Bishop’s Commonplace Hodgepodgery
This is cross-posted from one of my other substacks, Bishop’s Commonplace Hodgepodgery, which is simply a collection of words and sentences that have caught my attention. If you like this sort of thing, you can subscribe at bishopscommonplace.com.
If you already subscribe to both stacks, my apologies for today’s duplicate post!
Hodgepodge 26 – “The world’s on fire. What are you going to do about it?”
“The world’s on fire. What are you going to do about it? ¶ I’m going to read great books with children and tell them that everything that is true, good, and beautiful is about Jesus Christ and I’m going to win, because they’re going to tell their kids the same.”
—Jacob Allee on Substack
“Storied people are more stable than informed people.”
—Greg Lookerse on Substack
“Is art necessary? The ready answer to their query is this: art is only necessary if our being human is necessary.”
—Cameron Anderson, qtd. by Greg Lookerse on Substack
“The more you rely on AI to do basic human functions, the more your brain will adapt and those functions will be unlearned.”
—Eddie LaRow on Substack
”The irony is that the very thing people hunger for — being seen, being known — is here simulated with unholy competence by machines that know nothing… Now apparently the bots not only mirror your sentences but your moods, your neediness, your self-loathing, your longing. They listen better than spouses, affirm more eagerly than friends, and crucially, never demand reciprocity. They offer all the consolations of intimacy with none of its costs. In other words, they counterfeit humanity so well that some users, in Reddit confessionals, admit they have never felt so understood. ¶ And yet to be understood by a machine is to be profoundly misunderstood. These things do not love you, cannot love you; they digest your language like so much protein slurry and return it reheated, sprinkled with validation. That this can feel like love only proves how thoroughly our culture has starved us of the real thing.”
—Michael S. Rose at Classical Compass Rose
“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
—George Santayana
“Quicken me, O Lord, for thy Name’s sake;
and for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
And of thy goodness slay mine enemies,
and destroy all them that vex my soul; for I am thy servant.”
—Psalm 143:11–12 (Coverdale)
“You have no enemies, you say?
Alas! My friend, the boast is poor;
He who has mingled in the fray
Of duty, that the brave endure,
Must have foes! If you have none,
Small is the work that you have done.
You’ve hit no traitor on the hip,
You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip,
You’ve never turned the wrong to right,
You’ve been a coward in the fight.”
—Charles Mackay
“For years I’ve been saying that if C.S. Lewis were alive today, we would hate him as much as we hate Doug Wilson, and when Wilson is dead, we will love him like we love Lewis.”
—Hope Fischbach at Attention Span
“The whole earth is a living icon of the face of God.”
—St. John Damascene
“We fast when our prayers are heavy, when we ache for His return, when we face crisis or conviction. We feast when the Spirit renews, when sinners come home, when the Lord’s Table reminds us that the Bridegroom meets us with grace. Both practices belong in the rhythm of discipleship.”
—Hardin Crowder at This Blessed Plot
“Some women blame ‘the patriarchy’ for this bleak reality, as if men decided to stop being worthy partners out of a misogynistic conspiracy, when in reality these men are living the lives of hedonistic autonomy that liberal feminism championed for everyone.”
—Natasha Burge at The Undercurrent
“Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.”
—Colossians 3:19, ESV
“Marriage is the greatest instrument of sanctification. ¶ How would you ever learn unconditional love if you were married to someone who met all the conditions? How would you ever learn mercy, patience, long-suffering, heart-felt compassion if you were married to someone who never failed you? Who is never difficult with you? Who never sinned against you? Who is never slow to acknowledge their sin or ask for forgiveness? How would you ever learn grace, to pour out your favor on someone who did not deserve it, if you were married to someone who was always deserving of all good things? ¶ The main purpose of marriage is that through your marriage, you both become conformed to the image of Christ.”
—Paul Washer
“This is how most men fall. You don’t ‘accidentally’ commit adultery. You get too close to the fire. You linger where you know you shouldn’t go. You scroll where you shouldn’t. You stay late at work when you shouldn’t. You allow a fantasy to play in your mind… If you do this, you are a fool.”
—Michael Clary at, well, Michael Clary
“From the US to Europe and beyond, people who identify as conservative are having almost as many children as they were decades ago. The decline is overwhelmingly among those on the progressive left.”
—John Burn-Murdoch in the Financial Times, qtd. by Jeff Childers at Coffee & Covid
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