Quotes by John Skinner

“Timing is always crucial in delivering a jibe. John Major thought he’d won the football pools when he succeeded Thatcher. At his first Prime Minister’s Questions, the Tories cheered wildly. He rose to his feet and in the split-second hush between his MPs falling silent and Major uttering his first words I yelled: ‘Resign!’ There was utter pandemonium.””

“Repentance is the positive way in which to deal with the negative attributes of sin. The New Testament word for repentance is metanoia. 8 To think differently afterwards, i.e. reconsider (morally, feel compunction)–repent–sums up the meaning of the word. This is far different than the word used for Judas’ repentance. That word is metamellomai, meaning to care afterwards, to regret, to have a self-type of repentance. The message of repentance that John the Baptist and Jesus spoke of was such a change of life that wrongful actions of life were reformed. Chamberlain says, “What the Baptist meant by repentance is indicated in his words: ‘Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance...’ Repentance is to have a twofold issue: reformation in conduct, and transformation of mental outlook.” 9””

“Holland’s mom would get pissed. She owns Mom’s Cafe.” “She sure doesn’t need the competition,” Virgil said. “I ate the worst cheeseburger of my life there about five minutes ago.” Skinner winced, and said, “I wouldn’t wander too far from a toilet. They got three cooks there; we call them Hepatitis A, B, and C. That burger’s gonna hit the bottom of the bucket in one piece, if you know what I mean.””

“This was Slim, the jerkline skinner. His hatchet face was ageless. He might have been thirty-five or fifty. His ear heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought. His hands, large and lean, were as delicate in their action as those of a temple dancer.””

“I’ll tell you something, Skinner. Anybody who snipes innocent people is seriously unbalanced even if he believes he has a reason,” Virgil said. “Most people won’t even shoplift for fear of getting caught. Shooting people? You’re dealing with a nut even if there’s a payoff somewhere.””

“notion of authorial intent or meaning. Unless such meaning is taken into account, Skinner argues, a further mythology arises, that of prolepsis or anticipation. This is generated, as Skinner puts it, ‘when we are more interested in the retrospective significance of a given episode than its meaning for the agent at the time’.””

“More generally, the Gospel of Luke roots the coming of Jesus in the larger story of God’s reliability. When people in Luke 1–2 recognized the significance of John the Baptizer and Jesus, when the two were conceived and born, they extolled God as a promise keeper. Mary (Luke 1:46–55) and Zechariah (Luke 1:67–79) described God as remembering mercy and covenantal pledges. Simeon and Anna had similar responses (Luke 2:25–38). Jesus launched his ministry in Nazareth with a statement about scriptural promises finding their fulfillment in his work (Luke 4:16–21). Why should people be concerned with the question of whether God keeps promises? The point is not to box God into a strict set of definitions and expectations to make God utterly predictable. Nor is it about trying to prove Christianity is true. Rather, confidence in God’s dependability makes a key statement about who God is; it reaffirms God as a legitimate focus of our faith. Why should anyone put hope in a God who lacks the power or resolve to deliver on promises? Why trust a God who might terminate agreements or change the terms when the going gets rough? God’s reliability makes the good news about God’s disruptive activity good.””

“Gradually Lennie's interest came around to what was being said. 'George says we're gonna have alfalfa for the rabbits.''What rabbits?''We're gonna have rabbits an' a berry patch.''You're nuts.''We are too. You ast George.''You're nuts.' Crooks was scornful. 'I seen hunderds of men come by on the road an' on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an' that same damn thing in their heads. Hunderds of them. They come, an' they quit an' go on; an' every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever'body wants a little piece of lan'. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It's just in their head. They're all the time talkin' about it, but it's jus' in their head.'He paused and looked toward the open door, for the horses were moving restlessly and the halter chains clinked. A horse whinnied. 'I guess somebody's out there,' Crooks said. 'Maybe Slim. Slim comes in sometimes two, three times a night. Slim's a real skinner. He looks out for his team.' He pulled himself painfully upright and moved toward the door.””