Books Quote by C.S. Lewis
““I believe that any Christian who is qualified to write a good popular book on any science may do much more by that than by any direct apologetic work…. We can make people often attend to the Christian point of view for half an hour or so; but the moment they have gone away from our lecture or laid down our article, they are plunged back into a world where the opposite position is taken for granted…. What we want is not more little books about Christianity, but more little books by Christians on other subjects—with their Christianity latent. You can see this most easily if you look at it the other way around. Our faith is not very likely to be shaken by any book on Hinduism. But if whenever we read an elementary book on Geology, Botany, Politics, or Astronomy, we found that its implications were Hindu, that would shake us. It is not the books written in direct defense of Materialism that make the modern man a materialist; it is the materialistic assumptions in all the other books. In the same way, it is not books on Christianity that will really trouble him. But he would be troubled if, whenever he wanted a cheap popular introduction to some science, the best work on the market was always by a Christian.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Weight of Glory, 1949
Christian authors should embed faith subtly in popular science works, influencing readers without overt preaching.
In simple terms: Faith can be hidden in secular books to influence ideas.
Write quality secular works with subtle Christian worldview.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- education
- publishing
- public discourse
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How can subtle faith be recognized?
- What balance between truth and evangelism is ideal?
Readers may miss subtle faith cues, reducing impact.