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Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone’s back.

Tutu Desmond

We are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water.
TUTU DESMOND

Love Philosophy Plant
Dear Child of God, I write these words because we all experience sadness, we all come at times to despair, and we all lose hope that the suffering in our lives and in the world will ever end.
TUTU DESMOND

End Experience God Hope Live Lose Sad Suffer Time Word World Writing
Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
TUTU DESMOND

Good Philosophy Togetherness World Yourself
We have hardship without becoming hard. We have heartbreaks without being broken.
TUTU DESMOND

Break Hard Heart Broken Philosophy
Discovering more joy does not, save us from the inevitability of hardship and heartbreak.
TUTU DESMOND

Discover Hard Heart Broken Joy Philosophy Save
Forgiveness is simply about understanding that every one of us is both inherently good and inherently flawed.
TUTU DESMOND

Forgiveness Good Philosophy Understand
A person is a person through other persons.
TUTU DESMOND

Deep One Liner Person Philosophy
We are fragile creatures, and it is from this weakness, not despite it, that we discover the possibility of true joy.
TUTU DESMOND

Discover Joy Philosophy Possible True Weakness
Life is more than breath and a heartbeat; meaning and purpose are the life of life.
TUTU DESMOND

Heart Life Philosophy Purpose
I do believe there are monstrous and evil acts, but I do not believe those who commit such acts are monsters or evil.
TUTU DESMOND

Act Believe Commitment Deep Evil Philosophy
There is nothing more difficult than waking someone who is only pretending to be asleep.
TUTU DESMOND

Deep Difficult Wake Up
We learn from history that we don’t learn from history.
TUTU DESMOND

History Learning Sarcastic
A person is a person through other persons; you can’t be human in isolation; you are human only in relationships.
TUTU DESMOND

Alone Human Person Relationship
When we see others as separate, they become a threat. When we see others as part of us, as connected, as interdependent, then there is no challenge we cannot face—together.
TUTU DESMOND

Challenge Connection Philosophy Separate Togetherness Unity
If you are setting out to be joyful you are not going to end up being joyful. You’re going to find yourself turned in on yourself. It’s like a flower. You open, you blossom, really because of other people.
TUTU DESMOND

Flower Joy People Philosophy Yourself
In the end generosity is the best way of becoming more, more, and more joyful.
TUTU DESMOND

End Generous Joy
If you want to keep people subjugated, the last thing you place in their hands is a Bible. There’s nothing more radical, nothing more revolutionary, nothing more subversive against injustice and oppression than the Bible.
TUTU DESMOND

Justice Oppression People Philosophy Religious Revolution Spiritual
Much depends on your attitude. If you are filled with negative judgment and anger, then you will feel separate from other people. You will feel lonely.
TUTU DESMOND

Attitude Judge Lonely Negative People Philosophy Separate Yourself
There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream to find out why they’re falling in.
TUTU DESMOND

Deep Fall People Pull River Stop
Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another.
TUTU DESMOND

Different Philosophy Togetherness
Our maturity will be judged by how well we are able to agree to disagree and yet continue to love one another, to care for one another, and cherish one another and seek the greater good of the other.
TUTU DESMOND

Care Cherish Good Great Love Philosophy
When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said “Let us pray.” We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.
TUTU DESMOND

Eyes Land Oppression Religion War
Forgiving is not forgetting; its actually remembering–remembering and not using your right to hit back. Its a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you dont want to repeat what happened.
TUTU DESMOND

Beginning Forget Forgiveness Philosophy
We are not responsible for what breaks us, but we can be responsible for what puts us back together again. Naming the hurt is how we begin to repair our broken parts.
TUTU DESMOND

Break Healing Hurt Repair Responsibility Togetherness
Transformation begins in you, wherever you are, whatever has happened, however you are suffering. Transformation is always possible.
TUTU DESMOND

Beginning Possible Suffer Transformation
Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.
TUTU DESMOND

Language Philosophy Power Reality
A very important but difficult piece of renewing relationships is accepting responsibility for our part in any conflict.
TUTU DESMOND

Acceptance Difficult Relationship

Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone’s back.

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Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone’s back.

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Popular Authors

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