Notorious Statements  

       People have been making “Notorious Statements” from the beginning of time. In the last 100 years or so with ambitious journalists & writers & recording devices, it’s best to say little – or – “think twice & say nothing” anon., or you may be quoted. Some “notorious statements” may be good for humor, but lack character & truth. Here’s a few – from prominent sources:
- Tom Brokaw, Am. journalist “We don’t just have egg on our face. We have omelet all over our suits.”
- Don Marquis, Am. poet & journalist “an optimist is a guy that has never had much experience.”
- Winston Churchill, “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.”
- Richard Nixon, “People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.”
- Dean Martin, Am. singer “You are not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.”
-- More  Serious  Clips --
-  John Maynard Keynes, English economist “In the long run, we are all dead.”
- Albert Einstein, “God is subtle, but He is not malicious . . . I am convinced that He does not play dice.” (Did Albert have    a couple Baptist bones with that suggestion of predestination/election??)
- G.K. Chesterton, English novelist “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found                difficult; and left untried. . . when men stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing; they believe in anything.”
- Adolf Hitler,  Lucifer incarnate from 1920-45?? “The broad mass of a nation . . . will more easily fall victim to a big        lie, than to a small one.” (A couple big lies in our day appears to be atheism & political correctness, promoted by academia &    the liberal left.)
- Steve Hawkins, “If we find the answer to that (why it is that WE and the universe exist), it would be the ultimate        triumph of human reason – for then we would know the mind of God.”
      Well I would suspect that Steve Hawkins never tried the Christian ideal – the Word of God – for truth & answers. Acts 17:26-27  Clearly gives the purpose of life; “He made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him.” Millions of Christians of all ages & denominations will identify with that reference. And my own “notorious statement” is this; “God is alive and will reveal Himself, if we honor Jesus Christ and His Word.” But today’s trend towards atheism & political correctness (especially at the universities) has rule #1 – no God, WE don’t go there.
       Now a character named Pilate had the actual Jesus Christ before himself for judgment & asked Jesus “What is truth?” Is it any surprise that after asking that question, Pilate had Truth Incarnate executed? Is that what atheists & agnostics today are doing?? Assassinating TRUTH??  I know people today could find truth in the Word if they really wanted it. But in the air around us is a spirit that prefers “the lie.” That spirit promotes falseness & sets folks up to lose in the truth arena. 2 Corinthians 4:4 “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, . . .”
      Salman Rushdie, British-Indian novelist; high on Islam’s hit list, had this to say, “One of the things a writer is for is to say the unsayable, speak the unspeakable, and ask difficult questions.” (Gospel-notes??) People should know that Scripture has a lot of serious “notorious statements”, and MANY of those writers were executed by the spirit of the world, or those controlled by it. Maybe the most penetrating (and notorious) statement was made by Jesus Christ himself. John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” If Jesus was stating TRUTH, then that truth holds today. So, are YOU saved by Jesus Christ and moving towards God?? Or, are you listening to silly notorious statements like this, “heaven doesn’t want me, and hell is afraid I’ll take over.”?? Try Jesus and His Word, they are alive. Connect with a legitimate Bible teaching group & support it. And look forward to hearing the most excellent “Notorious Statement” of all  Matthew 25:21 “Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.” See also “Famous Last Words” link 58.

Many other interesting Titles:  www.gospelnotes.org                                                                           * * F. J. Stone * *  
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