Charitable Discourse Quotes

“The kingdom of God cannot be co-opted. It cannot be subsumed by a political party and loses its soul if it seeks to identify with one.”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“The church, for far too long, has been more interested in its seating capacity than in its sending capacity.”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“To defend a favorite worship style is to misunderstand worship at its core. Worship is about God. If our worship is about our favorite style, it is not about God—it is about us.”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“True worship is the fellowship of the Father who sends the Son who gives the Spirit. And”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“For us to close our mind to scientific reasoning without using our best critical thinking is to refuse to use our God-given capacity for understanding.”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“Our business is not enemy making but enemy loving. Our business is not dividing the country into blue and red states, but being a people of one accord. Our business is not securing the power to rule, but doing justice, showing mercy, and walking humbly with our God.”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“The critical issue is not the authority of the Bible but the authority of God who has spoken to us through the Bible. The biblical meaning of “authority” is not “to prove correct” but “to save.”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“But I do not believe that Scripture was meant to be used as a conversation stopper. God seems to invite our questions, our doubts, and our wonderings.”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“There is a way to speak the truth in love, treating people with respect. But if being liked is the goal of the preacher, the speech is more likely to be grandstanding than world-shaking.”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“For holy conversation to occur, we must at least be in touch with the reality that we could be wrong. Holy conversation needs an appropriate modesty that is the opposite of arrogance.”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“Self-deceived religious people may be the most dangerous people in the world, because they are convinced that their cause is of God and their victory endorsed by God.”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“If the holy conversation, a generous discourse, is to occur, the labeling must cease. We are not dealing with labels, we are talking to people.”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“Truth is important, but truth at the cost of loving relationships is not Christianity. And relationships that ignore truth will lose integrity sooner or later.”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“It is a given that the dividing line on many of the issues addressed in this book is education. Scholars see things differently. Fundamentalism is rooted in an opposition to higher criticism and scientific exploration. Folk theology operates best where no challenge is presented to counter its assumptions. This is not to say that the scholars are always right, or that they are always wrong. I anticipate difficult days ahead for scholarly servants who seek to remain faithful while serving the church. If the jihadic way of thinking becomes the norm, the educated will need to check their brains at the door to participate in the local church. This will be a sad day for both. My hopes rest in a common unifying reality—the Christ “who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Cor. 1:30).”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us

“But when our faith causes us to check our brains at the door, we have fallen far from the God who gave us the capacity for reason.”
― Dan Boone, Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us