Quotes part II- June 2012
Since I out of school, I have been reading a bit more. These quotes didn’t seems to fit with the other quotes so I decided to just do a second post. The quotes come from two books I read this month.
The first book is From the Garden to the City by John Dyer
“Instead of living our lives according to the values of new technology, Borgmann urges us to determine what our values are first and attempt to use our tools in service of those values.”
“A second downside to Internet information is that with equal access to all of the world’s information, we tend to cultivate the skill of searching for and accessing information rather than acquiring information, committing it to memory, and allowing it to shape our minds and hearts. Tim Challies writes, “As we increasingly dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of information, we grow increasingly unable or unwilling to distinguish between knowledge and information.” If all we do is access information rather than acquire it, then our capacity for true wisdom is diminished.”
“A good portion of the Christian life requires the ability to concentrate and focus on ideas over long periods of time. Spiritual depth requires the ability to pray for more than a few minutes, to read and memorize Scripture(not research it online), and to love God with our hearts and our minds. This means that we must carefully cultivate and retain the skill of deeply reading and deeply contemplating the things of God something the Internet and digital technologies do not value. We cannot read deeply when we spend all of our time scanning or when we allow distraction to rule our minds.”
The second book is When to Speak and When to Shut Up by Dr. Michael D. Sedler
p. 34 “If you want to maximize the possibility of others, “hearing” your voice, it is imperative they see your heart of service. Too often, the heart people see in others is the heart of “self-service”, which breeds suspicion and animosity.
p.93 “Jesus understood silence. Why defend? Why justify? Why try to explain when someone’s mind is made up? He knew only a sovereign touch from God could change their minds.”
p. 120 “Before approaching an individual regarding a problem or area of frustration, take the time to pray and be sure you have a right spirit. If you do not have time to pray, you do not have time to communicate with others.”
P. 121 “The Pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The Optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. Winston Church Hill