Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in the smoke of confabulation. There can be no peace on earth without the kind of inner change that brings man back to his "right mind." p. 31
Interpretation
True peace requires inclusivity and personal transformation, not just surface-level agreements.
In this quote, Thomas Merton emphasizes that genuine peace cannot emerge from rigid ideologies or exclusionary beliefs. Instead, it necessitates a profound inner change within individuals, allowing for a return to rationality and empathy, which are essential for harmonious coexistence. Merton critiques both dogmatic approaches and superficial liberalism, suggesting that a deeper, more personal commitment to understanding and compassion is crucial for achieving lasting peace.
In practice
During a speech at a community event advocating for social harmony.
The devil is no fool. He can get people feeling about heaven the way they ought to feel about hell. He can make them fear the means of grace the way they do not fear sin. And he does so, not by light but by obscurity, not by realities but by shadows; not by clarity and substance, but by dreams and the creatures of psychosis. And men are so poor in intellect that a few cold chills down their spine will be enough to keep them from ever finding out the truth about anything.
Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny....To work out our identity in God.
Conscience is the light by which we interpret the will of God in our own lives.
You are made in the image of what you desire.
But if you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I think I am living for.
I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.
Working for peace in the future is to work for peace in the present moment.
War will stop when we no longer praise it, or give it any attention at all. Peace will come wherever it is sincerely invited.
For our part, we shall continue to work for the new dawn when all the Children of Abraham and their descendants are living together in the birthplace of their three great monotheistic religions, a life free from fear, a life free from want - a life in peace.
We have the ability to achieve, if we master the necessary goodwill, a common global society blessed with a shared culture of peace that is nourished by the ethnic, national and local diversities that enrich our lives.
The well-being and the hopes of the peoples of the world can never be served until peace - as well as freedom, honor and self-respect - is secure.
No guns but only brotherhood can resolve the problems.
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