A dogmatic belief in objective value is necessary to the very idea of a rule which is not tyranny or an obedience which is not slavery.
C. S. LewisRead
We who defend Christianity find ourselves constantly opposed not by the irreligion of our headers but by their real religion.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the challenge of defending Christianity against those who practice a different but serious belief system.
C. S. Lewis points out that when defending Christianity, the opposition often comes not from those who are indifferent or irreligious, but from those who are deeply committed to another belief system. This suggests that the most formidable challenges to faith often arise not from a lack of belief, but rather from the passionate convictions of others, provoking deeper reflection on the nature of belief and spirituality.
In practice
During a debate on religious beliefs, this quote can illustrate the complexity of opposing viewpoints.
A dogmatic belief in objective value is necessary to the very idea of a rule which is not tyranny or an obedience which is not slavery.
I enjoyed my breakfast this morning, and I think that was a good thing and do not think it was condemned by God. But I do not think myself a good man for enjoying it.
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
The instrument through which you see God is your whole self. And if a man's self is not kept clean and bright, his glimpse of God will be blurred
Perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one's life.
Being a Christian is more like having your soul possessed by a spirit than having your mind clothed with new beliefs... It is like being haunted by the Holy Ghost.
The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.
Like so many pilgrims before us, we kneel in wonder and adoration before the ineffable mystery which. was accomplished here... In This Child - the Son who is given to us - we find rest for our souls and the true bread that never fails - the Eucharistic Bread foreshadowed even in the name of this town: Bethlehem, the house of bread. God lies hidden in the Child; divinity lies hidden in the Bread of Life
There is no need to worry about mere size. We do not necessarily respect a fat man more than a thin man. Sir Isaac Newton was very much smaller than a hippopotamus, but we do not on that account value him less.
I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.
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