Category — Movie Quotes

Today’s quote shares the dubious distinction of being the shortest quote found in the Bible or Not mobile app game – only one other quote is three words long. And in case you’re wondering, the longest quote  in the game is 51 words. The quote “Call me Ishmael” also has the distinction of being the opening line in the famous Herman Melville novel, Moby Dick.

“Call me Ishmael.” – Herman Melville, Moby Dick, 1851

Today is the 161st anniversary of the publishing of Moby Dick, also know as The Whale, by native New Yorker Herman Melville. Published on October 18, 1851, Moby Dick has become a classic in American literature. Given that Melville used Biblical names for the main character, Ishmael, and for the novel’s antagonist, Ahab, quotes from Moby Dick are well-suited to be in Bible or Not. Here are some famous quotes from the novel, some of which you’ll find in the Bible or Not game and app:

Famous Quotes From Moby Dick

“To the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.” – Moby Dick Quotes

“When that wicked king was slain, the dogs, did they not lick his blood?” – Quotes from Moby Dick

“Call me Ishmael.” – Quotes from Moby Dick

“Man and wife, they say, there open the very bottom of their souls to each other; and some old couples often lie and chat over old times till nearly morning.” – Quotes from Moby Dick

“He piled upon the whale’s white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down.” – Quotes from Moby Dick

“There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness.” – Quotes from Moby Dick

The “to the last I grapple with thee” quote was also made famous in the 1982 Star Trek movie plus it’s been used in other movies over the years (check IMDB).

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, the other 3-word quote in Bible or Not is from Ronald Reagan: “Trust, but verify”. And the longest quote in Bible or Not is from Isaiah 55:10-11: “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth”.

Anyway, happy anniversary to Moby Dick!

Moby Dick general info.
Moby Dick the book.
Moby Dick the classic 1956 movie.
Moby Dick the TV mini-series.

Sometimes we need to slow down, take a deep breath, and get in touch with our inner being, our soul. There are times when we need to be still, but being still and doing nothing are two very different things. Today I am talking about meditation.

“Being still and doing nothing, are two very different things.” – The Karate Kid, 2010

Meditation is the deliberate act of being still and communing with the Spirit of God. Christian meditation is to be still, and to know and experience that He is God. We find many Bible passages referring to meditation, there are 32, and most of those are found in the Book of Psalms where there are 24. The very first psalm tells us the nature and character of a person who is blessed of God: “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night”.

In Psalm 119 the psalmist clearly outlines meditation and the benefits of it.

97 Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.

98 You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me.

99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation.

100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts.

101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word.

102 I have not departed from Your judgments, for You Yourself have taught me.

103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

MEDITATION ⇒ OBEDIENCE ⇒ WISDOM ⇒ SWEETNESS ⇒ TRUTH ⇒ GUIDANCE

The Apostle Paul knew this and it was his prayer that the saints in Ephesus would also know this. He also knew that such a discipline would lead to a deep relationship with God and the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is what he prayed for the Ephesians, and it is how we must pray today.

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

The purpose of Eastern-style meditation is to empty one’s self, but that leaves you empty. The purpose of Christian meditation is to empty one’s self of the things of this world, and then to fill us up with the things of God. The be strengthened by having more of His Spirit within us. And we do this by being still, and it is far from doing nothing. When we still our soul, and meditate, dwelling upon the word and testimony of God, it is then when we can know God. See Psalm 46:10.

In the Bible we read about so many miracles, there are hundreds of them. The four Gospels record only 37 miracles of Jesus - at the end of the Gospel of John the writer states that Jesus did many other things, and that if they were written down the whole world could not contain the books they would fill – so we know He performed countless miracles. And after Jesus’ ascension into Heaven the miracles of His disciples continued, and they continue today.

“You want to see a miracle son? Be the miracle.” – Bruce Almighty, 2003

There are many in this world who do not believe in miracles. To the atheist or agnostic there is nothing supernatural, but everything has a logical scientific explanation, and things that seem to be miracles only seem so because we have yet to discover the natural cause.

There are many church-going people who also do not believe in miracles. They may believe that God put the universe in motion, but since that time has taken a hands-off approach to our lives and the world. Or, there are those who believe that the time for miracles was in the Bible only, and that time has passed. So while we can believe in the miracles of the Bible, we should not expect them today.

God gives us His miracles, so that we can be miracles to others.

And then there are people like me, who believe that God takes and active role in our lives, and that He continually performs miracles. Yes, God can and does change the circumstances of our lives, through supernatural means. He heals people of sickness, repairs broken lives, provides for our needs, answers prayers, and the list goes on. Let us remember though that it is by faith that God performs His miracles (Hebrews 11), and even Jesus when He was in Nazareth was unable to perform many miracles because the people did not have faith (Mark 6). Let’s also never forget that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever and that He can give you the miracle you need.

Let’s not stop there though, just looking for the miracles God can give to us. The miracles in our lives can be great supernatural events, or they can be the simple things of making it from day to day. And didn’t Jesus say “freely you have received, so freely you should give”? God gives us His miracles, so that we can be miracles to others. There is an inspiring scene in the movie Bruce Almighty that explains this very nicely. Morgan Freeman playing the role of God explains to Bruce (Jim Carrey) what a miracle is and how he should be a miracle to others. “You want to see a miracle son? Be the miracle.” From the movie Bruce Almighty, 2003.