“Christianity isn’t mysticism or gnosticism. It is forever tied to real world events, real occurrences and an ‘either/or’ epistemology. Dropping the resurrection into the category of ‘personal encounters disconnected from real world events’ may solve some problems for some people, but it makes a mockery of Biblical texts that go out of the way, over and over, to tell us that these events are true, real and very much ‘either/or.’ ” (>>)

“And may Fox Faith and everything like it go straight to hell.” (>>)

“It is to be reinvited to believe, to be reinvited into the community of Jesus’ followers.” (>>)

“No one feels things in more dangerous ways than the person who thinks he feels nothing.” (>>)

“What we say about those who tell the truth says whether we value the truth, or just want propaganda.” (>>)

“So, Ian, you have any big plans for Valentine’s Day?”

“Oh, yes, big plans. Big, big plans. Very b… no.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll probably just do the same thing I do every year.”

“What’s that?”

“You know, put on some Hank Williams, drink myself into a coma…”

“Oh.”

“But, actually, I figured this year I might try something different.”

“Oh yeah? That’s great! What are you going to do this year?”

“Well, I figure if I start drinking the day before, then I can just sleep through the whole contrived farce altogether.”

“Oh. That’s, uh, very… creative.”

“Thanks, I like to consider myself a free-thinker.”

“I find it hard to make an unqualified statement. For example, if you were to ask me if my mom was involved in drug smuggling, I would probably say, ‘Not that I’m aware of’ or ‘I think it’s highly unlikely.’ Because hey, she might be and I just don’t know.” (>>)