“Religion kills, but so does cancer, old age, hunting accidents, radiation from the sun, other predatory species, too much mayonnaise, and the music of Andrew Lloyd Weber. Actually, we need to use the wide-angle lens and admit that it is Evolution that kills” (God Is, p. 10).
Indignation That Floats Like a Helium Balloon
“How can a chemical reaction be hypocritical? How can the chemical reaction that is man be a hypocrite? Given [the atheist’s] premises, it is like being indignant with a tornado, or vegetable soup, or sand on the beach — but Hitchens does it. They all do it . . . I am happy to make …
It’s a Gift, Really
“I believe I also know how to make a metaphor crawl up your back and make an unpleasant smacky noise in your ear” (God Is, p. 2).
Reason Is Not Dry
[Hitchens] “does not write like so many other atheistic rationalists — men who believe that the authority of reason (all rise!) necessitates a turgid kind of book that reads like it was put together by a committee of certified public accountants trying to write a phone book” (God Is, p. 1).
Different Kinds of Serious
“The issues are important, but no sense getting really worked up over it. If we were all sitting on a used car lot, and one of the F-250 trucks began questioning the existence of Henry Ford, we would all think it was a serious situation, but that is not the same thing as thinking it …
When the Scaffolding Came Down, What Remained?
“God did not intend to tear down the Abrahamic house when He tore down the Mosaic scaffolding . . . . There is no reason to believe the New Covenant has made God’s people childless and barren. The prophets said that spiritual fruitfulness would increase under the New Covenant, not decrease and vanish!” (To a …
Buried in Baptism
“When someone is buried they are completely enclosed or surrounded. In the same way, when someone is immersed in water, he is completely enclosed or surrounded” (To a Thousand Generations, p. 108).
Old Covenant Soap
“In Hebrews 9:13, in reference to Numbers 19, we are taught that when the ashes of the heifer were sprinkled on the unclean, it resulted in a purification of the flesh. It was an external cleansing. These ashes produced a physical purity. It included what Christian baptism does not — a removal of dirt from …
Identified With Moses
“Those familiar with the story of the Red Sea crossing will remember that the whole point of this remarkable deliverance was that the Israelites did not get wet at all. It was the Egyptians who were immersed. Nevertheless, although the Israelites remained dry, they were still baptized into Moses. The contextual meaning does not seem …
Chips In Salsa
“Another mode of baptizing in the New Testament is that of dipping. Dipping is sometimes thought of as ‘quick immersion’ but it can also be seen as partial immersion. In [Matt. 26:23; Jn. 13:26] . . . the word that is used in these passages is bapto, a word related closely to baptizo — and …