Z Quote

Another poll revealed that faith in God is the most important part of American's lives. Forty percent said they valued their relationship with God above all else; 29 percent chose good health and 21 percent happy marriage. Satisfying work was chosen by 5 percent, respect of people in the community by 2 percent. That this world might offer basic features of a human existence is hardly to be contemplated. These are the kinds of results one might find in a shattered peasant society. Chiliastic visions are reported to be particularly present among blacks; again, not surprising, when we learn from the New England Journal of Medicine that black men in Harlem are less likely to reach the age of 65 than men in Bangladesh.