He will wipe the tears from all faces.' It takes nothing from the loveliness of the verse to say that is exactly what will be required
It saddens me that Christians need to be reminded that awe is owed also to those who disagree with them, who believe otherwise than they do.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of showing respect and awe to those with different beliefs.
Marilynne Robinson's quote highlights a fundamental aspect of coexistence in a diverse society: the necessity of acknowledging and respecting the perspectives of others, even when they differ from one's own. It serves as a reminder to Christians, and to everyone, to cultivate an attitude of reverence towards those who hold differing beliefs, emphasizing that understanding and empathy are vital in preserving harmony and fostering constructive dialogue in a pluralistic world.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on interfaith understanding, one might quote this to emphasize respect for different beliefs.
More from Marilynne Robinson
All quotes βIt seems to me there is less meanness in atheism, by a good measure. It seems that the spirit of religious self-righteousness this article deplores is precisely the spirit in which it is written. Of course he's right about many things, one of them being the destructive potency of religious self-righteousness. (p. 146)
A narrow pond would form in the orchard, water clear as air covering grass and black leaves and fallen branches, all around it black leaves and drenched grass and fallen branches, and on it, slight as an image in an eye, sky, clouds, trees, our hovering faces and our cold hands.
The moon looks wonderful in this warm evening light, just as a candle flame looks beautiful in the light of morning. Light within light...It seems to me to be a metaphor for the human soul, the singular light within that great general light of existence.
There are worries that seem to me sustained by the love of worry. For example, that people are reading from screens, or listening to recorded books. Why scold the impulse to enjoy language and narrative in whatever form it takes?
Teaching is a distraction and a burden, but it's also an incredible stimulus. And a reprieve, in a way. When you're trying to work on something and it's not going anywhere, you can go to school and there's a two-and-a-half-hour block of time in which you can accomplish something.
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So much of what blacks and women contend with is centered in how we view, and how the world views, our bodies. Gestures, voices, affect.
I confess that I cannot understand how we can plot, lie, cheat and commit murder abroad and remain humane, honorable, trustworthy and trusted at home.
Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without freedom to think. And there is no freedom of thought without doubt.
The real is what resists symbolization absolutely.
Interest is the spur of the people, but glory that of great souls. Invention is the talent of youth, and judgment of age.
Because your brain uses information from the areas around the blind spot to make a reasonable guess about what the blind spot would see if only it weren't blind, and then your brain fills in the scene with this information. That's right, it invents things, creates things, makes stuff up! It doesn't consult you about this, doesn't seek your approval. It just makes its best guess about the nature of the missing information and proceeds to fill in the scene.