Something to ponder
This message has been on display at one of the neighborhood Baptist churches for a couple weeks or more. Seems to be that when they have “a good one,” they let it go for a pretty good run. I’ll have to admit, this one does give me something to think about, every time I pass by. I wondered, for instance, if it was a thought that just popped into the head of the pastor one recent day. I kind of doubted that though. The logical thing to do, of course, is a bit of quick Googling. Which revealed that – as suspected – the witty and pithy homily has been bouncing around for a while.
For instance, Brandon, a blogger who describes himself as a Christian gay guy from Kentucky, wrote in 2007 that one of his favorite quotes is “if you stop to give the devil a ride, eventually he'll want to be the one doing the driving.”
www-afterthoughts.blogspot.com/2007/12/if-you-give-devil-...
Another blogger, a Cathy Deaton, also took the quote as a jumping-off point for a posting on her website, which is titled "Who God Is." Her version of the saying is, "Never give the devil a ride, he’ll want to take over the driving." She attributes it to "anonymous."
who-god-is.com/never-give-the-devil-a-ride
I can't find the date of writing or posting, but another writer on the web, Robert Longman, uses a slightly different version of the quote ...
Never give the devil a ride.
He'll always want to drive.
This is in his discussion of "Spiritual Battles."
www.spirithome.com/warfare-teachings.html
But anyway, as mentioned, this little quote has served as grist for a good deal of commentary and discussion. It also got me wondering on a somewhat wider scope. Specifically, about how references to "Satan" come up fairly often in utterances from some of the Muslim clerics and leaders. They especially like to refer to the U.S. as the "great satan" of the world. So, I wondered how that little line or two would translate into Arabic. I'll bet it wouldn't come out on the other side with the same meaning that's attached to it in the uses cited above. It might just sound strange. Or funny. Or, who knows?
Something to ponder
This message has been on display at one of the neighborhood Baptist churches for a couple weeks or more. Seems to be that when they have “a good one,” they let it go for a pretty good run. I’ll have to admit, this one does give me something to think about, every time I pass by. I wondered, for instance, if it was a thought that just popped into the head of the pastor one recent day. I kind of doubted that though. The logical thing to do, of course, is a bit of quick Googling. Which revealed that – as suspected – the witty and pithy homily has been bouncing around for a while.
For instance, Brandon, a blogger who describes himself as a Christian gay guy from Kentucky, wrote in 2007 that one of his favorite quotes is “if you stop to give the devil a ride, eventually he'll want to be the one doing the driving.”
www-afterthoughts.blogspot.com/2007/12/if-you-give-devil-...
Another blogger, a Cathy Deaton, also took the quote as a jumping-off point for a posting on her website, which is titled "Who God Is." Her version of the saying is, "Never give the devil a ride, he’ll want to take over the driving." She attributes it to "anonymous."
who-god-is.com/never-give-the-devil-a-ride
I can't find the date of writing or posting, but another writer on the web, Robert Longman, uses a slightly different version of the quote ...
Never give the devil a ride.
He'll always want to drive.
This is in his discussion of "Spiritual Battles."
www.spirithome.com/warfare-teachings.html
But anyway, as mentioned, this little quote has served as grist for a good deal of commentary and discussion. It also got me wondering on a somewhat wider scope. Specifically, about how references to "Satan" come up fairly often in utterances from some of the Muslim clerics and leaders. They especially like to refer to the U.S. as the "great satan" of the world. So, I wondered how that little line or two would translate into Arabic. I'll bet it wouldn't come out on the other side with the same meaning that's attached to it in the uses cited above. It might just sound strange. Or funny. Or, who knows?