--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My father's religious life was not…" description: "\"My father's religious life was not Biblically centered. He was a saintly man, whom I could never emulate, so I went into scholarship rather than into t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/frank-moore-cross-14963_activity_my-father-s-religious-life-was-not-bibli_510505.jpg" --- # My father's religious life was not Biblically centered. He… ![“My father's religious life was not Biblically centered. He was a saintly man, whom I could never emulate, so I went into scholarship rather than into the kind of pastoral activity that he pursued.” quote by Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/frank-moore-cross-14963_activity_my-father-s-religious-life-was-not-bibli_510505.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/frank-moore-cross-14963_activity_my-father-s-religious-life-was-not-bibli_510505.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/frank-moore-cross-14963_activity_my-father-s-religious-life-was-not-bibli_510505.jpg) > “My father's religious life was not Biblically centered. He was a saintly man, whom I could never emulate, so I went into scholarship rather than into the kind of pastoral activity that he pursued.” [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author reflects on a father's piety that was more personal than scriptural, leading him to academic pursuits instead of similar pastoral work. **In simple terms:** Father's faith differed from scripture, steering the author toward scholarship. Key Takeaway Recognize how personal models shape career paths. Themes faith family career choices identity scholarship Mood reflective thoughtful Type biographical reflective When to use this quote - choosing a career - family expectations - spiritual guidance Key Concepts personal piety academic vocation role modeling Questions to Reflect On - How does a parent's faith influence your own path? - Can you reconcile personal admiration with different life choices? A Different Perspective Personal devotion may not align with institutional religion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholic/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-life/) [Scholarship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholarship/) ## Related quotes > [My father was a very religious person. And he prayed five times a day. 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The Church must be attractive. Wake up the world! 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It is marked by all of his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/sacrifice-of-isaac-is-a-major-theme-of-the-so-called-elohist-one/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [When you come to the New Testament you can't even swing a cat without hitting three demons and two spirits. And magic becomes something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/when-you-come-to-the-new-testament-you-can-t-even-swing-a-cat-without/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [ \[The story of Adam and Eve\] it's poetry. One must interpret it as poetry. The first 11 chapters of Genesis \[the Primeval History\] are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/the-story-of-adam-and-eve-it-s-poetry-one-must-interpret-it-as-poetry/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [Israel defined its God and its relation to that God in existential, relational terms. 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This is the human condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/we-want-to-live-in-ambiguity-this-is-the-human-condition/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [I prefer to have all of this apparatus - historical, literary, critical - and then, beyond initial innocence and naiveté, to try to achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/i-prefer-to-have-all-of-this-apparatus-historical-literary-critical/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [We are thrown back on the text, for the most part. Archaeology can give us background. 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If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. 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