"The joy of free speech is that we're not supposed to have to cheer everything that's said."

"Indeed, every time a western writer identifies an Islamic Martin Luther, it highlights an unresolved question about western society itself."

"A Vatican commission of theologians has reportedly declared that Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated as a martyr."

"If your are going to accept the burden of being a Protestant, of living with sola scriptura, then you are going to have to learn to welcome doctrinal diversity."

"The best battles are not necessarily those with the highest substantive stakes, objectively measured. The best political fights are fights that build power."

“'He works for peace,' she said with a shrug before she got in her car, 'pero no es facil.'”

"So your brilliant, devious plan is this: you’re going to show the people who believe that the NYPD is full of power-hungry bullies and paramilitary goons what for by displaying to the country exactly how most of the collars you make are in fact wholly unnecessary."

"Didn’t Cosby realize that Fat Albert was already the hero?"

"Who thanks those who refused to fight, even in wars that most people later realized were tragic mistakes?"

"They were only empty, these sayings, if no one had done the brave work to fill them."

"The reason airlines cram us into tiny seats and upcharge for everything is that we're out there on Expedia and Kayak, shopping on exactly one dimension: the price of the flight."

"My love language is silent condescension."

Steve Thorngate

The Century managing editor is also a church musician and songwriter.

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