--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sin is our condition,\" I said. \"Say…" description: "\"“Sin is our condition,\" I said. \"Say rather that love is our rightful condition.\" \"You talk like--you are a good man! But how can you be good without G..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d8/maria-mccann-29613_bible_sin-is-our-condition-i-said-say-rather-t_2779175.jpg" --- # Sin is our condition," I said. "Say rather that love is… ![“Sin is our condition," I said. "Say rather that love is our rightful condition." "You talk like--you are a good man! But how can you be good without God?" He grinned. "Not so good, neither. But what virtue I do have is in me and of me. Men deny the good that comes from themselves, calling it God…” quote by Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d8/maria-mccann-29613_bible_sin-is-our-condition-i-said-say-rather-t_2779175.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d8/maria-mccann-29613_bible_sin-is-our-condition-i-said-say-rather-t_2779175.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d8/maria-mccann-29613_bible_sin-is-our-condition-i-said-say-rather-t_2779175.jpg) > ““Sin is our condition," I said. "Say rather that love is our rightful condition." "You talk like--you are a good man! But how can you be good without God?" He grinned. "Not so good, neither. But what virtue I do have is in me and of me. Men deny the good that comes from themselves, calling it God. So they do with their own evil, calling it the Devil." I tried to see how this might be. "There is no Hell, Jacob." "And the Bible?" "Was written by men like ourselves." He was frightening. At the idea of there being no Hell I had felt a breath of something like freedom, but it was illusion. I marvelled at his foolhardiness, feared it, and loved it.”” [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that love, not divine doctrine, is humanity's true condition, questioning God, Hell, and the Bible as human constructs. **In simple terms:** Love is our natural state, not religion. Key Takeaway Reflect on personal morality beyond religious frameworks. Themes faith philosophy existentialism Mood thoughtful conflicted Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal introspection - ethical debates - spiritual discussions - literary analysis Key Concepts Humanism skepticism freedom illusion Questions to Reflect On - Do you find meaning without religion? - Can love replace traditional moral authority? A Different Perspective The argument may overlook the comfort many find in faith. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [God Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-evil-730510/) [Good god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-god/) [Good man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Tried Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tried-hell-3296296/) [Without god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without-god/) ## Related quotes > [If God is, why is there evil? But if God is not, why is there good?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/if-god-is-why-is-there-evil-but-if-god-is-not-why-is-there-good/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“It's God that's worrying me. That's the only thing that's worrying me. What if He doesn't exist? What if Rakitin's right -that it's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/it-s-god-that-s-worrying-me-that-s-the-only-thing-that-s-worrying-me/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [ “if \[God\] doesn't exist, man is the chief of the earth, of the universe. Magnificent! Only how is he going to be good without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/if-god-doesn-t-exist-man-is-the-chief-of-the-earth-of-the-universe/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“One of the problems with the ways we tend to talk about the power of hell is that we shift the blame for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ryan-butler/one-of-the-problems-with-the-ways-we-tend-to-talk-about-the-power-of/) [Joshua Ryan Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ryan-butler/) > [You came empty handed, but of course that is not up to the world, will be with you'r Sin virtue, which will be sent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/you-came-empty-handed-but-of-course-that-is-not-up-to-the-world-will/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [It used to be widely held that evil was incompatible with the existence of God: that no possible world contained both God and evil.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-inwagen/it-used-to-be-widely-held-that-evil-was-incompatible-with-the/) [Peter van Inwagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-van-inwagen/) > [The Ventoux is a god of Evil, to which sacrifices must be made. It never forgives weakness and extracts an unfair tribute of suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-ventoux-is-a-god-of-evil-to-which-sacrifices-must-be-made-it/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [If men do not return to God, evil will destroy us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lee-peterson/if-men-do-not-return-to-god-evil-will-destroy-us/) [Jesse Lee Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lee-peterson/) > [“Satan, whom Paul labeled as “the god of this evil world,” is so clever that he has fooled many people into thinking that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-laurie/satan-whom-paul-labeled-as-the-god-of-this-evil-world-is-so-clever/) [Greg Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-laurie/) > [Fear comes not from God but from the evil one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/fear-comes-not-from-god-but-from-the-evil-one/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [“Evil is real - and powerful. It has to be fought, not explained away, not fled. And God is against evil all the way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-marshall/evil-is-real-and-powerful-it-has-to-be-fought-not-explained-away-not/) [Catherine Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-marshall/) > [Man has 2 common problems with God: the one is that there is evil in the world; the other is that free will is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/man-has-2-common-problems-with-god-the-one-is-that-there-is-evil-in/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [God, in the orthodox view, causes famine, plague, and flood. Was God evil? Evil is a convenient fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-straub/god-in-the-orthodox-view-causes-famine-plague-and-flood-was-god-evil/) [Peter Straub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-straub/) > [God is the only evil. His vanity made him the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/god-is-the-only-evil-his-vanity-made-him-the-devil/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [I was never much bothered about moral questions like, 'How could there be a good God when there's so much evil in the world?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-was-never-much-bothered-about-moral-questions-like-how-could-there/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More by Maria McCann > [“Are you afraid of dying, Ferris?' 'I'm afraid of not living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/are-you-afraid-of-dying-ferris-i-m-afraid-of-not-living/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [“Behold,' said the Voice, 'earthly beauty. It is nothing but seeming, for to the uninstructed eye the world appears fruitful and sweet, yet in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/behold-said-the-voice-earthly-beauty-it-is-nothing-but-seeming-for-to/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [“I mean that repeated offences, even when they secure forgiveness, drive out love. And from that I came to say that one may compel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/i-mean-that-repeated-offences-even-when-they-secure-forgiveness-drive/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [There had been a frozen mist here, and the trees were spun into feathers. Their fragile brilliance made me wonder why, into the spotlessness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/there-had-been-a-frozen-mist-here-and-the-trees-were-spun-into/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [“Violent love eats up what it does love, and it is mere appetite. I scribbled on the bottom of this before sending it back:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/violent-love-eats-up-what-it-does-love-and-it-is-mere-appetite-i/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [“How did men make themselves loved, I wondered. I had passed all my life with men who were loved but I seemed never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/how-did-men-make-themselves-loved-i-wondered-i-had-passed-all-my-life/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [“I pictured Becs and myself together, squabbling, but always over little things, while I rotted away at the core from love of Ferris. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/i-pictured-becs-and-myself-together-squabbling-but-always-over-little/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [I followed him up the stairs. I was a fornicator, of unnatural appetite, in thrall to an Atheist. I repeated the words in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/i-followed-him-up-the-stairs-i-was-a-fornicator-of-unnatural-appetite/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [I wondered at him, so wise and so foolish, to have lived with me all these months and not know that the worst storms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/i-wondered-at-him-so-wise-and-so-foolish-to-have-lived-with-me-all/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [“I dig and plough at your command,' I replied, 'but you will not tell me how to shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/i-dig-and-plough-at-your-command-i-replied-but-you-will-not-tell-me/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [“Will you still walk with me?’ ‘Would you walk with a bad angel?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/will-you-still-walk-with-me-would-you-walk-with-a-bad-angel/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [“God cuts out our path, makes a groove in the clay with His finger, and we poor blind ants slide down into it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/god-cuts-out-our-path-makes-a-groove-in-the-clay-with-his-finger-and/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [But what virtue I do have is in me and of me. Men deny the good that comes from themselves, calling it God. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/but-what-virtue-i-do-have-is-in-me-and-of-me-men-deny-the-good-that/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [“I studied the shape of my friend’s hands, and how he clasped them. I could smell his skin and hair in the cold air…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/i-studied-the-shape-of-my-friend-s-hands-and-how-he-clasped-them-i/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [“You talked once of bodily dignity.’ ‘I’ve seen heads shot off.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/you-talked-once-of-bodily-dignity-i-ve-seen-heads-shot-off/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) [Explore all 18 Maria McCann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) ## More Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) [Michael Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arnold/) > [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [“Scripture also teaches that human beings are morally responsible creatures”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-peterson/scripture-also-teaches-that-human-beings-are-morally-responsible/) [Robert A. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-peterson/) > [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/) [Stephen Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-taylor/) > [O Word of God incarnate . . . It is the golden casket Where gems of truth are stored; It is the heaven-drawn picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walsham-how/o-word-of-god-incarnate-it-is-the-golden-casket-where-gems-of-truth/) [Walsham How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walsham-how/) > [How can I trust that the Bible is reliable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-horton/how-can-i-trust-that-the-bible-is-reliable/) [Michael Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-horton/) > [Every plant which my heavenly father has not planted with be uprooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesus-christ/every-plant-which-my-heavenly-father-has-not-planted-with-be-uprooted/) [Jesus Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesus-christ/) > [Where I come from you're not raised to think on your own. It's not that you're pushed to read the Bible. The Bible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/where-i-come-from-you-re-not-raised-to-think-on-your-own-it-s-not/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [What comes to mind when you think of heaven? Heaven is referred to in fifty-four of the Bible's sixty-six books, and the final two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/what-comes-to-mind-when-you-think-of-heaven-heaven-is-referred-to-in/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [“While it is in one sense a result of God’s presence within us, the New Testament also describes a process involved in our “putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/while-it-is-in-one-sense-a-result-of-god-s-presence-within-us-the-new/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [The definition of a Church is crystal clear in the New Testament. We see the picture of it. They came together the first day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/the-definition-of-a-church-is-crystal-clear-in-the-new-testament-we/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) [Browse all 8,465 Bible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sin is our condition,\" I said. \"Say rather that love is our rightful condition.\" \"You talk like--you are a good man! But how can you be good without God?\" He grinned. \"Not so good, neither. But what virtue I do have is in me and of me. Men deny the good that comes from themselves, calling it God. So they do with their own evil, calling it the Devil.\" I tried to see how this might be. \"There is no Hell, Jacob.\" \"And the Bible?\" \"Was written by men like ourselves.\" He was frightening. At the idea of there being no Hell I had felt a breath of something like freedom, but it was illusion. 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