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Any creed or ideology or religion must be known and tested by its fruits, and its fruits are people.

— William Barclay The Plain Man's Guide to Ethics (1973)

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More quotes by William Barclay

It is only by refusing to accept the situation that in the end we can change the situation.

The Plain Man's Guide to Ethics (1973)

I am a convinced universalist. I believe that in the end all men will be gathered into the love of God.

Jesus teaches that human need must always be helped; that there is no greater task than to relieve someone's pain and distress and that the Christian's compassion must be like God's—unceasing. Other work may be laid aside but the work of compassion never.

The Gospel of John (1955)

All life is based on the fact that anything worth getting is hard to get. There is a price to be paid for anything. Scholarship can only be bought at the price of study, skill of craft or technique can only be bought at the price of practice, and eminence in any sport can only be bought at the price of training and discipline.

The Gospel of John (1955)

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All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.

Albert Einstein Moral Decay (1937)

Science and religion are two human enterprises sharing many features.

Freeman Dyson Infinite in All Directions (1988)

The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.

John Adams A Defence of the Constitutions of Government (1787)

The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.

Thomas Babington Macaulay History of England (1849)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: William Barclay (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.