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Myriads of professing Christians nowadays seem utterly…

“Myriads of professing Christians nowadays seem utterly unable to distinguish things that differ. Like people afflicted with colour-blindness, they are incapable of discerning what is true and what is false, what is sound and what is unsound. If a preacher of religion is only clever and eloquent…” quote by J.C. Ryle
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““Myriads of professing Christians nowadays seem utterly unable to distinguish things that differ. Like people afflicted with colour-blindness, they are incapable of discerning what is true and what is false, what is sound and what is unsound. If a preacher of religion is only clever and eloquent and earnest, they appear to think he is all right, however strange and heterogeneous his sermons may be. They are destitute of spiritual sense, apparently, and cannot detect error. Popery or Protestantism, an atonement or no atonement, a personal Holy Ghost or no Holy Ghost, future punishment or no future punishment, ‘high church’ or ‘low church’ or ‘broad church,’ Trinitarianism, Arianism, or Unitarianism—nothing comes amiss to them; they can swallow it all, even if they cannot digest it! Carried away by a fancied liberality and charity, they seem to think everybody is right and nobody is wrong, every clergyman is sound and none are unsound, everybody is going to be saved and nobody going to be lost. Their religion is made of negatives; and the only positive thing about them is that they dislike distinctness and think all extreme and decided and positive views are very naughty and very wrong!””

J.C. Ryle

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He condemns modern Christians who, lacking discernment, accept any doctrine without critical evaluation, equating them to color‑blindness in truth.

In simple terms: People accept any belief without judging its truth.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate discernment and critical thinking.

Themes

religious tolerance critical thinking dogmatism spiritual discernment

Mood

concerned critical reflective

Type

theological philosophical

When to use this quote

  • church debates
  • personal faith study
  • seminary education
  • public preaching
  • interfaith dialogue

Key Concepts

theology epistemology relativism

Questions to Reflect On

  • How do you distinguish truth from falsehood in faith?
  • What risks arise from accepting all religious views as equally valid?
A Different Perspective

Such broad acceptance can lead to moral complacency and loss of doctrinal clarity.

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