--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At the time, I thought my colleague’s…" description: "\"“At the time, I thought my colleague’s views sounded absurdly legalistic: if Christianity had lost all its living and breathing followers in Tunisia (s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/386/philip-jenkins-10529_christianity_at-the-time-i-thought-my-colleague-s-vie_1882317.jpg" --- # At the time, I thought my colleague’s views sounded… ![“At the time, I thought my colleague’s views sounded absurdly legalistic: if Christianity had lost all its living and breathing followers in Tunisia (say), what did it matter if the institutional minutiae survived? But on reflection, I think he was making a worthwhile point about the time span of…” quote by Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/386/philip-jenkins-10529_christianity_at-the-time-i-thought-my-colleague-s-vie_1882317.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/386/philip-jenkins-10529_christianity_at-the-time-i-thought-my-colleague-s-vie_1882317.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/386/philip-jenkins-10529_christianity_at-the-time-i-thought-my-colleague-s-vie_1882317.jpg) > ““At the time, I thought my colleague’s views sounded absurdly legalistic: if Christianity had lost all its living and breathing followers in Tunisia (say), what did it matter if the institutional minutiae survived? But on reflection, I think he was making a worthwhile point about the time span of human history. The scriptures of many religions remind us that the divine does not necessarily work according to our concepts of time. As the Psalmist declares, “\[A\] thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past, like a watch in the night.” Perhaps only our limited awareness of time leads us to think that the ruin of a church has happened “forever,” when all we mean is that, by our mortal standards, we can see no chance of it being reversed. In fact, religions are like biological organisms, which do not become extinct just because they are driven from a particular environment. Provided they continue to exist elsewhere, they might well return someday to recolonize. And often, in the human context, memories of that historical precedent help shape the new settlement.”” [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that religious decline is not permanent; faith persists like organisms, resurfacing over time despite setbacks. **In simple terms:** Religions can survive and return after decline. Key Takeaway Consider long‑term resilience of ideas. Themes history religion resilience Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - church closures - cultural revival - interfaith dialogue - historical analysis - mission work Key Concepts survival biological metaphor temporal perspective Questions to Reflect On - How do societies preserve faith? - What signals a religious resurgence? A Different Perspective Belief can revive even after apparent extinction; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Christianity Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity-lost-2666940/) [History Scriptures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-scriptures-2666941/) [Religions Remind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religions-remind-2023439/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-thought/) ## Related quotes > [“The spirit of mercy is found in all the world's great religions , and they remind us of our charge in caring for Creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-pacelle/the-spirit-of-mercy-is-found-in-all-the-world-s-great-religions-and/) [Wayne Pacelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-pacelle/) > [Islam and Islamic values now have a level of immunity from comment and criticism in the Western world that Christianity has lost and Judaism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lewis/islam-and-islamic-values-now-have-a-level-of-immunity-from-comment/) [Bernard Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lewis/) > [No one ever converted to Christianity because they lost the argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/no-one-ever-converted-to-christianity-because-they-lost-the-argument/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [All religions remind us that actions have consequences for which guilt can and must be acknowledged, forgiveness humbly begged, reconciliation sought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-l-woodward/all-religions-remind-us-that-actions-have-consequences-for-which/) [Kenneth L. Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-l-woodward/) > [And if a man reads very hard, as the old anecdote reminds us, he will have little time for thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/and-if-a-man-reads-very-hard-as-the-old-anecdote-reminds-us-he-will/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“I know that I want to spend all my time with him, and he’s always my first thought when I wake and my last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aurora-rose-reynolds/i-know-that-i-want-to-spend-all-my-time-with-him-and-he-s-always-my/) [Aurora Rose Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aurora-rose-reynolds/) > [“If he has a last thought, if there is time for a last thought, it will simply be, So this is what a last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/if-he-has-a-last-thought-if-there-is-time-for-a-last-thought-it-will/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [A moment's thought would have shown him. But a moment is a long time, and thought is a painful process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/a-moment-s-thought-would-have-shown-him-but-a-moment-is-a-long-time/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [“I'd love her until the end of time, he thought. An hour later he'd already forgotten the matter completely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-d-love-her-until-the-end-of-time-he-thought-an-hour-later-he-d/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“But at the time I thought that if I could just get the world to see me the way I saw myself then my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabourey-sidibe/but-at-the-time-i-thought-that-if-i-could-just-get-the-world-to-see/) [Gabourey Sidibe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabourey-sidibe/) > [There was a time I thought I'd never see the sun again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ray-hinton/there-was-a-time-i-thought-i-d-never-see-the-sun-again/) [Anthony Ray Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ray-hinton/) > [Mankind might be divided between multitude who hate to be kept waiting because they get bored and the happy few who rather like it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-dimnet/mankind-might-be-divided-between-multitude-who-hate-to-be-kept/) [Ernest Dimnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-dimnet/) > [One has so much time for thought in the country! However occupied one may be, 'tis with nothing that engrosses the mind, which works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugenie-de-guerin/one-has-so-much-time-for-thought-in-the-country-however-occupied-one/) [Eugenie de Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugenie-de-guerin/) > [“Hierarchy was like breathing: the only time you thought about it was when something went wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-time-you-thought-about-it-was/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [There was a period of time when I thought I had to be Alice Cooper all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/there-was-a-period-of-time-when-i-thought-i-had-to-be-alice-cooper/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) ## More by Philip Jenkins > [“Yet even when such languages did not face direct official sanction, speakers of older tongues knew that they had little chance of getting on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/yet-even-when-such-languages-did-not-face-direct-official-sanction/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [“Christianity offers similar stories, and the global Christianity that perished in the late Middle Ages has revived in the past century. China offers an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/christianity-offers-similar-stories-and-the-global-christianity-that/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [“Where the African church failed was in not carrying Christianity beyond the Romanized inhabitants of the cities and the great estates, and not sinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/where-the-african-church-failed-was-in-not-carrying-christianity/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [“Christians believe that God speaks through history; and only by knowing that history can we hope to interpret momentous events like the Japanese persecutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/christians-believe-that-god-speaks-through-history-and-only-by/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [“Perhaps theological attempts to explain the destruction of churches or of “Christian nations” are asking the wrong question, if they judge success and failure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/perhaps-theological-attempts-to-explain-the-destruction-of-churches/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [“Another difficulty with the reservation scheme was that it reinforced the popular association of Christianity with foreign imperialism, and thus with enmity to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/another-difficulty-with-the-reservation-scheme-was-that-it-reinforced/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [“Far from anti-Christian purges ceasing with the official end of war in 1918, they actually intensified during the ensuing war between Greece and Turkey.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/far-from-anti-christian-purges-ceasing-with-the-official-end-of-war/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [“Middle Eastern Christians, in short, tried every possible tactic to survive and flourish, and their efforts have largely failed. Partly, this is a matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/middle-eastern-christians-in-short-tried-every-possible-tactic-to/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [“Besides the missionary theology cultivated by many churches, we also need a theology of extinction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/besides-the-missionary-theology-cultivated-by-many-churches-we-also/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [“Our accepted chronology of the ancient church is wrong: ancient Semitic Christianity dies out not in the fourth century, but in the fourteenth.8”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/our-accepted-chronology-of-the-ancient-church-is-wrong-ancient/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [“Christianity in this region remained as much a colonists’ religion as it would be once again during the French Empire of the twentieth century,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/christianity-in-this-region-remained-as-much-a-colonists-religion-as/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [“Any acquaintance with recent history made nonsense of any claim that God was on the side of Christian states. As one scholar suggests, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/any-acquaintance-with-recent-history-made-nonsense-of-any-claim-that/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [“For much of the history of Islam, moreover, the Christian world was not noticeably ahead in political or economic power, or in culture. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/for-much-of-the-history-of-islam-moreover-the-christian-world-was-not/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [“While nobody can pretend that Christian religious practice is thriving in most of Europe, the situation is nothing as grim as some recent accounts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/while-nobody-can-pretend-that-christian-religious-practice-is/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [Religion appears in so many contexts in WW1. Religion shaped the national identities and ambitions of several of the key players, especially Germany and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/religion-appears-in-so-many-contexts-in-ww1-religion-shaped-the/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) [Explore all 65 Philip Jenkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) ## 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": "“At the time, I thought my colleague’s views sounded absurdly legalistic: if Christianity had lost all its living and breathing followers in Tunisia (say), what did it matter if the institutional minutiae survived? But on reflection, I think he was making a worthwhile point about the time span of human history. The scriptures of many religions remind us that the divine does not necessarily work according to our concepts of time. As the Psalmist declares, “[A] thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past, like a watch in the night.” Perhaps only our limited awareness of time leads us to think that the ruin of a church has happened “forever,” when all we mean is that, by our mortal standards, we can see no chance of it being reversed. In fact, religions are like biological organisms, which do not become extinct just because they are driven from a particular environment. Provided they continue to exist elsewhere, they might well return someday to recolonize. 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