Faith is the highest passion in a human being. Many in every generation may not come that far, but none comes further.
Soren KierkegaardRead
To stand on one leg and prove God's existence is a very different thing from going on one's knees and thanking him.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote contrasts intellectual proof of faith with the humility of gratitude.
Kierkegaard emphasizes the difference between attempting to rationalize or prove the existence of God through philosophical arguments and the act of genuine worship through gratitude. While the former can be seen as a superficial or intellectual exercise, the latter requires sincere humility and personal acknowledgment of something greater than oneself.
Themes
FaithGratitudeHumilityBeliefExistencePhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
A discussion about the nature of faith in a college philosophy class.
More from Soren Kierkegaard
All quotes →Men think that it is impossible for a human being to love his enemies, for enemies are hardly able to endure the sight of one another. Well, then, shut your eyes--and your enemy looks just like your neighbor.
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How did I get into the world? Why was I not asked about it and why was I not informed of the rules and regulations but just thrust into the ranks as if I had been bought by a peddling shanghaier of human beings? How did I get involved in this big enterprise called actuality? Why should I be involved? Isn't it a matter of choice? And if I am compelled to be involved, where is the manager—I have something to say about this. Is there no manager? To whom shall I make my complaint?
Soren KierkegaardRead
A possibility is a hint from God. One must follow it.
Soren KierkegaardRead
And when the hourglass has run out, the hourglass of temporality, when the noise of secular life has grown silent and its restless or ineffectual activism has come to an end, when everything around you is still, as it is in eternity, then eternity asks you and every individual in these millions and millions about only one thing: whether you have lived in despair or not.
Soren KierkegaardRead
I am so stupid that I cannot understand philosophy; the antithesis of this is that philosophy is so clever that it cannot comprehend my stupidity. These antitheses are mediated in a higher unity; in our common stupidity.
Soren KierkegaardRead
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