“ If we consider God as the Essence only, and nothing more, we know Him only as the universal and irresistible Power; in other words, as the Lord. Now the fear of the Lord is, doubtless, the beginning,—but only the beginning, of wisdom. ”
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Science of Logic (1816). copy citation
| Author | Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel |
|---|---|
| Source | Science of Logic |
| Topic | wisdom fear |
| Date | 1816 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by William Wallace |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/55108/55108-h/55108-h.htm |
Context
“This definition, however, though such a representation of God is an important and necessary stage in the growth of the religious consciousness, does not by any means exhaust the depth of the ordinary Christian idea of God. If we consider God as the Essence only, and nothing more, we know Him only as the universal and irresistible Power; in other words, as the Lord. Now the fear of the Lord is, doubtless, the beginning,—but only the beginning, of wisdom. To look at God in this light, as the Lord, and the Lord alone, is especially characteristic of Judaism and also of Mohammedanism. The defect of these religions lies in their scant recognition of the finite, which, be it as natural things or as finite phases of mind, it is characteristic of the heathen and (as they also for that reason are) polytheistic religions to maintain intact.”
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