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
Non-Christians seem to think that the Incarnation implies some particular merit or excellence in humanity. But of course it implies just the reverse: a particular demerit and depravity. No creature that deserved Redemption would need to be redeemed. They that are whole need not the physician. Christ died for men precisely because men are not worth dying for; to make them worth it.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the idea that humanity's need for redemption stems from its inherent flaws, rather than any excellence.
C. S. Lewis articulates the Christian belief that the Incarnation of Christ serves as a profound reflection of humanity's depravity rather than its merits. His argument suggests that if humanity were inherently worthy, there would be no need for redemption; thus, it underscores the notion that Christ's sacrifice was made for flawed beings to bestow upon them worthiness through grace.
In practice
When discussing themes of humility and grace in a religious context.
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
The labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce. You can't weigh the soul of a man with a bar of pig-iron.
This truth may be unfashionable, unpalatable, no doubt unpopular, but, if it is the truth, the story of mankind shows that war was universal and unceasing for millions of years before armaments were invented or armies organized. Indeed, the lucid intervals of peace and order only occurred in human history after armaments in the hands of strong governments have come into being, and civilization in every age has been nursed only in cradles guarded by superior weapons and superior discipline.
Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand.
An attack upon our ability to tell stories is not just censorship - it is a crime against our nature as human beings.
Self-sacrifice, not self-assertion, is the law of the highest universe.
All... natural rights may be abridged or modified in [their] exercise by law.
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