We were taught to believe that the Great Spirit sees and hears everything, and that he never forgets; that hereafter he will give every man a spirit-home according to his deserts: if he has been a good man, he will have a good home; if he has been a bad man, he will have a bad home. This I believe, and all my people believe the same.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a belief in a moral universe where actions have consequences in the afterlife, reflecting on the teachings of a spiritual belief system.
Chief Joseph articulates a profound belief in the Great Spirit's omniscience and justice, suggesting that every individual will ultimately face the outcomes of their actions in the afterlife. This belief underscores the importance of morality and the intrinsic connection between one's deeds and their eventual fate, as understood within his cultural context. It reflects a worldview where ethical living is rewarded and wrongdoing has its repercussions, resonating deeply within his community and shared cultural insights.
In practice
In a discussion about ethical behavior and consequences.
We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that. We may quarrel with men sometimes about things on this earth, but we never quarrel about the Great Spirit. We do not want to learn that.
Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to talk, think and act for myself β and I will obey every law or submit to the penalty.
It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and the broken promises.
If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in peace. There need be no trouble. Treat all men alike. give them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow.
The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it.
All men were made by the Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers.
There is not one big cosmic meaning for all, there is only the meaning we each give to our life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person.
The dangers is that every religion, including the Catholic one, says "I have the ultimate truth." Then you start to rely on the priest, the mullah, the rabbi, or whoever, to be responsible for your acts. In fact, you are the only one who is responsible.
The adult is the enemy of the child because of the awful process of civilizing this thing that, when it is born, is an animal with no manners, no moral sense at all.
To live for a principle, for the triumph of some reform by which all mankind are to be lifted up to be wedded to an idea may be, after all, the holiest and happiest of marriages.
Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't.
deeds cannot dream what dreams can do
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