Speakers, writers, preachers, and friends quoted on this website

I compiled this listing to help me find quotations I have used by various people. I thought it might help you as well.

Note: Biblical figures are not listed here. They are on two other pages: Old Testament and New Testament.

You will note that I have "plundered the Egyptians."1 By that, I mean that I have used authors with whom I am not in agreement on everything. Indeed, with a few people on this list, I am in almost total disagreement. Still, wasn't it Augustine of Hippo who said in the Fourth Century, "All truth is God's truth"?

Then, John Calvin (with whom I have quite a few theological disagreements) said, "All truth is from God; and consequently, if wicked men have said anything that is true and just, we ought not to reject it; for it has come from God."

It is in that spirit that I do not read and use only those with whom I am in complete agreement. I think this is also in accordance with Proverbs 27:17, which proclaims: "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

I have not kept this totally up-to-date as addition and changes have been made.

1The phrase is taken from Exodus 12:35-36. As Peter Thomas Elliott says, "Plundering the Egyptians is a concept formulated by Irenaeus of Lyons, promoted by Origen of Alexandria, polished by Gregory of Nazianzen, and solidified in Christian culture by Augustine of Hippo."

Why is it Be Beneficial to Use Quotes from Other People in Your Writing?

Quoting other people in something that you write offers several benefits:

Here's the bottom line: Referencing and quoting others improves your writing. The words of other people can make your writing more solid (i.e., less "fluff"), credible, and even persuasive.