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.
Similar quotes
This Grave contains all that was Mortal of a Young English Poet Who on his Death Bed in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies Desired these words to be engraved on his Tomb Stone "Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water."
Holy places are dark places. It is life and strength, not knowledge and words, that we get in them. Holy wisdom is not clear and thin like water, but thick and dark like blood.
This world's existence is one night long. There's a great lively gathering that night, but some people sleep through it.
Our deeds still travel with us from afar, and what we have been makes us what we are.
Life is life - whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man's own advantage.
A fertilizer bomb that kills hundreds in Oklahoma. Fuel-laden civil jets that kill 4000 in New York. A sanctions policy that kills one and a half million in Iraq. A trade policy that immiserates continents. You can make a bomb out of anything. The ones on paper hurt the most.