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Christians talk about the horror of sin, but they have overlooked something. They keep talking as if everyone were a great sinner, when the truth is that nowadays one is hardly up to it. There is very little sin in the depths of the malaise. The highest moment of a malaisian's life can be the moment when he manages to sin like a proper human (Look at us, Binx--my vagabond friends as good as cried out to me--we're sinning! We're succeeding! We're human after all!) [citation needed]

Walker Percy#11

ApathyMiseryModernityMoralitySin

About this quote

What does it mean?
People today are too apathetic to commit real sin, so they celebrate small transgressions as if they were moral victories.
In plain terms
Modern life is so flat that minor bad acts feel like big achievements.
What can you take from it?
Recognize when apathy dulls moral seriousness.

Where it applies

  • religious reflection
  • social critique
  • self assessment

Putting it to work

  • Reflect on true vice
  • Question small rebellions

Questions to consider

  • Is your rebellion meaningful?
  • Are you too comfortable?

Another view

This view assumes sin requires high energy which may not be true.

More from Walker Percy

  1. A good rotation. A rotation I define as the experiencing of the new beyond the expectation of the experiencing of the new. [citation needed]

    Permalink to quote #10
  2. Not a single thing do I remember from the first trip but this: the sense of the place, the savor of the genie-soul of the place which every place has or else i…

    Permalink to quote #12
  3. Oh the crap that lies lurking in the English soul. Somewhere it, the English soul, received an injection of romanticism which nearly killed it. [citation neede…

    Permalink to quote #9

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