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Bloopers | Stories with a Lesson | Advice on Preaching | Whites of Their Eyes | Whose Opinion Matters? | Classical/Latin Illustration
Nebuchadnezzar Inscription: on a cylinder dedicated to an ancient temple of Marad:"...Kill those who do not agree with me, break their weapons, destroy the whole land of the enemy. Knock them all down to the ground; may your fierce weapons, which will not spare the enemy, stand erect and sharp to kill my enemy." George Washington on ReasonIf men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences that can invite the consideration of mankind, reason is of no use; the freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. (Address to officers of the Army, March 15, 1783) "Be Not As ... the Cow"Giving out of necessity, if it can be called giving, reminds one of farmer Applegate's cow. "How much milk does that cow give?" asked the summer helper. "Wal," replied Applegate, "ef you mean by voluntary contribution, she don't give none. But ef ye kin get her cornered, so she can't kick none to hurt, an able-bodied man kin take away about 'leven quarts a day from her." It is terrible to speak well and be wrong -- Sophocles Never underestimate the power of prejudice. It can blind one to the simplest of truths. |
I shall try to correct
errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear
to be true views. -- Abraham Lincoln "People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid. " - Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) "His ignorance is encyclopedic" - Abba Eban "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." - Galileo Galilei "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." - Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) "Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance."- Will Durant "A man can't be too careful in the choice of his enemies. " - Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) "Silence," said Josh Billings, is "one of the hardest arguments to refute." Protest long enough that you are right, and you will be wrong. -- Yiddish Proverb |
Advice on Preaching Floyd Thompson's advice to younger preachers ("Book, Chapter & Verse..."):
Crito, a dear friend of Socrates, tried to persuade Socrates to escape from prison since he was to be put to death shortly. Crito was worried that many people would have a bad opinion of him if he did not try to help Socrates escape. Socrates responded: “But why, my dear Crito, should we care about the opinion of the many? Good men, and they are the only persons who are worth considering, will think of these things truly as they happened.” Later, Socrates again affirmed this principle: “Then, my friend, we must not regard what the many say of us: but what he, the one man who has understanding of just and unjust, will say, and what the truth will say.” Not bad for an old philosopher! How I envy that preacher! I have suffered for so long at the hands of skittish churchgoers who insist on sitting in the back seats and compel the newcomers, generally visitors, to move into "no man’s land" in front of them. I fuss within myself at inept ushers who refuse to assert themselves and guide new arrivals to a seat near the front of the meeting place or, worse still, run off and carry in chairs to pack at the back of the auditorium so they can leave the great wasteland at the front bereft of people. For years there has been speculation about the possibility of a technological advance that will make it possible to build a church with moving pews so that after people have filled the ever-popular back seats, the pew will move gently forward to a place where they can at least be fairly clearly seen by the preacher. Perhaps preachers should be advised not to preach "… until you see the whites of their eyes." John W. Drakeford, Humor in Preaching, p. 53 |
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| Classical/Latin
Illustration
Livy, writing in the first century BC, opined about the lacking morality of his day. He invited his readers to consider their own times, in which "neither our vices nor the remedies are we able to endure" (Ab Urbe Condita, Preface). I wonder... have we reached similar circumstances in our own day? Old Latin Saying: Adversus solem ne loquitor. Literally, do not speak against the sun. It means, "do not argue with what is obvious." Do you suppose we ever waste time arguing about the obvious? |
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updated 03/21/07
