Monday, December 11, 2006

irresistible quote

Throughout the agent network and its related blog reports, I’ve read many quotes of this Shane Claiborne and his book Irresistible Revolution.

This sounds like one of the many, many books I’d love to read, yet can’t afford now. And since it falls under our local library’s radar scopes, I can only hope a local acquaintance has a copy to lend. (Hint).

Here’s the latest quote I’ve read:


When people begin moving beyond charity and toward justice and solidarity with the poor and oppressed, as Jesus did, they get in trouble. Once we are actually friends with folks in struggle, we start to ask why people are poor, which is never as popular as giving to charity. One of my friends has a shirt marked with the words of late Catholic bishop Dom Helder Camara: “When I fed the hungry, they called me a saint. When I asked why people are hungry, they called me a communist.”

Charity wins awards and applause, but joining the poor gets you killed. People do not get crucified for charity. People are crucified for living out a love that disrupts the social order, that calls forth a new world. People are not crucified for helping poor people. People are crucified for joining them.




Charity: good.

Love for the poor: bad.

I think I can definitely endorse these words without having read this book.

2 comments:

ericaprosser said...

..just like that Guy we know, Who was crucified.

miller said...

hey ya'll,

i tried to post a comment last PM on the previous post but somehow it became just another piece of flotsam on the tides of cyberspace...

so it goes

as for yesterday's post, i'm not sure i'm in for deep cover operations. however, i don't think our status as disciples needs to be something they find out by listening to us 'witness'

i think it should be obvious by our lives.

as far as 'making stuff happen', i think hospitality is about the only appropriate avenue for that. having people in my home for meals seems to be appropriate in our culture as well as in Jesus'

maybe we should think about inviting ourselves over to other folks' house...

and bring the meal with us.

but i don't think it would be appropriate to do the traditional amway gig. just be friends and invite friendship.

i like where you're going b...

and where you've been.

as for irresistable revolution, this quote cinches it for me...

i'm gonna read it. i'll buy b and you can borrow

as long as you provide your professional insights when you're done.

peace