Prayer is essentially a process by which ideals are enabled to become operative in our lives. It may be more than this, but it is at least this.

Everybody, whether or not he puts the question vocally, wants to know whether life has any meaning, what his relation is to 'whatever gods there be,' why he is here, what his destiny is, how sin and pain may be overcome, whether prayer matters, what lies beyond death for himself and his loved ones.

the most common type of pessimism is neither philosophical nor religious: it is the pessimism of thwarted desire. ... It is the cynical sneer of the man who, seeking roses, finds only ashes.

The tendency to turn human judgments into divine commands makes religion one of the most dangerous forces in the world.

Prayer is the opening of the soul to God so that he can speak to us.

The sooner the doctrine of original sin disappears, the better it is for theology.

love is always in danger of being sentimentalized.