There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in.

Desmond Tutu

We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low.

Desmond Tutu

Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.

Desmond Tutu

You are either on the side of the oppressed or on the side of the oppressor. You can't be neutral.

Desmond Tutu

I wish I could shut up, but I can't, and I won't.

Desmond Tutu

Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone's back.

Desmond Tutu

What is black empowerment when it seems to benefit not the vast majority but an elite that tends to be recycled.

Desmond Tutu

Don't raise your voice, improve your argument.

Desmond Tutu

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.

Desmond Tutu

But God can only smile because only God can know what is coming next.

Desmond Tutu

If we have loved well while we were alive, there is life after death here-our love will go on for generations.

Desmond Tutu

Without forgiveness there can be no future for a relationship between individuals or within and between nations.

Desmond Tutu