--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm a Christian. I believe that greatness…" description: "\"I'm a Christian. I believe that greatness has to do with the quality of love shown to the least of thy brethren and the quality of service to those who..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/cornel-west-708_america_i-m-a-christian-i-believe-that-greatness_1810157.jpg" --- # I'm a Christian. I believe that greatness has to do with… ![“I'm a Christian. I believe that greatness has to do with the quality of love shown to the least of thy brethren and the quality of service to those who are catching hell. When you look at it in that sense, I'd say America has had great moments, but I wouldn't call it a great nation. I don't think…” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/cornel-west-708_america_i-m-a-christian-i-believe-that-greatness_1810157.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/cornel-west-708_america_i-m-a-christian-i-believe-that-greatness_1810157.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/cornel-west-708_america_i-m-a-christian-i-believe-that-greatness_1810157.jpg) > “I'm a Christian. I believe that greatness has to do with the quality of love shown to the least of thy brethren and the quality of service to those who are catching hell. When you look at it in that sense, I'd say America has had great moments, but I wouldn't call it a great nation. I don't think there have been any great nations in the history of the world, because in every nation you find poor people being subjugated. So, I see the term "great nation" as a contradiction, as an oxymoron.” [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greatness is measured by love for the poorest and service to the suffering, not by national power or wealth. **In simple terms:** True greatness is caring for the vulnerable. Key Takeaway Focus on compassion over prestige. Themes justice compassion inequality nationalism ethics Mood reflective critical hopeful Type philosophical social commentary inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - community service - activism - education - charitable work Key Concepts moral philosophy social critique human dignity Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals foster love for the marginalized? - What does “great nation” truly mean? A Different Perspective Nations can still oppress despite lofty ideals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-great/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Brethren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brethren/) [Catching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catching/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Great moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-moments/) [Great nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-nation/) [Great nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-nations/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Nation Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation-contradiction-2108384/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Oxymoron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxymoron/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Poor people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-people/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-history/) ## Related quotes > [America became a great nation early on not because it was flooded with politicians, but because it was flooded with people who understood the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/america-became-a-great-nation-early-on-not-because-it-was-flooded/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [The Founding Fathers believed that faith in God was the key to our being a good people and America's becoming a great nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-founding-fathers-believed-that-faith-in-god-was-the-key-to-our/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I have a dream... I have a dream today... And if America is to be a great nation this must become true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-have-a-dream-i-have-a-dream-today-and-if-america-is-to-be-a-great/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [A great nation is like a great man:When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.Having realized it, he admits it.Having admitted it, he corrects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/a-great-nation-is-like-a-great-man-when-he-makes-a-mistake-he/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/ultimately-a-great-nation-is-a-compassionate-nation/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [A great nation cannot abandon its responsibilities. Responsibilities abandoned today return as more acute crises tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-r-ford/a-great-nation-cannot-abandon-its-responsibilities-responsibilities/) [Gerald R. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-r-ford/) > [I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn't spring full-bloom from my brow - they came from the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-wasn-t-a-great-communicator-but-i-communicated-great-things-and/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Great Power, capable of everything and only temporarily handicapped by economic difficulties. We are not a great power and never will be again. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-tizard/great-power-capable-of-everything-and-only-temporarily-handicapped-by/) [Henry Tizard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-tizard/) > [A great nation like the United States has many and varied interests, and we need both to do business with tyrants and to engage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/a-great-nation-like-the-united-states-has-many-and-varied-interests/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [A man must first care for his own household before he can be of use to the state. But no matter how well he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/a-man-must-first-care-for-his-own-household-before-he-can-be-of-use/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [A great Nation should have a fixed Government, so that the death of one man should not overturn it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/a-great-nation-should-have-a-fixed-government-so-that-the-death-of/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Lincoln is me. He is America. He is what makes us a great nation and a dangerous nation, all wrapped up in one man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-oberst-jr/lincoln-is-me-he-is-america-he-is-what-makes-us-a-great-nation-and-a/) [Bill Oberst Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-oberst-jr/) > [It is fitting for a great nation to yield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/it-is-fitting-for-a-great-nation-to-yield/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way in which we use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/it-is-not-what-we-have-that-will-make-us-a-great-nation-it-is-the-way/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [We are a great nation, which has lot to offer to the world, but to offer something to the world France has to remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/we-are-a-great-nation-which-has-lot-to-offer-to-the-world-but-to/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [ “You can't really move forward until you look back. \[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you-look-back-from-remaking/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [When we think of globalization we are thinking in part of structures and institutions that have been developed over time and that have allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-we-think-of-globalization-we-are-thinking-in-part-of-structures/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-challenge-artists-face-today-is-whether-to-be-an-underground/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this regard, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Explore all 400 Cornel West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm a Christian. I believe that greatness has to do with the quality of love shown to the least of thy brethren and the quality of service to those who are catching hell. When you look at it in that sense, I'd say America has had great moments, but I wouldn't call it a great nation. 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