Andrew Wilson > Quotes

“Theology fuels worship. We cannot worship what we do not know;”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God

“If the central tenets of Christianity correspond to reality—if God is love, creation is good, humans are image bearers, sin is forgivable, Christ is risen, death is temporary, and justice is coming—then our commitment to human rights and equality reflect divine warrant rather than wish fulfilment, and the world is an immeasurably more hopeful and more meaningful place than it is if they do not.19 We should all want that.”
― Andrew Wilson, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West

“We are storytelling creatures, so narrating origin stories is inevitable. Indeed, since it is impossible to be theologically neutral when it comes to history, narrating theological origin stories is probably inevitable. The only question is whether those origin stories are true, good, and beautiful: whether they reflect what really happened and why; whether they nudge us toward courageous humility and love; whether they recount the wondrous deeds of the Lord alongside the successes and failures of human beings. The arrogance of amnesia is always a threat, not least in periods of great technological and economic change, and so is the defeatism born of weary cynicism about flawed ancestors.”
― Andrew Wilson, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West

“The words of Augustus Toplady, written at the start of 1776, still hold true: “Providence, unerring providence, governs all events. And grace, unchangeable grace, is faithful to its purpose. May we live by faith on both.”
― Andrew Wilson, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West

“The difference between God’s being and ours is more than the difference between the sun and a candle, more than the difference between the ocean and a raindrop, more than the difference between the arctic ice cap and a snow flake, more than the difference between the universe and the room we are sitting in: God’s being is qualitatively different. No limitation or imperfection in creation should be projected on to our thought of God. He is the creator; all else is creaturely. All else can pass away in an instant; he necessarily exists forever.”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God

“You long for transcendence and are likely to describe yourself as spiritual, open to the supernatural, and even as praying sometimes. Even if the God of Abraham is dead to you, your language, legal framework, moral imagination, and sense of self are all haunted by his ghost.4”
― Andrew Wilson, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West

“God our Father is desperately compassionate toward us, despite our sins.”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God

“But if the Scriptures are the unbreakable word of God, as Jesus seems to have thought they were, then a different approach is needed. Maybe it’s my interpretation, or my assumptions, that need challenging. Maybe there is something I don’t know. Maybe the answer is in there, and I just need to look a bit harder. Maybe I’m the one who is broken, rather than the Bible.”
― Andrew Wilson, Unbreakable: What the Son of God Said About the Word of God

“Another result of amnesia is arrogance, and it is available in both conservative and progressive flavors. In the progressive version, our current mores are self-evidently correct, which means that anyone who thought differently a hundred years ago, or even ten years ago, must have been either stupid or evil (or both). In the conservative version, the only reasons for a person’s success are their own ability and effort, which means that anyone who highlights the importance of historical privileges, or oppression, must be either jealous or lazy (or both).”
― Andrew Wilson, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West

“When people encounter the true God, they experience a selfquake. That’s one way you can tell if you’ve met Israel’s God or simply a figment of your imagination. A made-up God will leave your world undisturbed, conveniently aligning with your priorities without displacing anything, because ultimately you are more glorious than it is. The real God, however, will land in the middle of your life like an elephant crashing through the ceiling, displacing your sin, changing all your priorities, and forcing you to reorient yourself around the weight of glory.”
― Andrew Wilson, God of All Things: Rediscovering the Sacred in an Everyday World

“beware of anyone who thinks they are the only one without presuppositions.”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God

“By contrast, when you read people who have thought seriously about the deeper historical and cultural forces that have shaped the modern West, you find a rather different picture emerging.22 Fidelity scores higher than novelty. Loss of influence is not a cause for panic. The doctrines, experiences, and practices that the church needs today are much the same as the ones she needed in the eighteenth century, and the tenth, and the second. We are responsible for obedience not outcomes, faithfulness not fruit; if we do not see the results we used to by praying, worshiping, reading Scripture, serving the poor, preaching the gospel, sharing the sacraments, and loving one another, we carry on with those things regardless and walk by faith not by sight. Genuine revival, when it comes, is at God’s initiative rather than ours. In the meantime, we wait, rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, giving thanks in all circumstances, and resolving not to be anxious about tomorrow, for we have no idea what tomorrow will bring.”
― Andrew Wilson, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West

“Fundamental to your understanding of human freedom is the capacity to make choices. From breakfast cereals to career paths, fabric softeners to family size, marriage partners to religious commitments, you expect to be able to choose for yourself rather than acting out of legal compulsion or familial obligation. Remarkably, all of these things are true regardless of whether you are male or female.”
― Andrew Wilson, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West

“To mediate properly between God and man, you would actually have to be both God and man.”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God

“When we encounter God—uncreated, all-powerful, self-existent, maker of all things, uncontained, unbreakable, unfathomable, and infinite—we find perspective. We learn to embrace the smallness of who we are and”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God

“Everything changes. Except God.”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God

“God’s power is needed for every last one of the billions of stars to continue existing,”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God

“Rainbows are reminders of a foundational reality. No matter what we do, God is faithful. He always keeps his promises.”
― Andrew Wilson, God of All Things: Rediscovering the Sacred in an Everyday World

“In an era of instant news, amnesia is baked in. And amnesia has consequences.”
― Andrew Wilson, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West

“The result is that the Scriptures can, oh-so-subtly, take the place of God, and we can end up with a functional Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Bible.”
― Andrew Wilson, Unbreakable: What the Son of God Said About the Word of God

“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps. 119:103).”
― Andrew Wilson, God of All Things: Rediscovering the Sacred in an Everyday World

“John is less cautious. It will be like being given the tree of life all over again, being given a white stone with a name that nobody knows, being given authority over the nations, being given white robes, a throne, a crown, an invitation to a wedding feast, a new creation, a river of life, fruit trees, a glorious jewel-festooned city. May the charis of the Lord Jesus be with you all.”
― Andrew Wilson, Spirit and Sacrament: An Invitation to Eucharismatic Worship

“Such is the nature and condition of the universe, that it could not subsist a moment, nor could anything in it act regularly unto its appointed end, without the continued supportment, guidance, influence, disposal, of the Son of God … And this abundantly discovers the vanity and folly of those who make use of the creation in an opposition unto the Lord Jesus Christ and His peculiar interest in the world. His own power is the very ground on which they stand in their opposition unto Him; and all things which they use against Him consist in Him; their very lives are at the disposal of Him whom they oppose.”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God

“The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? . . . I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me. . . . I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD” (Ps. 118:6, 13, 17).”
― Andrew Wilson, God of All Things: Rediscovering the Sacred in an Everyday World

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. —1 John 4:8–10”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God

“dent de lion, or “lion’s tooth.”
― Andrew Wilson, God of All Things: Rediscovering the Sacred in an Everyday World

“God is glorious, permanent, and invincible light.”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God

“People who struggle with Easter simply show they haven’t understood Christmas.”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God

“But it is impossible for the light of God to be drowned out, diluted, or in any way challenged by darkness, any more than shadows can defeat a halogen lamp. God’s light is invincible.”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God

“The universe only continues to exist because God keeps sustaining it.”
― Andrew J. Wilson, Incomparable: Explorations in the Character of God