God Is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude Quotes

“If God’s message to us in Jesus Christ was easy or comfortable, chances are he wouldn’t have been seen as the threat that he was to the status quo and therefore executed. To be a Christian is to be a radical like Christ. Radical here does not mean a fanatic or self-righteous individual, but radical in the original sense of the term from the Latin radix, which means “root.” Christians believe that God entered the world as one of us to teach us what it means to be fully human, to challenge us to return to the roots of authentic human life and society, and to show us the way to love one another as God loves us.”
― Daniel P. Horan, God Is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude

“What makes us “a whole lot like Jesus” is when we address the causes and not just the effects of systemic sin in our world, like poverty or violence, when we embrace community rather than succumb to the temptation to care only for ourselves, and when we actively choose weakness and humility rather than defending our desire for control, power, and security.”
― Daniel P. Horan, God Is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude

“Francis might rightly be regarded as the patron saint of fools. He offers us a surprising, if uneasy, Christian virtue between two foolish vices. The very core of Christianity appears foolish to the world. Take, for instance, the idea that God would become human. At the heart of Christian faith stands the radical idea that the all-powerful God would bow low to enter creation as a vulnerable infant. Or take the doctrine of the Trinity; mathematically, the claim that God is at the same time one and yet three divine persons appears laughable to many.”
― Daniel P. Horan, God Is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude

“Not only do the zombies reveal us at our worst, but the behavior of the surviving humans do as well. What is interesting about World War Z is that both of these characteristics are eventually reversed. The story focuses on the quest to find the cause of this outbreak, which leads the protagonist around the world. In addressing the root of the problem, a violent defense proves useless, and weakness saves the lives of those who survive. Religion News Service blogger Jana Reiss recognized something Christlike here: “Weakness becomes strength. Actively choosing weakness—especially when every cell of your body is screaming to cling to power instead—leads to life. Huh. That sounds a whole lot like Jesus.”5”
― Daniel P. Horan, God Is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude

“the counterintuitive and gratuitous foolishness of God’s love revealed in the healing of the broken and brokenhearted, forgiving the unforgiveable, and loving the unlovable. So becoming a fool for God’s sake isn’t something to avoid out of fear or exploit for personal gain, but a vocation to embrace in revealing the love of God in our lives. I challenge you—and remind myself all the time—to consider why, where, and how to be a fool for Christ.”
― Daniel P. Horan, God Is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude

“I have often heard some of my Franciscan brothers say, “If Francis had applied to religious life today, he’d never make it beyond the psychological exam!” How true that is! (You should see that exam.) Even retrospectively, Francis is dismissed as a madman. The risk of appearing foolish never stopped him from embracing the Gospel as best he could, protesting the injustices of certain social systems, and letting nothing get in the way of his relationship with others. The virtue between the two foolish vices of avoidance and exploitation is the embrace of evangelical foolishness to become one of God’s fools.”
― Daniel P. Horan, God Is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude

“the ethical implications of the words and deeds of Jesus for those disciples that would follow him were not always in step with the standard practices and behaviors of their day, just as they aren’t always easily compatible with those of our time. This is where evangelical foolishness comes into play. Francis earned the title because of his allegiance to the Gospel over the culture of his rearing. He refused to accept money in the newly emerging merchant society because he saw how this nascent economic and social system began valuing people according to their wealth. He refused in other ways to participate in the power imbalances of his day because he recognized that following in the footprints of Christ meant prioritizing solidarity and relationships with all people rather than pursuing the accumulation of personal wealth and power.”
― Daniel P. Horan, God Is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude

“That God is not fair is actually one among many reasons for gratitude, albeit in a way counterintuitive to our usual thinking. The simple premise here is that God’s way is not our way, God’s love is not conditioned like our love, God’s mercy is not bound as ours is, and God does not discriminate or reward a person according to the standards of a given society, no matter how widespread such criteria may be. (Thank God!)”
― Daniel P. Horan, God Is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude