Lionel Blue Quotes
Early on I saw the repression and idolatry of Stalinism, and when it cracked, I was open to religion again.
Blue, Lionel. "My Encounter with Christianity." Jesus Through Jewish Eyes: Rabbis and Scholars Explore an Ancient Brother in a New Light, edited by Beatrice Bruteau, Orbis Books, 2001, pp. 47-52.
One of the reasons that this quotation is so significant is that the Roman Catholic Church had been historically antithetical to science and scientists. It took hundreds of years before the church would admit that Galileo was right and the church wrong about the earth revolving around the sun. But Pope John Paul II, along with his other major accomplishments removed the traditional Catholic hostility in theology and tradition. He even acknowledged the validity of the Theory of Evolution and taught that there was nothing inherent in evolution that denied God or scripture.
Lionel Blue OBE was a British Reform rabbi, journalist and broadcaster, described by The Guardian as "one of the most respected religious figures in the UK". He was best known for his longstanding work with the media, most notably his wry and gentle sense of humour on Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He was the first British rabbi publicly to declare his homosexuality.
