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
Above all, do not attempt to use science (I mean, the real sciences) as a defence against Christianity. They will positively encourage him to think about realities he can’t touch and see.
Interpretation
C. S. Lewis warns against using science as a shield against faith, suggesting that scientific inquiry can lead one to deeper existential thoughts.
In this quote, C. S. Lewis emphasizes that while science offers valuable insights into the world, it should not be used to dismiss or defend against spiritual beliefs. Instead, he suggests that the pursuit of scientific understanding can actually inspire contemplation of deeper truths and realities that transcend mere physical observation, highlighting the potential harmony between faith and reason.
In practice
This quote would be fitting in a discussion about the relationship between science and religion.
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
When machines fail, when technology fails, when the conventional religion fails, people have got to have something. Even a zombin lurching through the night can seem pretty cheerful compared to the existential comedy/horror of the ozone layer dissolving under the combined assult of a million flurocarbon spray cans of deoderant." - The Mist
Reality was utterly coolheaded and utterly lonely.
We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.
I believe in nothing here, except a handful of people, a few ideas, and the fact that one cannot arrest movement.
Yet suppose further. Suppose that all worlds, all universes, met at a single nexus, a single pylon, a Tower. And within it, a stairway, perhaps rising to the Godhead itself. Would you dare climb to the top, gunslinger? Could it be that somewhere above all of endless reality, there exists a room?...' You dare not.' And in the gunslinger's mind, those words echoed: You dare not.
My main ambition as a historian is to figure out what's really happening in the world, instead of the fictions that humans have been creating for thousands of years in order to explain or control what's happening in the world.
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