wont to teach the falsity of religion to an admiring band of disciples.
When the day of his death approached, he turned to them and said,
"My dear pupils, now that I am at the threshold of death, I repent
my past. I should like you to know that God is in Heaven and what
Moses and the Sages taught was the truth.""Master," they ex-
claimed in astonishment, "What has happened? All your life you
have emphasized how false the teaching of religion is, and now you
recant!""Far from it, my dear friends," the dying man answered,
with a smile. "I am simply trying to prove that the Talmud is wrong
even in its statement that 'Sinners do not repent, even on the thresh-
old of death.'" Whatever the motivation, such orthodox opponents
of religion will find little comfort in these pages.

Finally, there is another group who, far from being hostile to
religion, are among its most perfervid advocates. Many of them
are men and women who, after years of indifference or hostility
to religion, recently found their way back to a passionate faith
in God, primarily because of the pressure of the multiple crises
of our time. Because of the nature of their spiritual journey, most
of them are probably unwilling to embark on another, hazardous
intellectual adventure, to which this book is dedicated. For them,
not objective truth, but subjective commitment, is all that matters.
Now, existentialism has made a signal contribution to the revital-
ization of religion. It has revealed the dimension of depth in many
an insight of Biblical thought. It has stressed the importance of
undergoing religious experience rather than merely explicating
religious concepts. It has underscored the truth that religion must
be felt, not merely analyzed, that God must be sensed as a living
presence, who is loved and obeyed, and not deduced as a great Ab-
straction, "sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought." It has prop-
erly insisted that it is impossible to "prove" the existence of God;
men cannot be argued into faith. It has reminded us that religion
cannot be taught, it must be caught.

These are invaluable contributions to the life of our times, for
which all lovers of religion must be grateful. Unfortunately, ex-
istentialism suffers from grave drawbacks, which are largely inher-
ent in its virtues. All too often, it has vitiated its truths by exagger-
ating them. Frequently, its advocates are disillusioned veterans of
secular faiths, "tired liberals" or disillusioned radicals. In the face
of the complexities of modern life and the bitter frustrations of

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