“Jesus does not advocate revolt or material conflict. ... He reverses the question, and as so often challenges his interlocutors: "But you ... it must not be the same among you."”

In other words, do not be so concerned about fighting kings. Let them be. Set up a marginal society which will not be interested in such things, in which there will be no power, authority or hierarchy. Do not do things as they are usually done in society, which you cannot change. Create another society on another foundation.

p. 62
Anarchy and Christianity (1988)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Jesus does not advocate revolt or material conflict. ... He reverses the question, and as so often challenges his inter…" by Jacques Ellul?
Jacques Ellul photo
Jacques Ellul 125
French sociologist, technology critic, and Christian anarch… 1912–1994

Related quotes

George Bernard Shaw photo

“To understand a saint, you must hear the devil's advocate; and the same is true of the artist.”

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright

The Sanity of Art: An Exposure of the Current Nonsense about Artists being Degenerate (1908)
1900s

Fritz Leiber photo
Caspar David Friedrich photo

“Why, the question is often asked of me
Do you choose as subjects for painting
So often death, perishing and the grave?
In order to one day live eternally
One must often submit oneself to death.”

Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) Swedish painter

in original language - German: Warum, die Frag' ist oft zu mir ergangen / Wählst du zum Gegenstand der Malerei / So oft den Tod, Vergänglichkeit und Grab? / Um ewig einst zu leben / Muss man sich oft dem Tod ergeben.
Quote c. 1812; from Caspar David Friedrich, William Vaughn; London: Tate Gallery, 1972, p. 16–17
1794 - 1840

Margaret Atwood photo

“There is so much silence between the words,
you say. You say, The sensed absence
of God and the sensed presence
amount to much the same thing,
only in reverse.”

"In the Secular Night"
Morning in the Burned House (1995)
Context: There is so much silence between the words,
you say. You say, The sensed absence
of God and the sensed presence
amount to much the same thing,
only in reverse.
You say, I have too much white clothing.
You start to hum.
Several hundred years ago
this could have been mysticism
or heresy. It isn’t now.
Outside there are sirens.
Someone’s been run over.
The century grinds on.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer photo
Oliver Wendell Holmes photo

“He must be a poor creature that does not often repeat himself.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894) Poet, essayist, physician

The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table (1858)
Context: He must be a poor creature that does not often repeat himself. Imagine the author of the excellent piece of advice, "Know thyself," never alluding to that sentiment again during the course of a protracted existence! Why, the truths a man carries about with him are his tools; and do you think a carpenter is bound to use the same plane but once to smooth a knotty board with, or to hang up his hammer after it has driven its first nail? I shall never repeat a conversation, but an idea often. I shall use the same types when I like, but not commonly the same stereotypes. A thought is often original, though you have uttered it a hundred times. It has come to you over a new route, by a new and express train of associations.

Jerry Coyne photo

Related topics