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
If God thinks this state of war in the universe a price worth paying for free will...then we may take it it is worth paying.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that the existence of free will justifies the chaos and conflict in the universe.
C. S. Lewis reflects on the nature of free will and the underlying chaos in the universe, proposing that the opportunity for individuals to choose their paths—despite any resulting turmoil—is valuable enough to merit the struggles and strife present in existence. This implies a deep philosophical inquiry into the balance between autonomy and the consequences that arise from it.
In practice
In a discussion on the value of free will during a philosophy class.
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
Visions! omens! hallucinations! miracles! ecstasies! gone down the American river! Dreams! adorations! illumnations! religions! the whole boatload of sensitive bullshit!
There are no surprising facts, only models that are surprised by facts; and if a model is surprised by the facts, it is no credit to that model.
No citizen enjoys genuine freedom of religious conviction until the state is indifferent to every form of religious outlook from Atheism to Zoroastrianism.
Our faith in freedom does not rest on the foreseeable results in particular circumstances, but on the belief that it will, on balance, release more forces for the good than for the bad ... Freedom granted only when it is known beforehand that its effects will be beneficial is not freedom.
Why God has instituted Prayer:— To communicate to his creatures the dignity of causation.
I would like to see us get this place right first before we have the arrogance to put significantly flawed civilizations out onto other planets, even though they may be utterly uninhabited.
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