A few years ago, a priest working in a slum section of a European city was asked why he was doing it, and replied, 'So that the rumor of God may not completely disappear.
Peter L. BergerRead
He who sups with the devil had better have a long spoon. The devilry of modernity has its own magic: The [believer] who sups with it will find his spoon getting shorter and shorter--until that last supper in which he is left alone at the table, with no spoon at all and with an empty plate. The devil, one may guess, will by then have gone away to more interesting company.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Be cautious when engaging with dangerous or morally questionable ideas, as the consequences can become increasingly severe.
This quote warns that those who choose to engage with potentially harmful or morally dubious aspects of modernity may find themselves increasingly isolated and unprepared for the consequences. As they indulge in these temptations, their means of coping or controlling the situation diminishes, leading to eventual abandonment and emptiness.
Themes
CautionConsequenceMoralityIsolatedModernity
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about ethical technology, one might use this quote to illustrate the risks of compromising moral standards.
More from Peter L. Berger
All quotes →Even if one is interested only in one's own society, which is one's prerogative, one can understand that society much better by comparing it with others.
Peter L. BergerRead
Religion is the human attitude towards a sacred order that includes within it all being-human or otherwise-i.e., belief in a cosmos, the meaning of which both includes and transcends man.
Peter L. BergerRead
Similar quotes
As you walk, you cut open and create that river bed into which the stream of your descendants shall enter and flow.
Nikos KazantzakisRead
Holding back is so close to stealing.
Neil YoungRead
Freedom granted only when it is known beforehand that its effects will be beneficial is not freedom.
Friedrich August Von HayekRead
If companies can refuse to provide coverage for women, what other objections to the Affordable Care Act will we see based on 'religious grounds'? For that matter, will 'religious freedom' be used as an excuse to discriminate against other minorities and disenfranchised groups across the board? Where will it end?
Al SharptonRead
A man's life of any worth is a continual allegory, and very few eyes can see the mystery of his life, a life like the scriptures, figurative.
John KeatsRead
Our interconnectedness on the planet is the dominating truth of the 21st century. One stark result is that the world's poor live, and especially die, with the awareness that the United States is doing little to mobilise the weapons of mass salvation that could offer them survival, dignity and eventually the escape from poverty.
Jeffrey SachsRead