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
The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The Church's primary purpose is to lead people to Christ and emulate Him.
C. S. Lewis emphasizes that the Church's existence revolves solely around guiding individuals toward a relationship with Christ and fostering their transformation into Christ-like figures. He argues that all activities and structures within the Church, such as cathedrals, clergy, and sermons, lose their significance if they do not align with this fundamental mission of spiritual growth and connection to God, reinforcing the idea that the incarnation of God as Man serves a singular purpose of salvation and discipleship.
Themes
ChurchChristPurposeFaithSpirituality
In practice
Example use cases
During a sermon discussing the role of the Church in modern society.
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.
C. S. LewisRead
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
C. S. LewisRead
Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
C. S. LewisRead
I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
C. S. LewisRead
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
C. S. LewisRead
Similar quotes
Worship is an act that develops feelings for God, not a feeling for God that is expressed in an act of worship.
Eugene H. PetersonRead
Help me, Lord, to remember that religion is not to be confined to the church... nor exercised only in prayer and meditation, but that every where I am in Thy Presence
Susanna WesleyRead
Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to heaven.
Pope Pius XRead
The greatest news that I could ever say is that Jesus is Lord and Savior of my life. He is my friend. He is with me wherever I go. I'm so delighted to continue to grow in my relationship to Jesus.
Nick VujicicRead
We need to stop giving people excuses not to believe in God. You've probably heard the expression 'I believe in God, just not organized religion'. I don't think people would say that if the church truly lived like we are called to live.
Francis ChanRead
To be Catholic is the only way of being fully and utterly Christian.
Pierre Teilhard De ChardinRead