The publication of Charles Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species in 1859 helped launch the modern science of evolution. It also created a firestorm of controversy, by suggesting that…
Category: Religion
“Silent Night” – the origin and evolving words of the famous Christmas carol…
In 1818, during the annual Christmas Midnight Mass at the St. Nicholas Church at Oberndorf, Austria, the song we know as “Silent Night! Holy Night!” (or just “Silent Night”) was…
The genesis of “the Almighty Dollar” – from Genesis to Washington Irving…
The word almighty, used in connection with God, appears 57 times in the King James Version of the Bible. Starting in the Book of Genesis, God is variously referred to…
“Love me, love my dog.”
In the Catholic religion, August 20 is the Feast Day of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a medieval French monk who died on that date in 1153 A.D. I’m not a…
The stirring words of Haile Selassie that Bob Marley used for the song “War”…
On October 4, 1963, Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, gave a speech to the United Nations General Assembly that includes a famous quotation you almost surely know if you’re…
“There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford.”
It is often claimed that the familiar expression of compassion “There, but for the grace of God, go I” is based on a quote by the 16th Century English Protestant…
“Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream…”
On August 8, 1966, Capitol Records released the Beatles album Revolver in the United States. (In the UK, the LP was released by Parlophone on August 5.) Revolver became an…
“An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support.”
There’s a famous quotation about atheists associated with the date December 14 that is widely attributed to Bishop Fulton J. Sheen: “An atheist is a man who has no…
“Preserve, protect and defend…"
The oath an American president recites upon taking office includes the famous promise to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Interestingly, one of the first decisions…
The Original “12 Step Program”
Today, there are many organizations that use a “12-step program” to help people deal with some type of addiction or other problems. In addition to alcohol and drug-related groups, there…