It is not because we have value that we are loved, but because we are loved that we have value. Our value is a gift, not an achievement.

I'm not OK, you're not OK-and that's OK.

It is terribly important to realize that the leap of faith is not so much a leap of thought as of action. For while in many matters it is first we must see then we will act; in matters of faith it is first we must do then we will know, first we will be and then we will see. One must, in short, dare to act wholeheartedly without absolute certainty.

Only reverence can restrain violence - reverence for human life and the environment.

It is often said that the Church is a crutch. Of course it's a crutch. What makes you think you don't limp?

In reality, there are no biblical literalists, only selective literalists. By abolishing slavery and ordaining women, millions of Protestants have gone far beyond biblical literalism. It's time we did the same for homophobia.

We are not loved because we are valued; we are valued because we are loved.