C.S. Lewis ( 10 of 145 )
Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.
Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.
The (Christian) "doctrines" are translations into our concepts and ideas of that which God has already expressed in language more read more
The (Christian) "doctrines" are translations into our concepts and ideas of that which God has already expressed in language more adequate, namely the actual incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection
Feast of Irenæus, Bishop of Lyons, Teacher, Martyr, c.200 We must never speak to simple, excitable people about "the read more
Feast of Irenæus, Bishop of Lyons, Teacher, Martyr, c.200 We must never speak to simple, excitable people about "the Day" without emphasizing again and again the utter impossibility of prediction. We must try to show them that that impossibility is an essential part of the doctrine. If you do not believe our Lord's words, why do you believe in His return at all? And if you do believe them, must you not put away from you, utterly and forever, any hope of dating that return?
Commemoration of Gilbert of Sempringham, Founder of the Gilbertine Order, 1189 It is well to have specifically holy read more
Commemoration of Gilbert of Sempringham, Founder of the Gilbertine Order, 1189 It is well to have specifically holy places, and things, and days, for, without these focal points or reminders, the belief that all is holy and "big with God" will soon dwindle into a mere sentiment. But if these holy places, things, and days cease to remind us, if they obliterate our awareness that all ground is holy and every bush (could we but perceive it) a Burning Bush, then the hallows begin to do harm. Hence both the necessity, and the perennial danger, of "religion".
I have learned now that while those who speak about one’s miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.
I have learned now that while those who speak about one’s miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.
THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE We are very shy nowadays of even mentioning Heaven. We are read more
THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE We are very shy nowadays of even mentioning Heaven. We are afraid of the jeer about "pie in the sky", and of being told that we are trying to "escape" from the duty of making a happy world here and now, into dreams of a better world elsewhere. But either there is "pie in the sky" or there is not. If there is not, then Christianity is false, for this doctrine is woven into its whole fabric. If there is, then this doctrine, like any other, must be faced, whether it is useful at political meetings or no.
Commemoration of Richard Rolle of Hampole, Writer, Hermit, Mystic, 1349 I have often, on my knees, been shocked to read more
Commemoration of Richard Rolle of Hampole, Writer, Hermit, Mystic, 1349 I have often, on my knees, been shocked to find what sort of thoughts I have, for a moment, been addressing to God; what infantile placations I was really offering, what claims I have really made, even what absurd adjustments or compromises I was, half-consciously, proposing. There is a Pagan, savage heart in me somewhere. For unfortunately the folly and idiot-cunning of Paganism seem to have far more power of surviving than its innocent or even beautiful elements. It is easy, once you have power, to silence the pipes, still the dances, disfigure the statues, and forget the stories; but not easy to kill the savage, the greedy, frightened creature now cringing, now blustering in one's soul.
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is read more
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because read more
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
