Archbishop William Temple Quotes

Christian Fundamentalism. Because the holy texts of nearly all religions hold the seed of violence, fundamentalists of every stripe tend to become increasingly violent, in their attitudes if not in their actions. William Temple, former Archbishop of Canterbury, insisted that if our concept of God is wrong, the more religious we get, the more dangerous we are to ourselves and others.

When I pray, coincidences happen,” said Archbishop William Temple; “when I don’t, they don’t.

Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness, nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of imagination by His beauty, opening of the heart to His love, and submission of will to His purpose, and all this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of human expressions of which we are capable.' -William Temple, archbishop of Canterbury (1881-1944)

William Temple, who served as Archbishop of Canterbury during the difficult days of World War II. He wrote, “To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.”3

Some may think tht connection between prayer and angelic assistance or other miracles is just a coincidence, but William Temple, the late Archbishop of Canterbury, pointed out, "When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I do not, they don't.

Intellectually, [punctuation matters] a great deal. For if you are getting your commas, semicolons and full stops wrong, it means you are not getting your thoughts right and your mind is muddled’ – William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury 1897–1902