--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Christianity must be regarded not as a…" description: "\"Christianity must be regarded not as a final revelation but as a phase of revelation.\" — Rebecca West" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/rebecca-west-1248_christianity_christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-f_89048.jpg" --- # Christianity must be regarded not as a final revelation… ![“Christianity must be regarded not as a final revelation but as a phase of revelation.” quote by Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/rebecca-west-1248_christianity_christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-f_89048.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/rebecca-west-1248_christianity_christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-f_89048.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/rebecca-west-1248_christianity_christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-f_89048.jpg) > “Christianity must be regarded not as a final revelation but as a phase of revelation.” [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Christianity is seen as a stage in an ongoing revelation rather than a final, unchangeable truth, implying faith evolves over time. **In simple terms:** Faith is a progressive revelation. Key Takeaway Religion can be dynamic, not static. Themes religion theology progressivism spirituality Mood thoughtful hopeful Type theological reflective When to use this quote - Interfaith dialogue about evolving doctrines - Personal spiritual growth over decades - Academic study of religious reform movements Key Concepts historical development of belief epistemic humility Practical Applications - Encourage open theological inquiry - Integrate historical context into religious education Questions to Reflect On - In what ways might your faith have changed over time? - Can a religion remain relevant without embracing new revelations? A Different Perspective Some traditions view revelation as complete, making this view controversial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Christianity Regarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity-regarded-868289/) [Final Revelation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/final-revelation-1111526/) [Finals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finals/) [Phases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phases/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Revelation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelation/) [Revelation Phase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelation-phase-1111525/) [Revelations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelations/) ## Related quotes > [The final and full revelation of God is not a book, it is a person. Jesus Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/the-final-and-full-revelation-of-god-is-not-a-book-it-is-a-person/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > ['The Last Patriot' is set in the present day but is based upon the premise that the Prophet Mohammed had a final revelation, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-thor/the-last-patriot-is-set-in-the-present-day-but-is-based-upon-the/) [Brad Thor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-thor/) > [When it began, Christianity was regarded as a system entirely beyond the range and scope of human reason; it was impious to question; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-edward-hartpole-lecky/when-it-began-christianity-was-regarded-as-a-system-entirely-beyond/) [William Edward Hartpole Lecky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-edward-hartpole-lecky/) > [From my youth onwards I have found in Jesus my great brother. That Christianity has regarded and does regard him as God and Savior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/from-my-youth-onwards-i-have-found-in-jesus-my-great-brother-that/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [“We may preach with all the fervor of a reformer and yet succeed only in winning a straggler here and there, if we permit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-gresham-machen/we-may-preach-with-all-the-fervor-of-a-reformer-and-yet-succeed-only/) [J. Gresham Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-gresham-machen/) > [Art is the clothing of a revelation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/art-is-the-clothing-of-a-revelation/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Do you know, Masha, how revelation comes? Like death. So sudden, though you knew all along it must occur. A revelation is always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/do-you-know-masha-how-revelation-comes-like-death-so-sudden-though/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [I've read the Book of Revelation a million times. It does not make sense, obviously. It needs to be decoded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/i-ve-read-the-book-of-revelation-a-million-times-it-does-not-make/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [Why is the truth, it would seem, revealed to some and not to others? Is there a special organ for receiving revelation from God?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seraphim-rose/why-is-the-truth-it-would-seem-revealed-to-some-and-not-to-others-is/) [Seraphim Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seraphim-rose/) > [We honor revelation too highly to make it the antagonist of reason, or to believe that it calls us to renounce our highest powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/we-honor-revelation-too-highly-to-make-it-the-antagonist-of-reason-or/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [REVELATION, n. A famous book in which St. John the Divine concealed all that he knew. The revealing is done by the commentators, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/revelation-n-a-famous-book-in-which-st-john-the-divine-concealed-all/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [If we have to sum up the Book of Revelation in one phrase, it would be, 'Jesus wins.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jud-wilhite/if-we-have-to-sum-up-the-book-of-revelation-in-one-phrase-it-would-be/) [Jud Wilhite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jud-wilhite/) > [No man can come to God but by an extraordinary revelation of the Spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/no-man-can-come-to-god-but-by-an-extraordinary-revelation-of-the/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Mine would be, "We will stand together, he and I. One in victory, one in shame. Only then can I truly own the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mine-would-be-we-will-stand-together-he-and-i-one-in-victory-one-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Therefore, brethren, pray until God gives us revelation so that "knowing this" in our spirit we may truly confess "that our old man has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/therefore-brethren-pray-until-god-gives-us-revelation-so-that-knowing/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) ## More by Rebecca West > [I see the main problem of my life, and indeed anybody's life, as the balancing of competitive freedoms ... a sense of mutual obligations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/i-see-the-main-problem-of-my-life-and-indeed-anybody-s-life-as-the/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“There is, of course, no reason for the existence of the male sex except that sometimes one needs help with moving the piano.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/there-is-of-course-no-reason-for-the-existence-of-the-male-sex-except/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“At the top of a hill our automobile stuck in a snowdrift. Peasants ran out of a cottage near by, shouting with laughter because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/at-the-top-of-a-hill-our-automobile-stuck-in-a-snowdrift-peasants-ran/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [We all drew on the comfort which is given out by the major works of Mozart, which is as real and material as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/we-all-drew-on-the-comfort-which-is-given-out-by-the-major-works-of/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Art and propaganda have this much connection, that if a propaganda makes art impossible, it is clearly damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/art-and-propaganda-have-this-much-connection-that-if-a-propaganda/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [The American struggle for the vote was much more difficult than the English for the simple reason that it was much more easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/the-american-struggle-for-the-vote-was-much-more-difficult-than-the/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [ Like all bad drivers, he \[Henry Andrews\] thought he was the best driver in the world... ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/like-all-bad-drivers-he-henry-andrews-thought-he-was-the-best-driver/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [The childhood of the individual and the race is full of fears, and panic-stricken attempts to avert what is feared by placating the gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/the-childhood-of-the-individual-and-the-race-is-full-of-fears-and/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Humanity is never more sphinxlike than when it is expressing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/humanity-is-never-more-sphinxlike-than-when-it-is-expressing-itself/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [ \[On Jane Austen:\] To believe her limited in range because she was harmonious in method is as sensible as to imagine that when the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/on-jane-austen-to-believe-her-limited-in-range-because-she-was/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [a good oyster cannot please the palate as acutely as a bad one can revolt it, and a good oyster cannot make him who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/a-good-oyster-cannot-please-the-palate-as-acutely-as-a-bad-one-can/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [If there is a God, I don't think He would demand that anyone bow down or stand up to Him. I often have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/if-there-is-a-god-i-don-t-think-he-would-demand-that-anyone-bow-down/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Any authentic work of art must start an argument between the artist and his audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/any-authentic-work-of-art-must-start-an-argument-between-the-artist/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [... there has never been a period in history when there have been necessary killings which has not been instantly followed by a period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/there-has-never-been-a-period-in-history-when-there-have-been/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“Behind me the past was darker than I had known it, not only irrecoverable, but unexplored, unexplorable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/behind-me-the-past-was-darker-than-i-had-known-it-not-only/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) [Explore all 264 Rebecca West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) ## 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. 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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": "Christianity must be regarded not as a final revelation but as a phase of revelation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rebecca West" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-final-revelation-but-as-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Christianity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-final-revelation-but-as-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/rebecca-west-1248_christianity_christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-f_89048.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/rebecca-west-1248_christianity_christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-f_89048.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/rebecca-west-1248_christianity_christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-f_89048.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Christianity must be regarded not as a final revelation but as a phase of revelation.” — Rebecca West", "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": "Rebecca West", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Christianity must be regarded not as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-final-revelation-but-as-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-final-revelation-but-as-a/#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 } } ] } ```