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
There have been men before who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God himself, as if the good Lord had nothing to do but to exist. There have been some who were so preoccupied with spreading Christianity that they never gave a thought to Christ.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the danger of focusing on the theory of faith over the experience of faith itself.
C. S. Lewis points out a critical distinction between the intellectual pursuit of proving God's existence and the genuine relationship with God that one should cultivate. He warns that an obsession with theological arguments can lead individuals to forget the essence of faith, which is a personal connection with Christ, illustrating that faith should not be merely an academic endeavor, but a heartfelt experience.
Themes
FaithGodChristTheologySpiritualityRelationship
In practice
Example use cases
During a church discussion on the importance of faith versus doctrine.
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.
C. S. LewisRead
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
C. S. LewisRead
Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
C. S. LewisRead
I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
C. S. LewisRead
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
C. S. LewisRead
Similar quotes
Just to settle it once and for all: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The egg, laid by a bird that was not a chicken.
Neil Degrasse TysonRead
The more you know about Christ, the less you will be satisfied with superficial views of Him.
Charles SpurgeonRead
No burden is so heavy for a man to bear as a succession of happy days.
Max PlanckRead
If you want to save capitalism there is only one type of argument that you should adopt, the only one that has ever won in any moral issue: the argument from self-esteem. Check your premises, convince yourself of the rightness of your cause, then fight for capitalism with full, moral certainty.
Ayn RandRead
I have a different idea of a universal. It is of a universal rich with all that is particular, rich with all the particulars there are, the deepening of each particular, the coexistence of them all.
Aime CesaireRead
The values by which we are to survive are not rules for just and unjust conduct, but are those deeper illuminations in whose light justice and injustice, good and evil, means and ends are seen in fearful sharpness of outline.
Jacob BronowskiRead