Antifragile Faith by Ben Sternke

Antifragile Faith by Ben Sternke

The Beatitudes are Not Virtues

A little rant about our relentless tendency to try and turn the Beatitudes into nice ways to be, when that's not what they are at all

Ben Sternke's avatar
Ben Sternke
May 08, 2024
∙ Paid

“Happy are those who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.”

That’s how the Common English Bible translates the first of Jesus’s Beatitudes in Matthew 5. Most translations name them as “the poor in spirit.” But I like “those who are hopeless” because it is closer to the real meaning of the Beatitudes.

We get the Beatitudes wrong ALL THE TI…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Antifragile Faith by Ben Sternke to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Ben Sternke · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture