“I once had the privilege of debating David Niose, president of the American Humanist Association . . . [Niose] a very nice man, said in the course of the debate that the Bible was a tired and ancient book, with a bunch of irrelevant laws, citing as one example the Old Testament prohibition of eating …
Smaller Than Tiny
“We are all smaller than tiny. We all have a tiny role to play, and the fact that we are tiny makes our duties tiny—without making them unimportant. How God did that, I don’t know, but He did” (Empires of Dirt, p. 235).
Why Cowardice Cowers
“The cowardice that is afraid of success is not biblical faith, and it will be that same lack of faith that, when it comes to the point, refuses to pay the price that a martyr would pay. Faith is willing for earthly success or failure, whatever the Lord has ordained for us. Cowardice is ultimately …
Rotating the Hips
“Biblical faith always swings for the fence” (Empires of Dirt, p. 233).
Not the Same Thing at All
“The impulse to theological perfectionism is a deep one in every theological tradition because imperfect creatures such as ourselves like to believe that God’s perfections are more like a proof out of Euclid than anything else. But God is perfect . . . not a perfectionist” (Empires of Dirt, p. 232).
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Liberty, Not License
“Free societies can function only when the authority of restraint is found in the old fashioned virtues of self-restraint and self-control. Free governments presuppose self-government” (Empires of Dirt, p. 228).
And Maybe Two Bedroom Czars
“They want to keep the government ‘out of our bedrooms.’ What are they talking about? I have to live in their society, remember. And I built my house, which means I built my own bedroom. The government told me how far apart the studs had to be in my bedroom wall, they dictated how thick …
Or From Multiple Billboards
“The more the law of God is written on hearts and minds, which is what happens under the new covenant, the less necessary it is to have standards of public decency urged upon us from billboards” (Empires of Dirt, p. 227).
Taking Tolerance Back
“Christians invented the most open and tolerant society in the history of the world” (Empires of Dirt, p. 227).
Tolerance Can Be a Virtue
“If we were to say that Smith tolerates X, we do not yet know if Smith is a hero or a skunk. Does he tolerate respectful dissent, responsibly offered? Child porn? Smokers in bars? Transfats in restaurants? Ethnic violence? What does he tolerate?” (Empires of Dirt, p. 226).