"God has put within our lives meanings and possibilities that quite outrun the limits of mortality"
About this Quote
Fosdick’s line flatters the restless part of modern life that refuses to be sized down to a single lifespan. “Meanings and possibilities” aren’t presented as rewards waiting in heaven; they’re embedded “within our lives,” planted like latent capacities. The provocation is in the verb choice: these possibilities “outrun” mortality. Death isn’t merely an ending; it’s a constraint the human spirit keeps trying to break, sprinting past the finish line even while the body can’t.
The intent is pastoral, but also quietly polemical. Fosdick, a major voice in early 20th-century liberal Protestantism, preached to an urban, educated audience living through war, industrial upheaval, and the growing authority of science. In that world, traditional dogma could feel brittle. This sentence offers a way to keep God in the picture without leaning on fire-and-brimstone or a detailed map of the afterlife. It’s faith reframed as scale: if our aspirations routinely exceed what can be completed here, that excess is evidence of a larger horizon.
The subtext is psychological as much as theological. Fosdick is baptizing ambition, grief, creativity, and moral longing - all the unfinished business people carry - and calling it a clue rather than a torment. The quote works because it dignifies dissatisfaction. It tells the reader: your sense that life is too big to “wrap up neatly” isn’t a personal failure; it’s a sign of design. That’s comforting, but it also raises the stakes: if the possibilities are God-given, wasting them becomes more than regret.
The intent is pastoral, but also quietly polemical. Fosdick, a major voice in early 20th-century liberal Protestantism, preached to an urban, educated audience living through war, industrial upheaval, and the growing authority of science. In that world, traditional dogma could feel brittle. This sentence offers a way to keep God in the picture without leaning on fire-and-brimstone or a detailed map of the afterlife. It’s faith reframed as scale: if our aspirations routinely exceed what can be completed here, that excess is evidence of a larger horizon.
The subtext is psychological as much as theological. Fosdick is baptizing ambition, grief, creativity, and moral longing - all the unfinished business people carry - and calling it a clue rather than a torment. The quote works because it dignifies dissatisfaction. It tells the reader: your sense that life is too big to “wrap up neatly” isn’t a personal failure; it’s a sign of design. That’s comforting, but it also raises the stakes: if the possibilities are God-given, wasting them becomes more than regret.
Quote Details
| Topic | God |
|---|
More Quotes by Harry
Add to List
