There is a fundamental difference between the appeal of a mass movement and the appeal of a practical organization. The read more

There is a fundamental difference between the appeal of a mass movement and the appeal of a practical organization. The practical organization offers opportunities for self-advancement, and its appeal is mainly to self-interest. On the other hand, a mass movement, particularly in its active, revivalist phase, appeals not to those intent on bolstering and advancing a cherished self, but to those who crave to be rid of an unwanted self. A mass movement attracts and holds a following not because it can satisfy the desire for self-advancement, but because it can satisfy the passion for self-renunciation.

It is the test of a good religion whether you can make a joke about it.

It is the test of a good religion whether you can make a joke about it.

The Don Quixote of one generation may live to hear himself called
the savior of society by the next.

The Don Quixote of one generation may live to hear himself called
the savior of society by the next.

We know that words cannot move mountains, but they can move the multitude; and men are more ready to fight read more

We know that words cannot move mountains, but they can move the multitude; and men are more ready to fight and die for a word than for anything else. Words shape thought, stir feeling, and beget action; they kill and revive, corrupt and cure. The "men-of-words"- priests, prophets, intellectuals- have played a more decisive role in history than military leaders, statesmen, and businessmen.

Religion is not a matter of God, church, holy cause, etc. These are but accessories. The source of religious preoccupation read more

Religion is not a matter of God, church, holy cause, etc. These are but accessories. The source of religious preoccupation is in the self, or rather the rejection of the self. Dedication is the obverse side of self-rejection. Man alone is a religious animal because, as Montaigne points out, "it is a malady confined to man, and not seen in any other creature, to hate and despise ourselves.".

A lie would have no sense unless the truth were felt dangerous.

A lie would have no sense unless the truth were felt dangerous.

The ideal of self-advancement which the civilizing west offers to backward populations brings with it the plague of individual frustration. read more

The ideal of self-advancement which the civilizing west offers to backward populations brings with it the plague of individual frustration. All the advantages brought by the West are ineffectual substitutes for the sheltering and soothing anonymity of communal existence.

There is no truth sure enough to justify persecution.

There is no truth sure enough to justify persecution.

Deeds of violence in our society are performed largely by those trying to establish their self-esteem, to defend their self-image, read more

Deeds of violence in our society are performed largely by those trying to establish their self-esteem, to defend their self-image, and to demonstrate that they, too, are significant.