"I have been a witness, and these pictures are

my testimony. The events I have recorded should

not be forgotten and must not be repeated."

-James Nachtwey-

Nicolas Henri

"They don't need more programs. They want prayer and revival for their generation."

-Christianity Today

"After hearing from the panelists, the audience in San Diego broke for dinner. No word on whether any said grace with the proper closing word for Pastafarian prayers: "Ramen." "

- The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster




“I’m a Democrat. I’m considered a progressive Democrat. But if a Republican or a Conservative or a libertarian or a free-marketer has a better idea, I am happy to steal ideas from anybody and in that sense I’m agnostic.” “The number of conservatives who’ve called me—roommates of mine, relatives who are Republicans—who’ve said, ‘He’s the one Democrat I could support, not because he agrees with me, because he doesn’t, but because I at least think he’ll take my point of view into account,’ ”

-The New Yorker

God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Saviour
was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan’s power
when we were gone astray

Oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
Oh tidings of comfort and joy

After Thanksgiving our folks
unpacked the manger scene
With Mary, Joseph, shepherds and
Three kings on bended knee
But left the manger empty
til we slept on christmas eve

And now my wife and child dream
of gifts beneath the tree
While I place in the manger
baby Jesus figurine
Sipping Christmas whiskey
wondering if I still believe…

"Do not let me hear
Of the wisdom of old men, but rather of their folly,
Their fear of fear and frenzy, their fear of possession,
Of belonging to another, or to others, or to God.
The only wisdom we can hope to acquire
Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless."

-T.S. Eliot

"The 20th century was the bloodiest in human history. In Humanity: A Moral History of the 20th Century, Jonathan Glover estimates that 86,000,000 people died in wars fought from 1900 to 1989. That means 2,500 people every day, or 100 people every hour, for 90 years."

Not in the medieval times. Not way back when. Last century.

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."

-Mohandas Gandhi

"When I learned of the shootings I was heart-wrenched. I immediately began to pray. I began to pray that your church would be empowered to witness to the self-sacrificial, suffering love of the God revealed in Jesus of Nazareth. Some minutes later, I learned of a second great tragedy, a greater tragedy, and one that I did not expect. I learned that the gunman was shot and killed by a paid employee of your congregation of believers. Hearing this, I was devastated. The life of an unbeliever was traded for the lives of believers. A man was consigned to eternal separation from God in order to save from heaven those who are assured of salvation... The watching world today learned that followers of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, do not love their enemies so much, do not believe so much in the resurrection of the dead that they will not arm themselves against aggression."

Your servant,
Thom


"Rather than engage hearers by first trying to convince them of their guilt before a righteous God, Bell starts with what the hearers already know: we are deeply ashamed of not being good enough."
-Mark Driscoll was wrong, Rob Bell's not a freakin heretic


"Supporters claim it is not a national ID because it is voluntary," Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, one of the eight Republicans to object to the measure, said during the floor debate this week. "However, any state that opts out will automatically make nonpersons out of its citizens. They will not be able to fly or to take a train."

-National ID Cards on the Way?