Sabrina Sterle > Sabrina's Quotes

“Therefore, do not despair. The Earth abides, and life is living yet.”
― Henry Gee, A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Pithy Chapters

“For if life on Earth was forged in fire, it was hardened in ice.”
― Henry Gee, A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Pithy Chapters

“I know it’s scary, being vulnerable, but you can allow yourself to care. You can want to be with people as more than just friends or casual acquaintances.”
― Ali Hazelwood, The Love Hypothesis

“What’s wrong with American evangelicals?” Winans thought a moment. “America,” he replied. “Too many of them worship America.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“The Bible definitely portrays a spiritual battle thats ongoing. The problem is, a lot of Christians believe their engaging in that battle by promoting a political platform, and they treat that political battle as if the kingdom of God is at stake,' Winans told me. 'But the kingdom of God isn't at stake. The Bible clearly tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. What Christ accomplished on the cross is not threatened by Donald Trump losing an election.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“With Christians soon to be a minority in the United States, the question shouldn't be how best to fight back and reclaim their lost status. Rather, Dickson said, the question should be how Christians might "lose well"—carrying themselves in ways that reflect the hope and confidence and great love found in the gospel”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“Spreading lies is not only antithetical to the example of Christ; is is doing the devil's work.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“Scripture has a funny way of cutting political leaders down to size.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“{The story of Cholera in London} is a case study in how change happens in human society, the turbulent way in which wrong it ineffectual ideas are overthrown by better ones.”
― Steven Johnson, The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World

“As Stephen Jay Gould argued in his book Full House, it makes for good museum copy to talk about an Age of Dinosaurs or an Age of Man, but in reality it's been one long Age of Bacteria on this planet since the days of the primordial soup. The rest of us are mere afterthoughts.”
― Steven Johnson, The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World

“What you've done is you've baptized your worldview and called it Christian.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“They need help to understand that you can care for your country without worshipping your country,” Bacote said. “They also need help to understand that you can care for your country and seek good for your neighbors. Just because other people are getting something, doesn’t mean you’re losing something.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“Trading in the gospel of Jesus Christ for political power is not liberty but slavery.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“God has His own kingdom; no nation in this world can compare.
God has His own power; no amount of political, cultural, or social influence can compare.
God has His own glory; no exataltion of earthly beings can compare.
These are nonnegotiable to the Christian faith.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism: Library Edition

“The problem is, blessings often become indistinguishable from entitlements. Once we become convinced that God has blessed something, that something can become an object of jealousy, obsession—even worship.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“The word faith is not just about belief; faith is about allegiance. When you declare faith in Jesus, you transfer your allegiance. In the first-century Roman context, that's what they did: They transferred their allegiance away from Caesar, and the god of Rome and certain laws of the Jewish leaders, and pledged allegiance to Jesus.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“Where some evangelical leaders saw an elaborate publicity ploy, Moore saw Trump's campaign as a broken man's ultimate quest for significance.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“At present, Dickson said, the American Church is suffering from “bully syndrome.” Too many Christians are swaggering around and picking on marginalized people and generally acting like jerks because they’re angry and apprehensive. “Every teacher will tell you, the bully on the playground is usually the most insecure boy. It’s a compensation mechanism. If the boy were truly confident, he wouldn’t need to throw his weight around,” Dickson said. “It’s the same with the Church. The bully Church is the insecure Church.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“When Christians are discipled primarily by society, inevitably they look to scripture for affirmation of their habits and behaviors and political views.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“Modern evangelicalism is defined by a certain fatalism about the nation's character. The result is not merely a willingness to forgive what is wrong; it can be a belief, bordering on a certainty, that what is wrong is actually right.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“Why should we care that we're losing power on this earth when God has the power to forgive sins and save souls? And why should we obsess over America when Jesus has gifted us citizenship in heaven?”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“Our goal should be to save souls, not to save America.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“If Jesus warned us that what comes out of our mouths reveals what resides in our hearts, how can we shrug off lies and hate speech as mere political rhetoric?”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“There's a reason scripture warns so often and so forcefully against fear: It is just as powerful as faith. But whereas faith keeps our eyes steadily fixed on the eternal , fear disrupts us, disorients us, drives us to prioritize the here and now. Faith is about preserving our place in the body of Christ; fear is about protecting our own flesh and blood.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“American evangelicals have a talent for what some theologians call “baptizing the past.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“Instead of considering his faith in the context of his politics, Thomas considered his politics in the context of his faith.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“You better be careful, because patriotism quickly turns into idolatry. There's more than one way to be an idol worshipper.
In the Old Testament, you had Moloch and child sacrifices and all this stuff. But Satan is subtle. We don't have statues now; we have political parties and presidential candidates.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“Our transposal of these priorities-seeking first "all these things" that Jesus promised would be given to us after we'd sought His kingdom-has drained the Christian message of its grandeur. Too many believers have rationalized this, Moore said, by avowing that God is most glorified when Christians hold the commanding heights of society. But this is exactly backward.

'A Christian witness is always best when not from a position of power as defined by the outside world,' Moore said. He quoted the essayist Wendell Berry: 'If change is to come, it will have to come from the margins.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“{On the new generations} 'These kids don't want to be caught up in the 'us versus them' thing. They have friends who have different points of view, and they think they have to hate them to go to church.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“He continued, “The great fault in the evangelical movement today, is that we’re disobedient to the commands of the one we claim to follow. What were those commands? Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Care for widows and orphans. Visit those in prison. Seek first the kingdom of God.”
― Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism