--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your doctrine can be as straight as a gun…" description: "\"Your doctrine can be as straight as a gun barrel and just as empty!\" — Leonard Ravenhill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/leonard-ravenhill-1175_barrels_your-doctrine-can-be-as-straight-as-a-gu_1030918.png" --- # Your doctrine can be as straight as a gun barrel and just… ![“Your doctrine can be as straight as a gun barrel and just as empty!” quote by Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/leonard-ravenhill-1175_barrels_your-doctrine-can-be-as-straight-as-a-gu_1030918.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/leonard-ravenhill-1175_barrels_your-doctrine-can-be-as-straight-as-a-gu_1030918.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/leonard-ravenhill-1175_barrels_your-doctrine-can-be-as-straight-as-a-gu_1030918.png) > “Your doctrine can be as straight as a gun barrel and just as empty!” [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Warns that rigid doctrine without substance is hollow and ineffective **In simple terms:** Dogma can be as empty as a gun barrel Key Takeaway Seek depth beyond mere formality Themes faith dogma emptiness Mood critical inquisitive Type sermon theological When to use this quote - church services - religious study groups - personal meditation - public debates Key Concepts Spiritual authenticity critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can doctrine stay meaningful without becoming empty? - What practices add substance to belief systems? A Different Perspective May dismiss structured traditions that provide community ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Barrel Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barrel-just-2354343/) [Barrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barrels/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Doctrine Straight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine-straight-2354341/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun/) [Gun Barrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun-barrel-309813/) [Straight Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight-gun-2354342/) ## Related quotes > [You can be straight as a gun barrel theologically, and as empty as one spiritually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/you-can-be-straight-as-a-gun-barrel-theologically-and-as-empty-as-one/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [The interesting thing about staring down a gun barrel is how small the hole is where the bullet comes out, yet what a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-interesting-thing-about-staring-down-a-gun-barrel-is-how-small/) [P. 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I felt very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/his-gun-was-a-357-magnum-great-for-whale-hunting-it-was-overkill-for/) [Laurell K. 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Do you say 'Yes, I am saved'. When? 'Oh so and so preached,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/if-i-was-to-ask-you-tonight-if-you-were-saved-do-you-say-yes-i-am/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [The world out there is not waiting for a new definition of Christianity; it's waiting for a new demonstration of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/the-world-out-there-is-not-waiting-for-a-new-definition-of/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [John the Baptist never performed any miracles. Yet, he was greater than any of the Old Testament prophets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/john-the-baptist-never-performed-any-miracles-yet-he-was-greater-than/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [“Who or what takes priority over God in our lives?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/who-or-what-takes-priority-over-god-in-our-lives/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [Get rid of this bunkum about the 'carnal Christian'. Forget it! If you're carnal, you're not saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/get-rid-of-this-bunkum-about-the-carnal-christian-forget-it-if-you-re/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [Why is there this criminal indifference to the lostness of men? Our condemnation is that we know how to live better than we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/why-is-there-this-criminal-indifference-to-the-lostness-of-men-our/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [I find it most intriguing to contemplate the fact that while men are considering what place to give Jesus Christ in history, He has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/i-find-it-most-intriguing-to-contemplate-the-fact-that-while-men-are/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [If a Christian is not having tribulation in the world, there's something wrong!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/if-a-christian-is-not-having-tribulation-in-the-world-there-s/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [The Bible parable says that while men slept, the enemy sowed tares among the wheat. A boy who rises at 4:30 to deliver papers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/the-bible-parable-says-that-while-men-slept-the-enemy-sowed-tares/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [Ministers who do not spend two hours a day in prayer are not worth a dime a dozen - degrees or no degrees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/ministers-who-do-not-spend-two-hours-a-day-in-prayer-are-not-worth-a/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [You know, we live in a day when we are more afraid of holiness than we are of sinfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/you-know-we-live-in-a-day-when-we-are-more-afraid-of-holiness-than-we/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [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/) > [What's the condition of America like, spiritually, tonight? Zero. Why? Because we've got blind men coming out of seminaries. Men there don't teach them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/what-s-the-condition-of-america-like-spiritually-tonight-zero-why/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) [Explore all 279 Leonard Ravenhill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) ## More Barrels quotes > [It's good to find the barrel of the bat again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-utley/it-s-good-to-find-the-barrel-of-the-bat-again/) [Chase Utley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chase-utley/) > [The benevolence of wrapping the partridge in a vine leaf brings out its quality, just as the barrel of Diogenes brought forth the qualities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-des-essarts/the-benevolence-of-wrapping-the-partridge-in-a-vine-leaf-brings-out/) [Emmanuel des Essarts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-des-essarts/) > [You could pay a fair market price for a barrel of oil and cut 50 cents a barrel or a dollar barrel off what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bolling/you-could-pay-a-fair-market-price-for-a-barrel-of-oil-and-cut-50/) [Eric Bolling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bolling/) > [ \[Norden\] said, with the Mark 15 Norden bombsight, he could drop a bomb into a pickle barrel at 20,000 feet. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/norden-said-with-the-mark-15-norden-bombsight-he-could-drop-a-bomb/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [When the landscape buckles and jerks around, when a dust column of debris rises from the collapse of a block of buildings on bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/when-the-landscape-buckles-and-jerks-around-when-a-dust-column-of/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [The sudden release of five million barrels of oil, enormous quantities of methane and two million gallons of toxic dispersants into an already greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/the-sudden-release-of-five-million-barrels-of-oil-enormous-quantities/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [In addition, each barrel of oil we save through conservation further decreases our dangerous reliance on unstable Middle East oil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gillmor/in-addition-each-barrel-of-oil-we-save-through-conservation-further/) [Paul Gillmor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gillmor/) > [Muzzle control has to be a religion. You cannot point that weapon at one of your brothers-or yourself. Know where you barrel is at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-couch/muzzle-control-has-to-be-a-religion-you-cannot-point-that-weapon-at/) [Dick Couch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-couch/) > [The defense budget is more than a piggy bank for people who want to get busy beating swords into pork barrels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-defense-budget-is-more-than-a-piggy-bank-for-people-who-want-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Today's political leaders demonstrate their low opinion of the public with every social law they pass. They believe that, if given the right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-skousen/today-s-political-leaders-demonstrate-their-low-opinion-of-the-public/) [Mark Skousen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-skousen/) > [Europe and North America, we are told, are less dependent on energy-intensive heavy industry than in the 1960s and 1970s. 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