"There's no need to talk about it, because the truth of what one says lies in what one does."
— Bernhard Schlink

"Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies. (from "Loving Your Enemies")"
— Martin Luther King Jr. (A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.)

"Yes, a dark time passed over this land, but now there is something like light."
— Dave Eggers (Zeitoun)

"[No] matter what a waste one has made of one's life, it is ever possible to find some path to redemption, however partial."
— Charles Frazier (Cold Mountain)

"Your job today is to pass gas. You do that and we can start feeding you liquids. No fart, no food."
— Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner)

"As Boettner so aptly observes, for the Calvinist, the atonement "is like a narrow bridge which goes all the way across the stream; for the Arminian it is like a great wide bridge that goes only half-way across." p. 41"
— David N. Steele (The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, Documented)

"Jesus Fulfills the Eternal Covenant

Scripture represents the Lord Jesus Christ, in all that He did and suffered for His people, as fulfilling the terms of a gracious compact or arrangement which He had entered into with His heavenly Father before the foundation of the world.

1. Jesus was sent into the world by the Father to save the people whom the Father had given to Him. Those given to Him by the Father come to Him (see and believe in Him), and none of them shall be lost. (John 6:35-40)

2. Jesus, as the good shepherd, lays down His life for His sheep. All who are "His sheep" are brought by Him into the fold and are made to hear His voice and follow Him. Notice that the Father had given the sheep to Christ! (John 10:11, 14-18, 24-29

3. Jesus, in His High Priestly Prayer, prays not for the world, but for those given to Him by the Father. In fulfillment of the Father's charge, Jesus had accomplished the work the Father had sent Him to do - to make God known to His people and to give them eternal life. (John 17:1-11, 20, 24-26)

pp. 45-48 "
— David N. Steele (The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, Documented)

"How Jesus Died for "All" and Yet for a Particular People

Some passages speak of Christ's dying for "all" men and of His death as saving the "world", yet others speak of His death as being definite in design and of His dying for particular people and securing salvation for them.

1. There are two classes of texts that speak of Christ's saving work in general terms: (a) those containing the word "world" - e.g., John 1:9, 29; 3:16-17; 4:42; 2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 John 2:1-2; 4:14, and (b) those containing the world "all" - e.g., Romans 5:18; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15; 1 Timothy 2:4-6; Hebrews 2:9; 2 Peter 3:9.

One reason for the use of these expressions was to correct the false notion that salvation was for the Jews alone. Such phrases as "the world", "all men", "all nations", and "every creature" were used by the New Testament writers to emphatically correct this mistake. These expression are intended to show that Christ died for all men without distinction (i.e., He died for Jews and Gentiles alike), but the are not intended to indicated that Christ died for all men without exception (i.e., He did not die for the purpose of saving each and every lost sinner).

2. There are other passages which speak of His saving work in definite terms and show that it was intended to infallibly save a particular people, namely, those given to Him by the Father. (Matthew 1:21, 20:28, 26:28; John 10:11, 11:50-53; Acts 2:28; Ephesians 5:25-27; Romans 8:32-34; Hebrews 2:17, 3:1, 9:15, 9:28; Revelation 5:9)

pp. 49-52"
— David N. Steele (The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, Documented)