Philip Schaff (1819 – 1893) was a Swiss-born Protestant theologian and historian who spent most of his adult life living and teaching in America. Schaff was known as a churchman, scholar, and an author and editor. He taught church history at Union Theological Seminary in New York City for many years and wrote the classic eight-volume work The History of the Christian Church, which covers the entire span of church history. Below are 15 of his most famous quotes that I pray bless you as you continue on your walk with the Lord.1
“To give up faith in Christ is to give up faith in humanity; to believe in Christ is to believe in the redemption and final glorification of men; and this faith is the best inspiration to a holy and useful life for the good of our race of the glory of God.”
“Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander the Great, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of school, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.”
“Without His Resurrection the death of Christ would be of no avail, and His grave would be the grave of all our hopes. A gospel of a dead Savior would be a miserable failure and delusion. The Resurrection is the victory of righteousness and life over sin an death.”
“One man with truth on his side is stronger than a majority in error, and will conquer in the end.”
“I myself have read the writings and teachings of the heretics, polluting my soul for a while with their abominable notions, though deriving this benefit: I was able to refute them for myself and loathe them even more.”
“No one does more harm in the Church than he who has the title or rank of holiness and acts perversely.”
“We find everywhere in this world the traces of a revealed God and of a hidden God; revealed enough to strengthen our faith, concealed enough to try our faith.”
“Read often, learn all that you can. Let sleep overcome you, the roll still in your hands; when your head falls, let it be on the sacred page.”
“To will and to run are mine, but they will cease to be mine unless God brings me His continual aid.”
“If we wish to be good, we must first believe that we are bad.”
“He who claims to believe in Christ must rejoice in all Christ’s judgments.”
“As long as you are at home make your cell your paradise, gather there the varied fruits of scripture, let this be your favourite companion, and take its precepts to your heart.”
“To change one’s disposition is a greater achievement than to change one’s dress. It is harder for us to part with arrogance than with gold and gems.”
“Nothing is so displeasing to God as an impenitent heart. Impenitence is the one sin for which there is no forgiveness.”
“The Word was made flesh that we might pass from the flesh into the Word.”
1 All of these quotes are from the website below: