Insightful Quotes From Kirby Hensley
In this post you will find a variety of quotes from Rev. Hensley on diverse topics. There are few quotes available from him online. This post seeks to remedy that. I will not seek to tell you what to think about the quotes. However, I may add some commentary for some of them. Where possible, I will cite the source of the quote. Hensley was a radical figure who enjoyed getting a rise out of his audience. It is helpful to keep in mind that he enjoyed saying things in a provocative manner. Nevertheless, many of his ideas were unconventional during his life and some are still so.
“We have, within this church, a very liberal type of religion, but, we also have conservative types of people.”
Quotes from Rev. Kirby Hensley:
-ULCHQ.com
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“This flag represents peace and the Golden Age.” Referring to the white and gold ULC flag.
Kirby performed the first televised trial marriage live on Channel 9, Los Angeles. Here is what he said about the experience and about his wider views on marriage.
"I believe a marriage is the ultimate fulfillment for two people in love who wish to share that love. As long as that love remains, there is a good relationship and a good marriage. But, how about the many persons who find after marriage they are incompatible and no longer in love? Must they continue the pretense of marriage and live together in agony because they cannot bear the expense of a costly divorce? I believe in marriage, and I believe it should be for life; but I also believe two people in love, and desirous to get married, should have the opportunity to find out for certain they truly are meant for each other. If it is true love, they'll continue their marriage. If it isn't, they'll be free within the year.”
-The Modesto Messiah pg. 119
"It's sickening the way the Bible portrays God as a big dominate, male deity. For all I know, God could be a beautiful chick!"
-The Modesto Messiah
"Equal rights for women are long overdue. Dethrone that macho, chauvinistic, Archie Bunker-type religion someone in the Dark Ages concocted; then, women will have a fighting chance.”
-The Modesto Messiah
“There is no God outside of Man himself, so your God and my God are going to work together. We are not going to wait any longer for some man to come down out of the sky.”
“We are now a Universal Church. What do we mean when we say we are a Universal Church? We have churches all around the world. The sun never sets on the Universal Life Church. This is why we call it a Universal Church.
We have, within this church, a very liberal type of religion, but, we also have conservative types of people. I have never met a person that disagrees with our doctrine. We feel that our doctrine is universal. I believe that every living person is a part of the Universal Life. When they become conscious that they are part of Universal Life, they will look for people like minded. We are sure that the Universal Life Church is the one church that satisfies the majority of people. We are now looking and studying to find a way that all people can come together and work for the good of all people.”
-ULC.net
"And remember: you have the responsibility to treat the Earth and its life, and especially its people, as you yourself would want to be treated."
-The Modesto Messiah
“…each of you pray to… to whichever God comforts you. Pray that Man may not become extinct on this planet but that he will awaken to Universal Brotherhood and peace so that peace and prosperity may be experienced by all mankind.”
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“I always stand for freedom, food and sex. That's all there is. It sets people free.”
-The Modesto Bee, various articles, 1964-2009
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“We are coming up on the 21st Century and there's not one Bible that will take you beyond the 20th century.”
-The Modesto Bee, various articles, 1964-2009
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“Faith, to me, is the greatest scapegoat there is. If something fails, then you can say, ‘Well, I just didn't have the faith, brother.’”
-The Modesto Bee, various articles, 1964-2009
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“The Universal Life Church has no traditional doctrine, nor does it require people to believe in that which is untrue to them. Each individual has the privilege and responsibility to determine for themselves, as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others.”
-The Modesto Bee, various articles, 1964-2009
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“…each of you pray to… to whichever God comforts you. Pray that Man may not become extinct on this planet but that he will awaken to Universal Brotherhood and peace so that peace and prosperity may be experienced by all mankind.”
-The Modesto Messiah pg. 90
“To me, God is Life, and Life is manifested as male and female.”
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“To me, God is Life, and Life is manifested as male and female.”
-The Modesto Messiah
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Kirby performed the first televised trial marriage live on Channel 9, Los Angeles. Here is what he said about the experience and about his wider views on marriage.
"I believe a marriage is the ultimate fulfillment for two people in love who wish to share that love. As long as that love remains, there is a good relationship and a good marriage. But, how about the many persons who find after marriage they are incompatible and no longer in love? Must they continue the pretense of marriage and live together in agony because they cannot bear the expense of a costly divorce? I believe in marriage, and I believe it should be for life; but I also believe two people in love, and desirous to get married, should have the opportunity to find out for certain they truly are meant for each other. If it is true love, they'll continue their marriage. If it isn't, they'll be free within the year.”
-The Modesto Messiah pg. 119
___
"It's sickening the way the Bible portrays God as a big dominate, male deity. For all I know, God could be a beautiful chick!"
-The Modesto Messiah
___
"Equal rights for women are long overdue. Dethrone that macho, chauvinistic, Archie Bunker-type religion someone in the Dark Ages concocted; then, women will have a fighting chance.”
-The Modesto Messiah
___
“There is no God outside of Man himself, so your God and my God are going to work together. We are not going to wait any longer for some man to come down out of the sky.”
-A New Life, Do You Want It? pg. 27
Kirby’s born again experience:
“I underwent the born again experience and would like to share that with you now. I was born and raised in North Carolina. I grew up around the Baptist Church. When I was about 13 years old I attended a revival meeting in a Baptist Church. About 2:00 in the morning I was at a mourner's bench and I suddenly jumped up from the bench and did exactly what they told me to do.
I accepted Jesus as my saviour and said that "I knew that Jesus had died on the cross for my sins." I got very excited and emotional because I believed that I was born again. Not only was I born again, I had also assured myself of a place in Heaven. This made me very happy.
They took me down to the river on a Sunday morning with another boy my age. There was ice on the edge of that river. They took us out into the river and baptized us and washed all our sins away. I came out of that river, jumping up and down, because the water was so cold. People thought that I was shouting. Everyone thought that I was shouting because I had been saved and they all started shouting.
So here comes the hard part. My momma sat me down and said "Kirby, a Christian don't fight with his brothers and sisters. A Christian obeys his parents." She told me that if I was told to go and get a bucket of water then I had to go and fetch that bucket of water. If I was told to go and fetch stove wood then I had to go and fetch stove wood. Whatever my momma said, I had to do. And I had to do all of this because I was a Christian. Can you imagine what it was like for a thirteen year-old to be good while his five brothers and sisters were all raising hell? My born again experience lasted about 3 days. My born again days were the most miserable three days of my life.
I lived in a community with a lot of Christians. These Christians did the same things that I did, only they kept it a secret. I was always programmed that Christians didn't lie, steal, or cheat. Let me tell you that it takes more than an altar to change human nature.
The Catholics have a prayer which all Christians should pray. The prayer goes something like this: Oh God, have mercy upon us miserable sinners. I think that we are born free and made sinners. Christians make us sinners. We are not born sinners; we are made sinners. We find Paul saying in Romans that "The wages of sin is death." So it appears that everybody that died was a sinner. Do you really think that taking a little cracker and some wine on Sunday morning makes you clean?”
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Kirby’s born again experience:
“I underwent the born again experience and would like to share that with you now. I was born and raised in North Carolina. I grew up around the Baptist Church. When I was about 13 years old I attended a revival meeting in a Baptist Church. About 2:00 in the morning I was at a mourner's bench and I suddenly jumped up from the bench and did exactly what they told me to do.
I accepted Jesus as my saviour and said that "I knew that Jesus had died on the cross for my sins." I got very excited and emotional because I believed that I was born again. Not only was I born again, I had also assured myself of a place in Heaven. This made me very happy.
They took me down to the river on a Sunday morning with another boy my age. There was ice on the edge of that river. They took us out into the river and baptized us and washed all our sins away. I came out of that river, jumping up and down, because the water was so cold. People thought that I was shouting. Everyone thought that I was shouting because I had been saved and they all started shouting.
So here comes the hard part. My momma sat me down and said "Kirby, a Christian don't fight with his brothers and sisters. A Christian obeys his parents." She told me that if I was told to go and get a bucket of water then I had to go and fetch that bucket of water. If I was told to go and fetch stove wood then I had to go and fetch stove wood. Whatever my momma said, I had to do. And I had to do all of this because I was a Christian. Can you imagine what it was like for a thirteen year-old to be good while his five brothers and sisters were all raising hell? My born again experience lasted about 3 days. My born again days were the most miserable three days of my life.
I lived in a community with a lot of Christians. These Christians did the same things that I did, only they kept it a secret. I was always programmed that Christians didn't lie, steal, or cheat. Let me tell you that it takes more than an altar to change human nature.
The Catholics have a prayer which all Christians should pray. The prayer goes something like this: Oh God, have mercy upon us miserable sinners. I think that we are born free and made sinners. Christians make us sinners. We are not born sinners; we are made sinners. We find Paul saying in Romans that "The wages of sin is death." So it appears that everybody that died was a sinner. Do you really think that taking a little cracker and some wine on Sunday morning makes you clean?”
-A New Life, Do You Want It? pg. 31-32
“What is eternal life, and what is it to have eternal life? To have eternal life you must know who God is, and if you know who God is, you already have eternal life.”
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“What is eternal life, and what is it to have eternal life? To have eternal life you must know who God is, and if you know who God is, you already have eternal life.”
-A New Life, Do You Want It? pg. 34
“Let me say now: I do not believe in the resurrection from the Earth to Heaven. I believe in a resurrection from within. A living person. I believe that Christ Life will be resurrected in us. The resurrection is when absolute good will be working within us.”
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“Let me say now: I do not believe in the resurrection from the Earth to Heaven. I believe in a resurrection from within. A living person. I believe that Christ Life will be resurrected in us. The resurrection is when absolute good will be working within us.”
– A New Life Do You Want It? pg. 37
“The end has not yet come and the Kingdom which Jesus spoke of has not yet arrived. Luke talks about the Kingdom in Chapter 17. Luke had healed some people and one of the healed persons came back and asked him when shall this Kingdom come? Luke explained that the Kingdom doesn't come with observations but that the Kingdom is within the individual. When you find yourself, you then discover that the Kingdom is within you. The Kingdom was always within you. When you realize this you will be KING."
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“The end has not yet come and the Kingdom which Jesus spoke of has not yet arrived. Luke talks about the Kingdom in Chapter 17. Luke had healed some people and one of the healed persons came back and asked him when shall this Kingdom come? Luke explained that the Kingdom doesn't come with observations but that the Kingdom is within the individual. When you find yourself, you then discover that the Kingdom is within you. The Kingdom was always within you. When you realize this you will be KING."
-A New Life, Do You Want It? pg. 41
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"There is much suffering in the world. The animals, the plants, the people, all are suffering. There is no joy in the cities; only suffering. Everybody is waiting for something to happen. The wait will soon be over for I can feel the stirrings, I can feel the movement which is taking place in the womb of the Earth.
I am traveling from one end of this country to the other and awakening people's consciousness to this new birth. The 21st century will bring deliverance not only to the human race, animals and plants will also find deliverance. Earth will bloom like it has never bloomed before.
I know that the whole creation is groaning. I know that there are some people who look good on the outside, but once you look at their inside self you will find that they are hurting. People have lost the vision and don't know where they are going. In the Western world people are sitting on their butts and waiting for someone to come and give the world to them.”
I am traveling from one end of this country to the other and awakening people's consciousness to this new birth. The 21st century will bring deliverance not only to the human race, animals and plants will also find deliverance. Earth will bloom like it has never bloomed before.
I know that the whole creation is groaning. I know that there are some people who look good on the outside, but once you look at their inside self you will find that they are hurting. People have lost the vision and don't know where they are going. In the Western world people are sitting on their butts and waiting for someone to come and give the world to them.”
-A New Life, Do You Want It? pg. 41
“Most people believe in some kind of universal mind running the universe and everything in it, or that there is a universal power or structure or person that has the control. I want to show you how this power always seems to dominate people and make the subject to it.
We have all heard about voodoo and black magic in Haiti. To me this is nothing more than what we call mass hypnosis, where you can work yourself up to a hypnotic state or have somebody do it for you. That is what happens in many churches in the South: you sing and clap your hands and work yourself up so that you can come alive.”
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We have all heard about voodoo and black magic in Haiti. To me this is nothing more than what we call mass hypnosis, where you can work yourself up to a hypnotic state or have somebody do it for you. That is what happens in many churches in the South: you sing and clap your hands and work yourself up so that you can come alive.”
-A New Life, Do You Want It? pg. 48
"You are important, but the hardest thing is to get you to realize it."
"We are not looking for a Kingdom ruled by a group of people. We are looking for a Kingdom ruled by all people; good and bad, big and small, black and white, and all colors in between."
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"We are born free." -A New Life, Do You Want It? pg. 33
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-A New Life, Do You Want It? pg. 65
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-A New Life, Do You Want It? pg. 41
"The Church and the State were set up to be our servants, but now we are their servants."
-A New Life, Do You Want It? pg. 15
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"The Church and the State were set up to be our servants, but now we are their servants."
-A New Life, Do You Want It? pg. 15
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“We are now a Universal Church. What do we mean when we say we are a Universal Church? We have churches all around the world. The sun never sets on the Universal Life Church. This is why we call it a Universal Church.
We have, within this church, a very liberal type of religion, but, we also have conservative types of people. I have never met a person that disagrees with our doctrine. We feel that our doctrine is universal. I believe that every living person is a part of the Universal Life. When they become conscious that they are part of Universal Life, they will look for people like minded. We are sure that the Universal Life Church is the one church that satisfies the majority of people. We are now looking and studying to find a way that all people can come together and work for the good of all people.”
-ULC.net
___
"And remember: you have the responsibility to treat the Earth and its life, and especially its people, as you yourself would want to be treated."
-A New Life, Do You Want It? pg. 63
Compiled by David F. Garner
Chaplain and Minister of Universal Life Church of Hamilton Co. TN
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