Hey everyone, this is another christian mystic i'd like to mention. He speaks truths you'd never hear from many mainstream christians. I thought I'd expose his teachings since we never get to hear much of the alternative christian views.

In those respects in which the soul in unlike God, it is also unlike itself. ---St. Bernard

Who is God? I can think of no better answer than, He who is. Nothing more appropriate to the eternity which God is. If you call God good, or great, or blessed, or wise or anything else of this sort, it is included in these words, namely, He is. ---St Bernard

For my part, I think the chief reason which prompted the invisible God to become visible in the flesh and to hold converse with men was to lead carnal men, who are only able to love carnally, to the healthful love of his flesh, and afterwards, little by little, to spiritual love. ---St Bernard.

God who, in his simple substance, is all everywhere equally, nevertheless, in efficacy, is in rational creatures in another way than in irrational, and in good rational creatures in another way than in the bad. He is in irrational creatures in such a way as not to be comprehended by them; by all rational ones, however, he can be comprehended through knowledge; but only by the good is he to be comprehended also through love. ---St Bernard

Love seeks no cause beyond itself and no fruit; it is its own fruit, its own enjoyment. I love because I love; I love in order that I may love.... Of all the motions and affections of the soul, love is the only one by means of which creature, though not on equal terms, is able to treat with the Creator and to give back something resembling what has been given to it....When God loves, he only desires to be loved, knowing that love will render all those who Love Him happy. ---St Bernard

What would learning do without love? It would puff up. And love without learning? It would go astray. ---St Bernard

Grace is necessary to salvation, free will equally so---but grace in order to give salvation, free will in order to receive it. Therefore we should not attribute part of the good work to grace and part to free will; it is performed in its entirety by the common and inseparable action of both; entirely by grace, entirely by free will, but springing from the first in the second. ----St Bernard

The spiritual creature which we are has need of a body, without which it could nowise attain that knowledge which it obtains as the only approach to those things, by knowledge of which it is made blessed. ---St Bernard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_of_Clairvaux

http://www.ccel.org/b/bernard/?show=worksBy

I hardly think a selection of quotes can completely explain the stance of a man. Did he ever admit that the old testament was grotesque and the idea of hell for others is hateful, to say the least? Did he believe that gay people were wicked? Just because a man sounds nice in his best speaking voice doesnt mean in his mind it is the same.

And then again, those quotes don't mean much to me, because if you ask me.. there is no need for spirituality in humans because humans can not really percieve any spiritual activity.

And I wonder how he is different from most preachers? Most preachers constantly talk about love and how you should love others. Do they really practice that? Not in most cases. They only love when the person they're loving is conveniant. How many preachers would be able to love a gay person as their brother? An atheist? A satanist? IMO, the great number of loving Christians are the ones on the outer ring, who don't go to church much at all, who don't spend too much time reading their Bible or praying. Just believe that God and Jesus existed.

Thank you for your input!

when said pick up a rock and break a stick and ull find me...(not exact wording there) does symbolize everywhere and everything

"Lift the stone and you will find me, cleave the wood, and I am there."--- It means precisely that. In everything everywhere.