To approach any text we must first have some understanding of what it is we hope to take away from it. In approaching a religious text this understanding becomes even more muddled due to the vast complexities and differences that exist between religion and contemporary thought. To accurately approach biblical thoughts we, as moderns, must learn to "unthink many thoughts" resulting from our present alienation of religion and spirituality. God in Search of Man, a text written almost half a century ago by Abraham Joshua Heschel, is the subject of our present inquiry. This text will, no doubt, take various forms and give different insight to it's many present day readers. Be that as it may, this reading attempts to understand the specific value of Heschel's religious insight as it relates to the enhancement of spirituality in our modern culture, and to see what values and experiences articulated in Heschel's work may be generally applicable for understanding the way in which we ought to live.
The reason for this viewpoint is twofold. First, Heschel's basic insight is that God is to be found through the spiritual awakening to the mysteries of this world. This standpoint is relevant to all persons to seek to find God in their daily lives. Indeed, Heschel disagreed most sincerely with the notion of a singular faith. Rather he stressed the fundamental importance of diversity of thought concerning both religious and spiritual matters. Secondly, the matter of how to live concerns all people. Developing a standard to determine the validity of revelation, Heschel states that "only that which is good for all men is good for every men." Thus, encountering God through the "mystery" and developing an understanding of an ethical life are facets of religious doctrine that concern us all and establish a framework by which we construct our lives.
It is from religion that much of our thinking about God and morality originate, thus it seems appropriate to start with the question, what is religion? One of the many possible definitions Heschel gives us is that "religion is the answer to man's ultimate questions.
