Friday, November 20, 2009
"We Christians, but we party, too. "
--Terverius Black of Huntsville, Ala., who co-founded the Xist entertainment company to promote Christian hip-hop, which produces music, films, a reality TV show and a cruise. He was quoted by the Associated Press.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
"Up here at the grotto, you get a lot of people that are very, very faithful, and they do things you and I would never attempt to do. "
--William Tronolone, director of the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Emmitsburg, Md., after a woman left $40,000 in rare coins near the shrine so the Virgin Mary could guard them. He was quoted by The Associated Press.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
"Obviously the severing of relationship after so many years is unfortunate and gives the world-at-large another reason to conclude that Baptists care more about putting people out than gathering them in."
--The Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Decatur, Ga., responding to the decision by the Georgia Baptist Convention to end its 148-year-old relationship with her congregation because it hired a woman as senior pastor. She was quoted by Associated Baptist Press.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
"I said, absolutely! Pray away! I would never turn down prayer even with limited hours in a campaign day, standing in a few inches of water with a shower curtain for a wardrobe. You do what you've got to do.” "
--Former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, writing in her new book “Going Rogue: An American Life” about how she took a call from megachurch pastor Rick Warren when she was in the shower. She was quoted by The Washington Post.
Monday, November 16, 2009
"Once in a while I'll have a thought. But I never have a temptation. "
--Former evangelical leader Ted Haggard, who was caught in a sex and drug scandal, responding to a question from KUSA-TV about whether he still has homosexual thoughts. The Denver TV station reported Monday (Nov. 16) that Haggard plans to continue weekly prayer meetings in his home.
Friday, November 13, 2009
"People love a good comeback story. "
--Disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard, who has started a new prayer meeting in his Colorado home. The meeting drew more than 100 people, despite Haggard's own low expectations. He was quoted by The Associated Press (Nov. 13).
Thursday, November 12, 2009
"When I'm in uniform, I feel totally relaxed. ... I get thank-yous at the supermarket, the gas station. But when I'm in civilian clothes, my hijab, I get scrutiny. Sometimes looks and stares speak loudly. Little do they know who I am. "
--Shareda Hosein, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve and a Muslim chaplain at Tufts University, discussing being a Muslim in the military and in American society. She was quoted by The Washington Post.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
"They may get the stuff, but we'll get the souls. They may get the past, but we've got the future. "
--Anglican Bishop Robert Duncan, who has split with the Episcopal Church and formed a rival denomination, the Anglican Church in North America. Former and current Episcopalians are battling in court over church property. He was quoted by The New York Times (Nov. 8)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
"It's getting harder and harder for Muslims in the service to morally justify being in a military that seems constantly engaged against fellow Muslims. "
--Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Muslim Army psychiatrist who is accused of killing 13 people and wounding dozens more at an army base in Fort Hood, Texas. The quote is from a presentation Hasan made to senior Army doctors in 2007 while he was a psychiatric resident at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington. A copy of Hasan's presentation was obtained by The Washington Post.
Monday, November 09, 2009
"We should be clear: The actions of this one man do not reflect the beliefs or values of the vast majority of American Muslims. "
--Chaplain Paul Vicalvi, executive director of the National Association of Evangelicals Chaplains Commission, responding to the Thursday (Nov. 5) mass shooting at Fort Hood in which a Muslim suspect is accused of killing 13 people.
Friday, November 06, 2009
"I had demons in Jacksonville, so God put me there so a healing could take place, and it did. I left Jacksonville with good feelings about the team and the season. "
--New Orleans Saints kicker John Carney, who missed a crucial extra point in Jacksonville, Fla., then joined the Jacksonville Jaguars, before returning to the Saints. He was quoted by the New Orleans Times-Picayune (Nov. 3).
Thursday, November 05, 2009
"I'm one who believes that God will take care of all of us ... But I'm not one who believes that that means that the pastor ought to drive a Bentley car or live in a million-dollar house or fly on a corporate jet. "
--The Rev. Julius Scruggs, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, in an interview with EthicsDaily.com. He was discussing how he believes prosperity gospel theology is detrimental to Christianity.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
"If human beings treated one another's personal property the way they sometimes treat their environment, we would view that behavior as anti-social. "
--Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, speaking at Georgetown University Tuesday (Nov. 3).
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
"We, the Wampanoag people, who opened our arms and allowed people to come here for religious freedoms, are now being threatened with our religion being taken away for the profits of one single group of investors. "
--Wampanoag Indian Chuckie Green on plans to build a wind farm off the shore of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Green, who was quoted by The Associated Press, said tribal rituals require an unobstructed view of the sun.
Monday, November 02, 2009
"From our perspective, things are going pretty great. "
--Church of Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis, after a week in which a French court convicted the church of fraud and an Oscar-winning filmmaker quit and denounced Scientology as anti-gay. Davis, who was quoted by The Associated Press, says Scientology is flourishing, with an estimated 8,000 churches, missions, and groups in more than 160 nations.