We must never cease to question our own faith and to ask what God means to us. Is He an alibi for ignorance ? The white flag of surrender to the unknown ? Is He a pretext for comfort, and unwarranted cheer ? a device to cheat despondency , fear or despair ?

From whom should we seek support for our faith if even religion can be fraud, if by self-sacrifice we may hallow murder ? From our minds which have so often betrayed us ? From our conscience which easily fumbles and fails ? From the heart ? From our good intentions ? "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool " ( Proverbs 28:26 )

The heart is deceitful above all things,It is exceedingly weak -Who can know it.           ( Jeremiah 17:9 )

Individual faith is not self- sufficient; it must be counter-signed by the dictate of unforgettable guidance.

Significantly, the Shema, the main confession of Jewish faith is not written in the the first person and does not express a personal attitude: I believe. All it does is to recall the Voice that said: " Hear, O Israel."

A.J. Heschel, God in Search of Man, FSG, pp. 160 -161