The Irresistible Revolution

I'm reading a really cool book called, "The Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne. I'm only in the first chapter, but already there are several quotes that I've found encouraging, insightful and super challenging. Here's a sampling:

- While musing about the entertainment industry's propensity to support global initiatives like Live 8 and the One Campaign, Claiborne writes, "...but most Christian artists and preachers have remained strangely distant from human suffering, offering the world eternal assurance over prophetic imagination. Perhaps it should not surprise us that Jesus says that if the Christians remain silent, then the rocks will cry out... or the rock stars, I guess."

- While reminiscing about the great influences in his life, he writes, "In college, one of my professors said, 'Don't let the world steal your soul. Being a Christian is about choosing Jesus and deciding to do something incredibly daring with your life."

- On the humor of God: "I've grown to admire the humor of a God who uses the foolish things to shame the wisdom of this world, and weaklings to remind the strong that they may not be as mighty as they think they are (1 Cor. 1:27). And in an era of smart bombs, maybe the world needs more fools. There have always been 'fools' in the imperial courts, but it's an interesting age when folks trust the court jesters more than the court itself."

- On being an "ordinary radical": "I have a confession I'm sure many of you will find refreshing and familiar: I don't really fit into the old liberal-conservative boxes, so it's a good thing we are moving on to something new. My activist friends call me conservative, and my religious friends call me liberal. What I often get branded is 'radical.' I'ver never really minded that, for as my urban-farming friends remind me, the word radical itself means 'root.' It's from the Latin word radix, which, just like a rad-ish, has to do with getting to the root of things. But radical is not something reserved for saints and martyrs, which is why I like to compliment it with ordinary. Ordinary does not mean normal, and I lament the dreadful seduction which has resulted in Christians becoming so normal. Thankfully, there is a movement of ordinary radicals sweeping the land, and ordinary people are choosing to live in radical new ways. So this is a book for ordinary radicals, not for saints who think they have a monopoly on radical and not for normal people who are satisfied with the way things are."

So, if you get the chance, grab this interesting little book and give it a whirl. Ordinary Radicals Unite!!