Quotes from David P. Gushee

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art: Thou my best thought by day or by night, Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light. .

Hear me, Lord, Holy Father, almighty and eternal God, and graciously send Your holy angel from heaven to watch over, to cherish, to protect, to abide with, and to defend all who dwell in this house; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. —TRADITIONAL CATHOLIC PRAYER

O Lord, give us grace not only to be hearers of the word, but also doers of the same; not only to love, but to live Thy gospel; not only to profess, but also to practice Thy blessed commandments, to the honor of Thy holy name. Amen. —THOMAS BECON (c. 1512–1567)

theologically conservative Protestant Christian)

Every generation has its hottest of all hot-button issues, the issue that becomes the litmus test of everyone's orthodoxy and provokes conflicts sometimes leading to schism. In earlier generations it was slavery, or segregation, or apartheid, or Nazism, or abortion, or temperance, or Sabbath or tongue-speaking

career ladders in the religion business.

I would name these connections to impress you with the extent to which I am deeply burrowed into the leading circles of my religious community but, well, that would be insufferable in its own way, don't you think?

religious leader." Such pride is very dangerous

my own beloved sister, who is dearer to me than words can say and who came out as a lesbian

Lord Jesus, I do love You and most earnestly worship You. Help me today, please, to be even the palest reflection of that completeness that was and is Yours. Then I, like a tiny sliver of glass that glitters in the sunshine, will reflect back to the world Your godly brightness. Amen. —JEANIE GUSHEE

Lord, be with me this day, Within me to purify me; Above me to draw me up; Beneath me to sustain me; Before me to lead me; Behind me to restrain me; Around me to protect me. Amen. —PATRICK OF IRELAND (c. 387–c. 460)

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Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels! Exalt, all creation around God's throne! Jesus Christ, our King, is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation! Rejoice, O Earth, in shining splendor, Radiant in the brightness of your King! Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes for ever! Amen. —EXSULTET (6TH C.)

This same standard could one day be applied to Christian colleges vis-à-vis sexual-orientation discrimination.

Distrust of higher education has been an enduring feature of fundamentalism and evangelicalism.

They fear it will soon happen again, right here in America, and they are readying themselves for a new era of persecution.

practicing homosexuals

The creator of an apologia dares to speak personally … autobiographically and candidly and always vulnerably … about his or her engagement with the ideas and progress of ideas being presented.

O Jesus, keep me under the standard of Your cross. Let me not just look at You crucified, but have You living in my heart. Amen. —BERNADETTE OF LOURDES (1844

Above all other blessings, O God, for ourselves, and our fellow-creatures, we implore Thee to quicken our sense of Thy mercy in the redemption of the world, of the value of that holy religion in which we have been brought up, that we may not, by our own neglect, throw away the salvation Thou hast given us, nor be Christians only in name. Hear us, Almighty God, for His sake who has redeemed us. Amen. —JANE AUSTEN (1775

emphasize quite strongly the responsibility of all individual Christians to think carefully about issues of faith for ourselves,

Christianity, like most religious traditions of any vintage, is inherently conservative.

be Thou the beginning and the end of all; the pattern whom I follow, the Redeemer in whom I trust, the Master whom I serve, the Friend to whom I look for sympathy. May I never shrink from my duty through any fear of man; make me faithful unto death; and bring me at last into Thy eternal Presence, where with the Father and the Holy Ghost, Thou livest and reignest for ever. Amen. —EDWARD BOUVERIE PUSEY (1800

but whether the Church universal will or should change its mind collectively.