Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

A free-thinking view of Christianity

An excerpt from God and the World by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

In His bless’d name, who was His own creation,

Who from all time makes making his vocation;

The name of Him who makes our faith so bright,

Love, confidence, activity and might;

In that One’s name, who, nam’d though oft He be,

Unknown is ever in Reality:

Sponsored
Sponsored

As far as ear can reach, or eyesight dim,

Thou findest but the known resembling Him;

How high soe’er thy fiery spirit hovers,

Its simile and type it straight discovers;

Onward thou’rt drawn, with feelings light and gay,

Where’er thou goest, smiling is the way;

No more thou numb’rest, reckonest no time,

Each step is infinite, each step sublime.

What God would outwardly alone control,

And on His finger whirl the mighty Whole?

He loves the inner world to move, to view

Nature in Him, Himself in Nature too,

So that what in Him works, and is, and lives,

The measure of His strength, His spirit gives.

Within us all a universe doth dwell;

And hence each people’s usage laudable,

That ev’ry one the Best that meets his eyes

As God, yea e’en his God, doth recognize;

To Him both earth and heaven surrenders he,

Fears Him, and loves Him too, if that may be.

–from God and the World by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) was a German writer, scientist, and statesman. But that doesn’t really get at the half of what he was in the world of letters. Considered one of the most accomplished minds in German history, Goethe produced novels, epic and lyric poetry, drama, memoirs, criticism, scientific treatises on botany and anatomy, and trunk-loads of letters, drawings, notebooks, and random notes on various subjects. Raised Lutheran, von Goethe eventually adopted a free-thinking view of Christianity which held that an individual could live the Christian life without adopting any particular tenets of the churches propounding such a life.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Drinking Sudden Death on All Saint’s Day in Quixote’s church-themed interior

Seeking solace, spiritual and otherwise
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

In His bless’d name, who was His own creation,

Who from all time makes making his vocation;

The name of Him who makes our faith so bright,

Love, confidence, activity and might;

In that One’s name, who, nam’d though oft He be,

Unknown is ever in Reality:

Sponsored
Sponsored

As far as ear can reach, or eyesight dim,

Thou findest but the known resembling Him;

How high soe’er thy fiery spirit hovers,

Its simile and type it straight discovers;

Onward thou’rt drawn, with feelings light and gay,

Where’er thou goest, smiling is the way;

No more thou numb’rest, reckonest no time,

Each step is infinite, each step sublime.

What God would outwardly alone control,

And on His finger whirl the mighty Whole?

He loves the inner world to move, to view

Nature in Him, Himself in Nature too,

So that what in Him works, and is, and lives,

The measure of His strength, His spirit gives.

Within us all a universe doth dwell;

And hence each people’s usage laudable,

That ev’ry one the Best that meets his eyes

As God, yea e’en his God, doth recognize;

To Him both earth and heaven surrenders he,

Fears Him, and loves Him too, if that may be.

–from God and the World by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) was a German writer, scientist, and statesman. But that doesn’t really get at the half of what he was in the world of letters. Considered one of the most accomplished minds in German history, Goethe produced novels, epic and lyric poetry, drama, memoirs, criticism, scientific treatises on botany and anatomy, and trunk-loads of letters, drawings, notebooks, and random notes on various subjects. Raised Lutheran, von Goethe eventually adopted a free-thinking view of Christianity which held that an individual could live the Christian life without adopting any particular tenets of the churches propounding such a life.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?
Next Article

Undocumented workers break for Trump in 2024

Illegals Vote for Felon
Comments
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Sept. 22, 2018
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader