"Living justly in this world requires people to name evil and sin accurately. Since theĀ tenth century, Christian theology has often obfuscated violence, calling torment redemptive, sanctioning war as holy, deeming invasion to be liberation, and invoking self-annihilation as love. Precise recognition of that which harms life is a prerequisite for living in this world as paradise." - Rita Nakashima Brock & Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parkera ; Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire, p. 399
"What brought about these changes? Why did Christians turn from a vision of paradise in this life to a focus on the Crucifixion and final judgment? How did images of terror, torture, and the desolation of the earth come to permeate the religious imagination of Western Christianity?" - Rita Nakashima Brock & Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parkera ; Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire, p. 224