Home > Topic > The chief characteristic
1 " Over the years I have written many a letter for the wedding of one of the brothers and preached many a wedding sermon. The chief characteristic of such occasions essentially rested in the fact that, in the face of the " last" times (I do not mean this to sound quite so apocalyptic), someone dares to take a step of such affirmation of the earth and its future. It was then always very clear to me that a person could take this step as a Christian truly only from within a very strong faith and on the basis of grace. For here in the midst of the final destruction of all things, one desires to build; in the midst of a life lived from hour to hour and from day to day, one desires a future; in the midst of being driven out from the earth, one desires a bit of space; in the midst of the widespread misery, one desires some happiness. And the overwhelming thing is that God says yes to this strange longing, that here God consents to our will, whereas it usually meant to be just the opposite. "
2 " The ability to make love frivolously is the chief characteristic which distinguishes human beings from the beasts. "
3 " Wonder or radical amazement is the chief characteristic of the religious man's attitude toward history and nature. "
― Abraham Joshua Heschel , God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism
