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 DESMONDWhen 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.
More Tutu Desmond Quotes
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Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another.
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Within every hopeless situation and every seemingly hopeless person lies the possibility of transformation
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Dear Child of God, I am sorry to say that suffering is not optional.
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We need other human beings in order to be human. I am because other people are. A person is entitled to a stable community life, and the first of these communities is the family.
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Life of wholeness does not depend on what we experience. Wholeness depends on how we experience our lives
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It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul.
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Human beings are actually created for the transcendent, for the sublime, for the beautiful, for the truthful, and all of us are given the task of trying to make this world a little more hospitable to these beautiful things.
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I wish I could shut up, but I can’t, and I won’t.
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Forgiveness is simply about understanding that every one of us is both inherently good and inherently flawed.
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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.
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We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low.
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When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.
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Though wrong gratifies in the moment, good yields its gifts over a lifetime.
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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.
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Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.
TUTU DESMOND