Marilynne Robinson

This is wonderful:

Marilynne Robinson

'When I came across that Idea in Calvin I was very deeply pleased, it was one of those things where it opened a new way of looking at the world. I think one of the experiences that people have that makes them uneasy with religion often is that they know people whom they understand as ethically deficient or whatever, at the same time that they just really love them, and they have good reasons to love them, which might not have anything to do with trusting them, or benefitting from them, or anything else. They love them aesthetically, you know, in terms of the charms of the person, the way, the grace…however unconscious it might be. And the idea that God would be blind to what is in many cases the most interesting or the most beautiful encounter that you yourself have with another human being…this is disturbing…it alienates one from God in a way. And I think that the idea that God can love people aesthetically, that King David can be the apple of his eye with all the terrible stuff that he’s up to (and all the rest of it, you know); that there’s a sort of loyalty – fatherly loyalty of, you know, ‘if that kid can’t stay out of trouble – what a beautiful kid, I can’t bear the thought that he would be away from me.’ I like that, I think it’s wonderful.'

It's from here:
The Balm in Gilead - ABC