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
The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True happiness comes from a deep, voluntary connection with God and others.
C. S. Lewis expresses the idea that the happiness intended by God for his higher creatures is not just a superficial affection but a profound and voluntary unity with Him and with one another. This ecstasy of love transcends even the deepest earthly relationships, suggesting that true fulfillment and joy are found in these divine connections rather than in romantic love alone.
Themes
HappinessLoveUnityFreedomDelight
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon about unity and love in the community.
More from C. S. Lewis
All quotes →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.
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Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
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Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
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I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
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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
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