This is part of a series exploring quotations attributed to C.S. Lewis that are questionable for one reason or another. Presently a new article is posted the first Saturday of each month. There is an “at a glance” page HERE to quickly see what has been posted so far in this series. Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to read the INTRODUCTION to this series.
“Everything is different because of the Resurrection.”
This is such a wonderfully worded quotation, isn’t it. Too bad Lewis didn’t say it exactly as stated above. However, Rev. Mark A. Davenport shared these exact words in his church newsletter in early 2013. He stated it after sharing a quotation from Lewis found in the book Miracles: A Preliminary Study.
Rev. Davenport was summarizing the meaning of what Lewis stated. The exact words from Lewis are:
“He forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so.”
Of course, the “He” is Jesus, but without the other sentences it is unclear what the words “has done so” means.
Interestingly, the picture above did NOT come from the pastor’s church. The original version shows a logo for a ministry called Serving His Children. Yet, when I visited their site I was not able to find the picture that showed up on Facebook with their logo.
If you want to find out the “rules” for making changes to quotations correctly then check out this page from Ask Betty.
Reconsidering what Lewis wrote, there is another sentence that helps make the quotation even more meaningful. So, here’s my suggestion for what to share:
The next quote examined is:
“Try to remember that the ‘bottomless sea’ can’t hurt us as long as we keep on swimming.”
Related Articles:
What Lewis NEVER Wrote (Podcast)
Not Quite Lewis – Podcast Version
Not Quite Lewis – Questionable Lewisian Quotations (Conf. Paper)