Rebecca

“Participatory eschatology involves a twofold affirmation: we are to do it with God, and we cannot do it without God. In St. Augustine’s brilliant aphorism, God without us will not; we without God cannot. We who have seen the star and heard the angels sing are called to participate in the new birth and new world proclaimed by these stories.”
― Marcus J. Borg, The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Say About Jesus's Birth

“Spending extended amounts of time inside other religious worldviews has loosened the screws on my own, which is beginning to seem like a good thing. Disowning God has been a great help to me. Owning my distinct view of God has helped me understand it much better. Although I can see the places where religious truth claims collide, this does not bother me as much as it could. I am far more interested in how people live than what they believe. When other Christians threaten or disappoint me, I work as hard to see God in them as in people of other (or no) faiths. It helps to remember that these are often the same Christians whom I threaten and disappoint in equal measure. The only clear line I draw these days is this: when my religion tries to come between me and my neighbor, I will choose my neighbor. That self-canceling feature of my religion is one of the things I like best about it. Jesus never commanded me to love my religion.”
― Barbara Brown Taylor, Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others

“Ask anyone what she means when she says 'God' and chances are that you will learn a lot more about that person than you will learn about God.”
― Barbara Brown Taylor, Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others

“But I had to learn that taking the Bible seriously doesn’t mean taking everything literally.”
― Sarah Bessey, Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith