---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Obviously, if Christianity is going to…"
description: "\"Obviously, if Christianity is going to survive as more than a respecter and comforter of profitable inquiries, then Christians, regardless of their org..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/wendell-berry-236_answers_obviously-if-christianity-is-going-to-su_1398088.jpg"
---

#  Obviously, if Christianity is going to survive as more…

![“Obviously, if Christianity is going to survive as more than a respecter and comforter of profitable inquiries, then Christians, regardless of their organizations, are going to have to interest themselves in economy-which is to say, in nature and in work. They are going to have to give workable…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/wendell-berry-236_answers_obviously-if-christianity-is-going-to-su_1398088.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/wendell-berry-236_answers_obviously-if-christianity-is-going-to-su_1398088.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/wendell-berry-236_answers_obviously-if-christianity-is-going-to-su_1398088.jpg)

> “Obviously, if Christianity is going to survive as more than a respecter and comforter of profitable inquiries, then Christians, regardless of their organizations, are going to have to interest themselves in economy-which is to say, in nature and in work. They are going to have to give workable answers to those who say we cannot live without this economy that is destroying us and our world, who see the murder of Creation as the only way of life.”

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Christians must engage with economics and work to protect creation, offering alternatives to destructive systems.

**In simple terms:** Faith must address economic and environmental issues.

Key Takeaway

Integrate stewardship into economic thinking.

Themes

environment economics faith stewardship activism

Mood

reflective hopeful

Type

philosophical activist

When to use this quote

- Church policy
- community budgeting
- sustainable business
- environmental advocacy

Key Concepts

Creation care economic justice theology of work

Questions to Reflect On

- What economic models align with creation care?
- How can faith communities influence market practices?

A Different Perspective

Balancing spiritual duties with practical economic involvement can be complex.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Christianity Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity-going-1247304/) [Christians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christians/) [Christians Regardless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christians-regardless-4891365/) [Comforter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforter/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inquiries Christians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiries-christians-4891366/) [Inquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Our world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-world/) [Profitable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profitable/) [Stewardship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stewardship/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-life/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [Radical Christianity is not going on a missions trip or a big conference. Radical Christianity is staying steady for decades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-bickle/radical-christianity-is-not-going-on-a-missions-trip-or-a-big/)

[Mike Bickle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-bickle/)

> [“In relation to the natural world, the pleasure of Americans can be destructive in the same way that their work has already proved to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/in-relation-to-the-natural-world-the-pleasure-of-americans-can-be/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [“The divine mandate to use the world justly and charitably, then, defines every person's moral predicament as that of a steward. But this predicament…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-divine-mandate-to-use-the-world-justly-and-charitably-then/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [Once plants and animals were raised together on the same farm - which therefore neither produced unmanageable surpluses of manure, to be wasted and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/once-plants-and-animals-were-raised-together-on-the-same-farm-which/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [“Let me outline briefly as I can what seem to me the characteristics of these opposite kinds of mind. I conceive a strip-miner to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/let-me-outline-briefly-as-i-can-what-seem-to-me-the-characteristics/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [We do not need to plan or devise a "world of the future"; if we take care of the world of the present, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-do-not-need-to-plan-or-devise-a-world-of-the-future-if-we-take-2/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [The country where he lives is haunted by the ghost of an old forest. In the cleared fields where he gardens and pastures his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-country-where-he-lives-is-haunted-by-the-ghost-of-an-old-forest/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [In losing stewardship we lose fellowship; we become outcasts from the great neighborhood of creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/in-losing-stewardship-we-lose-fellowship-we-become-outcasts-from-the/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [“We depend upon other creatures and survive by their deaths. To live, we must daily break the body and shed the blood of Creation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-depend-upon-other-creatures-and-survive-by-their-deaths-to-live-we/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [Our destruction of nature is not just bad stewardship, or stupid economics, or a betrayal of family responsibility; it is the most horrid blasphemy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/our-destruction-of-nature-is-not-just-bad-stewardship-or-stupid/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [ It is possible, I think, to say that... a Christian agriculture \[is\] formed upon the understanding that it is sinful for people to misuse… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/it-is-possible-i-think-to-say-that-a-christian-agriculture-is-formed/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [“...the care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-care-of-the-earth-is-our-most-ancient-and-most-worthy-and-after-2/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [“We do not need to plan or devise a "world of the future"; if we take care of the world of the present, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-do-not-need-to-plan-or-devise-a-world-of-the-future-if-we-take/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [In the loss of skill, we lose stewardship; in losing stewardship we lose fellowship; we become outcasts from the great neighborhood of Creation. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/in-the-loss-of-skill-we-lose-stewardship-in-losing-stewardship-we/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [A protest meeting on the issue of environmental abuse is not a convocation of accusers, it is a convocation of the guilty. The realization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-protest-meeting-on-the-issue-of-environmental-abuse-is-not-a/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

## More by Wendell Berry

> [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

[Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

## More Answers quotes

> [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/)

[Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/)

> [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/)

[Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/)

[Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/)

> [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/)

[Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/)

> [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/)

[Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/)

> [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/)

[Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/)

> [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/)

[Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/)

> [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/)

[Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/)

> [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/)

[Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/)

[Browse all 7,843 Answers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Obviously, if Christianity is going to survive as more than a respecter and comforter of profitable inquiries, then Christians, regardless of their organizations, are going to have to interest themselves in economy-which is to say, in nature and in work.  They are going to have to give workable answers to those who say we cannot live without this economy that is destroying us and our world, who see the murder of Creation as the only way of life.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Wendell Berry"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/obviously-if-christianity-is-going-to-survive-as-more-than-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Answers"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/obviously-if-christianity-is-going-to-survive-as-more-than-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/wendell-berry-236_answers_obviously-if-christianity-is-going-to-su_1398088.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/wendell-berry-236_answers_obviously-if-christianity-is-going-to-su_1398088.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/wendell-berry-236_answers_obviously-if-christianity-is-going-to-su_1398088.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Obviously, if Christianity is going to survive as more than a respecter and comforter of profitable…” — Wendell Berry",
                "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": "Wendell Berry",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Obviously, if Christianity is going to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/obviously-if-christianity-is-going-to-survive-as-more-than-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/obviously-if-christianity-is-going-to-survive-as-more-than-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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
