Charles Colson was one of the most influential evangelical Christians of the last fifty years. He founded Prison Fellowship Ministries, and was an expert on presenting Christianity as the only valid worldview that can lead an individual to peace, joy, and eternal life.
Before his conversion to Christianity in 1973 Colson served as an American attorney and political advisor as well as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon. He gained notoriety during the height of the Watergate scandal and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice charges serving seven months in federal prison in 1974. His life story and conversion to Christianity are well-known and depicted in his book, Born Again.
A great intellect, Colson was a prolific author and public speaker, and his passion was to show the world that Jesus was the only valid answer to the world problems that plague mankind. The quotes below are extremely insightful and I pray stimulate you to thank God for Jesus and the worldview we hold so dear.1
“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”
“It is not what we do that matters, but what a sovereign God chooses to do through us. God doesn’t want our success; He wants us. He doesn’t demand our achievements; He demands our obedience. The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of paradox, where through the ugly defeat of a cross, a holy God is utterly glorified. Victory comes through defeat; healing through brokenness; finding self through losing self.”
“Where is the hope? I meet millions who tell me that they feel demoralized by the decay around us. Where is the hope? The hope that each of us have is not in who governs us, or what laws are passed, or what great things that we do as a nation. Our hope is in the power of God working through the hearts of people, and that’s where our hope is in this country; that’s where our hope is in life.”
“Christians should never have a political party. It is a huge mistake to become married to an ideology, because the greatest enemy of the gospel is ideology. Ideology is a man-made format of how the world ought to work, and Christians instead believed in the revealing truth Scripture.”
“The BIBLE – banned, burned, beloved. More widely read, more frequently attacked than any other book in history. Generations of intellectuals have attempted to discredit it, dictators of every age have outlawed it and executed those who read it. Yet soldiers carry it into battle believing it more powerful than their weapons. Fragments of it smuggled into solitary prison cells have transformed ruthless killers into gentle saints”
“The Bible’s historical accuracy is a reminder that while “the heavens declare the glory of God,” there’s also plenty of evidence among the rubble and ruins.”
“What is true has never been a question to be decided by polls or popular opinion. Truth isn’t ‘democratic’—it’s something that God has written into the very fabric of nature.”
“Some say society must change in order to change people. No, people must be changed in order to change society.”
“In our day, you can mock religion in public and even get funds for doing it. But you can’t show respect for religion in public – or you risk being hauled into court.”
“Life is a mess. And theology must be lived out in the midst of that mess.”
“We must be the same person in private and in public. Only the Christian worldview gives us the basis for this kind of integrity.”
“Knowing that we are fulfilling God’s purpose is the only thing that gives rest to the restless human heart.”
“Christians need to take the lead in educating people that children are gifts, as my autistic grandson most surely is. By going down the path we’re currently on, we might one day get rid of genetic diseases, but only at the cost of our own humanity.”
“God is truth and is to be worshiped, not because it’s convenient, makes us feel good, or is therapeutic.”
“Removing religious symbols from public places is not neutrality. On the contrary, it sends a highly negative message – that religion is something shameful, embarrassing, or at best strictly private.”
“Genuine Christianity is more than a relationship with Jesus, as expressed in personal piety, church attendance, Bible study, and works of charity. It is more than discipleship, more than believing a system of doctrines about God. Genuine Christianity is a way of seeing and comprehending all reality. It is a worldview.”
“When God wanted to defeat sin, His ultimate weapon was the sacrifice of His own Son. On Christmas Day two thousand years ago, the birth of a tiny baby in an obscure village in the Middle East was God’s supreme triumph of good over evil.”
“The Bible’s power rests upon the fact that it is the reliable, errorless, and infallible Word of God.”
“To turn away from the great questions and dilemmas of life is a tragedy, for the quest for meaning and truth makes life worth living.”
1 All of the quotes below are from the following website:
TOP 25 QUOTES BY CHARLES COLSON (of 92) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)