What Did You Say?
This week's craziest quotes: Jesus loves Wall Street, Focus on James Dobson, Celibacy, Church Bribery, and Pet Worship.
Nov 9th, 2009 | By Skye Jethani | Category: Church, Culture, Faith, Features
On Goldman Sach’s religious justification of enormous profit:
“We’re very important. We help companies to grow by helping them raise capital. Companies that grow create wealth. This, in turn, allows people to have jobs that create more growth and more wealth. It’s a virtuous circle. We have a social purpose…. We are doing God’s work.” -Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sach’s chairman and chief executive
“The injunction of Jesus to love others as ourselves is an endorsement of self-interest.” -Brian Griffiths, Goldman Sach’s international adviser
On James Dobson leaving the Focus on the Family radio program and ministry:
“We’ve been getting e-mails and phone calls from people saying how much Dr. Dobson has meant to them over the years. I wouldn’t characterize it as an enormous outpouring.” -Gary Schneeberger, Focus on the Family spokesman
“Focus on the Family has never been about one man. That’s why Dr. Dobson has always refused to have his name put on any building here.” -Jim Daly, Focus on the Family’s ministry president and CEO
On the Vatican welcoming married Anglican priests:
“We have to do something because we need priests. It only makes sense to rethink celibacy.”-Sister Chris Schenk of FutureChurch, a Cleveland group studying shortages of priests in the United States.
On a church giving away $1000 every Sunday to a lucky attender:
“If I can get someone in here and teach them and give them money, that’s what I’m going to do.”-Rev. Dan Willis, Lighthouse Church of All Nations in Alsip, Illinois
On a church starting a worship service for pets:
“God is light and God is love. And wherever there’s love, there’s God in some fashion. And when we love a dog and a dog loves us, that’s a part of God and God is a part of that. So we honor that.” - Rev. Tom Eggebeen, Covenant Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles
On a church’s $130 million expansion:
“We want to create a spiritual oasis that the residents of Dallas can enjoy.” -Pastor Robert Jeffress, First Baptist Church of Dallas
Sadly, in an era where a “spiritual oasis” consists of a 130 million dollar building expansion, the Goldman Sachs quotes don’t seem so far out. I think we could use a little more Jesus. Not free-market conserative American Jesus, but the Jewish cat who strolled around Galilee setting people free and calling them to a different way of life!
What a travesty - not so much Goldman Sachs, but the goings-on in the church. The saddest being a $130MM project, an “oasis”. I seem to recall a building of similar stature - it was called the Tower of Babel. These types of things are amazing… But isn’t Texas home to the likes of Mr. Osteen’s 40,000 attendees every week?