News

Quotation Marks

Comments on the un-greenness of motherhood, National Geographic’s Gospel of Judas translation, and more.

“There’s no news here. It’s all about God.”Christopher Howse, of The Daily Telegraph newspaper, on a colleague’s reaction to Pope Benedict XVI’s latest encyclical. (Source: The Daily Telegraph)

“Far from showering financial booty on new mothers and rewarding greenhouse-unfriendly behaviour, a ‘baby levy’ in the form of a carbon tax should apply, in line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle.”Barry Walters, clinical associate professor of obstetric medicine at the University of Western Australia, who also proposes carbon credits for sterilization procedures. (Source: The Advertiser)

“While National Geographic‘s translation [of the Gospel of Judas] supported the provocative interpretation of Judas as a hero, a more careful reading makes clear that Judas is not only no hero, he is a demon.”April D. DeConick, accusing the magazine of manipulating scholarship to maximize its scoop last year. Scholars agree that the manuscript tells us nothing about the historical Judas. (Source: The New York Times)

“Infants, just like adults, are able to tell the difference between those who act positively vs. negatively toward others, and that they tend to approach those who act positively and to avoid those who act negatively.”J. Kiley Hamlin, of Yale’s psychology department, on a study showing that babies between 6 and 10 months chose “helpful” toys over “mean” ones after a demonstration. (Source: WebMD/Nature)

“Do you know what [Zimbabwean president Robert] Mugabe has done? He has taken people’s identity and literally — if you don’t mind — cut it to pieces. … From now on I am not going to wear a dog collar until Mugabe is gone.”John Sentamu, The Church of England’s Archbishop of York, cutting up his clerical collar on a live BBC broadcast. (Source: The Daily Telegraph)

“I believe that humility is the great omission and failure in my eleven years of preaching. I believe that this is my greatest oversight both in my example and in my instruction.”Mark Driscoll, pastor of Seattle’s Mars Hill Church. (Source: Between Two Worlds)

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Related Elsewhere:

Earlier Quotation Marks columns are available from the January 2008, December 2007, November 2007, October 2007, September 2007, August 2007, July 2007, June 2007, May 2007, April 2007, March 2007, February 2007, and earlier issues of Christianity Today.

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The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

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