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
You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggle of a person confronting their beliefs and fears, leading to an acceptance of faith under duress.
C. S. Lewis describes a deeply personal and tumultuous experience of grappling with his faith. He portrays a poignant image of solitude and internal conflict, where the pressure of his own desires and fears culminates in a reluctant acceptance of God. The moment he kneels to pray signifies not just a change in belief, but an admission of his vulnerability and the profound impact of faith on one's life, highlighting the complexity of belief and resistance.
Themes
FaithStruggleFearBeliefConversionLonelinessVulnerability
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about the journey of faith during a religious study group.
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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