“ If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth—only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair. ”
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952). copy citation
| Author | C. S. Lewis |
|---|---|
| Source | Mere Christianity |
| Topic | truth comfort religion despair |
| Date | 1952 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1942 and 1944 |
| Weblink | https://www.dacc.edu/assets/pdfs/PCM/merechristianitylewis.pdf |
Context
“But it does not begin in comfort; it begins in the dismay I have been describing, and it is no use at all trying to go on to that comfort without first going through that dismay. In religion, as in war and everything else, comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth—only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair. Most of us have got over the pre-war wishful thinking about international politics. It is time we did the same about religion.
BOOK TWO What Christians Believe 1 THE RIVAL CONCEPTIONS OF GOD I have been asked to tell you what Christians believe, and I am going to begin by telling you one thing that Christians do not need to believe.” source
BOOK TWO What Christians Believe 1 THE RIVAL CONCEPTIONS OF GOD I have been asked to tell you what Christians believe, and I am going to begin by telling you one thing that Christians do not need to believe.” source
Meaning and analysis
