Quotes
Quotes about Authority
He seems to be of great authority. Close with him, give him gold; and though authority be a stubborn bear, yet he is oft led by the nose with gold.
Authority forgets a dying king, Laid widow'd of the power in his eye That bow'd the will.
Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.
A position of authority is neither necessary nor sufficient for the exercise of leadership.
Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more.
If you wish to know what a man is, place him in authority.
If you're going to kick authority in the teeth, you might as well use two feet.
To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself.
The faith that stand on authority is not faith.
The weaker the man in authority... the stronger his insistence that all his privileges be acknowledged.
Liberty is the proper end and object of authority, and cannot subsist without it; and it is liberty to that which is good, just, and honest.
To write is to make oneself the echo of what cannot cease speakingâand since it cannot, in order to become its echo I have, in a way, to silence it. I bring to this incessant speech the decisiveness, the authority of my own silence.
Feast of Columba, Abbot of Iona, Missionary, 597 Commemoration of Ephrem of Syria, Deacon, Hymnographer, Teacher, 373 Jesus was the representative of the Lord who forgives sins and heals all infirmities; the disciples acknowledged him as "Lord" and transferred to him the position ascribed to the "Lord" in the Old Testament. Whereas Jesus placed the penitent heart and the saving will of God higher than the pride of the godly and the letter of the Torah, so Paul preached faith in Christ as the only way to salvation and rejected striving after righteousness through the works of the Law. Above all, Jesus knew himself to be the Messiah and he acted in messianic authority; hence the risen and glorified Jesus was acknowledged as the king of the last days. It is still faith, not sight, that is demanded from men.
Commemoration of John Wycliffe, Reformer, 1384 The gist of what Wycliffe has to say on every point is practically this, that where the Church and the Bible do not agree, we must prefer the Bible; that where authority and conscience appear to be rival guides, we shall be much safer in following conscience; and that where the letter and the spirit seem to be in conflict, the spirit is above the letter.
For (Martin) Luther, the sola of "Sola Scriptura" was inseparably related to the Scriptures' unique inerrancy. It was because popes could and did err and because councils could and did err that Luther came to realize the supremacy of Scripture. Luther did not despise church authority, nor did he repudiate church councils as having no value. His praise of the Council of Nicaea is noteworthy. Luther and the Reformers did not mean by "Sola Scriptura" that the Bible is the only authority in the church; rather, they meant that the Bible is the only infallible authority in the church.
To perpetuate the clerical role of answer man, the layman when inside the church building must act as if he has only half a brain, while outside, in the world, he is expected to be an ambassador for Christ, a lay transmitter of faith. Outside, he is to be informed and vocal; inside, he must appear ignorant and mute as a sheep. Christians have within them many questionsâquestions that are at once elementary and profound, questions that would ripple the water were they raised. However, because a Christian is supposed to have "answers", life's important questions are not discussed outside the church building; and, because the pastor is the educated, spiritual authority, they are not discussed inside either.
Feast of Matthias the Apostle Much of the present dilemma and chaotic condition of both the secular and religious worlds today finds its cause with the setting aside of the "thus saith the Lord" by the clergy. A long series of rejections and subsequent attendant conditions follow the rejections of the Bible as God's Word. Next to that rejection has come the rejection of the God of the Bible. Next, there usually follows a rejection of the Bible's presentation of man as a lost rebel against God, [and then] comes the rejection of biblical morality and ethics. [After] all of these, the next step is a short one--the rejection of biblical obedience to the laws of God and man. And, of course, many more items of rejection can be added to the list. But the crucial point here is that all of these can be traced back to the initial rejection of the absolute authority of Holy Writ.
Feast of Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath & Wells, Hymnographer, 1711 The case for inerrancy rests precisely where it has always rested, namely, on the lordship of Christ and his commission to the prophets and apostles, who were his representatives. Because it rests on Christ and his authority, the question of inerrancy will therefore remain a key doctrine of the evangelical church so long as Christ is Lord. Evangelicals must remember, however, that this basis must be set forth anew for every generation. What was adequate for Gaussen, Pieper, and Warfield is still valuable, but it is not necessarily adequate to serve as the foundation for the thinking of our generation. The case for inerrancy must be made anew with each presentation of the gospel teaching.
Commemoration of Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1012 Faith knows nothing of external guaranteesâthat is, of course, faith as an original experience of the life of the Spirit. It is only in the secondary esoteric sphere of the religious life that we find guarantees and a general attempt to compel faith. To demand guarantees and proofs of faith is to fail to understand its very nature by denying the free, heroic act which it inspires. In really authentic and original religious experience, to the existence of which the history of the human spirit bears abundant witness, faith springs up without the aid of guarantees and compelling proofs, without any external coercion or the use of authority.
Hail to the King of Bethlehem, Who weareth in his diadem The yellow crocus for the gem Of his authority!
Being a man is the continuing battle for one's life. One loses a bit of manhood with every stale compromise to the authority of any power in which one does not believe.
Corruption is a tree, whose branches are Of an immeasurable length: they spread Ev'rywhere; and the dew that drops from thence Hath infected some chairs and stools of authority.
Destiny. A tyrant's authority for crime and a fool's excuse for failure.
Thou hast seen a farmer's dog bark at a beggar? . . . And the creature run from the cur. There thou mightst behold the great image of authority--a dog's obeyed in office.
Freedom of conscience entails more dangers than authority and despotism.
