Clipped comments Volume 34, Number 2 Posted March 26, 2001 “In my own travels overseas, I have noticed a striking difference in the wording of prayers. When difficulties come, Christians in affluent countries tend to pray, ‘Lord, take this trial away from us!’ I have heard persecuted Christians and some who live in very poor countries pray instead, ‘Lord, give us the strength to bear this trial.’” Philip Yancey Christianity Today, Feb. 5, 2001 “We need to face the dreadful possibility that ecumenism as we have practiced it with so much learning and good will for over a century has failed because God wants it to fail.” Prof. Bruce D. Marshall First Things, January 2001 “… by yielding to a false form of civility, we sometimes allow our critics to intimidate us. As I have said, active citizens are often subjected to truly vile attacks. They are branded as mean-spirited, racist, Uncle Tom, homophobic, sexist, etcetera. To this we often respond, if not succumb, so as not to be constantly fighting by trying to be tolerant and nonjudgmental. That is, we censor ourselves. This is not civility. It is cowardice, or well-intentioned self-deception at best.” Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Op-ed column, The Washington Times Feb. 15, 2001 “Awe is the missing ingredient in American religion, including Christianity. It is the absence of awe that has transformed traditional faith and worship into ‘American popular religion,’ with its feel-good therapy services offered up to a Big Buddy in the sky.” John Breck professor of Biblical interpretation and ethics, St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute, Paris, Jan. 11 column on www.belief.net “I know that most volunteers in this country are people of faith. Most charitable dollars are church dollars. I know all that. But that’s not the biggest asset of the Christian community. The biggest asset of the Christian community is Christianity.” John DiIulio Christianity Today June 14, 1999

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