Damned Nonsense

If you do not take the distinction between good and bad very seriously, then it is easy to say that anything you find in this world is a part of God. But, of course, if you think some things really bad, and God really good, then you cannot talk like that. You must believe that God is separate from the world and that some of the things we see in it are contrary to His will. Confronted with a cancer or a slum the Pantheist can say, ‘If you could only see it from the divine point of view, you would realize that this also is God.’ The Christian replies, ‘Don’t talk damned nonsense.’ For Christianity is a fighting religion. It thinks God made the world—that space and time, heat and cold, and all the colors and tastes, and all the animals and vegetables, are things that God ‘made up out of His head’ as a man makes up a story. But it also thinks that a great many things have gone wrong with the world that God made and that God insists, and insists very loudly, on our putting them right again. —C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

In a footnote, Lewis addressed a complaint identifying his use of the word ‘damned’ as “frivolous swearing." Lewis responded, "But I mean exactly what I say—for nonsense that is damned is under God's curse and will (apart from God's grace) lead those who believe it to eternal death." Christianity recognize we live in a high-stakes universe where truth is of eternal significance. There is a time and place in apologetics for treading lightly, but there is also a time and place for condemning faulty beliefs, particularly when they promote nonsense that will lead its adherents to damnation. But condemning false teachings isn’t the end of it. We must also offer valid and compelling reasons for our faith in the context of positive and thoughtful arguments in favor of Christ and the Gospel. The very best argument we have to offer is the testimony of our own lives, radically impacted by the love of our Lord and Savior. The very best sermons aren’t spoken in words but embodied in love and grace. —DH