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The Time For The Kingdom May Be Far Off, But The Task Is Plain: To Retain Our Share In God In Spite Of Peril And Contempt. There Is A War To Wage Against The Vulgar, The Glorification Of The Absurd, A War That Is Incessant, Universal. Loyal To The Presence Of The Ultimate In The Common, We May Be Able To Make It Clear That Man Is More Than Man, That In Doing The Finite He May Perceive The Infinite .
-Abraham Joshua Heschel
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The Time For The

Abraham Joshua Heschel
The Time For The Kingdom May Be Far Off, But The Task Is Plain: To Retain Our Share In God In Spite Of Peril And Contempt. There Is A War To Wage Against The Vulgar, The Glorification Of The Absurd, A War That Is Incessant, Universal. Loyal To The Presence Of The Ultimate In The Common, We May Be Able To Make It Clear That Man Is More Than Man, That In Doing The Finite He May Perceive The Infinite .
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War
Men
Tasks
More From Abraham Joshua Heschel
In Our Daily Lives We Attend Primarily To That Which The Senses Are Spelling Out For Us: To What The Eyes Perceive, To What The Fingers Touch. Reality To Us Is Thinghood , Consisting Of Substances That Occupy Space; Even God Is Conceived By Most Of Us As A Thing. The Result Of Our Thinginess Is Our Blindness To All Reality That Fails To Identify Itself As A Thing, As A Matter Of Fact.
Eye
Reality
Space
One Of The Major Symptoms Of The General Crisis Existent In Our World Today Is Our Lack Of Sensitivity To Words. We Use Words As Tools. We Forget That Words Are A Repository Of The Spirit. The Tragedy Of Our Times Is That The Vessels Of The Spirit Are Broken. We Cannot Approach The Spirit Unless We Repair The Vessels. Reverence For Words - An Awareness Of The Wonder Of Words, Of The Mystery Of Words - Is An Essential Prerequisite For Prayer. By The Word Of God The World Was Created.
Prayer
Our World
Broken
In The Darkest Night To Be Certain Of The Dawn...to Go Through Hell And To Continue To Trust In The Goodness Of God-this Is The Challenge And The Way.
Faith
Night
Challenges
He Who Is Satisfied Has Never Truly Craved, And He Who Craves For The Light Of God Neglects His Ease For Ardor.
Light
Ease
Neglect
Wonder, Or Radical Amazement, Is A Way Of Going Beyond What Is Given In Thing And Thought, Refusing To Take Anything For Granted, To Regard Anything As Final. It Is Our Honest Response To The Grandeur And Mystery Of Reality Our Confrontation With That Which Transcends The Given.
Reality
Finals
Way
Self-respect Is The Fruit Of Discipline.
Respect
Inspirational Life
Warrior
The Sabbath Is Not For The Sake Of The Weekdays; The Weekdays Are For The Sake Of Sabbath. It Is Not An Interlude But The Climax Of Living.
Weekdays
Sake
Sabbath
Remember That There Is Meaning Beyond Absurdity. Know That Every Deed Counts, That Every Word Is Power...above All, Remember That You Must Build Your Life As If It Were A Work Of Art.
Art
Deeds
Remember
Pagans Exalt Sacred Things, The Prophets Extol Sacred Deeds.
Deeds
Sacred Things
Pagan
I Am Commanded Therefore I Am.
The Supremacy Of Expediency Is Being Refuted By Time And Truth. Time Is An Essential Dimension Of Existence Defiant Of Man's Power, And Truth Reigns In Supreme Majesty, Unrivaled, Inimitable, And Can Never Be Defeated.
Men
Essentials
Reign
Faith Like Job's Cannot Be Shaken Becasue It Is The Result Of Having Been Shaken.
Faith
Religious
Jobs
The Task Of Life Is To Face Sacred Moments.
Tasks
Sacred
Faces
The Riches Of The Soul Are Stored Up In Its Memory. This Is The Test Of Character, Not Whether A Man Follows The Daily Fashion, But Whether The Past Is Alive In His Present.
Fashion
Memories
Character
Trust Is The Core Of Human Relationships, Of Gregariousness Among Men. Friendship, A Puzzle To The Syllogistic And Critical Mentality, Is Not Based On Experiments Or Tests Of Another Person's Qualities But On Trust. It Is Not Critical Knowledge But A Risk Of The Heart Which Initiates Affection And Preserves Loyalty In Our Fellow Men.
Loyalty
Heart
Men
Only Those Will Apprehend Religion Who Can Probe Its Depth, Who Can Combine Intuition And Love With The Rigor Of Method
Intuition
And Love
Depth
Being Points Beyond Itself. Accustomed To Think In Terms Of Space, The Expression "being Points Beyond Itself" May Be Taken To Denote A Higher Point In Space. What Is Meant, However, Is A Higher Category Than Being: The Power Of Maintaining Being.
Taken
Thinking
Expression
Prayer Is Our Humble Answer To The Inconceivable Surprise Of Living.
Prayer
Humble
Answers
(people Achieve) Fullness Of Being In Fellowship, In Care For Others.
People
Care
Fellowship
Understanding God Is Not Attained By Calling Into Session All Arguments For And Against Him, In Order To Debate Whether He Is A Reality Or A Figment Of The Mind. God Cannot Be Sensed As A Second Thought, As An Explanation Of The Origin Of The Universe. He Is Either The First And The Last, Or Just Another Concept.
Atheist
Reality
Understanding God
Life Is Not Meaningful...unle Ss It Is Serving An End Beyond Itself; Unless It Is Of Value To Someone Else.
Meaningful
Life Is
Ends
Religion Has Become An Impersonal Affair, An Institutional Loyalty. It Survives On The Level Of Activities Rather Than In The Stillness Of Commitment.
Loyalty
Commitment
Religion
The Idea Of Dependence Is An Explanation, Whereas Self-sufficiency Is An Unprecedented, Nonanalogous Concept In Terms Of What We Know About Life Within Nature. Is Not Self-sufficiency Itself Insufficient To Explain Self-sufficiency?
Self
Ideas
Term
Racism Is Man's Gravest Threat To Man - The Maximum Of Hatred For A Minimum Of Reason.
Men
Racism
Hatred
Celebration Is A Confrontation, Giving Attention To The Transcendent Meaning Of One's Actions.
Giving
Attention
Action
People Of Our Time Are Losing The Power Of Celebration. Instead Of Celebrating We Seek To Be Amused Or Entertained. Celebration Is An Active State, An Act Of Expressing Reverence Or Appreciation. To Be Entertained Is A Passive State--it Is To Receive Pleasure Afforded By An Amusing Act Or A Spectacle.... Celebration Is A Confrontation, Giving Attention To The Transcendent Meaning Of One's Actions. Source: The Wisdom Of Heschel
Appreciation
People
Giving
We Do Not Step Out Of The World When We Pray; We Merely See The World In A Different Setting. The Self Is Not The Hub But The Spoke Of The Revolving Wheel. It Is Precisely The Function Of Prayer To Shift The Center Of Living From Self-consciousness To Self-surrender.
Prayer
Self
Different
Worship Is A Way Of Seeing The World In The Light Of God.
Light
World
Way
A Religious Man Is A Person Who Holds God And Man In One Thought At One Time, At All Times, Who Suffers Harm Done To Others, Whose Greatest Passion Is Compassion, Whose Greatest Strength Is Love And Defiance Of Despair.
Love
Encouragement
Religious
We Are Closer To God When We Are Asking Questions Than When We Think We Have The Answers.
Thinking
Asking Questions
Asking
The Tragedy Of Religion Is Partly Due To Its Isolation From Life, As If God Could Be Segregated.
Religion
Tragedy
Isolation
Life Without Commitment Is Not Worth Living.
Love
Commitment
Worth Living
To Pray Is To Take Notice Of The Wonder, To Regain A Sense Of The Mystery That Animates All Beings, The Divine Margin In All Attainments.
Praying
Mystery
Wonder
Prayer Begins At The Edge Of Emptiness.
Prayer
Mindfulness
Emptiness
It Is Of The Essence Of Virtue That The Good Is Not To Be Done For The Sake Of A Reward.
Essence
Done
Rewards
The Degree To Which One Is Sensitive To Other People's Suffering, To Other (people's) Humanity, Is The Index Of One's Own Humanity
People
Humanity
Suffering
Our Age Is One In Which Usefulness Is Thought To Be The Chief Merit Of Nature; In Which The Attainment Of Power, The Utilization Of Its Resources Is Taken To Be The Chief Purpose Of Man In God's Creation. Man Has Indeed Become Primarily A Tool-making Animal, And The World Is Now A Gigantic Tool Box For The Satisfaction Of His Needs.
Taken
Men
Animal
In Prayer We Shift The Center Of Living From Self-consciousness To Self-surrender
Prayer
Self
Consciousness
To Be Is To Stand For.
The Issue Of Prayer Is Not Prayer; The Issue Of Prayer Is God. One Cannot Pray Unless He Has Faith In His Own Ability To Accost The Infinite, Merciful, Eternal God.
Prayer
Issues
Have Faith
The Course Of Life Is Unpredictable No One Can Write His Autobiography In Advance.
Future
Writing
Life Is
Sometimes We Wish The World Could Cry And Tell Us About That Which Made It Pregnant With Fear-filling Grandeur. Sometimes We Wish Our Own Heart Would Speak Of That Which Made It Heavy With Wonder.
Heart
Wish
World
Wonder Rather Than Doubt Is The Root Of All Knowledge.
Inspirational
Inspiring
Business
For Many Of Us The March From Selma To Montgomery Was About Protest And Prayer. Legs Are Not Lips And Walking Is Not Kneeling. And Yet Our Legs Uttered Songs. Even Without Words, Our March Was Worship. I Felt My Legs Were Praying.
Song
Prayer
Legs
Ultimately There Is No Power To Narcissistic, Self-indulgent Thinking. Authentic Thinking Originates With An Encounter With The World.
Thinking
Self
Encounters
It Is Not Enough For Me To Ask Question; I Want To Know How To Answer The One Question That Seems To Encompass Everything I Face: What Am I Here For?
Questions And Answers
Want
Answering Questions
The True Meaning Of Existence Is Disclosed In Moments Of Living In The Presence Of God
Moments
Existence
Presence Of God
When Religion Speaks Only In The Name Of Authority Rather Than With The Voice Of Compassion, Its Message Becomes Meaningless.
Compassion
Names
Voice
Prayer Begins Where Our Power Ends.
Prayer
Ends
Spiritual Life Begins To Decay When We Fail To Sense The Grandeur Of What Is Eternal In Time.
Spiritual
Decay
Failing
Prayer Is Meaningless Unless It Is Subversive, Unless It Seeks To Overthrow And To Ruin The Pyramids Of Callousness, Hatred, Opportunism, Falsehoods. The Liturgical Movement Must Become A Revolutionary Movement Seeking To Overthrow The Forces That Continue To Destroy The Promise, The Hope, The Vision.
Prayer
Pyramids
Hatred
Prayer Cannot Bring Water To Parched Fields, Or Mend A Broken Bridge, Or Rebuild A Ruined City; But Prayer Can Water An Arid Soul, Mend A Broken Heart, And Rebuild A Weakened Will.
Prayer
Heart
Bridges
I Would Say About Individuals, A Individual Dies When They Cease To To Be Surprised. I Am Surprised Every Morning When I See The Sunshine Again. When I See An Act Of Evil I Don't Accomodate, I Don't Accomodate Myself To The Violence That Goes On Everywhere. I Am Still So Surprised! That Is Why I Am Against It. We Must Learn To Be Surprised.
Morning
Sunshine
Evil
God Is Not Nice. God Is Not An Uncle. God Is An Earthquake.
God
Uncles
Nice
The Hour Calls For Moral Grandeur And Spiritual Audacity.
Spiritual
Audacity
Moral
There Are Few Ideas In The World Of Thought Which Contain So Much Spiritual Power As The Idea Of The Sabbath. Aeons Hence, When Of Many Of Our Cherished Theories Only Shreds Will Remain, That Cosmic Tapestry Will Continue To Shine.
Spiritual
Ideas
Shining
Man Is A Messenger Who Forgot The Message.
Men
Messengers
Messages
Acceptance Is Appreciation, And The High Value Of Appreciation Is Such That To Appreciate Appreciation Seems To Be The Fundamental Prerequisite For Survival. Mankind Will Not Die For Lack Of Information; It May Perish For Lack Of Appreciation.
Appreciation
Acceptance
Appreciate
Being Is Transcended By A Concern For Being. Our Perplexity Will Not Be Solved By Relating Human Existence To A Timeless, Subpersonal Abstraction Which We Call Essence. We Can Do Justice To Human Being Only By Relating It To The Transcendent Care For Being.
Essence
Justice
Care
The Opposite Of Good Is Not Evil, The Opposite Of Good Is Indifference.
Opposites
Evil
Indifference
Self-respect Is The Fruit Of Discipline; The Sense Of Dignity Grows With The Ability To Say No To Oneself.
Inspirational
Life
Motivational
Wonder Or Radical Amazement Is The Chief Characteristic Of The Religious Man's Attitude Toward History And Nature.
Faith
Religious
Attitude
There Is A Built-in Sense Of Indebtedness In The Consciousness Of Man, An Awareness Of Owing Gratitude, Or Being Caled Upon At Certain Moments To Reciprocate, To Answer, To Live In A Way Which Is Compatible With The Grandeur And Mystery Of Living.
Gratitude
Men
Answers
I Have One Talent, And That Is The Capacity To Be Tremendously Surprised, Surprised At Life, At Ideas. This Is To Me The Supreme Hasidic Imperative: Don't Be Old. Don't Be Stale.
Ideas
Talent
Capacity
Things, When Magnified, Are Forgeries Of Happiness.
Forgery
The Road To The Sacred Leads Through The Secular.
Sacred
Secular
There Is A Realm Of Time Where The Goal Is Not To Have But To Be, Not To Own But To Give, Not To Control But To Share, Not To Subdue But To Be In Accord. Life Goes Wrong When The Control Of Space, The Acquisition Of Things Of Space, Becomes Our Sole Concern.
Space
Giving
Goal
Proximity To The Crowd, To The Majority View, Spells The Death Of Creativity. For A Soul Can Create Only When Alone, And Some Are Chosen For The Flowering That Takes Place In The Dark Avenues Of Night.
Creativity
Dark
Night
Mundus Vult Decipi'—the World Wants To Be Deceived. To Live Without Deception Presupposes Standards Beyond The Reach Of Most People Whose Existence Is Largely Shaped By Compromise, Evasion And Mutual Accommodation. Could They Face Their Weakness, Their Vanity And Selfishness, Without A Mask?
Vanity
People
Deception
Just To Be Is A Blessing. Just To Live Is Holy.
Life
Faith
Gratitude
Awe Enables Us To See In The World Intimations Of The Divine, To Sense In Small Things The Beginning Of Infinite Significance, To Sense The Ultimate In The Common And The Simple, To Feel In The Rush Of The Passing The Stillness Of The Eternal.
Simple
World
Common
Forfeit Your Sense Of Awe, Let Your Conceit Diminish Your Ability To Revere, And The Universe Becomes A Market Place For You.
Forfeit
Conceit
Ability
A Religious Man Is A Person... Whose Greatest Passion Is Compassion.
Religious
Passion
Men
Everything Is Phenomenal; Everything Is Incredible; Never Treat Life Casually. To Be Spiritual Is To Be Amazed.
Spiritual
Incredibles
Treats
When Faith Is Completely Replaced By Creed, Worship By Discipline, Love By Habit; When The Crisis Of Today Is Ignored Because Of The Splendors Of The Past; When Faith Becomes An Heirloom Rather Than A Living Fountain; When Religion Speaks Only In The Name Of Authority Rather Than With The Voice Of Compassion, Its Message Becomes Meaningless.
Past
Compassion
Names
Every Little Deed Counts.
Deeds
Littles
In A Controversy, The Instant We Feel Anger, We Have Already Ceased Striving For Truth And Have Begun Striving For Ourselves.
Buddhist
Truth
Life Changing
There Is No Answer To Auschwitz...to Try To Answer Is To Commit A Supreme Blasphemy. Israel Enables Us To Bear The Agony Of Auschwitz Without Radical Despair, To Sense A Ray Of God's Radiance In The Jungles Of History.
Israel
Agony
Holocaust
There Are No Two Hours Alike. Every Hour Is Unique And The Only One Given At The Moment, Exclusive And Endlessly Precious. Judaism Teaches Us To Be Attached To Holiness In Time; To Learn How To Consecrate Sanctuaries That Emerge From The Magnificent Stream Of A Year.
Unique
Years
Two
Prayer Is Not A Stratagem For Occasional Use, A Refuge To Resort To Now And Then. It Is Rather Like An Established Residence For The Innermost Self. All Things Have A Home: The Bird Has A Nest, The Fox Has A Hole, The Bee Has A Hive. A Soul Without Prayer Is A Soul Without A Home.
Prayer
Home
Self
We Can Never Sneer At The Stars, Mock The Dawn, Or Scoff At The Totality Of Being.
Stars
Dawn
Mock
To Be Spiritual Is To Be Amazed.
Spiritual
Amazed
Faith Is Not The Clinging To A Shrine But An Endless Pilgrimage Of The Heart. Audacious Longing, Burning Songs, Daring Thoughts, An Impulse Overwhelming The Heart, Usurping The Mind--these Are All A Drive Towards Serving Him Who Rings Our Hearts Like A Bell. It Is As If He Were Waiting To Enter Our Empty, Perishing Lives.
Song
Heart
Waiting
The Man Who Has Not Suffered - What Does He Know Anyway?
Men
Doe
He Man
Normal Consciousness Is A State Of Stupor, In Which The Sensibility To The Wholly Real And Responsiveness To The Stimuli Of The Spirit Are Reduced. The Mystics, Knowing That Man Is Involved In A Hidden History Of The Cosmos, Endeavor To Awake From The Drowsiness And Apathy And To Regain The State Of Wakefulness For Their Enchanted Souls.
Real
Men
Knowing
The Primary Purpose Of Prayer Is Not To Make Requests. The Primary Purpose Is To Praise, To Sing, To Chant. Because The Essence Of Prayer Is A Song, And Man Cannot Live Without A Song. Prayer May Not Save Us. But Prayer May Make Us Worthy Of Being Saved.
Song
Prayer
Men
The Beginning Of Our Happiness Lies In The Understanding That Life Without Wonder Is Not Worth Living.
Lying
Understanding
Wonder
We May Not Know Whether Our Understanding Is Correct, Or Whether Our Sentiments Are Noble, But The Air Of The Day Surrounds Us Like Spring Which Spreads Over The Land Without Our Aid Or Notice.
Spring
Sunday
Air
When We Pray, We Bring G-d Into The World
World
Praying
The Meaning Of The Sabbath Is To Celebrate Time Rather Than Space. Six Days A Week We Live Under The Tyranny Of Things Of Space; On The Sabbath We Try To Become Attuned To Holiness In Time. It Is A Day On Which We Are Called Upon To Share In What Is Eternal In Time, To Turn From The Results Of Creation To The Mystery Of Creation; From The World Of Creation To The Creation Of The World.
Space
Trying
Six
God Is Either Of No Importance, Or Of Supreme Importance.
Importance
Supreme
A Prophet's True Greatness Is His Ability To Hold God And Man In A Single Thought.
Greatness
Men
Prophet
Human Being Is Both Being In The World And Living In The World. Living Involves Responsible Understanding Of One's Role In Relation To All Other Beings. For Living Is Not Being In Itself, But Living Of The World, Affecting, Exploiting, Consuming, Comprehending, Deriving, Depriving.
Understanding
Roles
World
There Are Two Primary Ways In Which Mans Relates Himself To The World That Surround Him: Manipulation And Appreciation . In The First Way He Sees In What Surrounds Him Things To Be Handled, Forces To Be Managed, Objects To Be Put To Use. In The Second Way He Sees In What Surrounds Him Things To Be Acknowledged, Understood, Valued Or Admired.
Appreciation
Two
Use
Man Is Naturally Self-centered And He Is Inclined To Regard Expediency As The Supreme Standard For What Is Right And Wrong. However, We Must Not Convert An Inclination Into An Axiom That Just As Man's Perceptions Cannot Operate Outside Time And Space, So His Motivations Cannot Operate Outside Expediency; That Man Can Never Transcend His Own Self. The Most Fatal Trap Into Which Thinking May Fall Is The Equation Of Existence And Expediency.
Motivation
Fall
Men
Knowledge-like The Sky- Is Never Private Property. No Teacher Has A Right To Withhold It From Anyone Who Asks For It. Teaching Is The Art Of Sharing.
Teacher
Art
Teaching
Solitude Is A Necessary Protest To The Incursions And The False Alarms Of Society's Hysteria, A Period Of Cure And Recovery.
Recovery
Hysteria
Solitude
Feel In The Rush Of The Passing The Stillness Of The Eternal
Passing
Feels
Eternal
Philosophy, To Be Relevant, Must Offer Us A Wisdom To Live By.
Philosophy
Relevant
Live By
You Must Build Your Life As If It Were A Work Of Art.
Art
Works Of Art
Ifs
A Test Of A People Is How It Behaves Toward The Old. It Is Easy To Love Children. Even Tyrants And Dictators Make A Point Of Being Fond Of Children. But The Affection And Care For The Old, The Incurable, The Helpless Are The True Gold Mines Of A Culture.
Children
Tyrants
People
There Is Happiness In The Love Of Labor, There Is Misery In The Love Of Gain.
Gains
Misery
Labor
I Did Not Ask For Success; I Asked For Wonder.
Wonder
Asks
How Embarrassing For Man To Be The Greatest Miracle On Earth And Not To Understand It!
Men
Miracle
Earth
To Become Aware Of The Ineffable Is To Part Company With Words...the Tangent To The Curve Of Human Experience Lies Beyond The Limits Of Language. The World Of Things We Perceive Is But A Veil. It’s Flutter Is Music, Its Ornament Science, But What It Conceals Is Inscrutable. It’s Silence Remains Unbroken; No Words Can Carry It Away. Sometimes We Wish The World Could Cry And Tell Us About That Which Made It Pregnant With Fear--filling Grandeur. Sometimes We Wish Our Own Heart Would Speak Of That Which Made It Heavy With Wonder.
Lying
Heart
Curves
The Worship Of Reason Is Arrogance And Betrays A Lack Of Intelligence. The Rejection Of Reason Is Cowardice And Betrays A Lack Of Faith.
Rejection
Arrogance
Worship
The Awe Of God Is Wisdom.
Awe
Indeed, The Sort Of Crimes And Even The Amount Of Delinquency That Fill The Prophets Of Israel With Dismay Do Not Go Beyond That Which We Regard As Normal, As Typical Ingredients Of Social Dynamics. To Us A Single Act Of Injustice--cheating In Business, Exploitation Of The Poor--is Slight; To The Prophets, A Disaster. To Us Injustice Is Injurious To The Welfare Of The People; To The Prophets It Is A Deathblow To Existence: To Us, An Episode; To Them, A Catastrophe, A Threat To The World.
Cheating
Israel
People
The Issue Of Prayer Is Not Prayer; The Issue Of Prayer Is God.
Prayer
Issues
Our Concern Is Not How To Worship In The Catacombs But How To Remain Human In The Skyscrapers.
Civilization
Worship
Skyscraper
The Time For The Kingdom May Be Far Off, But The Task Is Plain: To Retain Our Share In God In Spite Of Peril And Contempt. There Is A War To Wage Against The Vulgar, The Glorification Of The Absurd, A War That Is Incessant, Universal. Loyal To The Presence Of The Ultimate In The Common, We May Be Able To Make It Clear That Man Is More Than Man, That In Doing The Finite He May Perceive The Infinite .
War
Men
Tasks
To Sing Means To Sense And To Affirm That The Spirit Is Real And That Its Glory Is Present.
Real
Mean
Voice
To Abstain Completely From All Enjoyments May Be Easy. Yet To Enjoy Life And Retain Spiritual Integrity - There Is The Challenge.
Spiritual
Integrity
Enjoy Life
This Is One Of The Goals Of The Jewish Way Of Living: To Experience Commonplace Deeds As Spiritual Adventures, To Feel The Hidden Love And Wisdom In All Things.
Spiritual
Adventure
Goal
We Can All Do Our Share To Redeem The World In Spite Of All Absurdities And All Frustrations And All Disappointments.
Disappointment
Frustration
World
In The Midst Of Our Applauding The Feats Of Civilization, The Bible Flings Itself Like A Knife Slashing Our Complacency; Remind Us That God, Too, Has A Voice In History.
Knives
Civilization
Voice
Dear Lord, Grant Me The Grace Of Wonder. Surprise Me, Amaze Me, Awe Me In Every Crevice Of Your Universe. Each Day Enrapture Me With Your Marvelous Things Without Number. ...i Do Not Ask To See The Reason For It All: I Ask Only To Share The Wonder Of It All.
Dear Lord
Numbers
Grace
All Action Is Vicarious Faith.
Action
Vicarious
We Worry A Great Deal About The Problem Of Church And State. Now What About The Church And God? Sometimes There Seems To Be A Greater Separation Between The Church And God Than Between The Church And State.
Thought Provoking
Worry
Church
Faith Is An Awareness Of Divine Mutuality And Companionship, A Form Of Communion Between God And Man. It Is Not A Psychical Quality, Something That Exists In The Mind Only, But A Force From The Beyond.
Men
Mind
Quality
Speech Has Power. Words Do Not Fade. What Starts Out As A Sound, Ends In A Deed.
Sound
Deeds
Speech
Awe Is An Intuition For The Dignity Of All Things, A Realization That Things Not Only Are What They Are But Also Stand, However Remotely, For Something Supreme. Awe Is A Sense For Transcendence, For The Reference Everywhere To Mystery Beyond All Things. It Enables Us To Perceive In The World Intimations Of The Divine. ... To Sense The Ultimate In The Common And The Simple: To Feel In The Rush Of The Passing The Stillness Of The Eternal. What We Cannot Comprehend By Analysis, We Become Aware Of In Awe.
Simple
Intuition
Analysis
Self-respect Is The Root Of Discipline
Self
Roots
Discipline
Faith Is Not The Clinging To A Shrine But An Endless Pilgrimage Of The Heart.
Faith
Heart
Shrines
Self-sufficiency, Independence, The Capacity To Stand Apart, To Differ, To Resist, And To Defy-all Are Modes Of Being Human.
Self
Independence
Being Human
(people) Can Never Attain Fulfillment, Or Sense Of Meaning, Unless It Is Shared, Unless It Pertains To Other Human Beings.
People
Fulfillment
Humans
Never Once In My Life Did I Ask God For Success Or Wisdom Or Power Or Fame. I Asked For Wonder, And He Gave It To Me.
Wonder
Fame
Asks
Then Comes The Insight That All Is God. One Still Realizes That The World Is As It Was, But It Does Not Matter, It Does Not Affect One's Faith.
God
Doe
World
To Pray Is To Dream In League With God, To Envision His Holy Visions.
Dream
League
Vision
All That Is Left Is To Us Is Our Being Horrified At The Loss Of Our Sense Of Horror.
Loss
Horror
Left
The Problem To Be Faced Is: How To Combine Loyalty To One's Own Tradition With Reverence For Different Traditions.
Loyalty
Religious
Tolerance
When I Was Young, I Admired Clever People. Now That I Am Old, I Admire Kind People.
Bullying
Clever
Kindness
Awareness Of The Divine Begins With Wonder.
Wonder
Awareness
Divine
...morally Speaking, There Is No Limit To The Concern One Must Feel For The Suffering Of Human Beings, That Indifference To Evil Is Worse Than Evil Itself, That In A Free Society, Some Are Guilty, But All Are Responsible.
Evil
Suffering
Limits
Wise Criticism Always Begins With Self-criticism.
Wise
Self
Criticism
Faith Is Something That Comes Out Of The Soul. It Is Not An Information That Is Absorbed But An Attitude, Existing Prior To The Formulation Of Any Creed.
Attitude
Soul
Information
We Worship God Through Our Questions.
Worship
Worship God
New Insight Begins When Satisfaction Comes To An End, When All That Has Been Seen, Said, Or Done Looks Like A Distortion. ... Man's True Fulfillment Depends On Communion With That Which Transcends Him.
Men
Looks
Done
God Is Not A Hypothesis Derived From Logical Assumptions, But An Immediate Insight, Self-evident As Light. He Is Not Something To Be Sought In The Darkness With The Light Of Reason. He Is The Light.
Light
Self
Darkness
The Higher Goal Of Spiritual Living Is Not To Amass A Wealth Of Information, But To Face Sacred Moments.
Spiritual
Healing
Goal
Philosophy May Be Defined As The Art Of Asking The Right Question...awareness Of The Problem Outlives All Solutions. The Answers Are Questions In Disguise, Every New Answer Giving Rise To New Questions.
Art
Philosophy
Giving
It Is Gratefulness Which Makes The Soul Great.
Soul
Gratefulness
To Serve Does Not Mean To Surrender But To Share.
Mean
Doe
Surrender
The Test Of Love Is In How One Relates Not To Saints And Scholars But To Rascals.
Love Is
Saint
Tests
Few Are Guilty, But All Are Responsible.
Guilty
Responsible
To Become Aware Of The Ineffable Is To Part Company With Words.
Ineffable
Company
A Soul Can Create Only When Alone.
Soul
Proximity
Society Today Is No Longer In Revolt Against Particular Laws Which It Finds Alien, Unjust, And Imposed, But Against Law As Such, Against The Principle Of Law. And Yet We Must Not Regard This Revolt As Entirely Negative. The Energy That Rejects Many Obsolete Laws Is An Entirely Positive Impulse For Renewal Of Life And Law.
Law
Energy
Principles
Our Goal Should Be To Live Life In Radical Amazement. ....get Up In The Morning And Look At The World In A Way That Takes Nothing For Granted. Everything Is Phenomenal; Everything Is Incredible; Never Treat Life Casually. To Be Spiritual Is To Be Amazed.
Life
Spiritual
Morning
God Is Everywhere Or Nowhere, The Father Of All People Or Of None, Concerned About Everything Or Nothing. Only In His Presence Shall We Learn That The Glory Of Humankind Is Not In Its Will To Power But In Its Power Of Compassion.
Father
Compassion
People
It Is Dangerous To Take Human Freedom For Granted, To Regard It As A Prerogative Rather Than As An Obligation, As An Ultimate Fact Rather Than As An Ultimate Goal. It Is The Beginning Of Wisdom To Be Amazed At The Fact Of Our Being Free.
Freedom
Goal
Being Free
The Anchor Of Meaning Resides In An Abyss, Deeper Than The Reach Of Despair. Yet The Abyss Is Not Not Infinite; Its Bottom May Suddenly Be Discovered Within The Confines Of A Human Heart Or Under The Debris Of Might Doubts. This May Be The Vocation Of Man: To Say "amen" To Being And To The Author Of Being; To Live In Defiance Of Absurdity, Notwithstanding Futility And Defeat; To Attain Faith In God Even In Spite Of God.
Heart
Men
Anchors
Instead Of Indulging In Jealousy, Greed, In Relishing Themselves, There Are Men Who Keep Their Hearts Alert To The Stillness In Which Time Rolls On And Leaves Us Behind. ... Those Who Are Open To The Wonder Will Not Miss It. Faith Is Found In Solicitude For Faith, In An Inner Care For The Wonder That Is Everywhere.
Heart
Men
Greed
When I Marched With Martin Luther King In Selma, I Felt My Legs Were Praying.
Kings
Prayer
Legs
Those Of Faith Who Plant Sacred Thoughts In The Uplands Of Time, The Secret Gardeners Of The Lord In Mankind's Desolate Hopes, May Slacken And Tarry But Rarely Betray Their Vocation.
Secret
May
Sacred
We Must First Peer Into The Darkness, Feel Strangled And Entombed In The Hopelessness Of Living Without God, Before We Are Ready To Feel The Presence Of His Living Light.
Light
Darkness
Peers
We Forfeit The Right To Worship God As Long As We Continue To Humiliate Negroes. ... The Hour Calls For Moral Grandeur And Spiritual Audacity.
Spiritual
Long
Audacity
Man's Sin Is In His Failure To Live What He Is. Being The Master Of The Earth, Man Forgets That He Is The Servant Of God.
Men
Servant Of God
Earth
Indifference To Evil Is More Insidious Than Evil Itself. It Is A Silent Justification Affording Evil Acceptability In Society.
Evil
Indifference
Silent
As Civilization Advances, The Sense Of Wonder Declines. Such Decline Is An Alarming Symptom Of Our State Of Mind. Mankind Will Not Perish For Want Of Information; But Only For Want Of Appreciation.
Appreciation
Civilization
Mind
There Is No Specialized Art Of Prayer. All Of Life Must Be A Training To Pray. We Pray The Way We Live.
Art
Prayer
Training
The Essence Of Man Is Not What He Is, But In What He Is Able To Be.
Men
Essence
Able
The Work On Weekdays And The Rest On The Seventh Day Are Correlated. The Sabbath Is The Inspirer, The Other Days The Inspired.
Weekdays
Inspired
Sabbath
In Any Free Society Where Terrible Wrongs Exist, Some Are Guilty - All Are Responsible.
Guilty
Responsible
Terrible
People Are Anxious To Save Up Financial Means For Old Age; They Should Also Be Anxious To Prepare A Spiritual Means For Old Age.... Wisdom, Maturity, Tranquility Do Not Come All Of A Sudden When We Retire.
Spiritual
Mean
Maturity
All Events Are Secretly Interrelated; The Sweep Of All We Are Doing Reaches Beyond The Horizon Of Our Comprehension.
Relationship
Horizon
Events
Faith Opens Our Hearts For The Entrance Of The Holy. It Is Almost As Though God Were Thinking For Us.
Heart
Thinking
Holy
Much Of What The Bible Demands Can Be Comprised In One Imperative: Remember!
Demand
Remember
Imperatives
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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