Abraham Quote by Erich Heller
“In Kafka we have the modern mind, seemingly self-sufficient, intelligent, skeptical, ironical, splendidly trained for the great game of pretending that the world it comprehends in sterilized sobriety is the only and ultimate real one – yet a mind living in sin with the soul of Abraham. Thus he knows Two things at once, and both with equal assurance: that there is no God, and that there must be God.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Tragic Vision of the Modern Mind, Erich Heller, 1975
The modern intellect feels self‑sufficient yet paradoxically senses both the absence and necessity of the divine.
In simple terms: Modern mind sees both God and no God.
Embrace paradox to deepen understanding.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- academic debate
- personal crisis
- artistic creation
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you reconcile rational doubt with spiritual longing?
- What does “living in sin with the soul of Abraham” imply?