John Quotes

I see Christianity in very humanistic terms.

I think I could make the case for any kind of organized religion, but I'm not an expert in those, so let me narrow my focus to talk about Christianity.

Toward the end of his life, [Arnold] Toynby said the Christianity he saw developing was brittle, imperialistic and incapable of reforming itself.

What happened in the Western world was that Plato ceased to be the way people thought. Aristotle was rediscovered, and the modern, educated world moved toward Aristotelian thinking.

I want the traditional family upheld, but I don't want it upheld to the detriment of other people.

I go where I'm invited. And all I can tell you is if we accepted every invitation we had, I'd be away every day of my life.

Human wholeness can never be found in the denigration of another

I am a child of the 21st century.

If you care to define the South as a poor, rural region with lousy race relations, that South survives only in geographical shreds and patches and most Southerners don't live there any more.

Any Southern nationalist movement, especially one that wraps itself in the Confederate flag, is going to be viewed with suspicion, given the historical record.

Dixie has just fallen to pieces. There are little patches of Dixie. But even in the heart of Dixie - in Alabama - Dixie is slipping. They've stopped using the word in commercial listings.

But I still do believe that there are useful things to say about Elvis Presley, including what his own ordinariness as a poor Southerner says about 20th-century hero-making.

As long as there are Japanese tourists, there will be a market for the Old South.

Country music historically has been sort of middle-aged people's music.

I don't have time to worry about them when they are not.

I do believe that God's word is infallible, unchanging, perfect.

Our government is a gift from God, who calls us to be good stewards of it.

I'm trying to trick people into thinking about the unthinkable by using pop culture images.

I do sometimes watch 'Dr. Who' and while the stories barely make sense, if at all, the doctor is such great company I don't care.

I'm not quite pompous enough to think of myself as an educator or a man capable of definitive refutation of falsehoods.

Success, however you judge what that even means, brings with it certain pressures.

Critics should be to actors what ornithologists are to birds: they can write all they want, but it shouldn't affect them.

It's hard to lose when your standards are so low.

Dinner theater is anti-culture.

Chess is a cold bath for the mind

Retailing is a unique destination. What you need is stronger critical mass.

I've never directed anything before 'Mad Men,' so I don't feel I have any advice for the other directors.

My wife tells me I need to learn to be more patient with my son.

The good thing about directing yourself is that you get over yourself.

I'm a little kid at heart, so my eyes light up when everything is lit.

I'm proud of myself that I had the courage to experiment with crazy hairstyles and some fashion things.

Let's face it, making movies is all risk. Most of the time, batting average-wise, the reward does not outweigh the risk.

I think I gravitate towards people who express themselves in a simple and funny way.

You put a movie star or a bunch of movie stars in a movie, it doesn't mean people are gonna go see it. It's been proven time and time again.

Viewers can hate a character and at the same time can't take their eyes off of him.

When I first started, I was kind of surprised that anyone would ever hire me at all. So I took everything that I was offered.

I like to try the scene over and over, but given the confines of television, I don't have that option.

I've done a lot of pilots. A lot of shows. You're young and you do a job just because you know someone gave you a job.

When I was growing up, the top movies dealt with grown-up, complex emotions.

I've dyed my hair a million times and it looks terrible, always. It just looks fake. And it doesn't make me look that much younger.

I don't have to worry about how my movies sell because I'm not the guy in front.

But the path you end up on means that you have to close a lot of doors, too.

And I don't want to jump out of an airplane - I've done that.

I guess, you make a big studio film, you spend a lot of money on it and you hope people go see it. It's really risky.

For in Virginia, a plaine Souldier that can use a Pick-axe and spade, is better than five Knights.

Pocahontas, look at me, I'd rather die tomorrow than live 100 years without knowing you.

I think art, at best, holds up a mirror to humanity.

A lot of English traditional music is guesswork anyway, so it's very difficult for people to be vehemently opposed to experimenting with it.

I mainly play traditional music, which by definition is music that you've heard someone else doing.

If someone doesn't hate what you're doing - you're not doing very well.