Never do I see Jesus lecturing people on the need to accept blindness or lameness as an expression of God's secret will; rather, he healed them.

Jesus reserved his hardest words for the hidden sins of hypocrisy, pride, greed and legalism.

If God doesn't want something for me, then I shouldn't want it either.

God must love art because most of the Bible is expressed in the form of story or poetry.

Christianity is not a purely intellectual, internal faith. It can only be lived in community.

One who has been touched by grace will no longer look on those who stray as "those evil people" or "those poor people who need our help." Nor must we search for signs of "loveworthiness." Grace teaches us that God loves because of who God is, not because of who we are.

... the issue is not whether I agree with someone but rather how I treat someone with whom I profoundly disagree. We Christians are called to use the "weapons of grace," which means treating even our opponents with love and respect.