#366. Holy quotes at the end of emails.
Jul 31st by JonI think that when it comes to emails, there are lots of ways to add some God flavor. You can have a holy sounding email address like GodisGoodandawesome777weshouldsidehug@yahoo. You can sign off with a shout out to God like “in His grip” or “God bless you.” And you can include a little icon of a cross or a fish or a dove.
I think those are interesting, but my favorite way to add some holy to an email is to put a quote at the end. I think this a fairly wide spread phenomenon and non Christians do it too. But we have the added pressure of using that quote to possibly spark a thought in someone about God. That’s a big responsibility and to help you pick the best quote I want to give you some tips on things you should avoid:
1. The Lewis Sandwich
I should apologize everyday for not doing a post on C.S. Lewis yet. Christians love him. And one of the ways we show that love is by using his quotes in our emails. But sometimes in our affection, we go over board and create a “Lewis Sandwich.” This is when you quote Lewis, then add a quote from someone else, and then remember another Lewis quote you love and add that too. Suddenly you’ve got a total of three quotes, with two Lewis quotes sandwiching someone else. The whole thing is a mess and C.S. Lewis will probably punch you in the neck in heaven if you do this.
2. The Riddler
If you ever get a quote that is completely confusing and borderline undecipherable, then you know the Riddler has struck. When I get one of these, I’m not sure if someone is trying to appear smart or if I am in fact just dumb, but occasionally people will send quotes like, “Laughing, loving and crying are the secrets angels share when we admit we’re only human.” What? What does that mean? You just sent me an email with directions to a cookout. Are you trying to tell me something about the hamburgers we’re going to have? Is that a code for danger? I’m completely boggled.
3. The Instigator
Sometimes, people use a somewhat controversial quote in their emails because they want to start a debate or stir the waters. I often try to instigate conversations on this site, so I completely understand this approach. And, I have a new favorite example. One of the quotes I have received recently is from a fairly famous pastor that said, “God is not green. Kermit is green. It will be a cold day in hell when I preach on recycling and not the gospel.” I confess I’ve spent far too little time learning about environmental issues but I am challenged by Rob Bell’s statement that “How we treat the creation reveals how we feel about the creator.” He made it in regard to how we treat people but in a good way it’s forced me to think about how I treat the earth, which is also God’s creation. And I don’t agree that it’s an either or situation. Either you preach recycling or you preach the gospel. But maybe that quote is taken out of context and the pastor meant something else. Ahhh! See, the instigator has won. I’m debating the quote at the end of an email.
4. The Encyclopedia Brown
I used to love Encyclopedia Brown, the boy wonder detective that would solve mysteries for 25 cents. He was able to do so because he knew everything. Sometimes, at the end of emails, people add quotes that try to tell you everything. Out of nowhere you get a three paragraph quote from Billy Graham that explains the trinity in rich, colorful detail. I think we should collectively come to an agreement as Christians that the quote you use at the end of your email should never be longer than the email you have written. If your email says, “See you tonight!” your quote shouldn’t say, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”
5. The Anonymous Quote
Almost anything sounds kind of smart when you put it at the bottom of an email and attribute it to “anonymous.” Do you know which poet once said, “Fairytales don’t always have a happy ending?” What about, “I must take the baby steps until I’m full grown?” Those are OK, right? I mean the first one speaks to the universal sense that often life does not work out the way we’ve planned. Things fall apart. Relationships end. Hearts are broken. The second quote seems like it might be about the renewing of the mind that is possible through Christ. It could be about 1 Corinthians 3:1 where Paul says some people are “mere babes in Christ.” So who said those two quotes? Fergie. They’re lyrics from the song “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” So usually, when someone sends me an email with an anonymous quote, I assume it’s something Fergie said and start singing it. I ask my wife to join in and play the role of Ludacris, but she never will.
I am cool with a quote at the end of an email. At times I’ve learned something new, been challenge and gained some insight into the person that sent it. I just think we should avoid those five situations. What quote do I use in my own emails? I’ve never had one, but the other day an editor from a large ministry organization said something to me:
“I tell you, the concept of “Booty, God, Booty” has revolutionized my life.”
Sure, she might have been teasing and I guess you could see using a quote about something I wrote as narcissistic, but the idea of having the phrase “Booty, God, Booty” in a quote made me giggle like a 12 year old. And quotes at the bottoms of emails are usually so serious, that I couldn’t pass this one up.
Comments
Okay, well I don’t exactly have the time to go through my entire inbox but this is what I found.
God answers Knee-mail.
*If you aren’t ashamed to do this,
Please pass this on. /
Jesus said,
‘If you are ashamed of me,
I will be ashamed of you before my Father.’
And seriously? Just because I don’t send a forward it means I don’t love Jesus? I don’t think so.
And in His grip makes God sound like a giant anaconda who is constricting me to death. Sorry, but it does.
And I must know, was that angels quote for real?
Lauren – is it real as in – is it a real quote? No, I wrote it. (My ego thanks you for forcing me to clarify that!)
is it real as in – does it actually happen? I’m pretty sure.
It’s a modification of something that I almost said to my 9yr old daughter the other day: “Every time you send an eCard an angel loses its wings”
I thought fart would be less offensive to readers of this blog.
I have to say, “Stacy from Louisville” wins comment of the day with the subtle Amish post. Liked it a lot.
Good job Stacy from Louisville!
I LOVE your holy sounding email address – awesome!
Re:anon
“Preaching about caring for the environment is preaching the gospel.”
You’re right, the environmental gospel of Al Gore is being preached all over the world, and many are getting saved. His faith based movie has fortunately made its way into public schools and has ministered to thousands if not millions. From what I’ve heard almost all of academia are saved and preaching this gospel as well.
I’m glad that people have finally realized just what Jesus was trying to get across 2000 years ago. I’m hoping that everyone reading this would attach the Christian recycling fish on the back of their car so that we can exchange paper bags and the like. Jesus would like that.
randy: what would the christian recycling fish look like…and how can i get one…shopping at trader joes and drinking fair trade coffee just isn’t enough for me. next up for invention a scripture-sipper made out of 100% recycled paper, old tires and unwanted pvc pipe trimmings (you think i’m joking).
Jon, being that i am a) related to her, b) the one who made her first read “Booty, God, Booty,” and c) had an extensive phone conversation with her about how, um, shall we say, wicked awesome the concept of “Booty, God, Booty” is:
i can verify that said editor from large ministry organization was NOT teasing. she was completely serious. and our lives are indeed forever changed (yes, for the better).
Randy, I haven’t seen the Gore movie or listened to it, so I can’t really address what you’re talking about regarding that. I’m talking about basics. I really believe that God wants us to take care of his creation. I believe scripture supports that.
The quotes are only the beginning! Once C.S. Lewis starts haunting our emails, strange, ten-dollar words like “synergy”, “didactic”, and “syncretistic” start coming out of our mouths when we talk about church. Have we talked about that yet?
Ooh, this post (and comments) are giving me all sorts of evil ideas. (Especially the youtube comment.) Here is how I plan on being an instigator:
1. I think I’ll start leaving a C.S. Lewis quote, but attribute it to Charles Darwin. Sure to confuse and/or anger.
2. A Greek signature that translated says “you used Babelfish didn’t you loser?”
3. Add a daily haiku to my emails, then intentionally get the syllables wrong.
4. John 3:37
I have a scripture on my “email signature” – mainly so as a reminder to myself (since I see it evertime I send an email)….
“Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.” Matthew 6:33 MSG
I also like to use “Blessed are the flexible – for they will not be bent out of shape.”!
I have quoted Lewis quite a few times in my signature emails, and I have also been an “instigator” by quoting about homeschool issues.
Right now, it’s straight from the Bible: Romans 12:1-2 I worried that two verses might be too long, but I couldn’t think of how just the first verse could stand by itself (even though I know it probably could) so I put both. So sometimes, yes, it becomes longer than my email. Mmmmm…..it’s been awhile, I might have to change it again. 
Yeah, I changed it. Thanks for reminding me I needed to.
I went the Sunday Paper Comics route:
“I know the answer! The answer lies within the heart of all mankind! The answer is twelve? I think I’m in the wrong building.”
Charles Schulz
Lucy Van Pelt in Peanuts
i’ve never had an email signature quote…..
now i think i’ll use:
Sidehugs and legdrops,
Donna
My quote is anonymous, I guess…..”Be careful what you wish for.” I could put some God flavor on it and change it to “Be careful what you pray for.” Kinda means the same thing when you think about it.
onowicdatucme@dnmo.com
tell me you remember that day johnny a?
Anonymous
I totally agree that we need to take care of the environment…I’m for clean water, clean air etc., but the radical environmentalist movement has become its own religion that has been bullying the world to join into their doomsday way of thinking. (The latest being Global Warming which followed a Global Cooling scare a few short decades ago.)
I can’t find a lot of scripture that backs that line of thought…in fact I can find many passages that counter this type of emphasis.
In summation, we need to love each other. I mean really, really love each other…now that is something that should be practiced and shared by believers.
Ah, I have one of those email addresses, and quotes at the end.
allfortheone88@yahoo.com
“God gives us dreams a size too big so that we can grow into them.”
The email has ended up being to hard to tell people, so I had to come up with a new one for friends, and it’s just my name.
Hey everyone….our PJ has been nominated for the 2008 Best Blogger Award in three areas! Go register and vote for him!
He’s on page 130 for Best Religion Blog and you can click it from there to go vote for the other categories.
http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/50141
It's so true!!! I've seen my share of encyclopedia browns. However my email quote at the end is a Bible verse mixed in with a famous saying, I took two verses that Paul is famous for saying, "Greet one another with a kiss of love" or "Greet one another with a holy kiss" (from 1 Pet 5:14 and 1 Cor 16:20 respectively, and then others) and mixed it with "Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good night."
So at the end of my emails you will always see:
<3 Carly
"Holy Kisses to All and to All a Good Morrow!"
1 Peter 5:14
1 Cor 16:20
Encyclopedia Brown was awesome!! As was this post, loved the Fergie quotes.
Have a good day! (my usual sign-off)
“God helpeth thee whom helpeth himself.” – Proverbs 32:1
i think it kind of sucks that you keep having to clarify things like “but i don’t think quotes at the end of e-mails are bad…” in every post, because if you don’t…someone will yell at you. for nothing.
so, for those people, a gilmore girls quote:
“Five minutes in a snowball fight, and we can knock that stick right out of your butt!”
+ I don’t know if I ever told you that my brother’s email address is imputedrighteousness777@______.com. He says he changed it to that ’cause it’s an inside joke at his Bible college, but I told him when he did that he officially became a Bible college student. Prior to then, he was just pretending. The boy didn’t even know what “imputed” meant till he went there.
+ Whoever the pastor was who wrote that he won’t preach about recycling must be AWESOME. Go him. Who was it? I’m curious, because I like him. =o)
+ I love Encyclopedia Brown!
+ Dude, you have given us, your loyal readers, so many good quotes to use at the ends of our emails… or, in my case, blog entry subject lines. =oD
Oh yes, and I forgot to say that the thought of you singing all Fergalicious-like and your wife singing like Ludacris almost made me spit Cherry Coke onto my work computer.
Thanks, Jon. ;o)
booty, God, booty still makes me laugh…
EVERY time
great post… cracks me up.
I’m not too into the whole holy quote thing. My most recent email signature was “This is my amazingly clever email signature.”
What I can I say… I’m very fond of the obvious.
I’m totally late commenting here due to a vacation, but I hate it when people quote THEMSELVES on “favorite quotes” on Facebook! Really, people?
That whole thing about The Riddler was hilarious! I hate those too!
This is just hilarious! Love the blog….stating the obvious! Thanks for the laughs.
Haha. Nooc, I knew your quote wasn’t real. I was actually referring to pj’s quote about angels. But your quote made me laugh. It reminded me of what causes God to kill kittens. But I’ll be nice and not say it out type. Glad I could help you check your ego though.
Um, You should have a post about how Christians love to name-drop without name-dropping about receiving emails/letters/phone calls from ‘famous pastors’ and editors from ‘large ministry organizations’… leaving us all to guess which brand-name Christian organization leader you are in regular correspondence with…
*lol* (but in a nice way…)
Had to comment and felt sure you’d appreciate the irony…considering the context and what a very pithy + insightful job you do on this blog :^) Really great work! Cheers, AJ
I used to use the cross character symbol “†” cross symbol in every e-mail signature. People thought I was cool mainly because they didn’t know how to do it.
(Hold down the alt-key while typing 0134 on the number pad)
I think as Christians, we are called to be good stewards of that which God has given us – including the planet. However, it seems that many “green” people have crossed the line of stewardship to idolatry in worship of the earth, which is not of God.
Jon,
for a while I went through a contrary stage and signed off emails with
“in his stranglehold”
Steve
yeah it's probably lame i'm posting a comment like a year after the post, but i just found this blog and literally haven't gotten anything else done in three weeks because i just keep reading it.
anyway. there's also the sign offs that are in latin, which are awesome because people who use latin are approximately 17% smarter and godlier.
deus fidelis est.
Nice. My signature line was Grace~ forever. Now I have a daughter named Grace so it tends to confuse folks. =)