Tabitha

“To make things that don’t exist yet—and don’t need to exist, because that is the very definition of art—and to send them out into the world is wildly, impractically, gorgeously hopeful.

“This is my way of saying there is no creativity without hope. Creativity is inherently hopeful, and the reverse is also true: Hope is inherently creative. Hope is

“Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”

— Anne Lamott, Somehow (133)

“Questions about the covenant of Abraham that complicate its meaning arise from its very beginning. For example, the sign of the covenant is circumcision. Abraham is told that every male in his household must be circumcised, including slaves born in his house and those bought with money. This clearly anticipates the inclusion in the covenant of a

“Genesis can hardly be said to end. In it certain things are established—the nature of Creation and the spirit in which it was made; the nature of humankind; how in what spirit the Creator God enters into relation with His human creatures. The whole great literature of Scripture, unfolding over centuries, will proceed on the terms established in

“I don’t believe in proofs of God. Proofs are human things based in the logic of materiality. But it seems to me what we know as beauty must be the expression of God’s very nature. Unlike the arts we make, which are always open to interpretation, this sort of loveliness is purified of anything like thought. It is what it is—and isn’t that the name