--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it is going to be very difficult…" description: "\"I think it is going to be very difficult for any church that still calls itself a church, never to try and convince someone that their religion is the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/barry-w-lynn-49171_church_i-think-it-is-going-to-be-very-difficult_67350.jpg" --- # I think it is going to be very difficult for any church… ![“I think it is going to be very difficult for any church that still calls itself a church, never to try and convince someone that their religion is the best one.” quote by Barry W. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/barry-w-lynn-49171_church_i-think-it-is-going-to-be-very-difficult_67350.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/barry-w-lynn-49171_church_i-think-it-is-going-to-be-very-difficult_67350.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/barry-w-lynn-49171_church_i-think-it-is-going-to-be-very-difficult_67350.jpg) > “I think it is going to be very difficult for any church that still calls itself a church, never to try and convince someone that their religion is the best one.” [Barry W. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-w-lynn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that religious institutions that claim exclusivity will struggle to persuade others of their superiority. **In simple terms:** Exclusivity hinders persuasion. Key Takeaway Dogmatic claims limit outreach. Themes religion exclusivity persuasion institutional identity belief systems Mood critical reflective Type observation critique When to use this quote - interfaith dialogue - missionary work - public debates - secular counseling Key Concepts religious pluralism social influence Practical Applications - faith education - community outreach Questions to Reflect On - How does exclusivity affect a faith's growth? - Can openness improve credibility? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Calls Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calls-church-894664/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Church Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church-try-894663/) [Convince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convince/) [Convince Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convince-religion-894662/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Difficult Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-church-894661/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [“CATHOLIC: Let me understand what you’re saying, Mrs. Paxmore. You believe that on some day to come, the religious leaders of this world are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/catholic-let-me-understand-what-you-re-saying-mrs-paxmore-you-believe/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [Sometimes it is difficult to find a church, and then there is the problem that people follow you everywhere. 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I AM WONDERING HOW I SHOULD APPROCH HIM AT…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare/on-sunday-i-am-going-to-church-and-i-might-see-my-ultimate-crush/) [CLARE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare/) > [There is nothing the Church can do except try to educate people to become good consumers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-is-nothing-the-church-can-do-except-try-to-educate-people-to/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“What happens if you walk into a church and try to find out what a man looks like?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/what-happens-if-you-walk-into-a-church-and-try-to-find-out-what-a-man/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [I belong to a church and I try to do my Christian duty, so I am against alcohol... But we need the tax money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-allen/i-belong-to-a-church-and-i-try-to-do-my-christian-duty-so-i-am/) [Walter Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-allen/) > [If the gospel isn't good news for everybody, then it isn't good news for anybody. And this is because the most powerful things happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bell/if-the-gospel-isn-t-good-news-for-everybody-then-it-isn-t-good-news-2/) [Rob Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bell/) > [I know that with consecration on the part of believers, separation from the world, disentanglement from enslaving sins, and a mighty baptism of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbott-eliot-kittredge/i-know-that-with-consecration-on-the-part-of-believers-separation/) [Abbott Eliot Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbott-eliot-kittredge/) > [Jesus never met a disease he could not cure, a birth defect he could not reverse, a demon he could not exorcise. But he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/jesus-never-met-a-disease-he-could-not-cure-a-birth-defect-he-could/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [The privilege of prayer to me is one of the most cherished possessions, because faith and experience alike convince me that God himself sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-grenfell/the-privilege-of-prayer-to-me-is-one-of-the-most-cherished/) [Wilfred Grenfell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-grenfell/) > [“Sometimes we want something to be true so badly that we convince ourselves that it is true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/sometimes-we-want-something-to-be-true-so-badly-that-we-convince/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) ## More by Barry W. Lynn > [I think fundamentally, the real power behind the anti-choice movement in regard to abortion and the opposition to the rights of LGBT Americans is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-w-lynn/i-think-fundamentally-the-real-power-behind-the-anti-choice-movement/) [Barry W. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-w-lynn/) > [I think one of the great strengths of Americans United is that it has such diversity. That it has not only people who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-w-lynn/i-think-one-of-the-great-strengths-of-americans-united-is-that-it-has/) [Barry W. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-w-lynn/) > [Ohio's students deserve a first-class education appropriate for the 21st century, not Sunday School lessons masquerading as science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-w-lynn/ohio-s-students-deserve-a-first-class-education-appropriate-for-the/) [Barry W. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-w-lynn/) > [Air Force officials appear to be more concerned with appeasing the powerful Religious Right lobbyists who have argued against any guidelines that seek to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-w-lynn/air-force-officials-appear-to-be-more-concerned-with-appeasing-the/) [Barry W. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-w-lynn/) > [It was an effort to include intelligent design and treat it as science, disparaging evolution along the way. That will not stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-w-lynn/it-was-an-effort-to-include-intelligent-design-and-treat-it-as/) [Barry W. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-w-lynn/) > [I was interested in the question of the power of religious organizations to effect public policy in a negative way. When I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-w-lynn/i-was-interested-in-the-question-of-the-power-of-religious/) [Barry W. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-w-lynn/) > [To me the separation of church and state is a thread that ought to run through public policy so that we can always recognize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-w-lynn/to-me-the-separation-of-church-and-state-is-a-thread-that-ought-to/) [Barry W. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-w-lynn/) [Explore all 8 Barry W. Lynn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-w-lynn/) ## More Church quotes > [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [God is not calling us to go to church; he is calling us to be his church, the hope of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/god-is-not-calling-us-to-go-to-church-he-is-calling-us-to-be-his/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The minute you walk outside of your church on Sunday you're in mission territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/the-minute-you-walk-outside-of-your-church-on-sunday-you-re-in/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) [Browse all 9,430 Church quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think it is going to be very difficult for any church that still calls itself a church, never to try and convince someone that their religion is the best one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barry W. 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