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Humanitarians on Jesus
Let no one say that Jesus did not love the wicked, the evil doers! He loved them with a Divine love. He died for them … I see myself lying in the grave; I see myself entering into eternity. But I awake! I have seen my destiny. It is not the transitory work of this earthly life; it is the power of devotion of a faithful life to the service of God and humanity; it is the imitation of Jesus Christ, through faith in Him crucified, and for the glory of God, the Father.
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-
By frequent meditation on the incidents of our Saviour's life, and still more on the astonishing circumstances of his death; by often calling to mind the state from which he proposes to rescue us, and the glories of his heavenly kingdom; by continual intercourse with him of prayer and praise, of dependence and confidence in dangers, of hope and joy in our brighter hours, let us endeavour to keep him constantly present to our minds.
William Wilberforce (1759-
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25709/25709-
Deborah Darby then spoke, and what she said was excellent; she addressed a part of it to me; I only fear she says too much of what I am to be. A light to the blind; speech to the dumb; and feet to the lame; can it be? She seems as if she thought I was to be a minister of Christ. Can I ever be one? If I am obedient, I believe, I shall.
Elizabeth Fry (1780-
I spent nearly an hour in most fervent prayer. I have been, for some years, perplexed with doubts … The object of my prayer was, that this perplexity might be removed; and the next day, when I set about examining my mind, I found that it was entirely removed, and that it was replaced by a degree of certain conviction, totally different from any thing I had before experienced. It would be difficult to express the satisfaction and joy which I derived from this alteration. 'Now know I that my Redeemer liveth' was the sentiment uppermost in my mind, and in the merits of that Redeemer I felt a confidence that made me look on the prospect of death with perfect indifference. … I felt released from the penalties of sin, by the blood of our sacrifice. In Him was all my trust.
Thomas Fowell Buxton (1786-
I have borne thirteen children and seen them most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me. And ain't I a woman? ... Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
Sojourner Truth [Isabella Baumfree] (1797-
I can trust God with both the time and the manner of my death, believing, as I now do, that for me at this time to seal my testimony for God and humanity with my blood will do vastly more toward advancing the cause I have earnestly endeavored to promote, than all I have done in my life before. I beg of you all meekly and quietly to submit to this, not feeling yourselves in the least de on the account. Remember, dear wife and children all, that Jesus of Nazareth suffered a most excruciating death on the cross as a felon, under the most aggravating circumstances.
John Brown (1800-
Letter from prison to his family dated November 8, 1859 http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/johnbrown/brownprisonletters.html
I do not think that in the last forty years I have lived one conscious hour that was not influenced by the thought of our Lord's return.
Lord Shaftesbury (1801-
I am an Evangelical of the Evangelicals. I have worked with them constantly, and I am satisfied that most of the great philanthropic movements of the century have sprung from them. I believe in the necessity of a ‘new birth' through the revelation to each individual soul, by the agency of the Holy Spirit and the Word. I believe in the Christian life as a humble, continuous trust in the Atoning Blood … I believe that the sole remedy for the distracted state of the Church is to do what we can to evangelize the people by preaching on every occasion and in every place, in the grandest cathedral and at the corner of the street, in the royal palace and in the back slums, preaching Christ to the people. I do believe that the preaching of Christ is still the power of God unto salvation.
Lord Shaftesbury (1801-
The spirit of God inspires all living things. Jesus Christ is the leading inspiration, and is, therefore, Divine.
Cassius Marcellus Clay (1810-
One of those poor fellows that had become a Christian was badgered by his companions; and one of them said, How do you know that Jesus Christ has forgiven your sins? The man turned at once and said, How do you know when you have got sugar in your tea?
John Bartholomew Gough (1817-
https://archive.org/details/dictionaryburni00gilbgoog
Thus, union with Christ consists in the most intimate, most vital communion with Him, in having Him before our eyes and in our hearts, and being so imbued with the highest love for Him, at the same time we turn our hearts to our brothers whom He has closely bound to us, and for whom also He sacrificed Himself.
Karl Marx (1818-
People talk about imitating Christ, and imitate Him in the little trifling formal things, such as washing the feet, saying his prayer, and so on, but if anyone attempts the real imitation of Him, there are no bounds to the outcry which the presumption of that person is condemned.
Florence Nightingale (1820-
My life-
George Williams (1821-
Quoted by Stephen Abbott Northrop in A Cloud of Witnesses (Kansas City: Christian Evidence Publishing, 1902), p. 508.
The only spiritual light in the world comes through Jesus Christ and through the Inspired Book; redemption and forgiveness of sin alone through Christ. Without His presence and the teachings of the Bible, we would be enshrouded in moral darkness and despair.
Samuel Colgate (1822-
The Society of Friends (needs) bringing before it more clearly . . .the fundamental doctrine of salvation and faith in Jesus Christ.
Joseph Rowntree (1836-
http://www.rowntreesociety.org.uk/quakers-
He had caught the secret of love from Christ, his Lord and Saviour.
George Cadbury (1839-
It pleased the Almighty there and then to remove every doubt and difficulty. I felt that Jesus had indeed died for me, and I had to exclaim:
" I do believe, I will believe,
That Jesus died for me
That on the Cross He shed His blood —
From sin to set me free,"
and 'twas thus the Lord gave peace and comfort to my soul.
Thomas Barnado (1845-
http://archive.org/stream/memoirslatedrba00marcgoog/memoirslatedrba00marcgoog_djvu.txt
[I] will never forget an incident … while in a mission meeting, listening to the testimonies borne by convicts, drunkards, gamblers, and other depraved men who had been rescued by the power of the gospel of Christ from their evil lives, a poor, shabbily dressed colored boy arose, and with a ringing voice and a beaming countenance, began his testimony thus : " Some people are proud of their lineage, — I am proud of mine; I am the son of a King; I am a brother to Jesus Christ." The sincerity and the joyful exultation which rang forth in the clear voice of the rescued lad thrilled through the audience like an electric shock, and probably every listener felt more clearly than before, the reality of the kinship that exists between man and his Maker.
John Harvey Kellogg (1852-
https://archive.org/stream/livingtemple01kellgoog/livingtemple01kellgoog_djvu.txt
I now understand what Christ suffered in Gethsemane as well as any man living."
James Keir Hardie (1856-
Remark made after a speech to his constituents in Aberdare on August 6 1914, urging Britsih neutrality in the Great War, was noisily shouted down. http://www.electricscotland.com/History/hardie/chapter13.htm
The burning question for every Christian … is: Shall hundreds of millions of men now living, who need Christ and are capable of receiving help from Him, pass away without having even the opportunity to know Him? … We have a knowledge of Jesus Christ, and to have this is to incur a responsibility toward every man who has it not. To have a Saviour who alone can save from the guilt and power of sin imposes an obligation of the most serious character. We received the knowledge of the Gospel from others, but not in order to appropriate it for our own exclusive use. It concerns all men. Christ tasted death for every man. He wishes the good news of His salvation made known to every creature.
John Raleigh Mott (1865–1955) American humanitarian, International Missionary Council chairman and Nobel Prize Winner
Mott, The Evangelization Of The World in this Genration, (New York: Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions 1900), p. 18-
Jesus Christ was a laborer and black men are laborers; He was poor and we are poor; He was despised of his fellow men and we are despised; He was persecuted and crucified and we are mobbed and lynched. If Jesus Christ came to America he would associate with the Negroes and Italians and working people; He would eat and pray with them and He would seldom see the interior of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
William E. B. du Bois (1868-
He was certainly the highest example of one who wished to give everything, asking nothing in return, and not caring what creed might happen to be professed by the recipient … To me, he was one of the greatest teachers humanity has ever had. … In Jesus’ own life is the key of his nearness to God; that he expressed, as no other could, the spirit and will of God. It is in this sense that I see him and recognize him as the Son of God. … And because the life of Jesus has the significance and the transcendency to which I have alluded, I believe that he belongs not solely to Christianity, but to the entire world; to all races and people, it matters little under what flag, name or doctrine they may work, profess a faith, or worship a God inherited from their ancestors.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-
‘What Jesus Means to Me’ by Mahatma Gandhi in The Modern Review, October 1941
http://practicalspirituallife.com/jesus-
Jesus, a man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-
http://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/gandhi_christ.html
For me religion means to be human, plainly human in the sense in which Jesus was … At last it became clear to me that the meaning of my life does not consist in knowledge or art but simply in being human and doing some little thing in the spirit of Jesus – ‘what you have done to the least of these my brethren you have done to me.’
Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) German-
Cited in Albert Schweitzer: The Story of His Life by Jean Pierhal, Philosophical Library Inc., NY, 1957, p. 59.
http://www.academia.edu/2739607/Scientific_GOD_Journal#
Sin is the problem. Jesus Christ is the solution. The result is a miracle.
Frank Buchman (1878-
In the Bible I find political guidance concerning the Empire of the Son of God. In Rev. 19, I read of Him on Whose Head were 'many crowns, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. From the crowns I am brought to the Cross, to Christ Jesus, the word made flesh. ....He is the King of the Kings of the earth. So few know who is the King of Kings. It is He Who loveth us and washed away our sins in His own blood." There is no-
http://webjournals.ac.edu.au/journals/GN/gn-
The new humanity is focused together in one point, in Jesus Christ; and as the love of God through Christ's vicarious action restores communion between God and man, so the human community too once again becomes a living reality in love.
Dietrich Bonhoffer (1906-
Christ in this country would quite likely have been arrested under the Suppression of Communism Act.
Joost de Blank (1908-
I would give everything, even life itself, for Him. It sounds nice, but in reality it is not so easy.
Mother Teresa (1910-
It seems to me that as a Christian, and above all as a priest, my manward task is always and everywhere the same: to recognise in my brother more than my brother, more even than the personality and the manhood that are his; my task is to recognise Christ Himself. And I cannot, therefore, stand aside when it is He whom men treat contemptuously in the streets of the city.
Trevor Huddleston (1913-
http://archive.org/stream/naughtforyourcom001856mbp/naughtforyourcom001856mbp_djvu.txt
I (am) a socialist whose political commitment owes much more to the teachings of Jesus -
needs of humanity.
Tony Benn (1925-
We believe firmly in the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. I can see no conflict between our devotion to Jesus Christ and our present action. In fact, I can see a necessary relationship. If one is truly devoted to the religion of Jesus he will seek to rid the earth of social evils. The gospel is social as well as personal."
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American civil rights campaigner and Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Cited by Stephen B. Oates in The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr., (New York: Harper and Row, 1982), p. 81-
Another experience that was very difficult for me, that took a long time for me to be able to deal with, was reflecting on Christ’s words as he is tried and put to the cross. He says, ‘Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.’ It took me a long time, and a lot of reflection, to be able to see that I think what Christ was saying there was, as he was saying to these people who tortured me and others, that they don’t understand that the man or woman they are torturing is their own sister, or their own brother.
Adolfo Perez Esquivel (1931-
I am writing to you as one human person to another human person, gloriously created in the image of the selfsame God, redeemed by the selfsame Son of God who for all our sakes died on the Cross and rose triumphant from the dead and reigns in glory now at the right hand of the Father; sanctified by the selfsame Holy Spirit who works inwardly in all of us to change our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.
I am, therefore, writing to you, Sir, as one Christian to another, for through our common baptism we have been made members of and are united in the Body of our dear Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This Jesus Christ, whatever we may have done, has broken down all that separates us irrelevantly – such as race, sex, culture, status, etc. In this Jesus Christ we are forever bound together as one redeemed humanity, black and white together.
Desmond Tutu (1931-
http://www.academia.edu/2739607/Scientific_GOD_Journal#
When Jesus Christ asked little children to come to him, he didn't say only rich children, or White children, or children with two-
Marian Wright Edelman (1939-