Quotes About Culture

God is an American. I'm afraid of Americans. I'm afraid of the world. I'm afraid I can't help it. I'm afraid I can't

Studies of teenage behavior shows that the terrible teens is not a biological necessity, as a number of cultures don't experience this phenomenon. A study of teenagers in Western cultures found that these teenagers have fewer choices than a felon in prison. Food for thought. Finding a way to make a choice, however small, seems to have a measurable impact on the brain, shifting you from an away response to a toward response.

The Japanese have a wonderful sense of design and a refinement in their art. They try to produce beautiful paintings with the minimum number of strokes.

I hope the Guggenheim plan will be revived.

I think of art as the highest level of creativity. To me, it is one of the greatest sources of enjoyment.

I address J as a living writer in greater detail, as well as the Hebraic culture in which she attained her scholarship, in my previous books appearing after The Book of J (in particular, Abraham: The First Historical Biography, The Book of David, and The Lost Book of Paradise). And in the The Book of J, coauthored with Harold Bloom, I began to describe the textuality of J's narrative, while both Bloom and I first addressed the likelihood of J being a woman.

I often talk about how great it is to live just a half hour from New York City, which provides me access to the finest theaters, museums, and restaurants in the world. The way I take advantage of this access is to hang out every night at Charlie's, which is about eight minutes from my house.

Classical music is not really my thing, and I know absolutely nothing about it. If you told me you saw Brendel play Brahms last night, I would ask you who won.

in California everyone wants to know what kind of car you drive. In the South it's which church you attend. And here it's what kind of dog you have.

Experts think that China will lead the world in the coming century? No chance. Just look at a pair of chopsticks and a fork, and you tell me who is more advanced.

The specter of sexual intimacy made it rare for women to participate in this male bonding.

Trying to save Western society was exhausting.

No doubt the Phoenicians had a stone temple to honor Baal as well.

Cam smiled wryly. "Priests and lawyers. Not exactly the most popular members of society right now, are we?" "And to think, mothers used to dream of their children becoming lawyers or clergymen.

The Arabs—she liked to think of them as the cockroaches of the human race—were spreading like a toxic ooze across the major cities of Europe, poisoning civilized society and watering down the gene pool.

In ancient times only women could do math; men were thought too stupid. That's why the root for the word math is the same as for mother—they both come from the name of the Egyptian goddess, Maat. Mathematics literally means 'mother wisdom.

the most famous obelisk in the world—

You may find it interesting that the word Solomon is comprised of three smaller words—the Latin 'sol,' the Hindu 'om,' and the Egyptian 'on'—all of which mean sun in their respective language.

Since the time of Justin, the dialogue between faith and reason, between faith and culture, has reflected two essential characteristics of the Christian intellectual heritage: (1) faith seeks understanding; and (2) intellectual inquiry invites a response of faith.

The great thinkers of the early church wrote numerous commentaries on the creation story in Genesis 1–3, more so than any other part of the Bible, because they understood that it contradicted the fundamental beliefs of their inherited pagan culture and challenged them to replace it with something that was true to reality.

the invention of the mechanical clock in medieval Europe. This was one of the great inventions in this history of mankind -- not in a class with fire and the wheel, but comparable to movable type in its revolutionary implications for cultural values, technological change, social and political organization, and personality.

Passionate intimacy between people of the same sex was common in pre—Civil War America. The lack of clear sexual categories (homo-, hetero-, bi-) made same-sex affection unself-conscious and widespread.

In the free, easy social atmosphere of pre–Civil War America, overt displays of affection between people of the same sex were common. Women hugged, kissed, slept with, and proclaimed love for other women. Men did the same with other men.

Names are an important key to what a society values. Anthropologists recognize naming as 'one of the chief methods for imposing order on perception.'