The crowd is untruth.”— Søren Kierkegaard Courage is not loud. Courage is not militant. And in Kierkegaard’s world, courage is not popular. The courage Kierkegaard demanded was something far more disturbing than activism or heroics. It was the courage to believe the New Testament as written — and to live accordingly — alone if necessary, against the entire weight of polite, institutional Christianity. Christendom: Christianity Without Christ Kie

Jesus told this story while dining in the house of a Pharisee. Around the table sat men proud of their religion but unmoved by compassion. When someone exclaimed, “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Jesus responded with a parable that turned their comfort into conviction.