---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Myriads of professing Christians nowadays…"
description: "\"“Myriads of professing Christians nowadays seem utterly unable to distinguish things that differ. Like people afflicted with colour-blindness, they are..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/j-c-ryle-2-15772_christianity_myriads-of-professing-christians-nowaday_622523.jpg"
---

#  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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/j-c-ryle-2-15772_christianity_myriads-of-professing-christians-nowaday_622523.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/j-c-ryle-2-15772_christianity_myriads-of-professing-christians-nowaday_622523.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/j-c-ryle-2-15772_christianity_myriads-of-professing-christians-nowaday_622523.jpg)

> ““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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

## 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.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Holy ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-ghost/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/)

## Related quotes

> [Even professing Christians, by and large, devote to their spiritual growth and well-being a tiny fraction of the time they devote to their body,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/even-professing-christians-by-and-large-devote-to-their-spiritual/)

[Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/)

> [The more men pray, the less worldly they become. The less they pray, the more worldly they become. I am, of course, speaking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/the-more-men-pray-the-less-worldly-they-become-the-less-they-pray-the/)

[Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/)

> [“Further compounding the problem, biblical and theological literacy is at a new low.1 Frankly, many Protestants don’t know what the Bible says, nor what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-pickowicz/further-compounding-the-problem-biblical-and-theological-literacy-is/)

Nate Pickowicz

> [Let us awake to a sense of the perilous state of many professing Christians. 'Without holiness no man shall see the Lord'; without sanctification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/let-us-awake-to-a-sense-of-the-perilous-state-of-many-professing/)

[J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/)

> [Vast multitudes of professing Christians fit into the category spoken of here. They call Jesus 'Lord,' but they practice lawlessness. They profess faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/vast-multitudes-of-professing-christians-fit-into-the-category-spoken/)

[Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/)

> [I doubt that more than two percent of professing Christians in the United States are truly born again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/i-doubt-that-more-than-two-percent-of-professing-christians-in-the/)

[Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/)

> [“The police move around again, and the crowd gets just quiet enough so that we can hear the guy holding the sign calling Pagans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-reardon/the-police-move-around-again-and-the-crowd-gets-just-quiet-enough-so/)

[Robin Reardon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-reardon/)

> [I believe that many professing Christians are cold and uncomfortable because they are doing nothing for their Lord; but if they actively served him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-believe-that-many-professing-christians-are-cold-and-uncomfortable/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [No persons professing to be Christians should enter the marriage relation until the matter has been carefully and prayerfully considered from an elevated standpoint,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/no-persons-professing-to-be-christians-should-enter-the-marriage/)

[Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/)

> [“Consider the professing Christians in Europe that either endorsed or stood in silent or fearful indifference to the systematic annihilation of the Jews in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-lifsey/consider-the-professing-christians-in-europe-that-either-endorsed-or/)

[Dalton Lifsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-lifsey/)

> [“Millions of professing Christians are deceived; they are walking in ways that simply are not biblical. Their values, their responses, their relation ships, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-leigh-demoss/millions-of-professing-christians-are-deceived-they-are-walking-in/)

[Nancy Leigh DeMoss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-leigh-demoss/)

> [There are few professing Christians, it may be feared, who strive to imitate Christ in the matter of private devotion. There is abundance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/there-are-few-professing-christians-it-may-be-feared-who-strive-to/)

[J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/)

> [Inconsistent professing Christians injure the Gospel more than the sneering critic or the heretic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/inconsistent-professing-christians-injure-the-gospel-more-than-the/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [I doubt if 5% of professing Christians in America are born again-and that's true of England!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/i-doubt-if-5-of-professing-christians-in-america-are-born-again-and/)

[Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/)

> [“But it’s not uncommon for Christians to collapse and give up, looking at themselves and then at the steep road ahead, and refusing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-k-grieser/but-it-s-not-uncommon-for-christians-to-collapse-and-give-up-looking/)

[Hannah K. Grieser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-k-grieser/)

## More by J.C. Ryle

> [“It is bad enough to be unconverted and going to hell. It is even worse to say, “I know it and will not cry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/it-is-bad-enough-to-be-unconverted-and-going-to-hell-it-is-even-worse/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“A holy man will follow after meekness, longsuffering, gentleness, patience, kind tempers, government of his tongue. He will bear much, forbear much, overlook much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/a-holy-man-will-follow-after-meekness-longsuffering-gentleness/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“The love of the bible will show itself in a believer's readiness to bear evil as well as to do good. It will make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/the-love-of-the-bible-will-show-itself-in-a-believer-s-readiness-to/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“It is not possible to say too much about Christ. But it is quite possible to say too little about hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/it-is-not-possible-to-say-too-much-about-christ-but-it-is-quite/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“Nothing, surely, is so likely to prepare us for that heaven where Christ's personal presence will be all, and that glory where we shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/nothing-surely-is-so-likely-to-prepare-us-for-that-heaven-where/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“We shall do well to remember that, when we make our own miserably imperfect knowledge and consciousness the measure of our sinfulness, we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/we-shall-do-well-to-remember-that-when-we-make-our-own-miserably/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“how true it is that the rulers of this world are seldom friendly to the cause of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/how-true-it-is-that-the-rulers-of-this-world-are-seldom-friendly-to/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“Guard your thoughts, and there will be little fear about your actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/guard-your-thoughts-and-there-will-be-little-fear-about-your-actions/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“Depend on it, the nearer men draw to heaven, the more humble do they become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/depend-on-it-the-nearer-men-draw-to-heaven-the-more-humble-do-they/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“The heart of man is the same in every age. The spiritual medicine which it requires is always the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/the-heart-of-man-is-the-same-in-every-age-the-spiritual-medicine/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“Una segunda evidencia es que “veía a los prevaricadores” y se contrariaba por lo que veía a su alrededor”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/una-segunda-evidencia-es-que-ve-a-a-los-prevaricadores-y-se/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“That sin will never stand firm which is heartily prayed against…We must spread out all our case before our heavenly Physician, if He is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/that-sin-will-never-stand-firm-which-is-heartily-prayed-against-we/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“Would I learn how to be contented and cheerful under all the cares and anxieties of life ? What school shall I go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/would-i-learn-how-to-be-contented-and-cheerful-under-all-the-cares/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“The union with Christ which produces no effect on heart and life is a mere formal union, which is worthless before God. The faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/the-union-with-christ-which-produces-no-effect-on-heart-and-life-is-a/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

> [“If it really was true that all would sooner or later reach heaven, and hell sooner or later be emptied of inhabitants, it never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/if-it-really-was-true-that-all-would-sooner-or-later-reach-heaven-and/)

[J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

[Explore all 39 J.C. Ryle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/)

## More Christianity quotes

> [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/)

[Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/)

> [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/)

[Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/)

> [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/)

[Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/)

> [“some of my good Baptist brethren in Georgia had done a little preaching from the pulpit against the KKK, I would have a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-moss/some-of-my-good-baptist-brethren-in-georgia-had-done-a-little/)

[Norman Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-moss/)

> [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/)

[Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/)

> [Why do Christians sing when they are together? The reason is, quite simply, because in singing together it is possible for them to speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/why-do-christians-sing-when-they-are-together-the-reason-is-quite/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [“every church can treat each discipleship class and each worship service as an opportunity for continual rehearsal of what the words, stories, symbols, rituals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/every-church-can-treat-each-discipleship-class-and-each-worship/)

[Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/)

> [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/)

[Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/)

> [“A question for Christians who accept evolution: When did we gain a "soul"? Did Homo habilis have a soul? Homo ergaster? Did God only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/a-question-for-christians-who-accept-evolution-when-did-we-gain-a/)

[David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/)

> [The notion of a non-religious Christmas is ridiculous. But so is the insistence on the part of Christians that politicians and retailers carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/the-notion-of-a-non-religious-christmas-is-ridiculous-but-so-is-the/)

[Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/)

> [A real Christian in an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-real-christian-in-an-odd-number-anyway-he-feels-supreme-love-for/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/)

[Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/)

> [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/every-saved-person-this-side-of-heaven-owes-the-gospel-to-every-lost/)

[David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/)

> [I grew up in Synagogue in the boys' choir. We didn't listen to music in the house; only at temple. Then I went to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/i-grew-up-in-synagogue-in-the-boys-choir-we-didn-t-listen-to-music-in/)

[Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/)

[Browse all 14,385 Christianity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“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!”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "J.C. Ryle"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/myriads-of-professing-christians-nowadays-seem-utterly-unable-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Christianity"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/myriads-of-professing-christians-nowadays-seem-utterly-unable-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/j-c-ryle-2-15772_christianity_myriads-of-professing-christians-nowaday_622523.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/j-c-ryle-2-15772_christianity_myriads-of-professing-christians-nowaday_622523.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/j-c-ryle-2-15772_christianity_myriads-of-professing-christians-nowaday_622523.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Myriads of professing Christians nowadays seem utterly unable to distinguish things that differ. Like people…” — J.C. Ryle",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "J.C. Ryle",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Myriads of professing Christians nowadays seem...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/myriads-of-professing-christians-nowadays-seem-utterly-unable-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/myriads-of-professing-christians-nowadays-seem-utterly-unable-to/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
