--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Theologians talk about a prevenient grace…" description: "\"Theologians talk about a prevenient grace that precedes grace itself and allows us to accept it. I think there must also be a prevenient courage that a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/marilynne-robinson-602_accepting_theologians-talk-about-a-prevenient-grac_1013397.jpg" --- # Theologians talk about a prevenient grace that precedes… ![“Theologians talk about a prevenient grace that precedes grace itself and allows us to accept it. I think there must also be a prevenient courage that allows us to be brave - that is, to acknowledge that there is more beauty than our eyes can bear, that precious things have been put into our hands…” quote by Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/marilynne-robinson-602_accepting_theologians-talk-about-a-prevenient-grac_1013397.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/marilynne-robinson-602_accepting_theologians-talk-about-a-prevenient-grac_1013397.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/marilynne-robinson-602_accepting_theologians-talk-about-a-prevenient-grac_1013397.jpg) > “Theologians talk about a prevenient grace that precedes grace itself and allows us to accept it. I think there must also be a prevenient courage that allows us to be brave - that is, to acknowledge that there is more beauty than our eyes can bear, that precious things have been put into our hands and to do nothing to honor them is to do great harm. And therefore, this courage allows us, as the old men said, to make ourselves useful. It allows us to be generous, which is another way of saying exactly the same thing.” [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We need both spiritual and personal courage to recognize and honor beauty, making us useful and generous. **In simple terms:** Courage lets us see and honor beauty, leading to usefulness and generosity. Key Takeaway Cultivate courage to appreciate and act on beauty. Themes courage beauty generosity usefulness Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - community service - art appreciation - environmental stewardship Key Concepts theology ethics existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice courage daily? - What beauty can you honor today? A Different Perspective Courage alone may not overcome systemic obstacles to acting on beauty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Generous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generous/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature of Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Old men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-men/) [Precious things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precious-things/) [Stewardship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stewardship/) [Theologian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theologian/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“It has seemed to me sometimes as though the Lord breathes on this poor gray ember of Creation and it turns to radiance -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/it-has-seemed-to-me-sometimes-as-though-the-lord-breathes-on-this/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Because the will renewed is the Lord's work, it is wrongly attributed to man that he obeys prevenient grace with his will as attendant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/because-the-will-renewed-is-the-lord-s-work-it-is-wrongly-attributed/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Christian theology teaches the doctrine of prevenient grace, which briefly stated means this, that before a man can seek God, God must first have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/christian-theology-teaches-the-doctrine-of-prevenient-grace-which/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Grace allows forgiveness and faith allows hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-northup/grace-allows-forgiveness-and-faith-allows-hope/) [J M Northup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-northup/) > [Exuberance is a gift of grace that allows us to move on, to seek, to love again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/exuberance-is-a-gift-of-grace-that-allows-us-to-move-on-to-seek-to/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [“Grace allows for questions ... and is the answer!" EL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evinda-lepins/grace-allows-for-questions-and-is-the-answer-el/) [Evinda Lepins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evinda-lepins/) > [“GRACE is a word we can keep in our minds when we walk, dance, swim, talk, sing, do anything at all - to enable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-woodman/grace-is-a-word-we-can-keep-in-our-minds-when-we-walk-dance-swim-talk/) [Jay Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-woodman/) > [There is more beauty than our eyes can bear, precious things have been put into our hands and to do nothing to honor them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/there-is-more-beauty-than-our-eyes-can-bear-precious-things-have-been/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavour, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/fearlessness-may-be-a-gift-but-perhaps-more-precious-is-the-courage/) [Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/) > [I have neither silver nor gold, but I bring with me the most precious thing given to me: Jesus Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/i-have-neither-silver-nor-gold-but-i-bring-with-me-the-most-precious/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Love - true love - is a precious thing. It is painful, uncomfortable, makes fools of us all, but it is what breathes meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mosse/love-true-love-is-a-precious-thing-it-is-painful-uncomfortable-makes/) [Kate Mosse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mosse/) > [Who can now deny the loss of natural light, of skin tones, of real place, and common but precious things in our movies, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jay-epstein/who-can-now-deny-the-loss-of-natural-light-of-skin-tones-of-real/) [Edward Jay Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jay-epstein/) > [The most precious thing in the world: me, because if there was no me, nothing could work out in this world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-heechul/the-most-precious-thing-in-the-world-me-because-if-there-was-no-me/) [Kim Heechul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-heechul/) > [You think if you work hard enough, you can fix the precious things you've broken - rather than being careful with them in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/you-think-if-you-work-hard-enough-you-can-fix-the-precious-things-you/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [How can I set free anyone who doesn't have the guts to stand up alone and declare his own freedom? I think it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/how-can-i-set-free-anyone-who-doesn-t-have-the-guts-to-stand-up-alone/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) ## More by Marilynne Robinson > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“I think sometimes there might be an advantage in making people aware how worn and stale these old transgressions are. It might take some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-think-sometimes-there-might-be-an-advantage-in-making-people-aware/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [There are two occasions when the sacred beauty of Creation becomes dazzlingly apparent, and they occur together. One is when we feel our mortal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/there-are-two-occasions-when-the-sacred-beauty-of-creation-becomes/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [My Calvinism persuades me that we are open to God, in the sense that we are not delimited, not organisms with fixed attributes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-calvinism-persuades-me-that-we-are-open-to-god-in-the-sense-that/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“You can know a thing to death and be for all purposes completely ignorant of it. A man can know his father, or his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/you-can-know-a-thing-to-death-and-be-for-all-purposes-completely/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I listen to Bach a great deal. In general I like to listen to hymns and liturgical music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-listen-to-bach-a-great-deal-in-general-i-like-to-listen-to-hymns/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Every writer I know, when asked how to become a writer, responds with one word:Read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/every-writer-i-know-when-asked-how-to-become-a-writer-responds-with/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Faith for her was habit and family loyalty, a reverence for the Bible which was also literary, admiration for her mother and father. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/faith-for-her-was-habit-and-family-loyalty-a-reverence-for-the-bible/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Prayer is a discipline in truthfulness, in honesty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/prayer-is-a-discipline-in-truthfulness-in-honesty/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.’ There are pleasures to be found where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/the-full-soul-loatheth-an-honeycomb-but-to-the-hungry-soul-every/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I sometimes am discouraged by what seems to be a sort of conventional disparagement of humankind. I think often people feel that they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-sometimes-am-discouraged-by-what-seems-to-be-a-sort-of-conventional/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Now that I look back, it seems to me that in all that deep darkness a miracle was preparing. So I am right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/now-that-i-look-back-it-seems-to-me-that-in-all-that-deep-darkness-a/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“My grandfather once told her if you couldn't read with cold feet, there wouldn't be a literate soul in the state of Maine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-grandfather-once-told-her-if-you-couldn-t-read-with-cold-feet/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Cranky old Leviticus gave us—gave Christ—not only “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” but also the rather forgotten “Thou shalt love the stranger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/cranky-old-leviticus-gave-us-gave-christ-not-only-thou-shalt-love-thy/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Explore all 450 Marilynne Robinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Theologians talk about a prevenient grace that precedes grace itself and allows us to accept it. I think there must also be a prevenient courage that allows us to be brave - that is, to acknowledge that there is more beauty than our eyes can bear, that precious things have been put into our hands and to do nothing to honor them is to do great harm. And therefore, this courage allows us, as the old men said, to make ourselves useful. 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