“Higher Power makes promises we all know they can't back up, but anybody ever go and slap an old malpractice suit on God? Or the U.S. government? No they don't. Faith might be stupid, but it gets us through.”
In this quote by Louise Erdrich, the speaker sarcastically points out the absurdity of holding a higher power accountable for broken promises. By comparing the actions of a higher power to those of the U.S. government, the speaker suggests that while faith may seem foolish, it still provides a source of support and comfort for individuals during difficult times. This quote highlights the complexity of belief systems and the role they play in helping individuals navigate life's challenges.
Louise Erdrich's statement reflects how faith and belief in a higher power may not always come with tangible proof, but it provides comfort and support in times of uncertainty. This sentiment can be seen in contemporary society where people turn to religion, spirituality, or other forms of belief to navigate through difficult times, even when faced with challenges that seem insurmountable.
In this quote, writer Louise Erdrich discusses the concept of faith and its ability to provide hope and strength in challenging times. She humorously compares the idea of holding a higher power accountable to filing a malpractice suit against God or the government. Erdrich uses this comparison to highlight the enduring power of faith in helping individuals navigate difficult situations.
In this thought-provoking quote by Louise Erdrich, the idea of faith is highlighted as a powerful force that helps people navigate life's challenges. Reflecting on this quote, consider the following questions:
“ We have these earthly bodies. We don't know what they want. Half the time, we pretend they are under our mental thumb, but that is the illusion of the healthy and the protected. Of sedate lovers. For the body has emotions it conceives and carries through without concern for anyone or anything else. Love is one of those, I guess. Going back to something very old knit into the brain as we were growing. Hopeless. Scorching. Ordinary. ”
“The music was more than music- at least what we are used to hearing. The music was feeling itself. The sound connected instantly with something deep and joyous. Those powerful moments of true knowledge that we have to paper over with daily life. The music tapped the back of our terrors, too. Things we'd lived through and didn't want to ever repeat. Shredded imaginings, unadmitted longings, fear and also surprisingly pleasures. No, we can't live at that pitch. But every so often something shatters like ice and we are in the river of our existence. We are aware. And this realization was in the music, somehow, or in the way Shamengwa played it.”
“Our songs travel the earth. We sing to one another. Not a single note is ever lost and no song is original. They all come from the same place and go back to a time when only the stones howled.”
“To sew is to pray. Men don't understand this. They see the whole but they don't see the stitches. They don't see the speech of the creator in the work of the needle. We mend. We women turn things inside out and set things right. We salvage what we can of human garments and piece the rest into blankets. Sometimes our stitches stutter and slow. Only a woman's eyes can tell. Other times, the tension in the stitches might be too tight because of tears, but only we know what emotion went into the making. Only women can hear the prayer.”
“Father Travis leaned back. I glanced up at him. He was watching us from under his brow, his hands folded in his lap. His eyes had taken on that cyborg gleam. His cheekbones looked like they were going to break right through his skin. Not only did he own a copy of Alien, not only did he have an amazing and terrible wound, but he had called us humiliating names without actually resorting to the usual swear words. Besides that there was the deft speed with which he’d caught Angus, the free weights beside the television, the fancy Michelob. It was almost enough to make a boy want to be a Catholic.”
“The only answer to this, and it isn't an entire answer, said Father Travis, is that God made human beings free agents. We are able to choose good over evil, but the opposite too. And in order to protect our human freedom, God doesn't often, very often at least, intervene. God can't do that without taking away our moral freedom. Do you see?No. But yeah.The only thing that God can do, and does all of the time, is to draw good from any evil situation.”