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You can put this another way by saying that while in other sciences the instruments you use are things external to yourself (things like microscopes and telescopes), the instrument through which you see God is your whole self. And if a man's self is not kept clean and bright, his glimpse of God will be blurred - like the Moon seen through a dirty telescope. That is why horrible nations have horrible religions: they have been looking at God through a dirty lens.

C. S. Lewis#67

FaithSpiritualityPerceptionPuritySelf

About this quote

What does it mean?
The self is the instrument for seeing God; if the self is unclean, the view is blurred.
In plain terms
Yourself is the tool to see God; if you are unclean, the view is unclear.
What can you take from it?
Personal purity affects spiritual perception.

Where it applies

  • reflecting on faith
  • comparing spiritual tools
  • discussing nations

Putting it to work

  • maintaining integrity
  • seeking clarity
  • evaluating beliefs

Questions to consider

  • How does self affect belief?
  • What makes a view clear?

Another view

The metaphor assumes a direct link between cleanliness and truth.

More from C. S. Lewis

  1. What can you ever really know of other people's souls - of their temptations, their opportunities, their struggles? One soul in the whole of creation you do kn…

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  2. Among these Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He was God. He claims to forgive sins. He says He has always existed. He says He is…

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  3. When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong they need your …

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