We Are A Blend Of Dust And

I Come From A Missionary Family - I Grew Up In China - And In My Case, My Religious Upbringing Was Positive. Of Course, Not Everyone Has This Experience. I Know Many Of My Students Are What I Have Come To Think Of As Wounded Christians Or Wounded Jews. What Came Through To Them Was Dogmatism And Moralism, And It Rubbed Them The Wrong Way.

Every Society And Religion Has Rules, For Both Have Moral Laws. And The Essence Of Morality Consists, As In Art, Of Drawing The Line Somewhere.

We Are A Blend Of Dust And Divinity.

The Heart Of Religion Is Not Altered States But Altered Traits Of Character. For Me, Then, The Test Of A Substance's Religious Worth Or Validity Is Not What Kind Of Far-out Experience It Can Produce, But Is The Life Improved By Its Use? That's The Test. Now, On That Score, If You Remove The "religious Cocoon," The Experiences Don't Seem To Have Much In The Way Of Discernible, Traceable Effects.

When There Are Miles To Go Before We Sleep, Altered Traits Are More Important Than Altered States.