One must keep on pointing out that Christianity is a statement which, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.
–C.S Lewis, God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics (Walter Hooper, ed., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans 1994 reprint), p.101
Amen, thanks Kendall for the reminder of that marvelous truth.
I fear we Anglicans have a strong tendency, perhaps especially tempting for those whose instincts are unconsciously shaped by British culture, toward what I sometimes call “[i]an immoderate love of moderation.[/i]” We easily forget that “[i]Moderation in all things[/i]” (including religion) is a pagan Greek ideal that goes back to Aristotle, rather than a biblical value. Our Anglican aversion to extremism and “enthusiasm” (i.e., fanaticism to Brits) all too easily tends to lead us to paraphrase the Great Commandment as less than an ultimate principle that governs all else. You know, by unconsciously interpreting it to mean something like this: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with a moderate amount of thy heart, and a sensible amount of thy soul, and a reasonable amount of they mind and strength,” for we wouldn’t want to be fanatics now, would we?
David Handy+