“When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, the work of Christmas begins …”
“Happiness without meaning characterizes a relatively shallow, self-absorbed or even selfish life, in which things go well, needs and desire are easily satisfied, and difficult or taxing entanglements are avoided.”
“We are under attack, not in the facile ways the Christian right claims, but at the very core of our being as Christians and churches from whence we derive our identity, existence, and mission as God’s people.”
“We have often substituted being literal with being serious, and they are not the same!”
“I have this nagging thought that I far prefer writing about Christianity over making the tough sacrifices — doing the things Jesus asked us to do. Who doesn’t flinch a bit when reading Matthew 25?”
“I was watching a lot of movies made by evangelical churches about the end times. I realized that the mythos of the Rapture and the biblical apocalypse had become more prevalent ideas in our culture — but it was mostly only explored by the extremely devout.”
“We have solved, by fair experiment, the great & interesting question whether freedom of religion is compatible with order in government, and obedience to the laws.”
“If we’re going to put God back in schools, which God are we talking about?”
“If you don’t know who Derek Jeter is, allow me to explain. Imagine a group of pirates, a vile, filthy band of lawbreakers and miscreants. Now imagine this group had a captain who seemed perfectly nice and was very good at being a captain, but he’s spent his life in service to an evil, repulsive entity. That’s Derek Jeter.”
“Australia is experiencing a heat wave of such magnitude that the Bureau of Meteorology had to add two colors, dark purple and pink, to the temperature forecasting map. The chart previously went to 118 degrees F, but that wasn’t sufficient — now it goes to 129.”
“Frankenyear was also the second most destructive on record, lashing the nation with 11 catastrophes that reached at least $1 billion in losses — including hurricanes, drought, wildfires, tornadoes and the great storm surge in New York City.”
“They have already demonstrated that rationality is not a strong suit, so attempting to reason with them will only bring stress and pain to you both.”
“Oh, wait, 65 years? We’ll all be long dead by then. Never mind.”
“There are people reading, quoting and commenting about #Gramsci on Twitter! Code red!”
“First, in 1962, a slow-burning fire in the network of abandoned coal mines under Centralia caused sinkholes, carbon monoxide plumes, and insane underground temperatures that made it unlivable. Then the town was evacuated and condemned. Now … the place is just crawling with dicks.”
“Peevishness at Master Clarks for a piece of bread and butter” (via John Fea)
“Church Sign Epic Fails: ‘God Likes Weed’”