LEV82 If civilization is to be guided by love, justice, and respect for the integrity of creation, there must be moments in which we leave the "I" behind and encounter the fullness of being in all its glory. That is the function of the holy – – the point at which "I am" is silent in the overwhelming presence of "There is." That is what Nadav and Avihu forgot – – that to enter holy space or time requires ontological humility, the total renunciation of human initiative and desire. The significance of this fact cannot be over-estimated. When we confuse God's will with our will, we turn the Holy – – the source of life--into something unholy and a source of death. The classic example of this is "holy war," jihad, Crusades – – investing imperialism (the desire to rule over other people) with the cloak of sanctity as if conquest and forced conversion were God's will. The story of Nadal and Avihu reminds us yet again of the warning first spelled out in the days of Cain and Abel. The first act of worship led to the first murder. Like nuclear fission, worship generates power, which can be benign but can also be profoundly dangerous. The episode of Nadav and Avihu is written in three kinds of fire. First there is fire from heaven: [this verse] This was the fire of favour, consummating the service of the Sanctuary. Then came the "unauthorized fire" offered by the two sons (Leviticus 10:1). Then there was the counter-fire from heaven: (Leviticus 10:2). The message is simple and intensely serious: Religion is not what the European Enlightenment thought it would become: mute, marginal, and mild. It is fire – – and like fire, it warms but it also burns. And we are the guardians of the flame.