God Quote by Joseph Heller — Inspiring Words on Life, Love & Wisdom

“History did not demand Yossarian's premature demise, justice could be satisfied without it, progress did not hinge upon it, victory did not depend on it. That men would die was a matter of necessity; WHICH men would die, though, was a matter of circumstance, and Yossarian was willing to be the victim of anything but circumstance. But that was war. Just about all he could find in its favor was that it paid well and liberated children from the pernicious influence of their parents.”

“I want to keep my dreams, even bad ones, because without them, I might have nothing all night long.”

“They couldn't keep Death out, but while she was in she had to act like a lady.”

“The chaplain had sinned, and it was good. Common sense told him that telling lies and defecting from duty were sins. On the other hand, everyone knew that sin was evil and that no good could come from evil. But he did feel good; he felt positively marvelous. Consequently, it followed logically that telling lies and defecting from duty could not be sins.”

“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.”

“Your Excellency, I have no need of this hypothesis.”

“I have yet to hear God's audible voice, although I have often felt led by God in more subtle ways.”

“God is a book I can no longer read.”

“Never be afraid to travel on a new path.”

“I just want to trust my feelings, and trust that my feelings are okay. I want to let myself feel the way that I feel with Riley. Like I'm an okay person—even a good one. That I'm loved and lovely the way I am, and that it's not a sin to feel happy and to love without reservation. I'm not sure where God and I will end up, but I know that I only want to be friends with God if God is... different than I've been taught. If I come back to God after all this and find that God is a kinder, more loving presence than the one I've known, great. And if God is more loving than I've been taught, then I think God would be okay with me needing some time to untangle this. I think God would want me to feel a shred of happiness. That is the”

“I continued to pray. I did not want to but felt it was important; oddly enough it was an achor to the real world, which was slipping out of focus for me.”