--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think nobody alive today is a more…" description: "\"I think nobody alive today is a more powerful agent of conversion than someone like Mother Teresa. You can refute arguments but not her life. When she ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/peter-kreeft-820_abortion_i-think-nobody-alive-today-is-a-more-pow_1173347.jpg" --- # I think nobody alive today is a more powerful agent of… ![“I think nobody alive today is a more powerful agent of conversion than someone like Mother Teresa. You can refute arguments but not her life. When she came to the National Prayer Breakfast and lectured President Clinton about abortion, he had nothing to say to her. He can't argue with a saint…” quote by Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/peter-kreeft-820_abortion_i-think-nobody-alive-today-is-a-more-pow_1173347.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/peter-kreeft-820_abortion_i-think-nobody-alive-today-is-a-more-pow_1173347.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/peter-kreeft-820_abortion_i-think-nobody-alive-today-is-a-more-pow_1173347.jpg) > “I think nobody alive today is a more powerful agent of conversion than someone like Mother Teresa. You can refute arguments but not her life. When she came to the National Prayer Breakfast and lectured President Clinton about abortion, he had nothing to say to her. He can't argue with a saint. It's too bad there isn't an easier way, because becoming a saint is not the easiest thing in the world. It's much easier to become an apologist or a philosopher or a theologian.” [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A saint's lived example can persuade more powerfully than logical argument alone. **In simple terms:** Living example convinces more than words. Key Takeaway Let actions speak louder than debate. Themes faith influence morality Mood respectful inspirational Type aphilosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political speeches - religious gatherings - public debates - personal testimony Key Concepts charismatic authority ethical persuasion Questions to Reflect On - How can ordinary people emulate saintly influence? - What non‑religious examples have similar persuasive power? A Different Perspective Not everyone can emulate saintly virtue, limiting its persuasive reach. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abortion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abortion/) [Agents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agents/) [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Argue Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argue-saint-3410798/) [Arguing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arguing/) [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Breakfast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakfast/) [Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clinton/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversion/) [Easier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier/) [Easier Apologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier-apologist-3410800/) [Live for today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-for-today/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-teresa/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [President clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president-clinton/) [Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saint/) [Saint Easiest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saint-easiest-3410799/) [Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teresa/) [Teresa Refute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teresa-refute-3410797/) [Theologian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theologian/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Nudge is a great kid, but that motormouth of hers could have turned Mother Teresa into an ax murderer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nudge-is-a-great-kid-but-that-motormouth-of-hers-could-have-turned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Mother Teresa was a hero of mine for a long time. I just like the way she took on the world from a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/mother-teresa-was-a-hero-of-mine-for-a-long-time-i-just-like-the-way/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [Mother Teresa's numerical results were not her greatest contribution. Instead, she made the world-and especially India-conscious of compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/mother-teresa-s-numerical-results-were-not-her-greatest-contribution/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [I heard that someone asked Mother Teresa what was most important in her work. I thought she'd say the Rosary but she said, 'My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/i-heard-that-someone-asked-mother-teresa-what-was-most-important-in/) [Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) > [Adolf Hitler is simply the dark-side of Mother Teresa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/adolf-hitler-is-simply-the-dark-side-of-mother-teresa/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [The last person to be beatified by Pope John Paul II was Mother Teresa of Calcutta in 2003.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-matthews/the-last-person-to-be-beatified-by-pope-john-paul-ii-was-mother/) [Chris Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-matthews/) > [Many bad habits act like they're Mother Teresa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/efiosiugbore/many-bad-habits-act-like-they-re-mother-teresa/) [@efiosiugbore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/efiosiugbore/) > [Confession is something we will never outgrow, even if we become the saints God made us to be. Pope John Paul II and Mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-wuerl/confession-is-something-we-will-never-outgrow-even-if-we-become-the/) [Donald Wuerl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-wuerl/) > [I feel strongly that Mother Teresa’s life has a great message for young people. We so often feel powerless to do anything about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-kielburger/i-feel-strongly-that-mother-teresa-s-life-has-a-great-message-for/) [Craig Kielburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-kielburger/) > [I'm not Mother Teresa, but I'm not Charles Manson, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-m-not-mother-teresa-but-i-m-not-charles-manson-either/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [The picture of Mother Teresa that I remember from my childhood is of a short, sari-wearing woman scurrying down a red gravel path between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bharati-mukherjee/the-picture-of-mother-teresa-that-i-remember-from-my-childhood-is-of/) [Bharati Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bharati-mukherjee/) > [For every Mother Teresa, there's a Jeffrey Dahmer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mantegna/for-every-mother-teresa-there-s-a-jeffrey-dahmer/) [Joe Mantegna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mantegna/) > [ Everything everyone thinks they know about \[Mother Teresa\] is false. It must be the single most successful emotional con job of the twentieth century. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/everything-everyone-thinks-they-know-about-mother-teresa-is-false-it/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Two of my favorite political philosophers, Mao Zedong and Mother Teresa, not often coupled with each other, but the two people that I turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-dunn/two-of-my-favorite-political-philosophers-mao-zedong-and-mother/) [Anita Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-dunn/) ## More by Peter Kreeft > [“I strongly suspect that if we saw all the difference even the tiniest of our prayers to God make, and all the people those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/i-strongly-suspect-that-if-we-saw-all-the-difference-even-the-tiniest/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [God's love is as objective as light. Because the sun in a sense is light, or the source of light rather than being lit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/god-s-love-is-as-objective-as-light-because-the-sun-in-a-sense-is/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [The self is like a baseball. Throw it back to the divine pitcher who pitched it to you in the first place, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-self-is-like-a-baseball-throw-it-back-to-the-divine-pitcher-who/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [How will the Tower of Babel be undone? How will we understand each other in Heaven? Will we all speak English or Dutch or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/how-will-the-tower-of-babel-be-undone-how-will-we-understand-each/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Humility is the marriage bond of Heaven. Pride is the frigidity of Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/humility-is-the-marriage-bond-of-heaven-pride-is-the-frigidity-of-hell/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“Socrates says we must be either fools because we think we are wise, or wise because we know we are fools. Christ says we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/socrates-says-we-must-be-either-fools-because-we-think-we-are-wise-or/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [No sane person wants hell to exist. No sane person wants evil to exist. But hell is just evil eternalized. If there is evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/no-sane-person-wants-hell-to-exist-no-sane-person-wants-evil-to-exist/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Science only answers the question, How does it work? Or at most, What's there? Science asks what and how, philosophy asks why, myth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/science-only-answers-the-question-how-does-it-work-or-at-most-what-s/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [The most compelling evidence for God's existence is Christ. If God does not exist, then Christ was the biggest fool who ever lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-compelling-evidence-for-god-s-existence-is-christ-if-god/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“One moment of prayer, of weak worship, confused contrition, tepid thanksgiving, or pitiful petition will bring us closer to God than all the books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/one-moment-of-prayer-of-weak-worship-confused-contrition-tepid/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [God's interventions are miracles: events that cannot happen by merely natural agents but only by a supernatural agent. They no more interfere with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/god-s-interventions-are-miracles-events-that-cannot-happen-by-merely/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“And what is consensus? It means a majority of the individuals in a society coming together and agreeing to make their values into laws,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/and-what-is-consensus-it-means-a-majority-of-the-individuals-in-a/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Love is the binding force on every level of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/love-is-the-binding-force-on-every-level-of-existence/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [We can't believe what we believe to be untrue, and we can't love what we believe to be unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/we-can-t-believe-what-we-believe-to-be-untrue-and-we-can-t-love-what/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) [Explore all 361 Peter Kreeft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) ## More Abortion quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) [Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/) > [Hey everyone, in case y'all didn't hear, I'm pregnat, and after discussing it w/ my family, I've decided to get an abortion, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-badesheim/hey-everyone-in-case-y-all-didn-t-hear-i-m-pregnat-and-after/) [Madison Badesheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-badesheim/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [My favorite Founding Fathers, Christians like John Adams, were absolutely appalled by slavery, and did not own slaves. I think we're going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/my-favorite-founding-fathers-christians-like-john-adams-were/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [“David Bereit, Founder of Forty Days for Life, points out that any abortion clinic in America should have a sign in its window that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-price/david-bereit-founder-of-forty-days-for-life-points-out-that-any/) [John Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-price/) > [The Chinese describe themselves as political refugees. Many base that claim on China's strict population laws, which allow them to have only one child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/the-chinese-describe-themselves-as-political-refugees-many-base-that/) [Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/) > [I'm a pro-life candidate because I believe that science is proving us right every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/i-m-a-pro-life-candidate-because-i-believe-that-science-is-proving-us/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion…has been born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-noticed-that-everyone-who-is-for-abortion-has-been-born/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [We talk a lot about how abortion is a medical procedure, but actually if you look at what the other side is doing, they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-northup/we-talk-a-lot-about-how-abortion-is-a-medical-procedure-but-actually/) [Nancy Northup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-northup/) > [“The Vatican won't prosecute pedophile priests but I decide I'm not ready for motherhood and it's condemnation for me? These are the same people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-renee-taylor/the-vatican-won-t-prosecute-pedophile-priests-but-i-decide-i-m-not/) [Sonya Renee Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-renee-taylor/) > [Pro-lifers have long been castigated for bringing private values into the public square. But actually it is the pro-abortion position that is based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/pro-lifers-have-long-been-castigated-for-bringing-private-values-into/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [I am 100 percent pro-life and have been my whole life. 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Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-w-lynn/) [Browse all 1,629 Abortion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abortion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think nobody alive today is a more powerful agent of conversion than someone like Mother Teresa. You can refute arguments but not her life. When she came to the National Prayer Breakfast and lectured President Clinton about abortion, he had nothing to say to her. He can't argue with a saint. It's too bad there isn't an easier way, because becoming a saint is not the easiest thing in the world. 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