The problem with organized religion is not that it is organized. The problem with organized religion is that it is religious - believing that its own set of rules, regulations, rituals and routines are the exclusive way to God...The antidote to organized religion is not disorganized religion, but organized irreligion.

The Christian faith is the phenomenon of people following Jesus. The Christian religion is the phenomenon of people following the phenomenon of people following Jesus.

Jesus was a one-man, walking, talking, counter-temple movement.

Let's pretend God clearly communicated through Scripture that, for reasons known only to him, it is wrong for his people to sit in the red chairs. So God's Torah says, "Thou shalt not sit in red chairs." The role of spiritual leaders would be to communicate this teaching to each generation, and perhaps to suggest ways that this rule could best be maintained in their particular day and age. So the next generation of religious leaders makes a suggestion: "God's people should never be within ten feet of a red chair." This "fence" is designed as a helpful tool to aid people in their desire to obey God's law, but now an insidious process begun.
The next generation inherits that new suggestion as a rule and tacks on their own "helpful" addition: "It is wrong for God's people to even look at red chairs." There, that should help people deal with the problem of temptation. Further generations add: "God's people must never be in the same room as a red chair" then "in the same house as a red chair" and so on. Eventually, most of the religious leaders' time is taken up debating whether or not it is spiritually lawful to shop at IKEA! A whole lineage of rules and regulations that God never intended thus evolves around this one topic. Sin-avoidance has been systematized, righteousness has been mechanized, and little room is left for deviation and diversity.

Yeryuzunde evrenin seyredilebilecegi noktayi bilseydim, oraya kosar, topraga bir kazik sokar, ona asilir ve duserken dunyayi da pesime katarak kendimi bosluga atardim.

Ama nasil dovusmeli? Kime karsi? Neye karsi? - Garip ve piriltili bir alemde, ticari uygarligin cafcafli evreninde, bolluk hapisanelerinde, buyuleyici mutluluk tuzaklarinda yasarken.

Her bireyin kendini dunyanin merkezi, tek ve en yuce varlik, her seyin basi ve sonu sandigi bir ulke nasil bir ulkedir?

Maymunu ormandan cikarabilirsiniz, ama ormani maymunun icinden cikaramazsiniz. Bu bizim gibi iki ayakli maymunlar icinde gecerlidir.

An elephant named Maisha wants to seek refuge and join Beatrice and Virgil. Despite the fact that he is an enormous elephant with a visible and strange bright orange color, would Beatrice and Virgil allow her to hide with them? What if she sneezes and the whole town hears them?

Once you have been struck by violence, you acquire companions that never leave you entirely: Suspicion, Fear, Anxiety, Despair, Joylessness.

Time and renewed unfamiliarity even things out.

- "Why is Virgil so anxious?"
- "Because he's a howler monkey in a world that doesn't want howler monkeys."

Reality escapes us. It's beyond description, even a simple pear. Time eats everything.

Faith is like being in the sun. When you are in the sun, can you avoid creating a shadow? Can you shake that area of darkness that clings to you, always shaped like you, as if constantly to remind you of yourself? You can't. This shadow is doubt. And it goes wherever you go as long as you stay in the sun. And who wouldn't want to be in the sun?

Creative block is no laughing matter, or only to those sodden spirits who've never tried to make their personal mark. It's not just a particular endeavour, a job, that is negated, it's your whole being. It's the dying of small god within you, a part you thought might have immortality. When you're creatively blocked, you're left with dead skins.

My book is about a new choices of stories. With a historical event, we not only have to bear witness, that is, tell what happened and address the need of ghosts. We also have to interpret and conclude, so that the needs of people today, the children of ghosts, can be addressed. In addition to the knowledge of history, we need the understanding of art. Stories identify, unify, give meaning to. Just as music is noise that makes sense, a painting is colour that makes sense, so a story is life that makes sense.

Where is my tattoo, Linda?

Democracy is often two lions and a lamb voting on what's for dinner.

At some point in your life you must decide whether you want to impress people or influence people. You can impress people from a distance, but you must get close to influence them, and when you do that, they will be able to see your flaws.

Abraham was old, Jacob was insecure, Leah was unattractive, Joseph was abused, Moses stuttered, Gideon was poor, Samson was codependent, Rahab was immoral, David had an affair and all kinds of family problems, Elijah was suicidal, Jeremiah was depressed, Jonah was reluctant, Naomi was a widow, John the Baptist was eccentric to say the least, Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered, Martha worried a lot, the Samaritan woman had several failed marriages, Zacchaeus was unpopular, Thomas had doubts, Paul had poor health, and Timothy was timid. That is quite a variety of misfits, but God used each of them in his service.

PBPGINFWMY: Please be patient, God is not finished with me yet!

God is never in a hurry, but he is always on time.

There is no growth without change; there is no change without fear or loss; and there is no loss without pain.

Until you care enough to confront and resolve the underlying barriers, you will never grow close to each other.

The Elephant Keeper