In Order To Live Man Must Believe

We Are Free When We Are Not The Slave Of Our Impulses, But Rather Their Master. Taking Inward Distance, We Thus Become The Authors Of Our Own Dramas Rather Than Characters In Them.

...like A Magnetic Compass Turning North, I Always Tried To Head In The Direction Of The Better, Which Is The Direction To God. ...the Directions That Appeared To Lead Away From Christianity Led Me Deeper Into It.

Built Into Human Makeup Is A Longing For A 'more' That The World Of Everyday Experience Cannot Requite.

I Don't Want To Justify Religion In Terms Of Its Benefits To Us. I Believe That, On Balance, It Does A Lot Of Bad Things, Too - A Tremendous Amount. But I Don't Think That The Final Justification Of Religion Is The Good It Does For People. I Think The Final Justification Is That It's True, And Truth Takes Priority Over Consequences. Religion Helps Us Deal With What Is Most Important To The Human Spirit: Values, Meaning, Purpose, And Quality.

If Rumi Is The Most-read Poet In America Today, Coleman Barks Is In Good Part Responsible. His Ear For The Truly Divine Madness In Rumi’s Poetry Is Really Remarkable.