attitude to authority

"By the very nature of the Christian faith... the Christian mind has an attitude to authority which modern secularism cannot even understand, let alone tolerate. It follows from all that has been said about the God-given nature of the Christian revelation and the Christian Church that they must command a whole-hearted allegiance from Christians; for Christians are, by definition, men who accept the revelation and the Church for what they are, the visible vehicles of God's action in the world. That which is divinely established and divinely guaranteed calls forth from men, not an egalitarian attachment, but a bending submission. One cannot seriously contemplate the first elementary truths of Christianity -- the doctrine of the divine creation of man and his world, the doctrine of the Redemption, and the doctrine of the Church, without realizing that here is something which is either authoritative and binding, or false; deserving of submission or of total neglect. Reason allows no place for a casual, one-man-to-another approach to God and his demands. It is either the bowed head or the turned back."

~ Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind: How Should a Christian Think? (1963, 1980; Regent College edition, 2005) p. 132.

This book has remained in print for over 50 years. Here's more on Harry Blamires, who passed away two years ago at the age of 101. He was a protege of C. S. Lewis. Here is his obituary.

Comments

thetimeofyourlife24x7.com said…

A Christian does not need scientific proof that God exists. Faith is enough. Likewise Christians do not need the approval of society. The Bible is our authority.

August 22, 2019 at 9:08 AM

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