Desmond Tutu

[halinsalem]

I recently read a library book, the most recent one written by Desmond Tutu titled "God Is Not A Christian". It was primarily excerpts from his many sermons and speechs. I was very favorably impressed and enjoyed reading the book.

 

This was the first book of Bishop Tutu's that I had ever read. Because I liked it so much I purchased another of his books "Made For Goodness: And Why This Makes All The Difference" for my Kindle. This is one of the best books that I have ever read and I recommend it to any and all. I am going to buy several paper backs and give one to each of my children, foster children and all six grand children. I have already purchased the book for those who have Kindles. In the Kindle there are three pages of highlights and there could probably be three pages more.

 

The Bishop is one of the most positive people that I have every read. If you want to get over the Christmas blues, read this book!

 

Hal

[halinsalem]

Here are some of Bishop Desmond Tutu's opinions:

 

 

Highlights from Bishop Desmond Tutu’s book: “MADE FOR GOODNESS: AND WHY THIS MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE.”

 

Page 25:

Perfect love is not an emotion; it is not how we feel. It is what we do. Perfect love is action that is not wrapped up in self-regard, and it has no concern with deserving. Instead, perfect love is love poured out. It is self-offering made out of the joy of giving. It requires no prompting. It seeks no response and no reward. God’s love is perfect because God always and only performs acts of love.

 

Page 28

Perfect love is the love that is responsive rather than reactive. It pays little or no regard to the emotions aroused in any given moment. We love perfectly when the good we do cares nothing for how we feel. When we love perfectly we endure beyond endurance. We pour ourselves out despite pain, stress, sadness, or fatigue.

 

Page 28/29

Perfect love is shown by the people who deliver hot soup to prostitutes on cold nights, or blankets to street children. We can offer this love because we each have experienced it from God, though often unaware. We have experienced it in the rain that falls on our garden with no regard to whether we are deserving or not. We have experienced it in the gift of warm sunshine when our behavior merits a tempest. We have experienced it in the beauty of nature, the kindness of strangers, and the laughter of children. We have experienced it in the hundreds of graces that fill our days, though we have not earned them and do not deserve them.

 

Page 176

The wisdom that goodness offers tells us that all of us can flourish. But the noisy demands of tribe and nation can drown out that voice of reason. So we spend obscene amounts of money on deadly defenses. We ignore the truth that a fraction of the world’s military budgets would buy us genuine safety by ensuring adequate clean water, clothing, food, and shelter for every person on our planet. We engage in fierce arguments over who should be first to make real reductions in carbon emissions even though the environmental threat of catastrophic climate change looms over all of us. When we listen to the voices of greed, tribalism, and nationalism, when we feed our lust for power with the attention it craves, we become tone-deaf to the voice of God, who guides us towards goodness.