Brian Christensen

“Christians are not primarily individuals who have been spared punishment from an angry deity but a community of people who have subverted the powers of fear and death by dying with Christ and rising with Christ to live and work for the Kingdom.”
― Catherine McNiel, Fearing Bravely: Risking Love for Our Neighbors, Strangers, and Enemies

“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

“Compared to the life Jesus offers, mammon in any amount is poverty!”
― Arthur Simon, How Much is Enough?

“If we take up once more the triad with which we began, we may now conclude: The sayings of Jesus which have been collected in the Sermon on the Mount are not intended to lay a legal yoke upon Jesus' disciples; neither in the sense that they say: "You must do all of this, in order that you may be saved" (per fectionist conception); nor in the sense: "You ought actually to have done all of this, see what poor creatures you are" (theory of the impossible ideal); nor in the sense: "Now pull yourself together; the final victory is at hand" (interim-ethic).

Rather, these sayings of Jesus delineate the lived faith. They say: You are forgiven; you are the child of God; you belong to his kingdom. The sun of righteousness has risen over your life. You no longer belong to yourself; rather, you belong to the city of God, the light of which shines in the darkness. Now you may also experience it: out of the thankfulness of a redeemed child of God a new life is growing. That is the meaning of the Sermon on the Mount.”
― Joachim Jeremias, The Sermon on the Mount