Jean Anouilh, dramatist

Every man thinks God is on his side. The rich and powerful know he is. -Jean Anouilh, dramatist (1910-1987)

Anouilh is mistaken about the rich.  Jesus said, "Woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation." Lk 6:24  The prophets of the Old Testament often said the same.

Edith Wharton

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." -- Edith Wharton

But in fact even the candle only shows forth the light that it receives.  Only God is a true original.

Martin Luther King, Jr

Life's most urgent question is: what are you doing for others? -Martin Luther King, Jr , civil-rights leader (1929-1968)
 
Who feels the urgency of this question?

Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman

The eye of the understanding is like the eye of the sense; for as you may see great objects through small crannies or holes, so you may see great axioms of nature through small and contemptible instances. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626)

This can be applied to spiritual matters, too. A relatively small blessing may reveal a great truth about God and his relationship to mankind.

Dan Barker, former preacher, musician

Not thinking critically, I assumed that the "successful" prayers were proof that God answers prayer while the failures were proof that there was something wrong with me. -Dan Barker, former preacher, musician (b. 1949)

Thinking critically, one should realize that thinking about prayers as "successful" or "unsuccessful" is completely wrong-headed from the start. God is good, first of all, and stands outside of history and sees all of our lives from beginning to end. His response to our entreaties is for our own eternal good, which is always beyond our feeble apprehension.

Lionel Strachey, writer and translator (1864-1927)

To be patriotic, hate all nations but your own; to be religious, all sects but your own; to be moral, all pretences but your own. -Lionel Strachey, writer and translator (1864-1927)

Typical modern pseudo-intellectual cynicism, which takes the worst examples of adherents to traditional values as the defining representatives.