More
from and about
Desmond Tutu
(biographical info at bottom of page) |
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Do
your little bit of good where you are; it's those little
bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. |
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We
get most upset with those we love because they are close to
us and we know that they are aware of our weaknesses. . . If only
we could learn to live with our inadequacies, our frailties, our
vulnerabilities, we would not need to try so hard to push away
those who really know us.
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My father always used to say,
"Don't raise your voice. Improve your
argument." Good sense does not always lie with the loudest shouters,
nor can we say that a large, unruly crowd is always
the best arbiter of what is right.
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Forgiving
and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are
not about pretending that things are other than they are. It
is not about patting one another on the back and turning a
blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the
awfulness, the abuse, the hurt, the truth. It could even
sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking but
in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end only an
honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing.
Superficial reconciliation can bring only superficial
healing.
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We were made
to enjoy music, to enjoy beautiful sunsets, to enjoy looking at
the billows of the sea and to be thrilled with a rose that is
bedecked with dew… Human beings are actually created for the
transcendent, for the sublime, for the beautiful, for the
truthful... and all of us are given the task of trying to make
this world a little more hospitable to these beautiful things.
When we see others as
the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others,
we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent
upon recognizing the humanity in others.
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We
are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for
friendliness. We are made for togetherness. We are made for all of
the
beautiful things that you and I know. We are made to tell the
world that
there are no outsiders. All are welcome: black, white, red,
yellow, rich,
poor, educated, not educated, male, female, gay, straight, all,
all, all.
We all belong to this family, this human family, God's family. |
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Like
when you sit in front of a fire in winter — you are just there
in front
of the fire. You don't have to be smart or anything. The fire
warms you. |
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Out
of the cacophony of random suffering and chaos that can mark
human life, the life artist sees or creates a symphony of meaning
and order. A life of wholeness does not depend on what we
experience. Wholeness depends on how we experience our lives. |
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We must be ready to learn from one another, not
claiming that we alone
possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God. |
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Our
maturity will be judged by how well we are able to agree to
disagree and yet continue to love one another, to care for one
another,
and cherish one another and seek the greater good of the other. |
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Bishop Desmond Tutu was born in
1931 in Klerksdorp, Transvaal. His father was a teacher, and he
himself was educated at Johannesburg Bantu High School. After
leaving school he trained first as a teacher at Pretoria Bantu
Normal College and in 1954 he graduated from the University of South
Africa. After three years as a high school teacher he began to study
theology, being ordained as a priest in 1960. The years 1962-66 were
devoted to further theological study in England leading up to a
Master of Theology. From 1967 to 1972 he taught theology in South
Africa before returning to England for three years as the assistant
director of a theological institute in London. In 1975 he was
appointed Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg, the first
black to hold that position. From 1976 to 1978 he was Bishop of
Lesotho, and in 1978 became the first black General Secretary of the
South African Council of Churches. Tutu is an honorary doctor of a
number of leading universities in the USA, Britain and Germany.
Desmond Tutu has formulated his objective as "a democratic and
just society without racial divisions", and has set forward the
following points as minimum demands:
1. equal civil rights for all
2. the abolition of South Africa's passport laws
3. a common system of education
4. the cessation of forced deportation from South Africa to the
so-called "homelands"
The South African Council of Churches is a contact organization for
the churches of South Africa and functions as a national committee
for the World Council of Churches. The Boer churches have
disassociated themselves from the organization as a result of the
unambiguous stand it has made against apartheid. Around 80 percent
of its members are black, and they now dominate the leading
positions.
from nobelprize.org
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