A CHRISTIAN'S WEALTH

'By virtue of the believer's union with Christ, he does in fact possess all things. But it may be asked, how does he possess all things? What is he the better for it? How is a true Christian so much richer than other people?

To answer this, I'll tell you what I mean by "possessing all things." I mean that God three in one, all that he is, and all that he as, and all that he does, all that he has made or done - the whole universe, bodies and spirits, earth and heaven, angels, humans and devils, sun, moon and stars, land and sea, fish and fowls, all silver and gold, kings and potentates - are as much the Christian's as the money in his pocket, the clothes he wears, the house he dwells in, or the victuals he eats; yes, properly his, advantageously his, by virtue of union with Christ; because Christ, who certainly does possess all things, is entirely his; so that the Christian possesses it all, more than a wife the share of the best ad dearest husband, more than the hand possesses what the head does. It is all his.

Every atom of the universe is managed by Christ so as to be most to the advantage of the Christian, every particle of air or every ray of the sun; so that he in the other world, when he comes to see it, shall sit and enjoy all this vast inheritance with surprising, amazing joy.'

Jonathan Edwards in Dane C Ortlund, Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners, p.64.

THE DANGER OF DISPERSION

'Christian leaders...are usually multi-gifted people who are able to do many things well. This is why they find it difficult to say "no!" to areas of ministry which they enjoy and, for some time, do very capably. Dispersion, though, is a subtle enemy, acting often as a silent "killer." It penetrates your life insidiously - you are unaware of its danger - and it drains your energy little by little until one day you suddenly realize you are unable to enjoy what you are doing and you feel like giving everything up. It has wearied you physically, emotionally and consequently, spiritually. The inability to renounce tasks or responsibilities leads to dispersion and dispersion leads to defeat.'

Pablo Martinez, Take Care of Yourself: Survive and thrive in Christian ministry, p.49.

THE CASE AGAINST THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION

'We need to re-erect the social guard rails that have been torn down. And in order to do that, we have to start by stating the obvious. Sex must be taken seriously. Men and women are different. Consent is not enough. Violence is not love. Loveless sex is not empowering. People are not products. Marriage is good.'

Louise Perry, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, p.189.

THE NEW SEXUAL TECHNOLOGY WE NEED

'The task for practically minded feminists, then, is to deter men from the cad mode. Our current sexual culture does not do that, but it could. In order to change the incentive structure, we would need a technology that discourages short-termism in male sexual behavior, protects the economic interests of mothers, and creates a stable environment for the raising of children. And we do already have such a technology, even if it is old, clunky and prone to periodic failure. It's called monogamous marriage.'

Louise Perry, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, p.181.

WE ARE DEPENDENT CREATURES

'The liberal theory of the independent individual as the basic unit of society is full of exceptions....It would be fairer to say that dependence is our default state, and self-sufficiency the aberration. Our lives begin and (frequently) end in states of near total dependence, ad much of the middle is marked by periods of need.'

Leah Libresco Sargeant in Louise Perry, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, p.173.

OUR SEXUAL MORALITY NEEDS MORE THAN THE PRINCIPLE OF CONSENT

'When we strip bask all sexual morality to the bare bones, leaving only the principle of consent, we leave the way clear for some particularly predatory pikes. As the example of pedophilia advocacy shows, the consent framework is nowhere near robust enough to protect the vulnerable from harm. Given the profound importance and complexity of sexual relationships, a much more sophisticated moral system is required...'

Louise Perry, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, p.64.

SOME FORM OF SEXUAL REPRESSION IS NEEDED

'Sexual repression is a blunt instrument, but it is not one that we can do away with altogether. as the errors of the 1970s show. The radical desires of sexual liberals do not work in a world in which human sexuality is not always beautiful but often wicked and repulsive.'

Louise Perry, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, p.64.

THE CENTRAL FEMINIST QUESTION WHEN IT COMES TO SEXUALITY

'...the central feminist question ought not to be "How can we all be free?" but, rather, "How can we best promote the wellbeing of both men and women, given that these two groups have different sets of interests, which are sometimes in tension?"'

Louise Perry, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, p.35.

THE DOWNSIDES OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION

'We have smoothly transitioned from one form of feminine subservience to another, but we pretend that this one is liberation.'

Louise Perry, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century, p.20.

NONREADING THE BIBLE

'Having and defending and celebrating the Bible instead of receiving, submitting and praying the Bible, masks an enormous amount of nonreading.

Eugene H Peterson, Eat This Book, p.140.