Quotes by Criss Jami

The aim is to love God because the pure heart loves loving God and because the true mind knows He deserves it. Unlike the accusations and beliefs of the critics and skeptics, it is neither an obligation of duty; nor a fear of damnation; nor a wish for power; nor a desire to appear more righteous than others; nor because God needs it; but because through all love, truth, reason, faith, honesty, and joy in and beyond oneself and the universe, He is worthy.

All individuals have moral deficiencies, and when introducing these to reality one not only strengthens himself but also the confidence of others in the human exigency for Christ due to a reflection throughout the body of Christ.

Christ commands his people to love their enemies, because if not, that would rule out pretty much the entire world.

A spirit ushered by false teachings is like a body nourished by sweets. The adult, as opposed to the child, will come to understand reasons one cannot live a healthy existence on nothing but candy; so likewise, the Christian must come to understand that one cannot know and love the will of God under false doctrine.

Growing up I sometimes imagined that for Christs return perhaps He would appear as Black Jesus to white people and White Jesus to black people just to screw with the racists.

We are not as some people like to assume nowadays just being real by embracing passively the sinful, fallen versions of ourselves. Quite the opposite really: our true selves were, from the beginning, intended to resemble the example which was then set by Christ Jesus; hence God wants to restore us to how we would have been had original sin never once befell.

Some of the simplest of truths are also some of the most difficult of truths, but such is Christianity: If its not about Christ, its not about life.

Initially, the God of the Old Testament might seem overwhelming and domineering to you, or tyrannical, or perhaps even evil, which is good. It is the first telling that God is indeed God, by sheer definition, and not some ear-tickling fairy by which one in his depravity is guaranteed to find another form of stale romanticism or love at first sight. For such a first impression as the latter would be problematic to the essence of Christianity. Therefore the Christians are right in saying that the nature of imperfect men cannot ultimately co-exist with the nature of a perfect God; and that the hope of each man is now desperately found in Gods sending of Christ.

Every exceptional bias against Christianity I find to be evidence for its validity.

Without Christ a people may always have the freedom to do, but never the power to complete.

Emotion is always multiplied in the art of a person who doesnt really show much emotion. It once expanded deep within his hidden soul, and following the downplay his audience is blown away.

Like most arts, the link between the mind and the pen can chain you like an enslaved workaholic. Even on an intended vacation you suddenly have this killer urge to record whatever the vacation may teach.

If I were to believe in God enough to call him a murderer, then I might also believe enough that he, as a spirit, exists beyond death; and therefore only he could do it righteously. For the physical being kills a man and hatefully sends him away, whereas God, the spiritual being, kills a man and lovingly draws him nigh.

...There are also those who inadvertently grant power to another mans words by continuously trying to spite him. If a man gets to the point where he can simply say, The sky is blue, and people indignantly rush up trying to refute him saying, No, the sky is light blue, then, whether they realize it or not, he has become an authority figure even to such adversaries.

A sign of power in a man is not only when people follow what he suggests, but also when people make a conscious effort to do the exact opposite of what he suggests.

All great leaders find a sense of balance through their levels of reception. For instance, those who support a leader may soften him, those who ignore him may challenge him, and those who oppose him may stroke his ego.

Everyone has their own ways of expression. I believe we all have a lot to say, but finding ways to say it is more than half the battle.

Im often painted as the bad guy, and the artistic part of me wants to hand out the brush.

It starts off like climbing a tree or solving a puzzle - poetry, if nothing else, is just fun to write. But deeper into each and every piece, you no longer hesitate to call it work. Its passion. A poets sense of lyrical accomplishment is then his food and water, his means of survival.

From recovery to rags and rags to recovery symbolizes art - a perfect compilation of human imperfections.