“We no longer dare to believe in beauty and we make of it a mere appearance in order the more easily to dispose of it. Our situation today shows that beauty demands for itself at least as much courage and decision as do truth and goodness, and she will not allow herself to be separated and banned from her two sisters without taking them along with herself in an act of mysterious vengeance.”
"Even in the midst of the agonizing circumstances of a Nazi prison, Bonhoeffer never ceased to overflow with gratitude to God. Facing the daily possibility of death, he regarded each day as a precious gift from the Lord, to be received with thankfulness and joy. One English officer imprisoned with him later commented: “Bonhoeffer always seemed to me to spread an atmosphere of happiness and joy over the least incident and profound gratitude for the mere fact that he was alive.” Thankfulness did not come easy to Bonhoeffer. He had much to be troubled over. His worst torment was the separation from his beloved fiancee, Maria, and the uncertainty of not knowing whether she was safe. During these sufferings, Bonhoeffer’s approach was not merely to refrain from complaining. Nor was it to be joyful in spite of the hardship. Rather, he teaches us that we can be grateful not just in suffering but for the suffering itself. Bonhoeffer believed that difficult circumstances, no less than pleasant ones, come from the hand of God." Saints and Scoundrels, page 264
"Now that so many of us are continually logged on to the Web, lots of people no longer sit and read a newspaper or a magazine but instead get their news from the Internet as they furiously try to keep up with their email or other online activities. Many use hand-held devices to surreptitiously check their email during business meetings, corporate retreats, their kid's soccer games, and even church services. There are CEOs of Fortune 500 companies who check their BlackBerrys after every golf shot, and some people actually refuse to vacation anywhere they cannot get a high-speed Internet connection to their email and other Web-based sites at all times.
"Part of what makes email so addictive is that it follows the rules of operant conditioning, which means that the behavior is shaped by its consequences. When you check email, you get intermittent positive responses. Sometimes you receive good news: the arrival of an old friend, perhaps a great joke, or a long-awaited response to a request. Occasionally, you receive fantastic news, such as word that your lost winning lottery ticked was found at the dry cleaners. But more often, a neutral, boring, or distressing mail notice or spam gets through. You can never tell in advance whether checking your email will be pleasurable or not, so you keep on checking, checking, and checking, Behavioral psychologists have detailed how the principles of reward and punishment reinforce this behavior, and they have found that using consistent rewards--good news all the time--is less motivational than randomly occurring rewards. Much like gamling addicts, people keep up the behavior because 'next time' may bring the big payoff. The brain's neural circuitry is prewired for this response." (Ibrain, pp. 54-55)
 |
| The doctrine of resurrection has cultural, economic, ecological and political consequences. |
“The Christian life is both practical and intellectual, and that we separate these two facets at our peril. The Christian life should be practical, since the effectiveness of our witness for Christ depends on the gospel flowing out of our fingertips, being constantly applied to the material of our daily lives. But in order for a Christian to serve Jesus in practical ways, he must also grow in wisdom and understanding.” Saints and Scoundrels, page 85
 |
| The Quantum Leap |
Despite the criticisms that can be made against him, President Mubarack has provided a stabilizing influence in the region, helping Israel secure its borders and keeping radical Islam in check…. What Obama’s approach overlooks is that the “free elections” in Middle Eastern countries can often be a summons for the advancement of Islamic radicalism and fundamentalist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood.
 |
| Bill and Melinda Gates |
Solo Scriptura (not to be confused with Sola Scriptura which Mathison defends) means that the individual is the final interpreter of scripture.
