44 Jay Parini Quotes for You to Enjoy

Jay Parini

American Writer

Born: Apr 2, 1948

About American Great Jesus Think Time

Related authors: Dale Carnegie Denis Waitley Dr. Seuss H. L. Mencken Napoleon Hill Ray Bradbury W. E. B. Du Bois William Arthur Ward

We are a nation of immigrants, a quilt of many colors, and we've managed over more than two centuries to create a way of life that allows for a reasonable degree of upward mobility, that prizes individual liberty, promotes freedom of religion and genuinely values equal rights for all citizens. Jay Parini

Life Freedom Religion Rights Liberty Quilt Values Degree Nation Way Immigrants Citizens More Individual Colors Individual Liberty Freedom Of Religion Over Equal Equal Rights Genuinely Mobility Than Prizes Upward Upward Mobility Centuries Create Reasonable Many Two

Within the Christian tradition, fundamentalism arose in the 19th century as an effort to push back against modern' readings of the Bible that suggested everything in the text wasn't true in some literal sense. Jay Parini

I argue that the resurrection was not the Great Resuscitation. It was a total transformation. I just don't accept the black-and-white thinking that goes along with needing to regard the gospels are literally true. Jay Parini

Great Transformation Thinking Total Argue Resurrection True Along Accept Gospels Goes Just Literally Regard Needing

The gospels were, in fact, written anywhere from forty to a hundred years after Jesus, and their authors attempted to demonstrate that Jesus could be seen to fulfill various Old Testament pronouncements. Jay Parini

With the Patriot Bill in place, the NSA no longer needed to get a warrant from a judge to tap into anybody's electronic information. A Surveillance State that would have boggled the mind of Orwell was born. Jay Parini

Judge Mind State Would Born Longer Tap Surveillance Get Anybody Patriot Information Place Bill Warrant Electronic Orwell Needed

As a Christian, I try to meditate or pray at least once a day, however briefly. Jay Parini

Day Try Christian Once Least Pray However Meditate

I envy Muslims their practice of regular and genuine prayer. It's a beautiful practice that enriches their daily lives. Jay Parini

Beautiful Daily Prayer Envy Practice Muslims Genuine Regular Lives Daily Lives

The whole point of the Resurrection stories - and the Resurrection itself - is that we don't recognize Jesus when he comes back to us. Jay Parini

Back Recognize Point Resurrection He Itself Stories Us Whole Jesus

Good and productive labor is valuable, and it doesn't mean you have to have a fancy job description. You don't have to become rich. You can be ordinary. Happiness lies there. Do good work, create good work for others. Jay Parini

Colleges and classrooms should be havens of tranquility, places where thoughtful discussions occur, where students work together with their teachers to acquire knowledge of the arts and sciences. Jay Parini

Work Knowledge Together Thoughtful Colleges Haven Classrooms Students Sciences Occur Discussions Tranquility Arts Where Places Acquire Work Together Should Teachers

The ancient Greeks and Romans were comfortable with any number of deities and were quite open to allowing conquered nations to continue to worship in whatever ways they saw fit, as long as they didn't mind having an emperor who required taxes and tributes. Jay Parini

Mind Long Whatever Saw Worship Ways Ancient Ancient Greeks Having Open Allowing Emperor Comfortable Were Continue Fit Greeks Any Quite Nations Romans Taxes Required Who Conquered Number

I think the membrane - I say that the membrane between life and death is perilously thin. And I do think the story of Jesus, this great mythical story, can have transforming value in our lives. Jay Parini

Life Death Great Value Think Our Our Lives Say Life And Death Mythical Between Story Transforming Lives Thin Jesus

It's not unusual for socio-economic, even racial or ethnic, groups to cluster. Jay Parini

Unusual Cluster Racial Ethnic Ethnic Groups Even Groups Socio-Economic

Obviously, you're trying to peel through 20 centuries of theology, speculations, church doctrine and storytelling. I'm trying to get back to the absolute basic story of who was Jesus, what did he say, what was he teaching, and what did he do. Jay Parini

If you think about it, Jesus was this religious genius who grows up on the Silk Road, and so He's getting from the West all these Greek ideas from Plato about body and soul. Jay Parini

You Soul Genius Think Religious Silk About He Road Ideas West Up Greek Getting Body Who Plato Grows Jesus

I still have deep respect for the evangelical tradition and feel, in many ways, close to the Baptist roots of my childhood, although I've been an Episcopalian throughout my adult life and a regular churchgoer. Jay Parini

I've been teaching full-time for 41 years at small colleges, and I can't imagine what it would mean for me or my colleagues to be armed with handguns or rifles instead of books and a thorough knowledge of our chosen disciplines. Jay Parini

I had a year off, so my wife and I were heading to Italy to study Italian. We found a little house in a village called Atrani. I discovered that Gore Vidal lived right above us in a big house, so I sent him a note. Jay Parini

Wife Big Year Above Had Study Heading House Him Gore Were Italian Discovered Italy Off Big House Little Note Sent Us Village Lived Found Right

There's been an unquestionable decline in American culture. The education system is thin on the ground. People don't read as deeply and at length as they used to. And the media has been scattered into so many cable channels. Jay Parini

When Gore Vidal was coming up, there were three major channels, and he could count on a big audience when he debated someone like William F. Buckley on TV. Jay Parini

Three Big Channels William TV Someone Could Count He Major Like Gore Audience Coming Were Debated Up

A revival of 'Of Mice and Men' would have seemed out of place in years of Reaganomics, Donald Trump and Michael Milken, a time when Rambo supplied millions of filmgoers with a fantasy that masked what was really going on in their lives. Jay Parini

Time Men Out Would Seemed Supplied Years Trump Mice Michael Revival Donald Donald Trump Going Place Fantasy Really Lives Millions

As with all great works of literature, 'Of Mice and Men' moves with the inexorability of a huge river, and it pours itself, exhausts itself, in the sea of our unconscious. Having read it, we carry the book inside us forever. Jay Parini

Great Book Men Our Carry Inside Having River Unconscious Read Huge Itself Mice Forever Moves Literature Us Sea Works

My own grandparents came to the United States as immigrants in 1912, and they lived for some years in Italian ghettos in New York. Most immigrant groups start in ghettos somewhere, and many of them never get out. Jay Parini

Somewhere Own States Immigrant Out Immigrants Some My Own Never New Most Came Italian Years Get York New York Them Grandparents Many Groups Lived United United States Start

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