Sublime

He retired the belief that it was the pastor’s duty, particularly in the sermon, to prod the people into obedience. “Henry realized [that] the point was not to outline ‘correct’ doctrine but to motivate the audience psychologically.”18

action by personifying acceptance and friendship. It is the pastor’s task, Henry believed, to run at the speed of intimacy—and this was very different from pastors before him.

Heclo argues that “our moral polestar amounts to this central idea: the correct way to get on with life is to recognize that each of us has the right to live as he or she pleases so long as we do not interfere with the right of other people to do likewise.”[26]

'No one is useless in this world,' retorted the Secretary, 'who lightens the burden of it for any one else.'

“God—or whoever is in charge of this planet—got drunk on the job one day and decided to give me the gift of writing. The way I see it, I have two choices. I can set that gift on a high shelf so it won’t get dinged up and nobody can make fun of me for playing with it.” He smiled until the crinkles at the corners of his eyes were deep enough to hide

in Fosdick’s time, after the Industrial Revolution, the elite rich bore the duty of providing libraries, museums, and parks—which, of course, you put your name on.10 But the point was to provide for the public good. That was your responsibility. It was the pastor’s job to remind people of this responsibility, participating in practical actions that

http://www.alternativeseminary.net/

The church once helped people live the good life in the present (whether multigenerational or generational, the present was long enough for the good life to have content and be open to mystery—to have response and responsibility). Now the good life is lived in the future, not the present.