Authority Quote by William P. Young
“In seminary he had been taught that God had completely stopped any overt communication with moderns, preferring to have them only listen to and follow sacred Scripture, properly interpreted, of course. God's voice had been reduced to paper, and even that paper had to be moderated and deciphered by the proper authorities and intellects. It seemed that direct communication with God was something exclusively for the ancients and uncivilized, while educated Westerner's access to God was mediated and controlled by the intelligentsia. Nobody wanted God in a box, just in a book.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Shack, 2007
Divine communication is mediated by institutions, limiting personal experience.
In simple terms: God is often accessed through texts.
Key Takeaway
Seek personal spiritual insight.
Themes
religion
mediation
authority
Mood
contemplative
questioning
Type
theological
literary
When to use this quote
- personal prayer
- academic study
- interfaith dialogue
- secular counseling
Key Concepts
Theology
interpretation
spirituality
Questions to Reflect On
- Can personal experience coexist with doctrine?
- What role should authority play?
A Different Perspective
Institutional control can suppress individual faith.
![“[W]e need to remind ourselves that although prayer is a very personal and private communication with God, pouring out our repentance and sorrow for sin, it is also to be a constant connection with God, an unbroken communication, a means of receiving assurance as to how to go on in this next hour…” quote by Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6d7/edith-schaeffer-16669_communication_w-e-need-to-remind-ourselves-that-althou_2620652.jpg)
![“The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the formulas of nations at war, where any heinousness is justified on the grounds that the enemy is either an inferior [part of the] species or…” quote by Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/895/kate-millett-7301_accompany_the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imp_8896.jpg)