Quotessence
Home / Books / Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others

Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others

Book by Barbara Brown Taylor · 2 quotes · Judgment, Love, Love Thy Neighbor

Filter quotes by topic

AllJudgmentLoveLove Thy NeighborNeighbor QuotesNeighborsOther ReligionsPluralismReligionRespecting Others

Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others Quotes

“If I could make my neighbors up, I could love them in a minute. I could make them in my own image, looking back at me with deep gratitude for how authentically human I am being to them—and they to me!—reading poetry to each other, admiring pictures of each other’s grandchildren, and taking casseroles to each other when we are sick. But nine times out of ten these are not the neighbors I get. Instead, I get neighbors who cancel my vote, burn trash in their yard, and shoot guns so close to my house that I have to wear an orange vest when I walk to the mailbox. These neighbors I did not make up knock on my front door to offer me the latest issue of The Watchtower. They put things on their church signs that make me embarrassed for all Christians everywhere. They text while they drive, flipping me off when I pass their expensive pickup trucks on the right, in spite of the fish symbols on their shiny rear bumpers.”

JudgmentLove Thy NeighborNeighborsOther Religions
Book:Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others
Create image

“For reasons that will never be entirely clear, God has a soft spot for religious strangers, both as agents of divine blessing and recipients of divine grace - to the point that God sometimes chooses one of them over people who believe they should by all rights come first. This is a great mystery, but it does nothing to obscure the great commandment. In every circumstance, regardless of the outcome, the main thing Jesus has asked me to do is love God and my neighbor as religiously as I love myself. The minute I have that handled, I will ask for my next assignment. For now, my hands are full.”

LoveReligionRespecting OthersPluralismNeighbor Quotes
Book:Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others
Create image