The mission of this blog is to stimulate interest in the deeply perceptive and still-relevant teachings of Levi A. Olan (1903-1984) by sharing from the Levi A. Olan Sermons and Images at Bridwell Library Digital Collection. The title "Conscience of the City" was applied to Rabbi Olan by a Fortune magazine reporter in 1964. Although Olan's city was Dallas, his thought transcends locality. Our goal is to...
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Forgive but Don’t Forget
“It is not ours to forgive, only to lead and help people to begin their penitence.” In this sermon delivered April 2, 1967, Rabbi Olan describes the evolution from forgiveness through ritual in Temple times …
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Teaching Religion in a Secular Age
“Sunday school is more a kind of ritual or ceremony than an education for the answer to the question, ‘What is the meaning of my existence?’” In this sermon of March 26, 1967, Rabbi Olan …
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Life Should Be Beautiful
“We are living in a real wilderness feeling frustrated, sick, and overcome by despair.” 1967 was not a beautiful year for many Americans. The war in Viet Nam was costly and getting costlier. Protests against …
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Religion, beauty, and goodness
“Religion is at its best when it is prophetic and artistic, when it tells the truth and leads to the experience of beauty and goodness.”
– Rabbi Levi A. Olan. From “Life Should Be Beautiful,” broadcast March 19, 1967. -
A Troubler of the People
““Religion is not an opiate… It is a stimulant which awakens [us] to real living.” In this sermon of March 12, 1967, Rabbi Olan begins with the question, what do people want from religion? He …
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The One True Religion
In this sermon, delivered on March 5, 1967, Rabbi Olan makes pronouncements that were not popular in many quarters in his day, nor are they in ours.“Each religion has some truth, no religion has all …
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Who Shall Fight the War?
“We are in the midst of a frightful war of death and destruction. It is time for the dirge, not the joyous dance.” As Rabbi Olan noted in his radio sermon of February 26, 1967, …
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Civil Rights and Civil Disobedience
“The peace and welfare of any nation finally depends upon the translation of natural human rights into law. This was evident to the founding fathers of America as it must become evident to us now.” …
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A Religious Anti-Poverty Program
Isaiah: “‘What mean ye that ye crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?’ saith the Lord.” In this sermon of February 12, 1967, Rabbi Olan preached openly about politics. “The national War …
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Too Busy to Remember Our Fathers
“It was once said that history teaches us that history teaches us nothing.” On February 5, 1967 Rabbi Olan spoke in somber tones about a problem facing individuals, families, our nation, and even religious bodies. …
