Michael Horton, The Gospel-Driven Life, pg. 34

If the concept of the modern self was that of a master of all it surveyed, the postmodern self is best described as a tourist. There is no destination; just personal journeys from nowhere to nowhere in particular.

‘Twas the night before Jesus came, and all through the house
Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.
Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without a care
In hopes that Jesus would not come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.
And mom in her rocker with baby on her lap
Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the east there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray
I knew in a moment this must be The Day!

The light of his face made me cover my head.
It was Jesus, returning just like he had said.
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life, which he held in his hand,
Was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as he searched for my name.
When He said, “It’s not here,” my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love
He gathered to take to his Father above.
With those who were ready, he rose without a sound,
While all the rest were left standing around.

I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.
I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight.
Oh if only I had been ready tonight.

In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;
The coming of Jesus is drawing near.
There’s only one life and, when comes the last call,
We’ll find that the Bible was true after all.

— Audrey Patricia Woolverton

Chefranden, 28 November 2009 [link]

“The answer to your question is that humans are not rational beings. We are emotional beings with a relatively weak rational capacity. This rational capacity is most easily used for rationalization rather than reasoning.”

[Quoted for truth! Sorry, I realize this fellow is not a notable figure but that quote was too good to pass up.]

Ed Ames, “Who Will Answer?” c. 1968

From the canyons of the mind,
We wander on and stumble blind;
Wade through the often-tangled maze
Of starless nights and sunless days;
Hoping for some kind of clue,
A road to lead us to the truth.
But who will answer?

As side-by-side two people stand,
Together vowing, hand-in-hand,
That love’s embedded in their hearts;
But soon an empty feeling starts
To overwhelm their hollow lives.
And if they ask the hows and whys,
Who will answer?

Far upon and distant hill,
A young man’s lying very still.
His arms will never hold his child,
Because a bullet running wild
Has struck him down. And now he cries,
“My God, why? O why?”
But who will answer?

As high upon a lonely ledge,
a figure teeters near the edge,
While jeering crowds collect below
To egg him on with, “Go, man, go!”
And none will ask what led him to
His private day of doom.
And who will answer?

As ‘neath the spreading mushroom tree,
The world revolves with apathy;
While overhead, a row of specks
Roars on, drowned out by discotheques.
And if the secret button’s pressed
Because one man has been outguessed,
Who will answer?

Is our hope in walnut shells,
Worn ’round the neck with temple bells?
Or deep within some cloistered walls
Where hooded figures pray in halls?
Or high upon some dusty shelves?
Or in our stars? Or in ourselves?
Who will answer?

If the soul is darkened by a fear it cannot name,
If the mind is baffled when the rules don’t fit the game,
Who will answer?

Arthur Guiterman, c. 1936

First dentistry was painless, then bicycles were chainless, and carriages were horseless, and many laws enforceless. Next cookery was fireless, telegraphy was wireless, cigars were nicotineless, and coffee caffeineless. Soon oranges were seedless, the putting green was weedless, the college boy hatless, the proper diet fatless. Now motor roads are dustless, the latest steel is rustless, our tennis courts are sodless, our new religions godless.

Guy Consolmagno, 14 Aug 2009.

“What I find in many of the proselytizers of atheism is a very naïve understanding of religion. If religion were anything like the rigid brainwashing it’s often caricatured as, I would have no part of it either.”

Bill Maher, 16 June 2009 (video)

“Sorry, folks, but this President is not fighting for real health care reform. It’s nibbling that leaves insurance companies still running the show. … This is not getting the job done. This is not what I voted for. And this is why I don’t want my President to be a TV star, because TV stars are too worried about being popular and too concerned with getting renewed. … Folks, Barack Obama needs to start putting it on the line in fights against the banks, the energy companies, and the health care industry… I’m glad Obama is President, but the Audacity of Hope part is over. Right now I’m hoping for a little more audacity.”

Cyrus Vance, 14 June 1977

“If terrorism and violence in the name of dissent cannot be condoned, neither can violence that is officially sanctioned. Such action perverts the legal system that alone assures the survival of our traditions. The surest way to defeat terrorism is to promote justice in our societies—legal, economic, and social justice. Justice that is summary undermines the future it seeks to promote. It produces only more violence, more victims, and more terrorism. Respect for the rule of law will promote justice and remove the seeds of subversion. Abandoning such respect, governments descend into the netherworld of the terrorist and lose their strongest weapon—their moral authority.”