Theological Virtues
The three Christian virtues of faith, hope, and charity/love.
Also known as: Faith hope and charity, Christian virtues, Infused virtues
Category: Frameworks
Tags: philosophies, christianity, virtue, ethics, spirituality
Explanation
The Theological Virtues are three virtues in Christian thought that relate directly to God: Faith (fides) - trust in God and acceptance of divine revelation; Hope (spes) - confident expectation of divine blessing and eternal life; Charity/Love (caritas) - love of God and neighbor as primary motivation. Unlike cardinal virtues (achievable through human effort), theological virtues are seen as: divinely infused, relating to supernatural ends, and foundational to Christian life. They complement the cardinal virtues - prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude need to be informed by faith, hope, and love. The three are interconnected: faith grounds hope, hope sustains faith, and love is greatest of all (as Paul wrote, 'the greatest of these is love'). Beyond theological context, the virtues offer: model for trust and commitment, framework for hope amid difficulty, and emphasis on love as primary motivation. For knowledge workers, these virtues suggest: developing trust in values beyond immediate results, maintaining hope in difficult projects, and leading and relating through genuine care.
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