They Said What? (Jan/Feb 2020)
Faith and practice can’t persevere through our generation without attendance, and neither can the hope they tend to bring. And while that may not seem like a problem now, it will soon. We still want relationships and transcendence, to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Our drive for those things isn’t likely to wane.
Columnist Christine Emba, in her op-ed column, “Why millennials are skipping church and not going back.” Emba implied that organized religion is needed in society.
Washington Post, 10-28-19
I believe that there is the invisible hand of God in this case. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have surfaced after 18 years.
Renji Thomas, sister-in-law of accused family serial killer Jolly Joseph in India.
The Washington Post, 11-3-19
This bible is very important to us. Our strength is God. Power is God.
Jeanine Áñez, Bolivia’s interim president, from the balcony of the Presidential Palace in La Paz in her first public appearance.
Cruxnow.com, 11-20-19
I’m a big believer that the God of our universe is still very active in the details of the day-to-day lives of government. You know, Barack Obama doesn’t get to be the president of the United States without being ordained by God. Neither did Donald Trump.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry in an interview.
Fox News, 11-24-19
We are fulfilling our duties as Christians. . .We consider it a great honor to be considered and to have received a wonderful letter from the Freedom From Religion organization. Proud to have a sheriff that won’t bow to political pressure or the devices of the enemy!
TJ Armstrong, public information officer for Walker County, Ala., after FFRF sent a letter to Sheriff Nick Smith to stop posting prayers on social media after a tragedy occurs. The sheriff said he will not comply with FFRF’s request.
CBN News, 12-10-19
Take the example of Europe. When its nations accepted contraception and abortion, they stopped replacing their population. Christianity began to die out. And, with Europeans having no children, immigrant Muslims came in to replace them, and now the culture of Europe is changing. . . . We’re on the same track as Europe. The church and family are in crisis.
Kathleen Eaton Bravo, CEO of Obria, an anti-choice and anti-contraception organization that recently has been awarded millions of dollars in grants by the Trump administration, during an interview in 2015 with the Catholic World Report.
The Guardian, 12-11-19
I am not crazy. I am just a religious zealot.
Robert L. Dear Jr., the Christian terrorist accused of killing three people at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic in 2015, speaking to a federal magistrate judge. Dear was indicted by a federal grand jury on 68 counts.
Denver 7, 12-9-19
I am often asked by parents, “How do I talk to my child about death if I don’t believe in God or heaven?” My answer is always the same: “Lie.” The idea that you simply die and turn to dust may work for some adults, but it doesn’t help children. Belief in heaven helps them grapple with this tremendous and incomprehensible loss.
Psychoanalyst Erica Komisar, in an op-ed “Don’t Believe in God? Lie to Your Children.”
Wall Street Journal, 12-5-19
As a believer in Jesus Christ, I don’t want to have a Muslim, atheist, Buddhist or anyone else get up and do an invocation for one of our meetings.
McHenry Township (Ill.) Trustee Mike Rakestraw, after the board voted down the implementation of an pre-meeting invocation.
Northwest Herald, 12-15-19
Lee said he prays that Tennessee does not experience a school shooting, that the state’s opioid epidemic will diminish and that Tennessee’s educational outcomes improve. If thousands of people offer similar prayers, he believes God will impart his favor on Tennessee.
News report from a luncheon at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Nashville headquarters where Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee was speaking.
wate.com, 12-4-19
