EQUALITY IS NOT SELF-EVIDENT

'It is not self-evident that we are equal. That is the whole problem.'

Elizabeth Oldfield, Fully Alive, p.135.

THE DIGNITY CHRISTIANITY GIVES US

'Scripture allows me to claim that I am more than an invisible node in the indistinguishable mass of humanity. It affirms my particularity, makes it possible for me to believe myself to be seen and known, with a specific part only I can play, but it also humbles me. I can only begin to make sense as part of something bigger, an organ in a living body, a daughter in a family.'

Elizabeth Oldfield, Fully Alive, p.134.

WHAT GOD LOOKS LIKE

'Do you want to know what God is like, the form in which God reveals himself? Look in the mirror; look at your friends; look at your spouse. Start here: a human being with eyes and ears, hands and feet, eating meals with friends. Walking to the store for a bottle of milk, hiking in the hills and picking wildflowers, catching fish and cooking them on a beach for breakfast with friends.'

Eugene Peterson, As Kingfishers Catch Fire, p.227.

OUR CULTURE AND SIN

'Our sinless society, which promised liberation from the psychological harm that externally imposed guilt brings, has begun to feel a bit suffocating. No one is really responsible for anything, but neither can anyone really be forgiven. Two seemingly incompatible moral universe have meshed in a toxic brew. On the one hand, the ways we hurt each other are simply social conditioning. We might be able to unpack the triggers through therapy, but it's a tragic project of entanglement in trauma. On the other, there are certain beliefs and identities that function like unforgiveable sins - and these will be unique to your tribe. Some days the whole worlds seems high on self-righteous rage, locating evil conveniently outside ourselves and our group. I regularly feel tempted to performatively avoid causing offence, signal my moral purity or publicly align myself with whoever is the right tribe that day. It doesn't leave much energy for actually becoming more loving or more just.'

Elizabeth Oldfield, Fully Alive: Tending to the soul in turbulent times, p.29.

WISDOM

'Wisdom is the skilled living of truth in everyday life.'
Eugene Peterson, As Kingfishers Catch Fire, p.196.

STRENGTH IS SELF-HARM

'The wall of pretended strength that I build to conceal my weakness cuts me off from Christ and you.'

John Hindley, Weakness Our Strength, p.47.

THE WEAK CARING FOR THE WEAK

'In the church, we know that we should care for the weak, but so often we seek to do so as the strong, the capable ones, the copers, those who have their stuff sorted. Strong people care for weak ones, after all.

The Lord's way is different. It is to bring the weak ones together to care for one another. This is not nearly so attractive to us. For those of us who like to be dependable, it is challenging to think we might need to depend on others.'

John Hindley, Weakness Our Strength: Learning from Christ Crucified, p.39.