Atheism Quote by Thomas Merton
““Those who refuse His mercy satisfy His justice in another way. Without His mercy, they cannot love Him. Without love for Him they cannot be 'justified' or 'made just'. That is to say: they cannot conform to Him Who is love. Those who have not received His mercy are in a state of injustice with regard to Him. It is their own injustice that is condemned by His justice. And in what does their injustice consist? In the refusal of His mercy. We come, in the end, to this basic paradox: that we owe it to God to receive from Him the mercy that is offered to us in Christ, and that to refuse this mercy is the summation of our 'injustice'. Clearly, then, only the mercy of God can make us just, in this supernatural sense, since the primary demand of God's justice upon us is that we receive His mercy.””
About This Quote
Source Sermon: The Paradox of Mercy and Justice, Thomas Merton, 1970
True justice requires divine mercy; without it we cannot love God or be justified, making our refusal an injustice.
In simple terms: Justice needs mercy; without it we are unjust.
Key Takeaway
Seek and accept God's mercy.
Themes
theity
justice
spirituality
Mood
contemplative
serene
Type
theological
reflective
When to use this quote
- personal prayer
- confessional reflection
- ethical decision making
Key Concepts
Divine mercy
theology
paradox
Questions to Reflect On
- How does accepting mercy change your sense of justice?
- Can you identify moments where you refused mercy?
A Different Perspective
Human effort alone cannot achieve true justice without divine mercy.
![“So why, when we constantly offend Him and we are so unlovable and unloving, does God persist in loving us?… [W]hy does God still love us, despite us? I do not have an answer to this question. But I know that if God's mercy didn't exist, there would be no hope. No matter how good we tried to be, we…” quote by Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8f6/francis-chan-548_compassion_so-why-when-we-constantly-offend-him-and_3199920.jpg)
