Sunday Sermonette

[NB This is a corrected attribution that was in error. I originally confessed that my theft of the Sermonette idea was from Political Site of the Day (PSoTD), not James Wolcott. This was a natural error on my part because PSoTD has so many great ideas and he leaves his door open. But alas, the pilfered product belonged to that great stylist, M. Walcott. My apologies to both victims.]

Last Sunday, James Wolcott had a "Sunday Sermonette," a brief quote from Tom Paine (non-living proof that common sense isn't that common). The thrust, of course, was avowedly and devoutly secular. What a great idea, I thought. Why don't we all do this every Sunday?

Thus, the first of my Sunday Sermonettes:

“With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.”

(Steven Weinberg; as quoted from Carey Goldberg, "Cosmology and Theology Tangle in a Rousing Match," The New York Times, April 20, 1999. Lifted off StephenJayGould.org).