I just started a book.
The author unapologetically warned me in the preface that this is no devotional piece and will require “considerable mental effort to understand”. The subject matter is the relationship between faith and knowledge. Many say there is hardly any relationship at all, that the two are actually in opposition to each other.
But I don’t buy that.
The author then wrapped up his opening section with a C.S. Lewis quote that made me smile…
“God has room for people with very little sense, but He wants everyone to use what sense they have. The proper motto is not, ‘Be good, sweet maid, and let who can be clever,’ but ‘Be good, sweet maid, and don’t forget that this involves being as clever as you can.’ God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slackers. If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all…. One reason why it needs no special education to be a Christian is that Christianity is an education itself.”
I’ll amen that last line, that’s for sure–I hope you’re in the midst of a fascinating education these days.
That’s a great quote. He has a knack for saying good things clearly, but using language and examples that are just…odd. Like the whole sweet maid thing. Is that really a common British saying? Or a common saying from the fifties? Both? Or is he randomly pulling that out of nowhere? (Doubtful, but how awesome would that be?)