The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

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Author QuotedAbraham Joshua Heschel
Title QuotedGod in Search of Man
Date (Year/Month/Day)1960/11/15
Imprint[S.l.] : [s.n.]. 1956
QuotationAt the heart of Heschel's splendid book-God in Search of Man-the consistent emphasis on the importance of time, the event in revealed religion, Biblical, prophetic religion. Event, not process. The unique event, not repeated. The realm of the event is the realm of the person. Liberation from the process by decisions, by free act, unique, irreplaceable. The encounter with God. Contrast Buddhism. Yet of Zen - the event of enlightenment. But this is not an encounter. Part of a well-ordered process? "An event is a happening that cannot be reduced to a part of a process." [Heschel] p. 210 "To speak of events is to imply that there are happenings in the world that are beyond the reach of our explanation." [Heschel]
Quotation SourceTurning Toward the World: The Pivotal Years. The Journals of Thomas Merton, Volume 4, 1960-1963.; Edited by Victor A. Kramer. / San Francisco : Harper Collins. 1996, p. 66
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