Photo by GAC "Alas! it was also for me that Thou didst pray, 'Forgive them!' Forgive my soul whatever it has done against Thee! For me Thou didst cry: 'My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?' in order that I might never be forsaken, not in the hour of death, not in my … Continue reading Quote of Note #139: Christ’s Last Words for Us
Category: Quotes of Note
Quote of Note #138: Hope and Help in Christ
photo by GAC "In [Christ] the enslaved find redemption, the guilty pardon, the unholy renovation; in him are everlasting strength for the weak, unsearchable riches for the needy, treasures of wisdom and knowledge for the ignorant, fullness for the empty." Arthur Bennett, The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Carlisle, PA: … Continue reading Quote of Note #138: Hope and Help in Christ
Quote of Note #137: Bearing the Cross
photo by GAC "Honesty impels me to admit that transformed nonconformity, which is always costly and never altogether comfortable, may mean walking through the valley of the shadow of suffering, losing a job, or having a six-year-old daughter ask, 'Daddy, why do you have to go to jail so much?' But we are gravely mistaken … Continue reading Quote of Note #137: Bearing the Cross
Quote of Note #136: The Real Nature of True Freedom
photo by GAC "However, I think it is important to note that another trajectory in the Christian tradition argues that we should not understand freedom in libertarian terms. Augustine, for instance, emphasized a 'positive' understanding of freedom as empowerment: I am free insofar as I am able to achieve the good. On this score, freedom … Continue reading Quote of Note #136: The Real Nature of True Freedom
Quote of Note #135: The Redemptive Impulse of Jesus
Teasel against a Gray Sky; photo by GAC "And if the actions of Jesus are reflective of who he most deeply is, we cannot avoid the conclusion that it is the very fallenness which he came to undo that is most irresistibly attractive to him. "This is deeper than saying Jesus is loving or merciful … Continue reading Quote of Note #135: The Redemptive Impulse of Jesus
Quote of Note #134: Leaving the Past Behind
Photo by GAC "[God] wants us first to acknowledge our full responsibility, without excuse or extenuation. Then he says in effect: 'Now put all that behind you; I will take responsibility for it' (and he can take responsibility for the evil we have done: as we have seen, he has provided in Christ the effective … Continue reading Quote of Note #134: Leaving the Past Behind
Quote of Note #133: Living Provisional Lives
Photo by GAC "There are . . . not a few who live what might be called provisional lives, in which the choice is constantly postponed. Such people's hearts are not in their present lives, for they are always waiting for the time--which never comes--when their true lives will begin." Paul Tournier, The Meaning of … Continue reading Quote of Note #133: Living Provisional Lives
Quote of Note #132: What is “race”?
photo by GAC "In order to fight racism, we must begin with the fact that race is a socially constructed category that offers certain privileges and advantages to one group, which in the U. S. context is white people, to the detriment of all those who are excluded from that group--that is, 'non-white' people, or … Continue reading Quote of Note #132: What is “race”?
Quote of Note #131: The Well-being of All
photo by GAC "In the past civility was understood in much richer terms. To be civil was to genuinely care about the larger society. It required a heartfelt commitment to your fellow citizens. It was a willingness to promote the well-being of people who were very different, including people who disagreed with you on important … Continue reading Quote of Note #131: The Well-being of All
Quote of Note #130: Hungering for the Living God
photo by GAC "I often ask myself the question of when and why we pastors began to believe that our primary calling was to build the church. How did we come to believe that the people we encounter are primarily in the market for a church? How did we forget that they are probably more … Continue reading Quote of Note #130: Hungering for the Living God
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 