Samuel Rodríguez

“God is not afraid of our inquiries. The question we must ask ourselves is whether we are we afraid of his. If questioning exposes truth, let us question. A faith that is threatened by doctrinal inquiries and evaluation of certain tenets is no faith at all. A faith that blindly demands belief subjugates the very inquisitive soul that God gave us. What is more, it disqualifies itself from being a faith and more accurately falls under the category of a cult. True faith welcomes questions; false faiths discourage and prohibit them.”
― Samuel Rodriguez, The Lamb's Agenda: Why Jesus Is Calling You to a Life of Righteousness and Justice

“During the early years of the Republic, an even more intense battle was being waged between the pro-slavery forces and the Christians who opposed them. Although slavery has existed almost everywhere since the fall, abolitionism is a purely Christian invention. Thomas Jefferson, although not a particularly religious person, worried, as Evarts did, that America had violated its divine contract in its tolerance of slavery. As a slave owner, Jefferson had good reason to feel anxious. He wrote in his book, Notes on the State of Virginia: God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
― Samuel Rodriguez, The Lamb's Agenda: Why Jesus Is Calling You to a Life of Righteousness and Justice