A Prophet

I started reading Abraham J. Heschel's "The Prophets". I only read the introduction written by Heschel in 1962. The introduction was astonishing. Here are the last two paragraphs:

The prophet was an individual who said No to his society, condemning its habits and assumptions, its complacency, waywardness, and syncretism. He was often compelled to proclaim the very opposite of what his heart expected. his fundamental objective was to reconcile man and God. Why do the two need reconciliation? Perhaps it is due to man's false sense of sovereignty, to his abuse of freedom, to his aggressive, sprawling pride, resenting God's involvement in history.

Prophecy ceased; the prophets endure and can only be ignored at the risk of our own despair. It is for us to decide whether freedom is self-assertion or response to a demand; whether the ultimate situation is conflict or concern.

Abraham J. Heschel
Jewish Theological Seminary
New York City
August, 1962

I thought this was great. Here is the Wiki page on him. He's a rabbi but I don't know why it doesn't say so on the book cover in his name. Caption to the picture above provided by Wiki:

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, second from right, participating in the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, on March 21, 1965.

From far left: John Lewis, an unidentified nun; Ralph Abernathy; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Ralph Bunche; Abraham Joshua Heschel; Fred Shuttlesworth.

I hope this inspires you in the right direction. Sometimes I regret not having God as a tool when arguing.