I’d be hard-pressed to find an expression more commonly misused by otherwise careful writers and speakers than the expressions I’m sometimes faced with when an agnostic or atheist friend discovers that I’m Christian. “But how can you believe in Christianity when there isn’t any proof for it?” they’ll say or […]
Christianity
If you’d only ever read the title of J.B. Phillips’ little book Your God Is Too Small, you may feel that the counterpoint needs to be made. Yes, we often build up inadequate images of God in our heads (the Resident Policeman or the Grand Old Man, to take two […]
There’s nothing inherently confused about the expression “money is the root of all evil.” I don’t happen to agree with it, but that’s a philosophical point that can be debated. The confusion comes in since most people who use the expression think they’re quoting the Bible (and often are trying […]
When I was younger, a friend said to me—if memory serves, in response to my resolute disinclination to smoke cigarettes with him—”Your body is your temple, isn’t it?” It was the first time I’d heard the expression, and although I’ve heard it many times since, it seems no less ridiculous […]
Of all the expressions I don’t understand, “thank goodness” is my favorite. Without any other consideration, however, I’d regard the term a step above mere noise or throat-clearing. Although the first word conveys a sense of gratitude (of course), the expression as a whole is so deprived of meaning that […]
In my city, a mini-controversy has recently erupted over an advertisement that an atheist group would like posted in city buses. The ad reads, “There’s probably no God, now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” (If this campaign hasn’t come to your city yet, I’m sure it will soon.) My […]