--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They preferred the invention because this…" description: "\"“They preferred the invention because this invention expressed and corroborated their hates and fears so perfectly. It is just as well to remember that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf4/james-baldwin-995_christianity_they-preferred-the-invention-because-thi_547473.jpg" --- # They preferred the invention because this invention… ![“They preferred the invention because this invention expressed and corroborated their hates and fears so perfectly. It is just as well to remember that people are always doing this. Perhaps many of those legends, including Christianity, to which the world clings began their conquest of the world…” quote by James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf4/james-baldwin-995_christianity_they-preferred-the-invention-because-thi_547473.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf4/james-baldwin-995_christianity_they-preferred-the-invention-because-thi_547473.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf4/james-baldwin-995_christianity_they-preferred-the-invention-because-thi_547473.jpg) > ““They preferred the invention because this invention expressed and corroborated their hates and fears so perfectly. It is just as well to remember that people are always doing this. Perhaps many of those legends, including Christianity, to which the world clings began their conquest of the world with just some such concerted surrender to distortion.”” [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage argues that societies distort myths to justify hatred, noting that many religions, including Christianity, have historically been used to legitimize oppression. **In simple terms:** Myths are twisted to support hate, even in religions. Key Takeaway Question and challenge distorted narratives. Themes power mythmaking religion racism Mood thoughtful provocative Type philosophical social critique When to use this quote - education - interfaith dialogue - policy reform - media literacy Key Concepts social control historical revisionism Questions to Reflect On - How can we responsibly reinterpret religious narratives? - What role does critical thinking play in dismantling hate? A Different Perspective Can confronting myths lead to deeper division? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) ## Related quotes > [Perils as well as privileges attend the higher Christian life. The nearer we come to God, the thicker the hosts of darkness in heavenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-simpson/perils-as-well-as-privileges-attend-the-higher-christian-life-the/) [A. B. 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Some people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-mcmanus/my-goal-is-to-destroy-christianity-as-a-world-religion-and-be-a/) [Erwin McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-mcmanus/) > [Aggressive Christianity is the world's greatest need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-simpson/aggressive-christianity-is-the-world-s-greatest-need/) [A. B. Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-b-simpson/) > [As we benefit from the inventions of others, we should be glad to share our own ... freely and gladly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/as-we-benefit-from-the-inventions-of-others-we-should-be-glad-to/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs. For in invention nature is never last, education never first;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-art-then-imitate-nature-find-what-she-desires-and-follow-as-she/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More by James Baldwin > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that people live, and have lived here, are so ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-south-is-very-beautiful-but-its-beauty-makes-one-sad-because-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“All cultures have, furthermore, an economic, social, and political base, and no culture can continue to live if its political destiny is not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/all-cultures-have-furthermore-an-economic-social-and-political-base/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“I remembered that life in that room seemed to be occuring beneath the sea, time flowed past indiffrently above us, hours and days had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-remembered-that-life-in-that-room-seemed-to-be-occuring-beneath-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“No. It would help if I were able to feel guilty.But the end of innocence is also the end of guilt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/no-it-would-help-if-i-were-able-to-feel-guilty-but-the-end-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“Perhaps now, though, he had hit bottom. 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