"When
I first began to draw near to belief in God…I found a stumbling block in the
demand so clamorously made by all religious people that we should “praise” God;
still more in the suggestion that God Himself demanded it. We all despise the
man who demands continued assurance of his own virtue...
But the
most obvious fact about praise-whether of God or anything- strangely escaped
me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honour.
I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise...
The world rings with praise - lovers praising their mistresses, readers their
favourite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their
favourite game - praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges,
countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps,
rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars. I had not noticed how the
humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious, minds, praised
most, while the cranks, misfits and malcontents praised least. The good critics
found something to praise in many imperfect works; the bad ones continually
narrowed the list of books we might be allowed to read....
I had not
noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so
they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely?
Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?” The Psalmists in telling
everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they
care about.
My whole,
more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly
denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable,
what we delight to do, what indeed we cant help doing, about everything else we
value."
(CS Lewis
- from "A Word on Praise")
"When I first began to draw near
to belief in God…I found a stumbling block in the demand so clamorously made by
all religious people that we should “praise” God; still more in the suggestion
that God Himself demanded it. We all despise the man who demands continued
assurance of his own virtue...
But the most obvious fact about
praise-whether of God or anything- strangely escaped me. I thought of it in
terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honour. I had never noticed
that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise... The world rings with
praise - lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favourite poet,
walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favourite game -
praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries,
historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles,
even sometimes politicians or scholars. I had not noticed how the humblest, and
at the same time most balanced and capacious, minds, praised most, while the
cranks, misfits and malcontents praised least. The good critics found something
to praise in many imperfect works; the bad ones continually narrowed the list
of books we might be allowed to read....
I had not noticed either that just as
men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to
join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you
think that magnificent?” The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are
doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about.
My whole, more general, difficulty
about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the
supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we cant help doing,
about everything else we value."
(CS Lewis - from "A Word on
Praise")
