This is a thread in which to post your favorite quotes that address morality. They can be scriptural or not, but after the quote, please leave a comment of your own that explains why the quote is one you believe has value. Feel free to comment on each other's offerings. I'll start with one from the writings of Robert Ingersoll:

Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
__________________
And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they divided His garments and distributed them by casting lots for them.

Now the people stood by [calmly and leisurely] watching; but the rulers scoffed and sneered (turned up their noses) at Him, saying, He rescued others [from death]; let Him now rescue Himself, if He is the Christ (the Messiah) of God, His Chosen One!

The soldiers also ridiculed and made sport of Him, coming up and offering Him vinegar (a sour wine mixed with water)
And saying, If you are the King of the Jews, save (rescue) Yourself [from death].

For there was also an inscription above Him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew: This is the King of the Jews.

One of the criminals who was suspended kept up a railing at Him, saying, Are You not the Christ (the Messiah)? Rescue Yourself and us [from death]!
_____________________

The Two Men, Adam and Eve.
One cried about the sin of the other, one to forgive the other.

How many times do we blame other.
Either for being poor, or ignorant, or burnt out.
With a surprised glare, or smirk.
The other guy is wrong, not them.

Jesus didn't cluck his tongue and rage against them though.

How difficult it is to be like Jesus.

There is, in my opinion, no Jewish view of life in the philosophic sense. Judaism appears to me to be almost exclusively concerned with the moral attitude in and toward life.

. . . The essence of the Jewish concept of life seems to me to be the affirmation of life for all creatures. For the life of the individual has meaning only in the service of enhancing and ennobling the life of every living thing. Life is holy; it is the highest worth on which all other values depend . . .

Judaism is not a faith. The Jewish God is but a negation of superstition and an imaginative result of its elimination. He also represents an attempt to ground morality in fear-a deplorable, discreditable attempt. Yet it seems to me that the powerful moral tradition in the Jewish people has, in great measure, released itself from this fear. Moreover, it is clear that "to serve God" is equivalent to serving "every living thing." It is for this that the best among the Jewish people, especially the Prophets including Jesus, ceaselessly battled. Thus Judaism is not a transcendental religion. It is concerned only with the tangible experiences of life, and with nothing else. Therefore, it seems to me to be questionable whether it may termed a "religion" in the customary sense of the word, especially since no "creed" is demanded of Jews, but only the sanctification of life in its all-inclusive sense.

There remains, however, something more in the Jewish tradition, so gloriously revealed in certain of the psalms; namely a kind of drunken joy and surprise at the beauty and incomprehensibility of this world, of which man can attain but a faint intimation. It is the feeling from which genuine research draws its intellectual strength, but which also seems to manifest itself in the song of birds. . . .

Is this, then, characteristic of Judaism? And does it exist elsewhere under other names? In pure form it exists nowhere, not even in Judaism where too much literalism obscures the pure doctrine. But, nevertheless, I see in Judaism one of its most vital and pure realizations. This is especially true of its fundamental principle of the sanctification of life.
- Albert Einstein

Hi & Sorry for the long quoto:

My commentary will be short. All Life is a rare & precious Gift. One human concept of Morality may result from recognizing this Gift & then spending the rest of Your Life trying to figure out how to use that Gift Wisely (& to benefit the Many thru service.)

Love,
JoAnn

Wogdog: Thank you for starting this thread!

"Thou shall not murder". Judaism says that life is sacred. The Torah says that virtually all of its commandments should be violated, and no expense or effort spared, in order to save a life.

The Talmud contains one of the most beautiful expressions of the value of life:

"He who saves one life... it is as if he saves an entire universe. He who destroys a life... it is as if he destroys an entire universe".

Written about 2000 years ago.

Oh JACQ,

You mentioned Psalms. They are really songs you know & do show the good, bad & ugly in this world!

Most are just beautiful & it was said that David danced about singing the words of Psalms to "God". At least he was singing to someone!

How beautiful is that?

Peace! & I think it's time for a

_________________
Warm Regards,
David (esacnitsuj)
EULAGree With Security

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when?

-- Rabbi Hillel (30 BC - 9 AD)

That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.

-- Rabbi Hillel

Notice the difference between this Golden Rule and the one we're used to:
Do as opposed to Hillel's Do not do.

There is a story/folk tale that some wise-guy, disrespectful of Hillel's wisdom, asked him to explain the Torah while standing on one leg. And the result was the above stated Golden Rule. In Israeli Hebrew, to state something "on one leg" means to give the gist, a concise summary.

"If the mind is happy, not only the body but the whole world will be happy. So one must find out how to become happy oneself. Wanting to reform the world without discovering one's true self is like trying to cover the whole world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns.

It is much simpler to wear shoes."

-Ramana Maharshi

Make Your Mind Happy! (& let the Angels wear Your red shoes if they really want to)

JoAnn: No reason to apologize for the quote. It's quite beautiful and well worth rereading and mulling over. Thank you for posting it.

In recent posts on that thread, the Reverend E has shown himself to be a complete loon.

Bingo complains that Einstein is too wordy! And his posts aren't longer than unfurled rolls of toilet paper?

Imagine that!?!

I'm glad someone else not only noticed, but commented as well.

_________________

The so-called Righteous Gentiles--non-Jews who saved and hid Jews from the Nazis--fascinate me. They are revered and honored in Israel. And they were not all Christians; the Moslems of Sarajevo did their part as well. One's morality, or courage, is not truly known until a moment of crisis; until a decision must be made within a split second, without thinking. And in that instant, many "common" folk are suddenly transformed into heroes without regard to the dire consequences awaiting them if caught. Many will say that they were simply "doing the right thing"; others state that they could not not do it. A link on this subject is provided: http://www.hallweb.com/Righteous_Gentiles/.

Hiya Felix,

So very, very true & GR8 post! And E thinks you're a BAD person. Like I said to JACQ; "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing" & I don't think he's ever come up with the passage: "For all have sinned and come short the glory of God."

The Jews sinned, Shoot we all sin just as bad in the OT times as today, but today we have weapons of mass destruction & germ warfare! Not good...Not good at all

Take Good Care Felix & Peace!

_________________
Warm Regards,
David (esacnitsuj)
EULAGree With Security

Quote:

"A Weak Mind Can Be Easily Controlled!" "Ni Bastori Carborundum" ©1963 SQIV