Elie Wiesel Quotes
What is Scripture? The Hebrew word is torah. Torah means teaching, learning.
Wiesel, Elie. Interview by Hershel Shanks. Biblical Archaeology Review, vol. 30, no. 4, 2004.
This quotation illustrates that in the late 19th Century, there were still very prominent American scientists who were Biblical Literalists as well—a virtual intellectual impossibility. Dana was a Yale professor, and yet he rejected Evolution and had the age of the rocks he studied all wrong. At the time, America had only 1 great world class scientist (Physicist Albert A. Michelson) and American Science really became great in the 20th century. Dana was not a total incompetent however. He had amassed vast descriptive knowledge of California and other areas and was at the time considered America’s preeminent Geologist despite his lack of understanding of many fundamental aspects of his own science which was understood by many English and European scientists.
Priests at the time were mostly uneducated. They would tend to make up their own Biblical stories that the people would prefer rather than the official church versions. The bishops wanted this practice stopped.
This view was infuriating to the Rabbis, Priests and Immams of the time. Miracles and Scrip[ture were not determinatve Spinoza taught but the issue was did the docrine of the religion make sense. Spinoza’s ideas were considered so radical and dangerous that he was the only man in history who was excommunicated by the Catholics, the Jews and the Muslims.
He was officially hanged for his offence of making this statement on January 8, 1697. His execution, which raised considerable concern, was the last execution for blasphemy in Britain.
This is an interesting quotation as it shows that there were opponents of literal interpretation of the Bible in the 17th century, and that they were among the leading men of the day. The argument that the Bible has divine inspiration but was written by men and should not be taken literally, has been made since the Ancient Jews received the Bible.
The Talmud is the commentary on the Biblical Books of Moses (The Torah) by the most learned scholars and rabbis in history.
Franklin was a deist. He believed in God and the Creation but not the Bible which is often referred to as “revealed” truth. He did believe that classic Christianity was a positive force as some people were led to good works and a moral life by it.
Elie Wiesel was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in French and English, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.
