Indulge me in a bit of biblical talk for a moment; my inner nerd is about to come out. [I apologize in advance for using Wikipedia as a reference below - it's late and it's easy to locate, but I judge myself for linking there.]
One of my favorite things that happens in the Bible is when Paul (a follower of God) speaks to the important men of Athens, who seem to enjoy a good discussion of ideas, at Areopagus, which was essentially the city council. During his speech he calls attention to things he's observed as a visitor in their city - a statue to 'the unknown god' (Agnostos Theos) where they worship a god they know exists but do not know specifically, and quotes from their own poets about being children of something divine - and he points out that they're already attuned to the truth that Paul is just putting words to. An early God Remix at Areopagus - their own popular culture revealing God's truth.
In our culture, we often much more readily accept the wisdom of regular authors and our modern day poets than we do when the same wisdom comes from the Bible. I'm not sure if it matters to God where we read His message, if we're able to acknowledge that it's His.
Every Wednesday I'll post a quote along with an equivalent biblical counterpart. I will do my very best to vet the quotes used, as there are a lot of mis-credited quotations floating around the internet these days. Happy Wednesday, everyone!
"Doing an injury puts you below your enemy; revenging one makes you but even with him; forgiving it sets you above him." - Ben Franklin
Never avenge yourselves ... do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you ... If you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Luke 6
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Using the internet does not excuse intolerance, and anonymity does not negate civility. Thanks for being thoughtful! :-)