--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not possible to be 'incidentally a…" description: "\"It is not possible to be 'incidentally a Christian.' The fact of Christianity must be overwhelmingly first or nothing. This suggests a reason for the d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b5/sheldon-vanauken-19025_balance_it-is-not-possible-to-be-incidentally-a_2407566.jpg" --- # It is not possible to be 'incidentally a Christian.' The… ![“It is not possible to be 'incidentally a Christian.' The fact of Christianity must be overwhelmingly first or nothing. This suggests a reason for the dislike of Christians by nominal or non-Christians: their lives contain no overwhelming first but many balances.” quote by Sheldon Vanauken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b5/sheldon-vanauken-19025_balance_it-is-not-possible-to-be-incidentally-a_2407566.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b5/sheldon-vanauken-19025_balance_it-is-not-possible-to-be-incidentally-a_2407566.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b5/sheldon-vanauken-19025_balance_it-is-not-possible-to-be-incidentally-a_2407566.jpg) > “It is not possible to be 'incidentally a Christian.' The fact of Christianity must be overwhelmingly first or nothing. This suggests a reason for the dislike of Christians by nominal or non-Christians: their lives contain no overwhelming first but many balances.” [Sheldon Vanauken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-vanauken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Christian identity must be primary and decisive, not a peripheral label; lack of a central faith leads to superficiality. **In simple terms:** Faith should be central, not incidental. Key Takeaway Prioritize core beliefs over superficial affiliation. Themes faith identity authenticity Mood reflective critical Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - religious commitment - personal belief systems - community involvement Key Concepts Christianity existential meaning Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to have an "overwhelming first"? - How can one find depth beyond balance? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on doctrine may alienate seekers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Christians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christians/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [It is not possible to be incidentally a Christian. 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There are people (a great many of them) who are slowly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-world-does-not-consist-of-100-percent-christians-and-100-percent/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The University of North Carolina-Greensboro has ordered a Christian club to allow non-Christians as leaders. While we're at it, let's put high school dropouts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/the-university-of-north-carolina-greensboro-has-ordered-a-christian/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) ## More by Sheldon Vanauken > [“At my father's club, sitting before the fire, we had spoken of 'moments made eternity', meaning what are called timeless moments, moments precisely without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-vanauken/at-my-father-s-club-sitting-before-the-fire-we-had-spoken-of-moments/) [Sheldon Vanauken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-vanauken/) > [Art is first a seeing and then a revealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-vanauken/art-is-first-a-seeing-and-then-a-revealing/) [Sheldon Vanauken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-vanauken/) > [...So Englishmen saw it. 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Afraid to jump, we stand absurd, Then see behind us sink the ground and, worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-vanauken/between-the-probable-and-proved-there-yawns-a-gap-afraid-to-jump-we/) [Sheldon Vanauken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-vanauken/) > [“What we did see was that jealousy is fear: it can corrode even if quite baseless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-vanauken/what-we-did-see-was-that-jealousy-is-fear-it-can-corrode-even-if/) [Sheldon Vanauken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-vanauken/) > [“C.S. Lewis in his second letter to me at Oxford, asked how it was that I, as a product of a materialistic universe, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-vanauken/c-s-lewis-in-his-second-letter-to-me-at-oxford-asked-how-it-was-that/) [Sheldon Vanauken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-vanauken/) > [The adult must seem to mislead the child, and the Master the dog. They misread the signs. Their ignorance and their wishes twist everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-vanauken/the-adult-must-seem-to-mislead-the-child-and-the-master-the-dog-they/) [Sheldon Vanauken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-vanauken/) > […though I wouldn’t have admitted it, even to myself, I didn’t want God aboard. He was too heavy. I wanted Him approving from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-vanauken/though-i-wouldn-t-have-admitted-it-even-to-myself-i-didn-t-want-god/) [Sheldon Vanauken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-vanauken/) > [“That death, so full of suffering for us both, suffering that still overwhelmed my life, was yet a severe mercy. A mercy as severe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-vanauken/that-death-so-full-of-suffering-for-us-both-suffering-that-still/) [Sheldon Vanauken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-vanauken/) [Explore all 33 Sheldon Vanauken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-vanauken/) ## More Balance quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. 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I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [“We don't need to strive towards balance, we rather need to work on the obstacles that are preventing the natural flow of balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-alebraheem/we-don-t-need-to-strive-towards-balance-we-rather-need-to-work-on-the/) [A.A. Alebraheem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-alebraheem/) > [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. We love to write, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/i-think-that-kind-of-balance-comes-with-the-process-of-growing/) [Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. 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Five hundred miles an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/when-it-comes-down-to-music-i-have-no-balance-i-am-100-percent-it-is/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) [Browse all 5,166 Balance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not possible to be 'incidentally a Christian.' The fact of Christianity must be overwhelmingly first or nothing. 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