"Life does not consist in piety, but in striving to become devout; not in health, but in becoming healthy — as a whole, not in being, but in becoming. Not passivity, but practice. We have still not arrived, but we shall. It is still not done; it has not happened; yet it has been conceived. It has not yet shone upon all, but it has stirred all. We are not yet at home, but we are on the way."

-- Martin Luther

"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people."

--Paul the Apostle, Letter to Titus 3:5-8

"The Justice memo likewise reveals a brazen Republican willingness to put politics above sound legal reasoning. The appointees didn't break money-laundering laws, and they aren't the only partisans to ever put politics first. But the memo gives the Supreme Court ample reason to hear an appeal of Texas' congressional map. We had originally opposed keeping the case alive, but the new evidence is too much to ignore."

-- The Dallas Morning News editorial board

"...the endemic corruption of conservatives in power we are witnessing today is not just a morality play about power's corrupting influence, or about the descent of ideologues into the practical swamps of politics. Worse than that, it's about the consequences of entrusting government's vast power to people who can't think of it as a force for the common good, and thus, inevitably, treat it as a force for private gain."

-- Marshall Whitman

"By far the most significant event in the whole course of human history will be celebrated, with or without understanding, at the end of this season, Advent. What we are in fact celebrating is the awe-inspiring humility of God, and no amount of familiarity with the trappings of Christmas should ever blind us to it. God’s intervening into human history came about with an almost frightening quietness and self-effacement, and as millions will testify, he will come once again with the same silence and the same devastating humility into any heart ready to receive him."

-- J.B. Phillips

"I am resigning from the House of Representatives because I’ve compromised the trust of my constituents.

When I announced several months ago that I would not seek re-election, I publicly declared my innocence because I was not strong enough to face the truth. So, I misled my family, staff, friends, colleagues, the public -- even myself. For all of this, I am deeply sorry.

The truth is -- I broke the law, concealed my conduct, and disgraced my high office. I know that I will forfeit my freedom, my reputation, my worldly possessions, and most importantly, the trust of my friends and family.

Some time ago, I asked my lawyers to inform the U.S. Attorney Carol Lam that I would like to plead guilty and begin serving a prison term. Today is the culmination of that process. I will continue to cooperate with the government’s ongoing investigation to the best of my ability.

In my life, I have known great joy and great sorrow. And now I know great shame. I learned in Viet Nam that the true measure of a man is how he responds to adversity. I cannot undo what I have done. But I can atone. I am now almost 65 years old and, as I enter the twilight of my life, I intend to use the remaining time that God grants me to make amends.

The first step in that journey is to admit fault and apologize. The next step is to face the consequences of my actions like a man. Today, I have taken the first step and, with God’s grace, I will soon take the second.

Thank you."

- Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-CA)

"The whole thing (being an NFL analyst for ESPN) means such a great deal for me, and hopefully one day it will be there. But my friends and my family mean a little more. I would rather be helping them, even if it hurts that."

-- Michael Irvin

" We need to listen again to the biblical criticism of religion. No book, not even by Marx and his followers, is more scathing of empty religion than the Bible. The prophets of the eighth and seventh centuries BC were outspoken in their denunciation of the formalism and hypocrisy of Israelite worship. Jesus then applied their critique to the Pharisees of his day: 'These people ... honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me' (Is. 29:13; Mk. 7:6). And this indictment of religion by the Old Testament prophets and by Jesus is uncomfortably applicable to us and our churches today. Too much of our worship is ritual without reality, form without power, fun without fear, religion without God."

-- John R.W. Stott

"But if there is an ounce of truth in the notion that George Bush seriously proposed the destruction of al-Jazeera, and was only dissuaded by the Prime Minister, then we need to know, and we need to know urgently. We need to know what we have been fighting for, and there is only one way to find out.

The Attorney General's ban is ridiculous, untenable, and redolent of guilt. I do not like people to break the Official Secrets Act, and, as it happens, I would not object to the continued prosecution of those who are alleged to have broken it. But we now have allegations of such severity, against the US President and his motives, that we need to clear them up.

If someone passes me the document within the next few days I will be very happy to publish it in The Spectator, and risk a jail sentence. The public need to judge for themselves. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. If we suppress the truth, we forget what we are fighting for, and in an important respect we become as sick and as bad as our enemies."

-- Boris Johnson, British MP (Tory)

"We give you thanks, Almighty God, for all the benefits you have given us."

-- Unknown Catholic

"If you cannot believe, love from the bottom of your heart and don’t have so many questions about your faith. Just give your love to everyone! Most people are unable to express themselves about formal faith; but everyone understands what love is. Let love surge up in your heart and you will be one with God. If you are looking for a way forward, if you belong to those who strive for the kingdom of God, for a new heaven and a new earth, then love! God loves the world. Anyone can see that, otherwise God would not have wanted to make everything new."

-- Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt

"War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today."

-- John F. Kennedy

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."

-- Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda, 1933-1945

"Any suggestion that prewar information was distorted, hyped, fabricated by the leader of the nation is utterly false. This is revisionism of the most corrupt and shameless variety."

-- Dick Cheney

"Any suggestion that prewar information was distorted, hyped, fabricated by the leader of the nation is utterly false. This is revisionism of the most corrupt and shameless variety."

-- Dick Cheney

"Providence watches over each of us as we journey through life, providing us with two guides: repentance and remorse. The one calls us forward. The other calls us back. Yet they do not contradict each other, nor do they leave the traveler in doubt or confusion. For the one calls forward to the Good, the other back from the evil. And there are two of them, because in order to make our journey secure we must look ahead as well as back."

-- Soren Kierkegaard

"I resent the fact that on Veterans Day, they criticized Democrats for criticizing them. I like guys who've never been there that criticize us who've been there. I like that. I like guys who got five deferments and never been there and send people to war, and then don't like to hear suggestions about what needs to be done."

-- Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), Col., USMC, Ret.

"The Way is not a religion: Christianity is the end of religion. 'Religion' means here the division between sacred and secular concerns, other-worldliness, man's reaching toward God in a way which projects his own thoughts."

-- David Kirk

"I'm quite confident we're going to find out that it started kind of as gossip, as chatter, and that somebody learned that Joe Wilson's wife had worked at the CIA and helped him get this job going to Niger to see if there was an Iraq/Niger uranium deal. There's a lot of innocent actions in all of this."

-- Bob Woodard

"Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy."

-- Wendell Berry

"I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."

-- Judge Samuel A. Alito

"Do not desire crosses, unless you have borne well those
laid on you; it is an abuse to long after martyrdom while
unable to bear an insult patiently."

-- François de Sales (1567-1622)

"Are you worried because you find it so hard to believe? Don't be surprised at the difficulty of faith, if there is some part of your life where you are consciously resisting or disobeying the commandment of Jesus. Is there some part of your life which you are refusing to surrender at His behest, some sinful passion, maybe, or some animosity, some hope, perhaps your ambition or your reason? If so, you must not be surprised that you have not received the Holy Spirit, that prayer is difficult, or that your request for faith remains unanswered … The person who disobeys cannot believe. Only if you obey can you believe."

-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"We are not cutting Medicaid for those truly in need."

-- Rep. David Dreier (R-CA)

"In America, through pressure of conformity, there is freedom of choice, but nothing to choose from."

-- Peter Ustinov

"In America, through pressure of conformity, there is freedom of choice, but nothing to choose from."

-- Peter Ustinov

"In America, through pressure of conformity, there is freedom of choice, but nothing to choose from."

-- Peter Ustinov

"The man who will go where his colors go, without asking, who will fight a phantom foe in jungle and mountain range, without counting, and who will suffer and die in the midst of incredible hardship, without complaint, is still what he has always been, from Imperial Rome to sceptered Britain to democratic America. He is the stuff of which legions are made...He has been called United States Marine."

-- T. E. Fehrenbach, Historian

"Most pious and even many working people think, 'Rich and poor have to be.' They ignore the fact that it is impossible to amass any kind of fortune without cheating, without depriving and hurting others and destroying their lives. They fail to realize that, concentrated in a few hands, big business can steer hundreds of thousands toward certain ruin through unemployment. Why do these facts remain hidden from us? Only because we ourselves are also under the rule of the god who blinds us, which is mammon."

-- Eberhard Arnold, 1923, Germany

"Perhaps now we can begin to understand how Adolf Hitler could rally German Christians to do the unthinkable to Jews and Gypsyies in concentration camps. If you convince people that they are at risk unless they move to destroy those who represent a perceived threat, regardless of the methods and means, then you are on your way to atrocities."

-- Larry Johnson, ex-CIA officer

"Our country is at war and our government has the obligation to protect the American people. Any activity we conduct is within the law."

-- George W. Bush

"Our country is at war and our government has the obligation to protect the American people. Any activity we conduct is within the law."

-- George W. Bush

"President Bush has ordered White House staff to attend mandatory briefings beginning next week on ethical behavior and the handling of classified material after the indictment last week of a senior administration official in the CIA leak probe."

-- The Washington Post

"Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement. He is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor - that is the only way out of a hole. This process of surrender - this movement full speed astern - is repentance."

-- C. S. Lewis

"The prime reason that the Moose is not an elephant is that the GOP is theologically devoted to comforting the comfortable and afflicting the afflicted."

-- Marshall Whitman

"Americans are long overdue for an answer to why they were told there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."

-- New York Times Editorial Board

"If history is our guide, there is reason for concern."

-- George W. Bush

"Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters.

His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction."

-- 2 Peter 3:15-16

"Unfortunately a lot of fine young people were gotten for perjury during Watergate."

-- Al Haig

"We are witnessing the criminalization of conservative politics."

-- Tom Delay

"I think that the Republican Party fairly recently has been taken over by the Christian conservatives, by the Christian right, and that it's divisive for the country."

-- John Danforth, former Republican Senator and UN Ambassador, and an ordained Episcopal minister.

"It is difficult to understand those who cling to the doctrine of the fundamental goodness of human nature, and do so in a generation which has witnessed two devastating world wars and especially the horrors which occasioned and accompanied the second. It is even harder to understand those who attribute this belief to Jesus Christ. For he taught nothing of the kind.

Jesus taught that within the soil of every man's heart there lie buried the ugly seeds of every conceivable sin -'evil thoughts, acts of fornication, of theft, murder, adultery, ruthless greed, and malice; fraud, indecency, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly.' All thirteen are 'evil things', and they come out of the heart of 'the man'
or 'the men', every man. This is Jesus Christ's estimate of fallen human nature."

-- John RW Stott

"I do not hold the view of our Constitution that there must be an actual, indictable crime in order for an act of a public officer to be impeachable. It is clear to this Senator that there are, indeed, circumstances, short of a felony criminal offense, that would justify the removal of a public officer from office, including the President of the United States. Manifest injury to the Office of the President, to our Nation and to the American people and gross abuse of trust and of public office clearly can reach the level of intensity that would justify the impeachment and removal of a leader."

-- Sen. Kay Baily Hutchinson

"If you look at poll numbers and things like that, we face challenges."

-- Ken Mehlman, GOP Chair

"I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn’t indict on the crime so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation were not a waste of time and dollars."

-- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson

"Iraq was at core a war of choice, and extraordinarily expensive by every measure - human life, impact on our military, dollars, diplomatically. If this war was widely judged to have been necessary along the lines of Afghanistan after 9/11, I don't believe you would have this controversy. If the war had gone extremely well, you wouldn't have this controversy."

--Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, a former senior State Department official under President Bush.

"What this means is that if a judge had contributed to Crime Stoppers, that judge could not hear a burglary case."

-- Ronnie Earle, Travis County DA

"Your prophets courted you with sweet talk.

They didn't face you with your sin so that you could repent.

Their sermons were all wishful thinking, deceptive illusions."

-- Jeremiah (Lamentations 2:14, via Eugene Peterson)

"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by."

-- Douglas Noel Adams

"Michael has been called to comfort the afflicted, and to afflict the comfortable."

-- Pastor Randall Haedge

''More and more, the intractable problems in our society have one answer: broad-based intolerance of unacceptable conditions and a commitment by many to fix problems.''

-- Harriet Miers

"On the way back, they sang a number of tuneful and reflective songs on the subjects of peace, justice, morality, culture, sport, family life, and the obliteration of all other life forms."

-- Douglas Adams: Life, the Universe, and Everything

"You know, this war is so fucking illegal."

-- SPC Pat Tillman

"They are good individuals. They are important members of our White House team. And that's why I spoke with them, so that I could come back to you and say that they were not involved."

-- White House spokesman Scott McClellan
(Speaking of Karl Rove and Scooter Libby on Oct. 7, 2003, when asked whether they had leaked the identity of Joe Wilson's wife.)

"Man is free, to be sure, but without the true God he is defenseless against evil. He is like a rudderless ship, at the mercy of the storm, an infant without his mother, a cloud dissolving into thin air."

-- Members of The White Rose Society

"The valley of the shadow of death holds no darkness for 
the child of God. There must be light, else there could be no shadow. Jesus is the light. He has overcome death."

-- Dwight L. Moody

Nill illigitimi carborundum
(Do not let the bastards get you down.)

-- Unhnown

Nisi credideritis, non intelligetis
(Unless you will have believed, you will not understand.)

-- St. Augustine

"You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas."

-- David Crockett

"Cyclists fare best when they act, and are treated, as the drivers of other vehicles."

-- John Forester

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others."

-- Jonathan Swift