A Soulful Journey

" I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't, than live as if there isn't and to die to find out that there is." - Albert Camus

"When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.”  - G.K. Chesterton At your own peril dismiss God.

"Some things have to be believed to be seen."  -Ralph Hodgson Trust what you believe.

A paranoid insists he is dead.  A psychiatrist treating him finally asks, “Do dead men bleed?”   “No.” “Well, let’s see if you bleed,” and he pricks his finger. The man looks down and says, “I guess dead men do bleed.” They say, “seeing is believing” but it is not true.  Believing is believing.

"We shall fight Hitler as if there were no White Paper, and fight the White Paper as if there were no Hitler."  -David Ben-Gurion, 1939 What do we learn from this brave statement?  That Ben-Gurion was prescient? No, we learn that we must stand up for each other and against evil.

"He could not believe an army could be so stupid as to a accept a gift from its enemy during wartime.  Particularly when they got close to the wooden horse and heard giggling inside."  - Woody Allen We believe what we are predisposed to believe.

I believe in the sun even when it is not shining I believe in love when not feeling it. I believe in God even when He is silent.   -inscription on cellar wall in Cologne, Germany

Rabinovich was called to the Secret Service (OVIR) to discuss his desire emigrate to Israel. “Isn’t everything good for you here, Rabinovich?” asked the agent. “Well,” began Rabinovich, “the fact of the matter is I have two reasons for wanting to leave.   The first is my neighbor who comes home drunk every night and starts cursing the Jews.   He always says as soon as the Communists are overthrown he and his Russian counterparts will go out and hang all the Jews.” ’But Rabinovich, you know that we Communists will never be overthrown.” “And that,” said Rabinovich, “is my second reason.” Morals: No matter how bad things get never stop believing in what can be and keep your sense of humor.

“One who doesn’t believe in God doesn’t believe in nothing, he believes in everything.” –G.K. Chesterton

“Better to be a fool who believes everything than a skeptic who believes nothing— not even the truth." -The Empty Chair

"Up to a point a man’s life is shaped by environment, heredity, and movements and changes in the world about him.  Then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of thing he wishes to be.  Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune, or the quirks of fate.  Everyone has it within his power to say, This I am today, that I will be tomorrow . "       – Louis L’Amour We have within us untested power.  Until we test it….

In the Oxford Book of Aphorisms , consensus is defined as "achieved when everyone says collectively what no one believes individually.” It is hard to reach agreement where many people are concerned.   Yet, this is the basis of Democracy and community.   Consensus means giving up something of value while others do the same.   We all give and we all receive.

William Spooner, inventor of 'Spoonerisms,' was once asked whether there was much Christian Socialism at Oxford University.  He replied, " No...I think there are only two Christian Socialists in Oxford, Dr. Rashadall and myself... I'm not very much of a Socialist and Dr. Rashdall isn't very much of a Christian."   from Oxford Book of Literary Anecdotes T o not believe takes little effort.  To believe is the hard route.  It takes real and continued effort.

"When Hitler started the extermination campaign, he didn't begin with the Jews. He went for the mentally subnormal, saying it would be much kinder to give them a gentle, easy death. Maybe with amniocentesis we are trying to spare the health services with the high cost of dealing with the handicap, and cloaking it with an air of public respectability." - Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in "The Jewish Chronicle,"  May 1982. It is critical that we question what we see, hear, and read. There is a reason why God gave us a searching mind . Question the motives of politicians. Question the media. Take nothing for granted. You have a mind capable of ascertaining truth and do not need anyone to convince you of it.