Clarence Jordan > Quotes

“The measure of a Christian is not in the height of his grasp but in the depth of his love”
― Clarence Jordan

“Faith is not belief in spite of evidence but a life in scorn of the consequences.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Substance of Faith: and Other Cotton Patch Sermons

“God is not a celestial prison warden jangling the keys on a bunch of lifers--he's a shepherd seeking for sheep, a woman searching for coins, a father waiting for his son.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Substance of Faith: and Other Cotton Patch Sermons

“Fear is the polio of the soul which prevents our walking by faith.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Substance of Faith: and Other Cotton Patch Sermons

“Even though people about us choose the path of hate and violence and warfare and greed and prejudice, we who are Christ's body must throw off these poisons and let love permeate and cleanse every tissue and cell. Nor are we to allow ourselves to become easily discouraged when love is not always obviously successful or pleasant. Love never quits, even when an enemy has hit you on the right cheek and you have turned the other, and he's also hit that.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Substance of Faith: and Other Cotton Patch Sermons

“So then, the virgin birth is not proof of the deity of Jesus, but rather, evidence of the humanity of God.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“One day, when Mr. Lincoln was advocating binding up the wounds of the nation, forgiveness, and reconciliation, Thaddeus Stevens pounded the table and said, “Mr. Lincoln, I think enemies ought to be destroyed!” Mr. Lincoln quietly said, “Mr. Stevens, do I not destroy my enemy when I make him my friend?”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“Only those who come within the church, who take on the name of Christ, can take his name in vain. Now, you do not do it with your lips; you do it with your life.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“It would be better to never teach them anything at all about God than to teach them the word of God and then bring them up in a society that nullifies the whole thing.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“For the mistletoe of prejudice thrives nowhere better than on the economic oak.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“My child, I’ve given you my name. Don’t take it in vain. Keep it clean. Let it mean something when you are called a Christian. Don’t let my name fall into disrepute because of you.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“We cannot enter the kingdom of peace with a six-shooter on our hip.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“Love is not merely a weapon. It is not a strategy, and it may or may not work. To do good to those who hate you is such stupendous folly that it cannot be expected to work. Love didn’t work for Jesus.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“There is nothing that can tear a person to pieces like religious hypocrisy – teaching one thing and practicing another.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“The original function of a deacon, then, was not to call a preacher nor to dictate his message, but simply to serve as a member of a scrupulously honest ration board.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“Jesus did not want to be economically vulnerable. He wanted to be poor so that he could make his decisions clearly without any distortion of vision. Because Jesus wanted to see clearly, because he didn’t want to be vulnerable, and because he wanted to deal justly and to walk humbly with his God, he was a pauper.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“It’s the people on the inside who say, “Yes, we are Christians,” and then live as though Christ had never lived.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“The preaching of the gospel includes much to which the world says "Amen" but the preaching of the gospel will eventually make you an outcast, lead you to prison, or force you underground. The kingdom of God invades and destroys the world by replacing systems of death and fear with justice and mercy.”
― Clarence Jordan, Cotton Patch Parables of Liberation

“He is not commanding us to demand our rights. The only right that love has is the right to give itself.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“But I will tell you truly, I have never seen alcoholics go to such great lengths to get liquor as people on Main Street will go to get money. It is a thirst, an addiction, which can crush and kill people. Many, many people who would think twice about getting drunk on alcohol will go on a big old greedy binge trying to buy up every piece of land they can get.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“Lastly, be strong and courageous men for Christ. Put on God’s uniform so as to be able to withstand all the Devil’s tricks. For we’re not fighting against ordinary human beings, but against the leaders, politicians and heads of state of this dark world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. So, put on God’s uniform so you’ll be able to put up a fight on the day of battle and, having tended to every detail, to make your stand. Therefore, take your position when you have put on the pants of truth, the shirt of righteousness, and the shoes of the good news of peace. Above all, take the bulletproof vest of faith, with which you’ll be able to stop the tracer bullets of the evil one. Also, wear the helmet of salvation, and the pistol of the Spirit, which is God’s word.
18. When you offer a prayer or a petition on any occasion, let it be truly spiritual. Along this same line, be on your toes as you encourage and pray for all the members. Pray especially for me, that when I speak, the right words will be put in my mouth, and that I may boldly expound the gospel’s secret, for which I am now a delegate in the clink. Pray too that I may lay it on the line whenever I have a chance to speak.”
― Clarence Jordan, Cotton Patch Gospel: The Complete Collection

“So the resurrection of Jesus was simply God’s unwillingness to take our no for an answer. He raised Jesus, not as an invitation to us to come to heaven when we die, but as a declaration that he, himself, has now established permanent, eternal residence on earth.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion

“He is not standing on the shore of eternity beckoning us to join him there; he is standing beside us, strengthening us in this life.”
― Clarence Jordan, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion