--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a beauty in paradox when it…" description: "\"“There is a beauty in paradox when it comes to talking about things of ultimate concern. Paradox works against our tendency to stay superficial in our ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/nanette-sawyer-100594_an-emergent-manifest_there-is-a-beauty-in-paradox-when-it-com_557123.jpg" --- # There is a beauty in paradox when it comes to talking… ![“There is a beauty in paradox when it comes to talking about things of ultimate concern. Paradox works against our tendency to stay superficial in our faith, or to rest on easy answers or categorical thinking. It breaks apart our categories by showing the inadequacy of them and by pointing to a…” quote by Nanette Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/nanette-sawyer-100594_an-emergent-manifest_there-is-a-beauty-in-paradox-when-it-com_557123.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/nanette-sawyer-100594_an-emergent-manifest_there-is-a-beauty-in-paradox-when-it-com_557123.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/nanette-sawyer-100594_an-emergent-manifest_there-is-a-beauty-in-paradox-when-it-com_557123.jpg) > ““There is a beauty in paradox when it comes to talking about things of ultimate concern. Paradox works against our tendency to stay superficial in our faith, or to rest on easy answers or categorical thinking. It breaks apart our categories by showing the inadequacy of them and by pointing to a reality larger than us, the reality of gloria, of light, of beyond-the-beyond. I like to call it paradoxology—the glory of paradox, paradox-doxology—which takes us somewhere we wouldn’t be capable of going if we thought we had everything all wrapped up, if we thought we had attained full comprehension. The commitment to embracing the paradox and resisting the impulse to categorize people (ourselves included) is one of the ways we follow Jesus into that larger mysterious reality of light and love.”” Nanette Sawyer ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Paradox exposes the limits of categorical thinking, inviting deeper faith and a larger reality beyond simple answers, fostering a mystical embrace of mystery. **In simple terms:** Paradox breaks simple categories, opening deeper spiritual insight. Key Takeaway Embrace paradox to deepen faith and love. Themes faith paradox spiritual growth mystery theology Mood contemplative inspirational mysterious Type An-emergent-manifesto-of-hope:0 Beauty:0 Faith:1 God:0 Light and love:1 Love:1 Paradox:1 Theology:0 Follow Jesus:1 Paradox Paradox:0 Paradox Doxology:0 Embracing Paradox:1 Paradoxology Glory:0 When to use this quote - personal prayer - theological study - spiritual counseling - creative worship Key Concepts apophatic theology gloria light love humility Questions to Reflect On - How does paradox enrich your belief? - What categories limit your understanding? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on logic can stifle mystery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Follow Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/follow-jesus/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Light and love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-and-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) ## Related quotes > [“Love is a spiritual practice that matures us as we try and try again to leave behind our isolation, expose our vulnerabilities, and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nanette-sawyer/love-is-a-spiritual-practice-that-matures-us-as-we-try-and-try-again/) Nanette Sawyer > [Elric knew that everything that existed had its opposite. In danger he might find peace. And yet, of course, in peace there was danger.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moorcock/elric-knew-that-everything-that-existed-had-its-opposite-in-danger-he/) [Michael Moorcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moorcock/) > [You will notice that what we are aiming at when we fall in love is a very strange paradox. The paradox consists of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/you-will-notice-that-what-we-are-aiming-at-when-we-fall-in-love-is-a/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Irony is the form of paradox. Paradox is what is good and great at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/irony-is-the-form-of-paradox-paradox-is-what-is-good-and-great-at-the/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [3 is prime, 5 is prime, 7 is prime, 9 is a paradox; as is a paradox why the number 1 is not prime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/3-is-prime-5-is-prime-7-is-prime-9-is-a-paradox-as-is-a-paradox-why/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Do you not see the hand of God, which gives harmony, light, and love to the world? Do not the mountains, in the blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonid-andreyev/do-you-not-see-the-hand-of-god-which-gives-harmony-light-and-love-to/) [Leonid Andreyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonid-andreyev/) > [Playing with various approaches may be due to resistance to going within, to the fear of having to abandon the illusion of being something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/playing-with-various-approaches-may-be-due-to-resistance-to-going/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [Dreams are more powerful than facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/dreams-are-more-powerful-than-facts/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [Love is like a friendship caught on fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/love-is-like-a-friendship-caught-on-fire/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [“Yesterday I fell completely off the face of the earth Contemplating life, light and love in the darkness of the void Strangely it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-leckman/yesterday-i-fell-completely-off-the-face-of-the-earth-contemplating/) [Neil Leckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-leckman/) > [“Our world were both dark, and nothing would be normal, but together we would make our own world filled with light and love. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-richardson/our-world-were-both-dark-and-nothing-would-be-normal-but-together-we/) [Angela Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-richardson/) > [They encouraged you to put some of your weight in their hands and soon as you felt how light and lovely it was, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/they-encouraged-you-to-put-some-of-your-weight-in-their-hands-and/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [The time has come for us to envision ourselves as spiritual beings of light and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-van-praagh/the-time-has-come-for-us-to-envision-ourselves-as-spiritual-beings-of/) [James Van Praagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-van-praagh/) > [“It always amazes me when taking off from a stormy airport, how once you reach a certain altitude and get through the clouds, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-moffitt/it-always-amazes-me-when-taking-off-from-a-stormy-airport-how-once/) [Debra Moffitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-moffitt/) > [If depression has been viewed as a taboo subject in the church, then suicide and suicidal thoughts are the darkest secret of all. Talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-walsh/if-depression-has-been-viewed-as-a-taboo-subject-in-the-church-then/) [Sheila Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-walsh/) ## More by Nanette Sawyer > [“Love is a spiritual practice that matures us as we try and try again to leave behind our isolation, expose our vulnerabilities, and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nanette-sawyer/love-is-a-spiritual-practice-that-matures-us-as-we-try-and-try-again/) Nanette Sawyer Explore all 2 Nanette Sawyer quotes ## More An-emergent-manifesto-of-hope quotes > [“Love is a spiritual practice that matures us as we try and try again to leave behind our isolation, expose our vulnerabilities, and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nanette-sawyer/love-is-a-spiritual-practice-that-matures-us-as-we-try-and-try-again/) Nanette Sawyer Browse all 2 An-emergent-manifesto-of-hope quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is a beauty in paradox when it comes to talking about things of ultimate concern. Paradox works against our tendency to stay superficial in our faith, or to rest on easy answers or categorical thinking. It breaks apart our categories by showing the inadequacy of them and by pointing to a reality larger than us, the reality of gloria, of light, of beyond-the-beyond. I like to call it paradoxology—the glory of paradox, paradox-doxology—which takes us somewhere we wouldn’t be capable of going if we thought we had everything all wrapped up, if we thought we had attained full comprehension. The commitment to embracing the paradox and resisting the impulse to categorize people (ourselves included) is one of the ways we follow Jesus into that larger mysterious reality of light and love.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nanette Sawyer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nanette-sawyer/there-is-a-beauty-in-paradox-when-it-comes-to-talking-about-things-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "An-emergent-manifesto-of-hope" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nanette-sawyer/there-is-a-beauty-in-paradox-when-it-comes-to-talking-about-things-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/nanette-sawyer-100594_an-emergent-manifest_there-is-a-beauty-in-paradox-when-it-com_557123.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/nanette-sawyer-100594_an-emergent-manifest_there-is-a-beauty-in-paradox-when-it-com_557123.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/nanette-sawyer-100594_an-emergent-manifest_there-is-a-beauty-in-paradox-when-it-com_557123.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is a beauty in paradox when it comes to talking about things of ultimate concern. Paradox works…” — Nanette Sawyer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nanette Sawyer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nanette-sawyer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There is a beauty in paradox...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nanette-sawyer/there-is-a-beauty-in-paradox-when-it-comes-to-talking-about-things-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nanette-sawyer/there-is-a-beauty-in-paradox-when-it-comes-to-talking-about-things-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```