Abraham Heschel and the Most Moved Mover

- 4 minutes read - 786 words

Abraham J. Heschel is worth our reading time. He was a good friend of Martin Luther King, lost his family in the Holocaust, and taught for 27 years at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in Manhattan. I believe he is the one that coined the phrase most moved mover in describing God. His daughter explained that he and Martin Luther King used the phrase.1 I am reading Between God and Man which is a compilation of his writings.

This short documentary trailer provides a quality background on Heschel.

Most Moved Mover Quote

Below is his quote that includes ‘most moved mover’ and his emphatic statement about God’s concern for man being more critical than His perfection.

If we put aside the categories and logic of Greek philosophy and try to understand biblical religion in its own terms, we will soon discover that the God of the bible is not Aristotle’s impassive, unmoved mover at all; he can only be described as “the Most Moved Mover.” … According to the Bible, the single most important thing about God is not his perfection but his concern for the world. 2

Faith and Works

As I read Heschel, I want to replace ‘Judaism’ with ‘LDS thought’ as I see my faith in his quotes. I especially enjoy his thoughts on faith and works.

The dichotomy of faith and works which presented such an important problem in Christian theology was never a problem in Judaism. To us, the basic problem is neither what is the right action nor what is the right intention. The basic problem is: what is right living? And life is indivisible. The inner sphere is never isolated from outward activities. Deed and thought are bound into one. All a person thinks and feels enters everything he does, and all he does is involved in everything he thinks and feels. (Between God and Man, Pg, 156)

Heschel’s quote lines up so well with President Oaks. In October 2010, he said, ‘The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become.’3

What is religion?

I particularly enjoy his explanations of religion. I hear the religious experience of Latter-day Saints.

The worth of a religion is the worth of the individuals living it. (Pg. 164)

When superimposed as a yoke, as a dogma, as a fear, religion tends to violate rather than to nurture the spirit of man. (Pg. 167)

We have said that the grand premise of religion is that man is able to surpass himself. Such ability is the essence of freedom. (Pg. 148)

There is only one way to define Jewish religion. It is the awareness of God’s interest in man, the awareness of a covenant, of a responsibility that lies on Him as well as on us. (Pg. 140)

Some people think that religion comes about as a perception of an answer to prayer, while in truth, it comes about in our knowing that God shares our prayer. (Pg. 141)

Freedom of God and Man

Latter-day Saint respect for the principle of agency is foundational in our interaction with religion, politics, relationships, and God. I see Heschel’s beliefs align with our faith’s (at least how I perceive our beliefs). God’s ability to limit Himself and others from restraining agency is His greates attribute.

The notion of God as a perfect being is not of Biblical extraction. It is the product not of prophetic religion but of Greek philosophy; a postulate of reason rather than a direct, compelling, initial answer of man to His reality. In the Decalogue, God does not speak of His being perfect but of His having made free men out of slaves. (Pg. 98)

The essential meaning of creation is, as Maimonides explained, the idea that the universe did not come about by necessity but as a result of freedom. (pg 150)

Man is not an innocent bystander in the cosmic drama. There is in us more kinship with the divine than we are able to believe. The souls of men are candles of the Lord, lit on the cosmic way, rather than fireworks produced by the combustion of nature’s explosive compositions, and every soul is indispensable to Him. Man is needed, he is a need of God. (Pg. 136)

With Heschel, I believe that ‘Man is needed, he is a need of God.’ I am eternally grateful that God needs us, that He loves us, and that He works with us in this incredible journey.

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWu-dYc0teg ↩︎

  2. Alan T. Levenson, Introduction to Modern Jewish Thinkers,“Chapter Thirteen: Abraham Joshua Heschel,” p. 215 as found here ↩︎

  3. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2000/10/the-challenge-to-become?lang=eng ↩︎

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