The seal of truth borne by the Gospel is so great, so striking, so utterly inimitable, that its inventor would be more astonishing than its hero.

— Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), Philosoph

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Der in Genf geborene Philosoph, Schriftsteller und Staatstheoretiker Jean-Jacques Rousseau wirkte im 18. Jahrhundert vor allem in Frankreich und prägte maßgeblich die europäische Aufklärung. Bekannt wurde er durch Werke wie „Vom Gesellschaftsvertrag“ und „Émile“ sowie durch seine These, dass der Mensch von Natur aus gut sei und erst durch gesellschaftliche Institutionen entfremdet werde. Für Bibelleser bildet sein Menschenbild eine klassische Gegenposition zum biblischen Verständnis von Sünde und Erlösungsbedürftigkeit, während der Bruch zwischen seinen pädagogischen Idealen und der Abgabe seiner eigenen Kinder ins Findelhaus bis heute kritisch diskutiert wird.

All quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (16)

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The law is divine and holy. Let the law have its glory, but yet no law, be it never so divine and holy, ought to teach me that I am justified, and shall live through it. I grant it may teach me that I ought to love God and my neighbor; also to live in love, soberness, patience, etc., but it ought not to show me how I should be delivered from sin, the devil, death, and hell. Here I must take counsel of the gospel. I must hearken to the gospel, which teaches me, not what I ought to do but what Jesus Christ the Son of God hath done for me: that He suffered and died to deliver me from sin and death. The gospel wills me to receive this, and to believe it. And this is the truth of the gospel. Most necessary it is, therefore, that we should know this article well, teach it unto others, and beat it into their heads continually.
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