Politics, government, media, technology, and public affairs; criticism of the modern age and its institutions. A claim about society at large, not any quote that mentions the world.
- Generational Criticism and Nostalgia Matthew Henry
And it is sometimes the fault of old people to discourage the services of the present age by crying up too much the performances and attainments of the former age.
- The Real America J. Gresham Machen
If aliens were to be called upon, at the discretion of officials, for their registration cards, citizens must be given some means of proving that they are not aliens, and …
- Tough Times for Evangelical Theology Carl Trueman
Evangelical theology faces tough times ahead: the church seems variously determined to prioritise management technique, religious experience, or that nebulous bane of …
- Dishonor to Protestant Christianity John Lorimer
We can conceive few things more dishonourable to Protestant Christianity, or more fitted to impair its progress, than to be able to say, with apparent truth, that it is …
- Deplorable John Newton
The state of the nation, the state of the churches—both are deplorable! Those who should be praying—are disputing and fighting among themselves! Alas! how many professors …
- Voting in Accordance to Conscience J. Gresham Machen
A great many men feel that there is no use in voting against a thing unless you can defeat it.
I do not feel that way.
I think it is a very important thing to vote …
- Hot-Brained Bigots John Newton
There is little doubt but many, if they had the courage and honesty to speak out, would add St. Paul himself to the list of those whom they despise as uncharitable and …
- Strain of Anabaptism in American Religion R. B. Kuiper
It is no exaggeration to assert that there exists a decided strain of Anabaptism in American evangelicalism.
The prevalent powerful prejudice, against certain things the …
- Evil, Enormous Multiplication of Books Edgar Allen Poe
The enormous multiplication of books in every branch of knowledge is one of the greatest evils of this age. It presents one of the most serious obstacles to the …
- On the Invention of Telephones Mark Twain
If Bell had invented a muffler or gag, he would have done a real service. The human voice carries entirely too far as it is.
Here we have been hollering ‘shut up’ to our …
- No Neutrality in Words David Powlison
Some words are destructive, misleading, unnourishing (Eph. 4:29a); others are constructive, timely, true, loving, grace-giving (Eph. 4:15, 29b). None are neutral.
- Religion that Stands J. Gresham Machen
The type of religion which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases regardless of their meanings or shrinks from controversial matters will never stand amid the …
- Pulpit Bored with God Richard Phillips
The institution that has most failed America in our lifetimes is the evangelical pulpit that is bored with God and dares not have the temerity to speak the truth of a …
- Outlaw Conquerors Lord Byron
What want these outlaw conquerors should have But History’s purchased page to call them great?
- The Lord’s Political Instruments John Newton
The instruments whom the Lord employs in political matters are usually such as are incapable of better employment.
- Practice What is Good John Owen
Every day I am more persuaded of this because I see men for the most part spending their strength and time more to oppose things they disagree with than to practice the …
- Bavinck on Rosseau Herman Bavinck
In the eighteenth century, Rousseau became the apostle of a ‘back to nature movement’ that repudiated human culture as the source of all evil. If only, in education, …
- Morality of Food Jayson Lusk
If we are to discuss the morality of food, foremost in our minds must be the ability of people (especially the poor) to eat.
Whatever else the modern food elite may …
- Chesterton on Motherhood G.K. Chesterton
How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be …
- Bad Parents Make Bad Children Thomas Manton
I cannot suppose thee to be such a stranger as to be ignorant of the general complaint concerning the decay of the power of godliness, and more especially of the great …
- Diminshed Value of Historical Arguments Robert Tracy McKenzie
Complicated answers rarely work well in public debates. In his classic Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville observed that ‘a false but clear and precise idea …
- Foolishness of Preaching J. Gresham Machen
Could anything be more impractical than the attempt to influence conduct by rehearsing events concerning the death of a religious teacher? That is what Paul called ’the …
- The History of Philosophy John Frame
But in philosophy itself, thinkers today discuss essentially the same questions that Plato and Aristotle did. That interesting fact suggests that the history of …
- Give Me Liberty or? John Newton
I think a heathen said, ‘The day which deprives a man of his liberty, robs him of half his virtues.’ If I was a heathen I should say so too. But the gospel teaches me …
- Random Elections? John Newton
I have so poor an opinion of the bulk both of the electors and the elected, that, I think, if the seats in the house of commons could be determined by a lottery, …
- Thomas Jefferon on Jesus Thomas Jefferson
And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation …
- Farm Work Leland Ryken
Our problem today is that we picture farm work from the vantage point of never having done it.
- Kahneman on Media and Memory Daniel Kahneman
People tend to assess the relative importance of issues by the ease with which they are retrieved from memory—and this is largely determined by the extent of coverage in …
- Countercultural Christianity Donald A. Carson, Douglas Moo
By refusing to engage in the quasi-religious customs surrounding the official Roman governmental structures, by resolutely setting themselves against some of the immoral …
- Madmen in Authority John Maynard Keynes
Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear …
- Pilgrim Life Edmund Clowney
Peter will describe the political and social duties of the Christian pilgrim. But first the pilgrim must know his calling. It is not to pursue the mirage of humanistic …
- Douglas Adams and P. G. Wodehouse Neil Gaiman
Actually, the literary tradition that Douglas [Adams] was part of was, at least initially, the tradition of English Humor Writing that gave us P. G. Wodehouse (whom …
- The Fate of the Country Henry David Thoreau
The fate of the country does not depend on how you vote at the polls — the worst man is as strong as the best at that game; it does not depend on what kind of paper you …
- Adam Smith on Watches Adam Smith
But the person so nice with regard to this machine, will not always be found either more scrupulously punctual than other men, or more anxiously concerned upon any other …
- In Our Days George Whitefield
In our days, to be a true Christian is really to become a scandal.
- John Newton on Jonthan Edwards John Newton
‘Edwards on Free Will,’ I have read with pleasure, as a good answer to proud reasoners in their own way; but a book of that sort cannot be generally read: where the …
- Tolkien on Disney J.R.R. Tolkien
It may be advisable, rather than lose the American interest, to let the Americans do it seems good for them – as long as it was possible (I should like to add) to veto …
- Frivolousness of Newsness Wendell Berry
And it is sure the duty of the older generation to be embarrassingly old-fashioned, for the claims of the ’newness’ of any younger generation are mostly frivolous. The …
- People Don't Talk About Anything Ray Bradbury
“People don’t talk about anything!”
“Oh, they must!”
“No, not anything. They name a lot of cars or clothes or swimming pools mostly and say how swell! But they all say …
- C. S. Lewis on Media and Sexuality C. S. Lewis
It is all a fake, of course; the figures in the popular art are falsely drawn; the real women in bathing suits or tights are actually pinched in and propped up to make …
- The Realm of Science Vern Poythress
Because of the cultural prestige of science and scientists, many people simply accept the present state of things as if it were the only possibility. But once we question …
- Illusion of Liberal Ideology Peter Berger
It is one of the more facetious illusions of liberal ideology that people will like each other better by getting to know each other.
- Peace Passing Understanding John Newton
There is a peace passing understanding, of which the politicians cannot deprive us.
- The Huge Task of Mothering G. K. Chesterton
How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? … I will pity Mrs. …
- The Vice of the Age John Newton
It is not reasoning but neglecting to reason, and to extend conclusions to their just consequences, that I condemn as the vice of the age.
- Eschew Obfuscation Daniel Kahneman
If you care about being thought credible and intelligent, do not use complex language where simpler language will do. … In an article titled ‘Consequences of Erudite …
- James Madison on the History of all Governments James Madison
The constitution supposes, what the History of all Governments demonstrates, that the Executive is the branch of power most interested in war, and most prone to it. It …
- Media and the Importance of Issues Daniel Kahneman
People tend to assess the relative importance of issues by the ease with which they are retrieved from memory–and this is largely determined by the extent of coverage in …
- Tim Keller on the Lord of the Rings Timothy Keller
When people ask me how often I have read The Lord of the Rings, the answer is, I actually never stop. I’m always in it.
- Bavinck on Crime Herman Bavinck
If the state’s only right to act against criminals is for self-protection and to improve them, how will we stop those who wish to deal with all kinds of sick people in …