Sunday, February 3, 2008
Feast of Anskar, Archbishop of Hamburg, Missionary to Denmark and Sweden, 865

Is not the popular idea of Christianity simply this, that Jesus Christ was a great moral teacher and that, if only we took his advice, we might be able to establish a better social order and avoid another war? Now, mind you, that is quite true; but it tells you much less than the whole truth about Christianity and it has no practical importance at all.

It is quite true that, if we took Christ’s advice, we should soon be living in a happier world. You need not even go as far as Christ. If we did all that... Confucius told us, we should get on a great deal better than we do. And so what?... If Christianity only means one more bit of good advice, then Christianity is of no importance. There has been no lack of good advice for the last four thousand years. A bit more makes no difference.

... C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), Mere Christianity, New York: MacMillan, 1952, reprint, HarperCollins, 2001, p. 155-156 (see the book; see also Matt. 7:12; 21:11-13; 21:46; Mark 12:29-34; Luke 7:16-17; John 4:19; 6:14-15; Acts 7:51-53; Gal. 5:13-14; Jas. 2:10-13; more at Apologetics, Futility, Goodness, Morality, Social, Truth, World)

 
Compilation Copyright, 1996-2024, by Robert McAnally Adams,
        Curator, Christian Quotation of the Day,
        with Robert Douglas, principal contributor
Logo image Copyright 1996 by Shay Barsabe, of “Simple GIFs”, by kind permission.
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Last updated: 02/10/18

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