“Babel, the place where the tower was built, means “gate of God.” The word is also a homonym of the Hebrew verb balal, “to produce confusion.” Even when we enjoy initial success, confusion will surely follow as long as we rely upon our own wisdom, ignoring the guiding word of God and His ways.” (Dynamis 4/8/2021)
“As we see in the story of the fall, temptation is rarely blatant and obvious. We know it by its subtlety. By cleverness and deceit, the devil sows the tiniest, most subtle seeds of confusion. Confusion leads to mistrust of God’s graciousness. Mistrust of God’s goodness leads to overt temptation. As it flowers into fruit that is delightful to the eyes, temptation becomes overt sin. And finally, sin excuses itself with rationalization.” (Fr. Basil)
“ ‘For God is not the author of confusion but of peace.’ (1 Corinthians 14:33)…Ps 64 [LXX] is a prophecy concerning Christ…and concerning His Church in relation to the theme of sojourning in this world…Jerusalem was carried away captive to Babylon. These two cities focus attention on the theme of sojourning, for the Church is, so to speak, sojourning in the city of Babylon. Babylon means confusion, as can be seen from Genesis 11 [Tower of Babel], for the Church is sojourning in a confused world. But Jerusalem means peace… The Holy Spirit yields peace of soul… If the Spirit is truly moving, there is peace.” (Orthodox Study Bible, 1 Corinthians 14:25-33, Psalm 64 LXX)
“The rock band Genesis had a hit in the 1980s called the Land of Confusion. It is ironic to me that a band with that name would sing about confusion. We read in Genesis about the Tower of Babel and the confusion that resulted when mankind again tried to exalt itself both without God and above God. It sought to control God. So much of our confusion comes from leaving God out of our lives and our deluded sense of control. Sometimes our achievement and success blind us to this but we are sowing the seeds of conflict and confusion in ourselves whether we know it or not. God uses this confusion to draw us back to Him. But we have to be willing.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)
“So often I become convinced my contentment is dependent on clarification, and on external modifications to my life, my community, my world. If only suffering made sense to me…If only he or she would change, or my circumstances would change, or the toxic climate of my society would change…If only chaos would cease infiltrating this temporal earthly existence, then I could rest easy and get down to the business of …. what? Spiritual stagnancy? Accumulating a stockpile of earthly treasures? Getting all comfortable, cozy and self-sufficient? sigh…The truth is, for the sake of my salvation, I need the struggle. I need the hardships and failings and confusion that drive me back into the arms of Christ. I need to stop searching “out there” for tranquility, despairing over my inability to find and seize it on my own, and turn inward.” (Molly Sabourin)
“…It is possible to be calm amidst the storms of life. Do not believe the lie from the evil one that "things are hopeless!" He slyly suggests your sighing and sacrifice, your labor and love, your prayers and ministry are in vain. "Flip through the TV channels," he prompts. "Check email," he tempts. "Have another snack." "Have another drink" because "it doesn't matter." NO!!! God is with us, even in the pain, the confusion, and the hopelessness. God has given us of the gift of restored humanity in Jesus Christ who has opened heaven to us. We have received the "free gift that costs us everything." Jesus Christ abides in us and we abide in Him through our conscientious participation in the sacraments, careful reading and application of the Divine Scriptures, keeping the Commandments through repentance, service, and sacrifice, and through our prayer life, liturgical, daily, and deep in the heart.” (Bishop Thomas)
“Christ teaches us that following Him will give us the strength and resilience to be able to weather life's storms and the world's attacks. He does not say that following Him will cause us to have peaceful times, ease of life, or material blessings. The hardships of life befall each one of us in different ways at different times. The question is whether or not we will be prepared for them, based on the foundation we've chosen to build our lives upon. How do you respond when life becomes difficult and you're faced with pain and suffering? Do you find reserves of strength that you might not have known you had because you're clear about where your life is going and its purpose? Or do you wrestle with confusion and despair because you aren't clear about what your life is about or what you are pursuing? Repentance offers us the chance to clear away whatever is lacking and start again, to rebuild on the foundation of following Christ, seeking His Kingdom, and working to fulfill His commandments.” (Father Stephen De Young)
“We are living at a time in human history characterized by confusion and indecision. We strain our ears to catch what this or that leader has to say. We seem to think that their words are final because they are in a position of authority. Therefore, the confusion is becoming worse confounded. The reason for that is our thought-life is at fault. If the individuals, the families and the groups which compose the bulk of this great nation of ours could or would have its thinking clarified by the reassurance that God still lives and that the final word is with Him, what a difference it would make! God’s voice would be heard in our inner conscience saying to us, “Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted in the earth.” It will sustain, and undergird us morally, mentally and physically when such fear-defying faith becomes central in our thinking. An iron-clad faith, fear free, that is, free from doubts, skepticism, and infidelity will be adequate for this or any other time and shall, by God’s help triumph over all difficulties, then we discover that we are becoming more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” (Fr. Michael Baroudy)
“…we are living lives of confusion and fragmentation, lives which constantly conceal from us the eternal, the glorious, the divine meaning of life and take away from us that which should “push” and, thus, correct and fill our life with joy.” (Father Alexander Schmemann)
“If there’s anything the Lord has taught me in 2020 it’s this: there is nowhere, not the loneliness of quarantine, not the despair of economic crisis, not the confusion of the unknown, not the pain of injustice, not even the depths of hell, that Jesus will not pursue us, comfort us, guide us, and commune with us.” (Christina Andersen)
“Just because one chooses to be a Christian doesn’t mean that there are never any moments of confusion. There are certainly moments in my own life as a priest where I am confused about the things I believe. Certain passages of the Bible are still confusing to me, no matter how many times I read them. Sometimes I am confused by God’s plan for my life. Sometimes I am confused about God’s plan for the world, why He allows certain things to happen.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis)
“It may be confusing to understand God’s actions toward us. But if we desire to be united with Him more than we desire our happiness and comfort, then we’ll trust His plans for our lives. Our faith enables us to view our circumstances with confidence in our Lord.” (Father Barnabas Powell)
“Babel, the place where the tower was built, means “gate of God.” The word is also a homonym of the Hebrew verb balal, “to produce confusion.” Even when we enjoy initial success, confusion will surely follow as long as we rely upon our own wisdom, ignoring the guiding word of God and His ways.” (Dynamis 3/27/2014)
“True wisdom, as the fruit of self-examination, dialogue and generous encounter between persons, is not acquired by a mere accumulation of data which eventually leads to overload and confusion, a sort of mental pollution.” (Pope Francis)
“Christ taught by example, spending whole long nights in the desert praying. He did this to teach and admonish us that, whenever we are going to converse with God, we must flee from the noise, the confusion, and the crowds. Instead, we should go off to a place which is deserted and go at a time when our solitude will not be interrupted.” (St. John Chrysostom)