Socrates’ exalted spirit

Socrates: “Well, gentlemen, those who instructed the witnesses that they must bear false witness against me, perjuring themselves to do so, and those who were won over to do this must feel in their hearts a guilty consciousness of great impiety and iniquity; but as for me, why should my spirit be any less exalted

Socrates: Serving the community

“Part of the fascination of Plato’s Apology consists in the fact that it presents a man who takes extraordinary steps throughout his life to be of the greatest possible value to his community but whose efforts, far from earning him the gratitude and honour he thinks he deserves, lead to his condemnation and death at

Is God wrathful?

“For me, the wrath of God is closely related to His righteousness.” Steffi Wiesner. In: Winfried Vogel (Ed.): Die Bibel – Das Leben. Jesaja: Der ewigen Frieden bringt. Hope Media, 24. January 2021 (Translation mine). Until now, I always emphasized on the good, benevolent God who is overly just, but also extremely forgiving. Now when

The longing for justice is in us

“For centuries, millennia, we have lived in a world where there is injustice, there is great suffering, […] but our longing for justice is still there. Why didn’t it die over the millennia, the longing for justice?” Daniela Gelbrich. In: Winfried Vogel (Ed.): Die Bibel – Das Leben. Jesaja: Der ewigen Frieden bringt. Hope Media,

“God created everything perfectly, so there is no need for change” versus “We live in a flawed world and need to fight for a change”

Many religious people of a monotheist faith believe in a just world, because they know that they can rely on God, so why should anything be unfair? Indeed, God created the world and saw that it was good (ki-tov): nature is good. The problem is not God, because God is good; the problem is not

Religion and Socialism are no contradictions!

The goal of Socialism is to achieve a world in which everyone is treated equal, where there is no more poverty and people care about each other instead of exploiting them, to end their suffering. Judaism teaches that one shall love one’s neighbour, and therefore, to treat everyone with love and kindness, to help them

“Social Justice Inks” is AVAILABLE NOW!

I want to thank Lisa Tomey and Zan Johns for accepting my poem “Nothing worth for eternity” for the Social Justice Inks anthology. The book is published and available now. My poem can be found on page 102. As someone who addressed more than once matters of social justice, the topic and the project spoke

Timo Schmitz: “Apocalyptic forgiveness” (2021)

Thanks so much to Luna who published my poem in her Poetry Bar! Hvala ti. Tako sam počašćen. Flying down with fiercy winds, In a world that used to be different, Innocent and yet full of man’s sins, Torn apart with a bitter end? Innocent blood on all those streets, Who cannot see the beloved