Christian Classics

Human Essence Greater than himself

“This man possesses concrete evidence that he no longer exists for himself–that he has been delivered from himself–and that some other Thing lives within him and dominates him. I am not afraid to say that this special de-individualization that allows each combatant to attain a human essence greater than him-self is the ultimate secret of […]

Strip ourselves of the world

“‘He emptied him-self of his divinity.’ To empty ourselves of the world. To take the form of a slave. To reduce ourselves to the point we occupy in space and time – that is to say, to nothing. To strip ourselves of the imaginary royalty of the world. Absolute solitude. Then we po-ssess the truth […]

Attachment to the World

“The reality of the world is the result of our attachment. It is the reality of the self which we transfer into things. It has nothing to do with independent reality. That is only perceptible through total detachment. Should only one thread remain, there is still attachment.” Simon Weil

The Kernel of all Religions

“This bringing into relation to responsibility, that is, to the domain of human authenticity and truth, is probably the kernel of the history of all religions. Religion is not the sacred, nor does it arise directly from the experi-ence of sacred orgies and rites; rather, it is where the sacred qua demonic is being explicitly […]

No Violence

“Another proof that God does not claim to rule over the world is that he reveals its king to us, and it is not himself but his adversary who is always eagerly in pursuit – Satan, the accuser and the persecutor. A little thought reveals that the defender of victims, the Paraclete, must have as […]

Farewell

“The a-Dieu greets the other beyond being, in what is “si-gnified, beyond being, by the word ‘glory.’ “The a-Dieu is not a process of being: in the call, I am referred back to the other human being through whom this call signi-fies, to the neighbour for whom I am to fear.” J. Derrida

Before the Holy of Holies

“Before setting foot in the Holiest of Holies, you must take off your shoes, but not only your shoes but everything, traveling clothes and luggage, and under that, your nakedness and every-thing that is under the nakedness and every-thing that hides beneath that, and then the core and the core of the core, then the […]

The Glimpse of Holiness

“We have been reproached for ignoring theology; and we do not contest the necessity of a recovery, at least, the necessity of choosing an opportunity for a recovery of these themes. We think, however, that theological recuperation comes after the glimpse of holiness, which is primary.” E Levinas

Hindus call off rally through Christian villages in eastern India

Dayal among three awarded for promoting religious freedom, civil liberties