Writers don't give prescriptions. They give headaches!
Chinua AchebeRead
In fact, I thought that Christianity was very a good and a very valuable thing for us. But after a while, I began to feel that the story that I was told about this religion wasn't perhaps completely whole, that something was left out.
Interpretation
This quote reflects a critical examination of religious beliefs, highlighting the notion that truths may be incomplete or overlooked.
Chinua Achebe expresses a journey of introspection regarding his understanding of Christianity. Initially viewing it as a valuable belief system, he eventually becomes aware of the potential gaps in the narrative he was taught, suggesting that there is more to the story that needs to be uncovered. This quote encourages a deeper inquiry into religious teachings and the subjective nature of faith.
In practice
During a discussion on religious beliefs in a philosophy class.
Writers don't give prescriptions. They give headaches!
Mr. Brown had thought of nothing but numbers. He should have known that the kingdom of God did not depend on large crowds. Our Lord Himself stressed the importance of fewness. Narrow is the way and few the number. To fill the Lord's holy temple with an idolatrous crowd clamoring for signs was a folly of everlasting consequence. Our Lord used the whip only once in His life - to drive the crowd away from His church.
It is the storyteller who makes us what we are, who creates history. The storyteller creates the memory that the survivors must have - otherwise their surviving would have no meaning.
Writing has always been a serious business for me. I felt it was a moral obligation. A major concern of the time was the absence of the African voice. Being part of that dialogue meant not only sitting at the table but effectively telling the African story from an African perspective - in full earshot of the world.
An angry man is always a stupid man.
Privilege, you see, is one of the great adversaries of the imagination; it spreads a thick layer of adipose tissue over our sensitivity.
I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within.
An important function of theology is to keep religion tied to reason and reason to religion. Both roles are of essential importance for humanity.
I thought I might find the real me in Oxford. Civil rights made me accept being a black intellectual. There was no such thing before, but then it was something. So I became one.
The dead walk among us. Zombies, ghouls-no matter what their label-these somnambulists are the greatest threat to humanity, other than humanity itself.
I think it can be shown that the law makes ten criminals where it restrains one.
One thing only do I know for certain and that is that man's judgments of value follow directly his wishes for happiness-that, accordingly, they are an attempt to support his illusions with arguments. [p.111]
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