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Quote by Nathan Englander

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kaddish.com

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Nathan Englander
Nathan Englander

Nathan Englander, born in 1970 in New York, is an accomplished short story writer. His works, known for their profound Jewish cultural background and unique narrative style, have won him a wide audience. more

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“The questions why, and why not, are both the burden and significance of human thought, the banana peel strategically placed in front of the rabbit hole. But why does destruction have such a seductive pull? I think that is the soul’s instinctive knowledge that the biggest advances, epiphanies and paradigm shifts are preceded by a cleansing period of destruction as the old building is demolished to build the new one, the field of weeds torched to sow new seeds. That’s why destruction is so thrilling, because of the subconscious expectation of the mysterious, "what’s next?" I think we should do that, “culturally speaking.” Tear into the flesh of the old-world ideas of religion, politics and philosophy with the sharpened teeth of destruction, drinking in their dying plasma until it bubbles up in our brains and bleeds out our fingertips as blasphemies, at first, before becoming the profound truths of the next step of human evolution. Let us reject the conditioned belief that memorizing the words and ideas of predecessors is attainment of enlightenment, let us sin, let us commit the true original sin, the sin of independent thought which frightens the politicians, the kings, the business tycoons, the priests and preachers as well as the paper gods they created to keep us in line.”

“The simple justification for the elders and their work was Christ’s detailed prescription in Matthew’s Gospel for how Christians should deal with sinners among the faithful: first private admonition, then progressively more formal reprimands, and finally, if repentance was not forthcoming, expulsion from the community.”

“In the present, in the very instant in which it is committed, venial sin deprives the soul of a precious grace. In that instant, grace was offered us to make progress in perfection, to be charitable, fervent, and industrious. If we had corresponded, our merit would have increased and for all eternity we would have contemplated God more intensely face to face. We would have loved Him more. Now this grace has been lost by our neglect, our laziness, and our limited charity. You will say, "But I can find the moment, the occasion to gain back the good that I lost." On the contrary, the answer is "no." You will not be able to revcver the quarter hour you wasted. Not even God, with all His power, would be able to restore it. This grace, a thousand times more precious than the universe, has been lost forever.”

“Christ did not die to redeem us in part. Neither did He rise so that we might have life in portions. But with us having a body made for Him, as well as the mind, will, personality, and emotions that it contains, we must understand that God is after us becoming victorious over any and all sin that would hinder the whole person from serving God fully and freely.”