"Punishment from hell is vivid and clear-cut and apparently has more effect on behavior than the idea of heaven."
Robert Barro, Harvard University economist, who found that countries where belief in hell is strong have a gross domestic product growth 0.5 percent higher than average.
"We'll be standing on the promises of God."
Bill Twaddell, pastor of Fairway Christian Church in Lady Lake, Florida, where congregants covered their new sanctuary floor with Bible verses before laying carpet.
"My first name, of course, would be I Am."
Charles Haffey, who legally changed his name to "I Am Who I Am" after a judge rejected his efforts to change his name to God.
"It is quite inappropriate to refer to me, a mere man, as God. It is also disrespectful and dishonoring to God."
Gary Ablett, former Australian football star and evangelical, nicknamed "God," known for his troubled history with drugs and religious conversion. His football-playing relatives are called "son of God" and "nephew of God."
Copyright © 2002 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere
Articles referenced above include:
Probing religion's role in economic success—The Christian Science Monitor (Oct. 21, 2002)
God becomes Who I Am—BBC (Oct. 10, 2002)
See Christianity Today's Quotation Marks from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November.
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