“And this is one of the most crucial definitions for the whole of Christianity; that the opposite of sin is not virtue but faith.”

— Sören Kierkegaard

Source: The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition for Upbuilding and Awakening

Last update Dec. 15, 2021. History

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Sören Kierkegaard 309

Danish philosopher and theologian, founder of Existentialism 1813–1855

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“This fact, that the opposite of sin is by no means virtue, has been overlooked. The latter is partly a pagan view, which is content with a merely human standard, and which for that very reason does not know what sin is, that all sin is before God. No, the opposite of sin is faith.”

Sören Kierkegaard (1813–1855) Danish philosopher and theologian, founder of Existentialism

Source: 1840s, The Sickness unto Death (July 30, 1849), pp. 114 - 115

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“(…) Sin and virtue refer to a person only. Without a sinful or virtuous person what is sin or virtue? At the level of the absolute there are no persons; the ocean of pure awareness is neither virtuous nor sinful. Sin and virtue are invariably relative.”

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“Most institutions demand unqualified faith; but the institution of science makes skepticism a virtue.”

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“If swindling pays, then it will not stop. The definition of the good society is one in which virtue pays.”

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Context: If swindling pays, then it will not stop. The definition of the good society is one in which virtue pays. I can now add a slight variation on this; you cannot have a good society unless virtue pays. But here we get very close to the whole subject of metaneeds, and also of the ideal conditions where dichotomies are resolved and transcended.