Shane Claiborne
Shane Claiborne
Shane Claiborneis a Christian activist and author who is a leading figure in the New Monasticism movement and one of the founding members of the intentional community, the Simple Way, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Claiborne is also a social activist, advocating for nonviolence and service to the poor. He is the author of the book, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActivist
Date of Birth11 July 1975
CountryUnited States of America
Mother Theresa said it is not how much we give that is important but how much love you put into doing it. So it is not just how many units of housing we create or how good our health care system is, it is that people have someone to eat dinner with and that people have someone to hold their hand when they die. That is what we are called to do and it is the love of Christ. It is relationships.
The church is a place where broken people can fall in love with a beautiful God.
There's an understanding of common prayer that I think we're seeing grow, more and more. When I travel, I hear from people who are deeply touched that our common prayer takes time to remember some of the terrible tragedies that have happened around the world.
We're remembering each other's heroes, too. We are learning each other's songs. We are reminding ourselves that we are a global family praying together. We're all trying to live in the light of the history that shines through the biblical narrative.
The problem is that the Chicken-Soup-for-the-Soul stuff may feel good, but none of that typical stuff helps when somebody in your neighborhood is murdered.
The more recent effort to encourage everyone to pray in common involves so many people.
There is a certain power when old and young come together - we can do more together than we can on our own.
It's always a good idea to have a nun next to you when you get arrested!
The question for me is not are we political, but how are we political? We need to be politically engaged, but peculiar in how we engage.
Discontentment is a gift. It's the stuff that changes the world.
Governments can do lots of things, but there are a lot of things they cannot do. A government can provide good housing, but folks can have a house without having a home. We can keep people breathing with good health care, but they still may not really be alive.
It is the church's job, as Dr.[Martin Luther] King says, to be the conscience of the state, not the chaplain of the state.
We need good laws, but no law can change a human heart - only God can do that.
As brother Cornel West says, "Justice is what love looks like in public." Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.