“If history can do anything it is to remind us that all our judgments are merely relative to time and circumstance.”

“History is not the study of origins; rather it is the analysis of all the mediations by which the past was turned into our present.”

“The study of the past with one eye upon the present is the source of all sins and sophistries in history. It is the essence of what we mean by the word "unhistorical".”

“The raconteur knows too well that, if he investigates the truth of the matter, he is only too likely to lose his good story.”

“I learned the first rule of repentance: that repentance requires greater intimacy with God than with our sin. How much greater? About the size of a mustard seed. Repentance requires that we draw near to Jesus, no matter what. And sometimes we all have to crawl there on our hands and knees. Repentance is an intimate affair. And for many of us, intimacy with anything is a terrifying prospect.”

“Biblical orthodoxy can offer real compassion, because in our struggle against sin, we cannot undermine God's power to change lives.”

“[W]hen you make your mistakes in public you will learn that they are mistakes and in being corrected you will grow. It also reminded me that being wrong and responding to correction with resilience was a higher virtue than covering up your mistakes so your students and the watching world assumed that success meant never being wrong. Working from your strengths and cultivating resilience in all matters of life have always been guiding principles for me.”