifying Spirit.”

A Being Of This Nature /  by Dale Decker

“The best instance of a human male is not a glorified walking pack of urges, but a man who for the sake of the highest and greatest goods commands himself, strengthens his brothers, defends his sisters, and regards even the meanest of women a lady. You may say that this is not natural... I say it is natural in the sense that only in this way does a being of this nature flourish.”
— J. Budziszewski

So said J. Budziszewski in his presentation What Makes Men Men? at the 2018 Touchstone Conference.

Glenn T. Stanton /  by Dale Decker

“A man does the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reasons.”
— Glenn T. Stanton

This is the way that Stanton, Director of Family Formation Studies at Focus On The Family, defined manhood in his presentation Manhood Is Not Natural given at the 2018 Touchstone Conference. Just prior to giving this definition, he also said of manhood:

“Manhood does not exist in passivity or stasis. It exists only in action. It must be demonstrated. It is not conceptual. Manhood is never assumed. It must be demonstrated and it must be proven in order to be actual.”

Dante /  by Dale Decker

“Here must you put by all division of spirit and gather your soul against all cowardice.”
— Dante (The Inferno)

This is the warning given to Dante just before passing the gates of hell. I think it apt for the encountering the challenges of every new day.

General George Washington /  by Dale Decker

“Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.”
— General George Washington

If you are familiar with the history of the American Revolution then you know that many times perseverance and spirit were all that the Continental Army had at their disposal.

Patrick Henry Reardon /  by Dale Decker

“If there is any firmness for our lives, any steadfastness for our souls, the cause of such constancy is the immovable throne of Christ our God.”
— Patrick Henry Reardon (from Christ in the Psalms)

Patrick Henry Reardon is the pastor of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago Illinois. Over the years his scriptural insights, found in the As It Is Written… column of Touchstone magazine, have helped me in my study of and appreciation for the Bible in its unity and historicity. But when I bought his book Christ in the Psalms and began using it during my private devotions, I really came to understand what a gift from God to the church Pastor Reardon truly is.