Flannery O'Connor Quotes
But learned people can analyze for me why I fear hell and their implication is that there is no hell. But I believe in hell. Hell seems a great deal more feasible to my weak mind than heaven. No doubt because hell is a more earth-seeming thing. I can fancy the tortures of the damned but I cannot imagine the disembodied souls hanging in a crystal for all eternity praising God.
O'Connor, Flannery. A Prayer Journal. Edited by W. A. Sessions, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013, p. 24.
This oath was even in force after the American Constitution was ratified and in effect. At the time, the Bill of Rights was not believed to be binding on the States—only on the Federal Government. Throughout American history there were many practices that were unconstitutional but were simply never litigated in the courts. Local community pressure often inhibited individuals from asserting their rights in the Federal Courts as did the expense. So, for most of American history local communities forced stores to close on Sunday. When the issue was finally taken to the Supreme Court, it was clear that such a practice was in violation of the First Amendment. Even in 2011, in Atlanta, it is “illegal” to buy beer on Sunday. When someone decides to litigate that, it will likely also be declared unconstitutional. The law not only discriminates against non Christians, but there are a few Christian sects which believe that Saturday is the Sabbath.
Mary Flannery O'Connor was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and thirty-two short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries.
