Kelly M. Kapic > Quotes

“One of the greatest theological challenges of our time is to move our worship beyond self-absorption.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“A pious and holy person is not one who is free from the struggle with sin but one who freely soaks in the love of the Father and the grace of the Son and finds renewal in the strong fellowship of the Spirit.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“Reading Scripture merely to look for doctrinal proof texts or sermon illustrations, rather than as the blazing Word which is alive and active, kills our spirit.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“The faithful theologian treats the Scriptures as the yardstick of belief but never as a tool for abusive control.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“Theology is not reserved for those in the academy; it is an aspect of thought and conversation for all who live and breathe, who wrestle and fear, who hope and pray.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“While I understand where they come from, claims that God can’t stand to be in the presence of sin are fundamentally opposed to the gospel and the nature of God. This claim and its many variants are backward: it’s sin that can’t stand the presence of God. To say that God can’t stand the presence of sin makes him out to be like the person I heard of who couldn’t stand the presence of a spider and would demand that someone else deal with it. It gives sin leverage over God. It makes God out to be either finicky and weak or a kind of irritable, narcissistic fusspot who is more concerned that things go smoothly than that his beloved is safe and whole. It makes God out to be the kind of being who doesn’t have a beloved at all, except perhaps himself. It undercuts and denies the divinity of Christ, who, as God incarnate, was present with and to sinners his whole life. It misunderstands the Holy Spirit, who comes to dwell in sinners in order that they might be saints. It can develop from the kind of theology that sees justice only in terms of retribution with little concern for restoration.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News

“There are no true unbelievers; we all place our trust in something. Therefore, whatever its content, our faith inescapably informs what we determine to be reasonable.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“Our failure to practice lament during such times may also display our inability to recognize that what happens to our bodies also affects our relationships.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering

“Thomas Aquinas: “Theology is taught by God, teaches of God and leads to God” (Theologia a Deo docetur, Deum docet, et ad Deum ducit).”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“The real problem is that this devaluing of lament often betrays our failure to admit that our suffering is real and painful. Our”
― Kelly M. Kapic, Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering

“Have you ever felt that your parents, or spouse, or your God loved you, and yet wondered if they actually liked you? Love is so loaded with obligations and duty that it often loses all emotive force, all sense of pleasure and satisfaction. Like can remind us of an aspect of God’s love that we far too easily forget. Forgetting God’s delight and joy in us stunts our ability to enjoy God’s love. Forgiveness—as beautiful and crucial as it is—is not enough. Unless it is understood to come from love and to lead back to love, unless we understand the gospel in terms of God’s fierce delight in us and not merely a wiping away of prior offenses, unless we understand God’s battle for us as a dramatic personal rescue and not merely a cold forensic process, we have ignored most of the Scriptures as well as the needs of the human condition.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News

“Attempting to separate life and theology is to lose the beauty and truthfulness of both.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“All good and faithful theology comes from God, who is the ultimate theologian—the only one who can, without weakness or misunderstanding, speak of himself.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“As Douglas Moo notes, “God’s ‘giving’ to us is not simply a past basis for Christian obedience; it is its continuous source.”5”
― Kelly M. Kapic, God So Loved, He Gave: Entering the Movement of Divine Generosity

“William Ames (1576-1633) defined theology as the “teaching [doctrina] of living to God.”[2]”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“The fear of the Lord is “the beginning of wisdom,” not because a person immediately understands archaic Latin phrases and complex mathematics, but because the worshiper no longer sees only a fragmented world, but stands before the One who holds all things together (see Prov 1:7; 2:1-6; 9:10; Ps 19:9; 111:10). Fearing the Lord means that we are not left to our own resources to control and survive the elements of creation, but that we can trust the Creator who sustains that creation, controls the future and has our best interests at heart (e.g., Prov 23:17-18).”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“By knowing God we come to love him, and by loving him we come to know him.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“God who “takes pleasure in his people” (Ps 149:4). God “takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love” (Ps 147:11).”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“Our lives have a definite shape as well as definite limits. We go through seasons, we are not self-sufficient, we depend on God for relief and provision, and we grow weary. A faithful life embraces its rhythms, recognizes its vulnerability, expresses both lament and gratitude, and rests in confidence in our faithful God.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News

“Luther argued that Erasmus misconstrued Scripture by defending unobstructed free will, claiming instead that without the liberating *grace of the Holy Spirit, the human will is enslaved to *sin and at enmity against God. Instead,”
― Kelly M. Kapic, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition

“Anyone who stands at the end of his days and claims never to have changed his mind should not be praised for unwillingness to compromise but rather pitied for naïve pride.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology

“Beloved, amid the trials and tribulations of life, let us have confidence not in ourselves, not in our own efforts, but in God. This God has come in Christ, and he has overcome sin, death, and the devil. While we may currently be walking through the shadow of death, may our God’s love, grace, and compassion become ever more real to us. And may we, as the church, participate in the ongoing divine motions and movements of grace as God meets people in their need.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering

“Lament and gratitude are mirror concepts that highlight the same fundamental truth: we are dependent on the God who rescues us. Only when we accept our creaturely finitude will this make sense to us. When things are hard, troubling, and wrong, we lean on God, voicing our fears and frustrations to the Creator and Sustainer. we depend on him to make right what is wrong, to heal what is diseased, to reconcile what is broken, to forgive what sins have been committed. Likewise, when a newborn is put into the embrace of her mother, when a scrumptious meal feeds the body and laughter strengthens the soul, when injustice is corrected, and when our work is done well - in all of this we rejoice and express gratitude, for it reminds us that God is the Giver of all good gifts and that we depend on him for life, breath and our very existence. Many of us have experienced complex moments that are filled with seemingly inconsistent emotion. We might be thankful for a loved one's peaceful passing, while still experiencing the depth of sorrow and loss. we may be overjoyed that our child got into college, while simultaneously feeling a knot in our stomachs as we cannot imagine how we will pay for it. We can be happy for a friend's promotion at the same moment that we feel the pain of being passed over ourselves. God created in us such an intricate web of emotional response that we can experience complexities so rich that they seem beyond all possibility. But don't miss the beauty: Lament and gratitude together not only recognize our dependence on God; they also deepen our sense of his faithfulness.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News

“Careful reading of the text shows far more complexity, richness, and theological depth than any flat reading can accommodate. It realistically examines human struggle in the context of persistent faith. It offers no simple answers, no easy formulas, but genuine wrestling and struggle.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering

“Who am I? The solitary query mocks me. Whoever I am, You know me. I am Yours, O God!”
― Kelly M. Kapic, You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God's Design and Why That's Good News

“Originally written in French (1561) by Guido de Brès, this confession in Dutch translation (1562) became a doctrinal standard of the Reformed tradition, originally adopted by the Reformed Church of the Netherlands (Antwerp, 1566). Like”
― Kelly M. Kapic, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition

“Love, community, and growth of character are often - though not always - at odds with efficiency. This is something God has always known and been comfortable with. One of the most inefficient things you can ever do is love another person. Or even a puppy. Loving another creature requires engagement, response, and patience. Loads of patience. Similarly, the artist or author knows all too well that efficiency is often the enemy rather than the friend of creativity and progress. The almighty Creator, however, has always been comfortable prioritizing love and growth over efficiency and checkmarks.”
― Kelly M. Kapic, You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News

“Christians responded with a set of practices and ways of living together with grace, solidarity, and promise amid the pain. These”
― Kelly M Kapic, Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering

“The branch of *Protestantism associated with the Church of England, beginning with Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy (1534), which officially launched the *English Reformation. During the reign of Elizabeth I, ministers such as John Jewel and Richard Hooker wrote important defenses of the Church of England, forging a middle way between Catholicism and the continental Reformation. Through”
― Kelly M. Kapic, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition

“Such explanations assume that some good outcome can nullify or justify the pain, but this is not so. A tragedy is still a tragedy; pain is still pain, even if some insight is gained in the process. We”
― Kelly M Kapic, Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering