Word: paradox
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Those warnings bear remembering in these days before Easter, when Christians are invited to dwell on the deepest mysteries of faith. Far from being resolved by centuries of scholarship and devotion, the paradox of miracles seems only to deepen. Certainly they occupy a strange place on the spiritual map of America. When Time asked in a poll last week whether people believe in miracles, 69% said yes; and the fastest-growing churches in America are the Charismatic and Pentecostal congregations whose worship revolves around "signs and wonders." Tens of thousands of people gather in a pasture in Georgia...
...Thomasina, hungry for a new mathematics, exclaims, "If there is an equation for a curve like a bell, there must be an equation for one like a bluebell," we might have stepped into an Auden poem. When a formidable lady silences her brother by snapping, "Do not dabble in paradox, Edward, it puts you in danger of fortuitous wit," we can hear Wilde whispering, "I wish I'd said that." And for concentrated lyricism, the scene in which Thomasina bewails the burning of the classical library of Alexandria--a doomed girl genius lamenting the conflagration of ancient genius--is absolutely...
...paradox of human miracle assessment is that the only way to discern whether a phenomenon is supernatural is by having trained rationalists testify that it outstrips their training. Since most wonders admitted by the modern church are medical cures, it consults with doctors. Di Ruberto has access to a pool of 60--"We've got all the medical branches covered," says his colleague, Dr. Ennio Ensoli--and assigns each purported miracle to two specialists on the vanquished ailment...
...N.R.A,; this is spontaneous combustion"--fueled by the same dread that has stoked the success of death-penalty campaigns and "Three strikes and you're in." The desire for self-preservation in the face of an increase in random violence and understaffed police forces can express itself, without paradox, in both an assault-weapons ban and in the desire to pack one's own handgun. Says Gary Huttenhoff, a real estate appraiser who has just picked up his laminated wallet-size permit from Sheriff Anderson's office in El Paso County: "The police take care of the public...
...necessary to break this basic rule from time to time. There's a paradox here. Big action-packed movies are thought to be less risky these days than their less costly competitors. Those stars, those production values, those clichas can bail you out in foreign box-office and home video, which, unlike the domestic theatrical business, are truly mass (i.e., highly conservative) markets. Smaller movies, starring less potent performers, on the other hand, offer no downside protection. They may represent a smaller investment, but they also pose the risk of near total loss...