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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Salvation For Modern Man
“We are involved in a partnership with the universe which promises a better day for humankind.” On January 12, 1964, Rabbi Olan spoke about salvation: a word used by many religions, each with their own …
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Religion at Bargain Prices
“It has been suggested that our culture is dominated by the values of the market place. The worth of anything is determined not by its intrinsic value, but by what it will bring on the …
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The Unforgivable Sin
“We of today are not at home with the idea of sin because we are alien to God and His demands upon our lives.” Today’s sermon deals with a seemingly strange story from the Book …
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The Harm of Misguided Love
“This is one of the most loveless eras in human history.” At the final paragraphs of his December 29, 1963 radio sermon, Rabbi Olan referred to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. “We, in …
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To believe in God
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How Much Can a Person Endure?
“Human existence is not for cry-babies, for people who can live only when and where there is no trouble. It takes stamina to be a man, or as Tillich puts it, “courage to be.” Rabbi …
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Why Men Fight
“What will set the atom bombs bursting in the air is not the natural instinct of man to fight. What may blow us all to smithereens is our failure to deal with the causes of …
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Unless we protect
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Faith and Laughter
“Is God a reality, as real as a truth in science or as reasonable as a conclusion in logic? Can one demonstrate that God is as real as the experiment that H2O is water? In …
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There Is No Compromise With Evil
“Is there any basic law of morality?” When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in downtown Dallas on November 22, 1963, Rabbi Olan was one of approximately 2,600 community leaders awaiting the president’s arrival at …
