The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
Elie WieselRead
And I, the former mystic, was thinking: Yes, man is stronger, greater than God. When Adam and Eve deceived You, You chased them from paradise. When You were displeased by Noah’s generation, You brought down the Flood. When Sodom lost Your favour, You caused the heavens to rain down fire and damnation. But look at these men whom You have betrayed, allowing them to be tortured, slaughtered, gassed, and burned, what do they do? They pray before You! They praise Your name!
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the perceived indifference of God towards human suffering and the resilience of faith amidst atrocities.
Elie Wiesel's quote grapples with profound philosophical questions about the nature of God and human suffering. Through a series of poignant examples, Wiesel illustrates a dichotomy where humanity demonstrates unyielding faith in the face of overwhelming adversity and betrayal by the divine. He provocatively suggests that despite the historical sufferings and injustices inflicted upon humanity, people continue to adorn their hardships with prayer and praise, raising important reflections on faith, morality, and the human condition.
Themes
FaithSufferingGodHumanityPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about faith during difficult times, one might quote Wiesel to illustrate the strength of belief.
More from Elie Wiesel
All quotes →With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory I oppose the death penalty in all forms. I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don't think it's human to become an agent of the angel of death.
Elie WieselRead
Certain things, certain events, seem inexplicable only for a time: up to the moment when the veil is torn aside.
Elie WieselRead
We're alone, but we are capable of communicating to one another both our loneliness and our desire to break through it. You say, 'I'm alone.' Someone answers, 'I'm alone too.' There's a shift in the scale of power. A bridge is thrown between the two abysses.
Elie WieselRead
No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has escaped the kingdom of night.
Elie WieselRead
My loyalty to my people, to our people, and to Israel comes first and prevents me from saying anything critical of Israel outside Israel… As a Jew I see my role as a melitz yosher, a defender of Israel: I defend even her mistakes… I must identify with whatever Israel does – even with her errors.
Elie WieselRead
Similar quotes
The stupider the peasant, the better the horse understands him.
Anton ChekhovRead
Morality is doing what is right, no matter what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told, no matter what is right.
H. L. MenckenRead
We are not born all at once, but by bits. The body first, and the spirit later; and the birth and growth of the spirit, in those who are attentive to their own inner life, are slow and exceedingly painful. Our mothers are racked with the pains of our physical birth; we ourselves suffer the longer pains of our spiritual growth.
Mary AntinRead
Six is a number perfect in itself, and not because God created the world in six days; rather the contrary is true. God created the world in six days because this number is perfect, and it would remain perfect, even if the work of the six days did not exist.
Saint AugustineRead
I suppose that I inherited the same vocabulary and world view as most black Christians do, most Christians in general, to be sure. It was heterosexist in the sense that it took the heterosexual orientation as the norm from which to start as the given. And everything that fell outside of that was not acceptable.
Michael Eric DysonRead
When it comes to privacy and accountability, people always demand the former for themselves and the latter for everyone else.
David BrinRead