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The gods of all pagan faiths have been allied with the rich rulers. The priests of most religions are the employees of the landowners. But the God of Israel has always claimed to be with the poor—whether in the legislation of Deuteronomy, the words of the prophets, or the experiences of the New Testament. Our God is on the side of the poor.

— John Howard Yoder Radical Christian Discipleship (2012)

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More quotes by John Howard Yoder

The church will be most effective where it abandons effectiveness and intelligence for the foolish weakness of the cross.

The Otherness of the Church (1961)

A minority may do for a society what the conscience does for an individual.

The Priestly Kingdom (1984)

Pre-Constantinian Christians had been pacifists, rejecting the violence of army and empire not only because they had no share of power, but because they considered it morally wrong; the post-Constantinian Christians considered imperial violence to be not only morally tolerable but a positive good and a Christian duty.

The Priestly Kingdom (1984)

A dichotomy between the religious and the social must be imported into the [New Testament]; it cannot be found there. The "cross" of Jesus was a political punishment; and when Christians are made to suffer by government it is usually because because of the practical import of their faith, and the doubt they cast upon the rulers' claim to be "Benefactor."

The Politics of Jesus (1972)

God speaks where his people gather and are free to be led. The marks of the validity of the conclusions they reach are to be sought not alone in the principles applied but in the procedure of the meeting. Were all free to speak? Was every speech heard and weighed?

The Priestly Kingdom (1984)

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Most intellectual people do not believe in God, but they fear him just the same.

Wilhelm Reich Philosophy : An Introduction to the Art of Wondering (2005)

When the mind is not dissipated upon extraneous things, nor diffused over the world about us through the senses, it withdraws within itself, and of its own accord ascends to the contemplation of God.

Basil of Caesarea

Once you accept the existence of God — however you define him, however you explain your relationship to him — then you are caught forever with his presence in the center of all things.

Morris West The Clowns of God (1981)

God seeks comrades and claims love,
the Devil seeks slaves and claims obedience.

Rabindranath Tagore Fireflies (1928)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: John Howard Yoder (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.