In our time all it takes for evil to flourish is for a few good men to be a little wrong and have a great deal of power, and for the vast majority of their fellow citizens to remain indifferent.
William Sloane CoffinOnly reverence can restrain violence - reverence for human life and the environment.
William Sloane CoffinDiversity may be the hardest thing for a society to live with, and perhaps the most dangerous thing for a society to be without.
William Sloane CoffinTo show compassion for an individual without showing concern for the structures of society that make him an object of compassion is to be sentimental rather than loving.
William Sloane CoffinIt is terribly important to realize that the leap of faith is not so much a leap of thought as of action. For while in many matters it is first we must see then we will act; in matters of faith it is first we must do then we will know, first we will be and then we will see. One must, in short, dare to act wholeheartedly without absolute certainty.
William Sloane Coffin