Clarence Jordan

Theologian

Clarence Jordan was a Baptist minister and social activist known for founding Koinonia Farm, promoting racial equality and justice through faith.

Born
July 29, 1912
Died
January 29, 1998
Quotes
16
Rank
#3557

About Clarence Jordan

Clarence Jordan — Life and Legacy

Clarence Jordan was a prominent Baptist minister and social activist whose work centered on faith, justice, and community. He is best known for founding Koinonia Farm in Georgia, a racially integrated community that served as a model for social change during the civil rights movement. Jordan's philosophy emphasized that faith should be active and transformative, as reflected in his assertion that 'faith is not belief, but action.' This perspective challenged traditional notions of faith, urging individuals to embody their beliefs through social justice initiatives. His quotes often reveal a deep commitment to the idea that love and justice are intertwined. For instance, he articulated that true love must be expressed through the pursuit of justice, highlighting the moral imperative to address societal inequalities. By establishing Koinonia Farm, Jordan not only created a space for interracial living but also demonstrated the power of community in confronting systemic racism. Today, Jordan's insights remain relevant as they resonate with ongoing struggles for equality and justice. His life and work continue to inspire those who seek to align their faith with action, reminding us that the essence of faith lies in its ability to foster genuine love and justice in the world.

Quote collection

Clarence Jordan quotes

16 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"God is not a celestial prison warden jangling the keys on a bunch of lifers--he's a shepherd seeking for sheep, a woman searching for coins, a father waiting for his son."

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"The resurrection of Jesus was simply God's unwillingness to take our 'no' for an answer. He raised Jesus, not as an invitation to us to come to heaven when we die, but as a declaration that he himself has now established permanent, eternal residence here on earth. He is standing beside us, strengthening us in this life. The good news of the resurrection of Jesus is not that we shall die and go home to be with him, but that he has risen and comes home with us, bringing all his hungry, naked, thirsty, sick prisoner brothers with him."

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"What the poor need is not charity but capital, not caseworkers but coworkers. And what the rich need is a wise, honorable and just way of divesting themselves of their overabundance."

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"It is not enough to limit your love to your own nation, to your own group. You must respond with love even to those outside of it. . . . This concept enables people to live together not as nations, but as the human race."

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"Even though people about us choose the path of hate and violence and warfare and greed and prejudice, we who are Christ's body must throw off these poisons and let love permeate and cleanse every tissue and cell. Nor are we to allow ourselves to become easily discouraged when love is not always obviously successful or pleasant. Love never quits, even when an enemy has hit you on the right cheek and you have turned the other, and he's also hit that."

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"What the poor need is not charity, but capital, not caseworkers but coworkers."

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"The crowning evidence that he lives is not a vacant grave, but a spirit-filled fellowship. Not a rolled-away stone, but a carried-away church."

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"The measure of a Christian is not in the height of his grasp but in the depth of his love"

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"Now faith is the turning of dreams into deeds. It is betting your life on the unseen realities"

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"One wonders why Christians today get off so easily. Is it because unchristian Americans are that much better than unchristian Romans, or is our light so dim that the tormentor can't see it? What are the things we do that are worth persecuting?"

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"Behold a tree. Does it not speak to us thusly: 'Don't you see that God is not working himself into a frenzy in me? I am calmly, quietly, silently pouring forth my life and bringing forth fruit. Do thou likewise.'"

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"Wars are generally fought for material things; they're not fought over ideals. After we get into them, we are told we are fighting for ideals. We are fighting for oil and tin and rubber and markets, and as long as we insist on a standard of life that is so high above all the rest of the world, we're going to have to pay for our standard of living with a lot of blood. I think we ought to re-examine the fact that Jesus was a pauper, and we should be committing ourselves to a very humble, simple way of life."

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"Faith is not belief in spite of evidence but a life in scorn of the consequences."

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"God will seek us -- how long? Until he finds us. And when he's found the last little shriveling rebellious soul and has depopulated hell, then death will be swallowed up in victory, and Christ will turn over all things to the Father that he may be all and in all. Then every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

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Clarence Jordan Theologian
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"Fear is the polio of the soul. Faith is the life based on unseen realities; it is the word become flesh."

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