“It is almost a truism that heresy, or exploratory theology, serves a useful purpose by forcing orthodoxy to formulate appropriate responses.  The church without heresy may ultimately be in the greater danger of heresy.”
- Geoffrey Bromiley, Historical Theology: An Introduction, 26

“And to Robbe a poor man, is a greater Crime, than to robbe a rich man; because ’tis to the poore a more sensible damage.”
- Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, 352 (ch. 27)

“We are fonder of spiritual sweetness than of crosses.”
- St. Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, 40 (Third Mansion, ch. 1)

“If the answer to his suffering is to face it and challenge it to do its worst because he knows that when it has exhausted itself it has only touched the outer walls of his dwelling place, this can only come to pass because he has found something big enough to contain all violences and violations – he has found that his life is rooted in a God who cares for him and cultivates his spirit, whose purpose is to bring to heel all the untutored, recalcitrant expressions of life.”
- Howard Thurman, Disciplines of the Spirit, 84

“The mind naturally believes and the will naturally loves. As a result, lacking true objects, they must attach themselves to false ones.”
- Pascal, Pensees, S544/L61

What am I most thankful for in life? The blog Futility Closet.

From Climate Change Doubt Is Tea Party Article of Faith:

“It’s a flat-out lie,” Mr. Dennison said in an interview after the debate, adding that he had based his view on the preaching of Rush Limbaugh and the teaching of Scripture. “I read my Bible,” Mr. Dennison said. “He made this earth for us to utilize.”

What is the inference here? God made the earth for us to utilize; if something was made for us to utilize, it is permissible for us to destroy it; therefore, we may destroy the earth. Next quote, from same article:

“Carbon regulation, cap and trade, it’s all just a money-control avenue,” Ms. Khuri added. “Some people say I’m extreme, but they said the John Birch Society was extreme, too.“

I thought about putting only the word “said” in italics. But here’s a link.

From Efforts to Prosecute Blackwater Are Collapsing:

“There are substantial difficulties in prosecuting cases committed in war zones,” the official said. “There’s problems with the availability of witnesses, availability of evidence, and the quality of the evidence. You also have claims of self-defense, which are generally difficult, although not insurmountable.” And self-defense is a more compelling argument in war zones, where many people are routinely armed.

I found this editorial remark amusing insofar as it is intended to be clarificatory.

From Coalition Forces Routing Taliban in Key Afghan Region:

Military and civilian officials say there are also signs of a crisis in command as Taliban leaders have struggled to maintain logistics and supply routes, suicide bombers have failed to turn up for attacks, and even senior commanders were showing reluctance to follow orders from their leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, to go in to fight the NATO onslaught in Panjwai.

Maybe the suicide bombers overslept?

The highlight of this hearing was probably Colbert’s application of The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.