TTF Staff
Archbishop Rowan Williams, Wilberforce Lecture Trust, Hull, April 2007
A very important speech. Many possible quotes. Two: “Yet what is consistently striking in much of this [African anti-slavery] literature is the fierceness with which nominal Christianity is assaulted and blamed for the slave trade, and the conviction that authentic Christianity is the most powerful argument against it and in favour of human equality.” And “But [Wilberforce] is campaigning for a moral state—that is, for a state that does not compromise its citizens, and that recognises its own accountability to considerations wider than those of immediate profit and security. He wants government to understand that its policies directly shape the moral status of citizens; public policy creates the world in which particular citizens live their lives, it creates a climate, a set of possibilities, a language and culture of public life or international life.”
Faiths and Worldviews, Good and Evil, Wed 25 Apr 2007
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Any critic is entitled to wrong judgments, of course. But certain lapses of judgment indicate the radical failure of an entire sensibility.
Susan Sontag
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Invitation to the Classics: A Guide to Books You've Always Wanted to Read by Os Guinness and Louise Cowan, editors.
A paperback edition of our acclaimed guide to literature.
Stephen Fry in America: “Such Britons hug themselves with the thought that they are more cosmopolitan and sophisticated than Americans because they think they know more about geography and world culture, as if firstly being cosmopolitan and sophisticated can be scored in a quiz and as if secondly (and much more importantly) being cosmopolitan and sophisticated is in any way desirable or admirable to begin with. Sophistication is not a moral quality, nor is it a criterion by which one would choose one’s friends. Why do we like people? Because they are knowledgeable, cosmopolitan and sophisticated? No, because they are charming, kind, considerate, exciting to be with, amusing … there is a long list, but knowing what the capital of Kazakhstan is will not be on it.” (Stephen Fry’s blog post about his new book and BBC series. • 2008 10 10)
Give Me Liberty and Give Me Death: ‘I still cursed God, as we all do when we get bad news and pain. Not even the most faith-impaired among us shouts, “Damn quantum mechanics!” “Damn organic chemistry!” “Damn chaos and coincidence!”’ (P J O’Rourke, Search Magazine • 2008 09 30)
Give Me That Old-Time Religion: ‘This week revealed that when real money is on the line, even the left starts screaming for old-fashioned standards. Thus rose a shout for regulatory “oversight” of markets, and they don’t mean some vague, Googlie “don’t be evil.” They want tough, punishing rules. This won’t wash. You can’t claim, as holier-than-thou politics is now, that sending an army of regulatory storm-troopers into Wall Street will ensure integrity in mere bankers who themselves come from a broader, anything-goes culture.’ (Daniel Henninger, The Wall Street Journal • 2008 09 29)
The Real Digital Revolution: Social networking is changing the marketing landscape: “Brand advertising can’t stretch the truth anymore or try and gild the lily. Because if it does, we’re going to find out about it, find out that you’ve been lying to us all along about extras that don’t work and specials that aren’t special. And our reaction is not going to be pretty.” (Alan Wolk, AdWeek; h/t: Ryan Moede • 2008 08 27)
• Après Lewis (2008 08 15)
• Alexander Solzhenitsyn: the line within (2008 08 11)
• Atheism and Evil (2008 07 29)
• Christopher Nolan’s Achievement: The Dark Knight (2008 07 22)
• Unplanned Parenthood (2008 07 21)
The Case for Civility: And Why Our Future Depends on It by Os Guinness.
A proposal for restoring civility in America as a way to foster civility around the world.
