We have before us the fiendishness of business competition and the world war, passion and wrongdoing, antagonism between classes and moral depravity within them, economic tyranny above and the slave spirit below.
Karl BarthRead
That the zeal for God's honor is also a dangerous passion, that the Christian must bring with him the courage to swim against the tide instead of with it... accept a good deal of loneliness, will perhaps be nowhere so clear and palpable as in the church, where he would so much like things to be different. Yet he cannot and he will not refuse to take this risk and pay this price... he belongs where the reformation of the church is underway or will again be underway.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the struggle of maintaining one's faith and integrity in the face of societal pressure and disappointment within the church.
Karl Barth expresses the importance of having the courage to uphold one's beliefs, particularly in relation to God's honor, even when it leads to feelings of solitude and a sense of being at odds with the church's status quo. He suggests that true commitment to faith may require one to advocate for change and reformation, accepting both the loneliness and difficulties that come with swimming against the current of general consensus.
Themes
FaithCourageLonelinessReformationChurchHonor
In practice
Example use cases
During a sermon on faith and courage, this quote can remind the congregation of the importance of standing firm in their beliefs.
More from Karl Barth
All quotes →When we speak of our virtues we are competitors, when we confess our sins we become brothers.
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Conscience is the perfect interpreter of life.
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In the Church of Jesus Christ there can and should be no non-theologians.
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Christian worship is the most momentous, most urgent, most glorious action that can take place in human life.
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Religion is the possibility of the removal of every ground of confidence except confidence in God alone.
Karl BarthRead
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