Passing Thoughts on C.S. Lewis

The Inner Ring

2009-01-28T07:06:00.000-08:00

The inner ring is something that everyone can relate to. Many days we are led to believe that the inner ring only existed during middle school and high school. Lewis however points out that the inner ring is part of our everyday life. Even though it may not be the social inner ring that we had in middle school it is still there. Even worse, the inner ring may have become the inner rings that expand with our growing world of responsibilities. Lewis is correct when he states that our desires will deceive us. Lewis writes, "The quest for the inner ring will break your hearts unless you break it." I look at myself and can easily find all of the inner rings that I want to be part of. It has become a built in program to my brain that tells me to do everything. The inner ring sense tells me to study hard so that I can be part of an elite group of people or talk to certain people so that I can become part of a group who is having more fun than I seem to be. Even though destroying the quest for the inner ring may be difficult it has the power to change lives. By simply living a life not to be in the inner ring you will find yourself inside. However, this time there is not a ring which can slowly corrupt a good man into a bad one. We are free to travel and not be sucked into corruption by the inner ring.

The Problem of Pain

2009-01-28T06:27:00.000-08:00

C.S. Lewis confronts one of the deepest problems in our society today, the problem of pain. He eloquently attempt to make sense of some of the pain that humans experience. Lewis makes a number of points that helped me to think about the pain that I experience. The first point that Lewis makes is that human cause four-fifths of the suffering on the Earth. Even though I am interested in how Lewis gets a percentage of four-fifths, the point is very striking. As humans we create most of the suffering that we experience. We often ask God why He lets us suffer but then we learn that humans have inflicted pain on themselves. This is a sad but true consequence. The second point Lewis makes that I enjoy is, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." This is both a comforting and troubling fact. Comforting because we know that God is there for us in our pain. Troubling in that humans seem to always forget about God during the good times. As a college student I can attest to this. They say that time flies when you're having fun. It goes so fast that I often simply forget about God. In a perfect world it would be easy to see that earthly desires are nothing compared to the glory of God. However, the trappings and sin of our fallen world makes it that much easier to forget about God while having fun. The third part of Lewis' writing that I found interesting was when Lewis describes what he thinks of pain. His words are worth repeating at length here:

"When I think of pain - of anxiety that gnaws like fire and loneliness that spreads out like a desert, and the heartbreaking routine of monotonous misery, or again of dull aches that blacken our whole landscape or sudden nauseating pains that know a man's heart our at one blow, of pains that seem already intolerable and then are suddenly increased, of infuriating scorpion-stinging pains that startle into maniacal movement a man who seemed half dead with his previous tortures - it 'quite o'ercrows my spirit.'"

Lewis goes on to state that his pain is no different than our pain. Lewis seems to simply abandon thinking about pain and simply begins an almost poetic paragraph to describe pain. Sometimes that is all that we can do. Thankfully we have hope in Jesus Christ but that sometimes feels like it may not be enough.

Plantinga Chapter Four

2009-01-25T08:30:00.000-08:00

The fourth chapter of Engaging God's World is one that calls for humbleness as well as action. Our redemption come from a God who consistently bails us out. From the beginnings of the Bible to now, God has rescued his people time and time again. Plantinga writes, "God rescues people ant then lays down the law." However, God laws are ones that are for our benefit or as Plantinga calls them, "pro-life." Obedience to God's laws will help us prosper. Even so we still fall short and must be humble. Thank goodness we are saved by God's persistent grace. The death of Christ on the cross for our sins built a union between humans and God. God is not longer a distant figure who stands over us rescuing us and punishing us again and again. God became one of us in Jesus Christ and that is our calling to action. As Christians we are called to reform all things. Everything, including our beliefs are in constant need of reformation. However, we must not get carried away by talks of reformation. Christians must reform by Biblical standards, by the laws set out by God in order for us to prosper. The modern church today is often troubled by this call for reformation. Changing generations requires some changes to how the church operates. I can say that I personally have witnessed a church that has transformed away from Christianity in my view. As Christians we will continue to debate and hopefully grow through our differences. As C.S. Lewis wrote in our first reading, we should be sure to look at more than one viewpoint without prejudices in order to gain a full knowledge and understanding of what needs to be done. Our redemption in Christ calls us to action in order to transfrom and glorify God's kingdom.

Man or Rabbit?

2009-01-24T12:34:00.000-08:00

Lewis asks, "Can't you lead a good life without believing in Christianity?" The short and difficult answer for all Christians should be "No." Short because it is clear what the Bible requires for us. Difficult because we see so many people who have been extremely good people without being Christian. Lewis writes near the end of his essay, "The idea of reaching 'a good life' without Christ is based on a double error. Firstly, we cannot do it; and secondly; in setting up 'a good life' as our final goal, we have missed the very point of our existence." He has made it clear to everyone that it is not possible to live a good life without being Christian. However, nonbelievers point out that all over the world people are living a good life by helping others who are less fortunate than they are. The problem is that nonbelievers only provide help with earthly things. They may help improve the lives of people on Earth but they can do nothing to help those same people eternally. As Christians we are called to glorify God in everything that we do and that is what matters. For a nonbeliever to give their life to Christ is enough to say that a person has a good life. The nonbeliever has looked past his or her own life on earth and looked towards an eternal life all due to the opportunity for salvation in Jesus Christ. A nonbeliever may ask how we know if we have lived a good enough life. God calls us to do more but He does not punish us for doing less. There is no possible way that we could measure up to the standards of God for living a good life. That is the beauty of being a Christian. How do we know that we have lead a good life? Because accepting Christ is simply enough. We have no fear that we have fallen short or have not done the right things to be near the One who has given us everything.

The Abolition of Man

2009-01-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

After reading The Abolition of Man once and two different summaries I can say that I still have not fully comprehended what Lewis is trying to say. I guess that could be a bit of bad news. However there is good news. The parts that I did understand I have enjoyed thoroughly. The first part that I enjoyed was the second "Men without Chests." Lewis writes, "In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function....We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst." Lewis argues that education which is taught will be the destruction of society that accepts it. I believe that this can be applied today just as it was when Lewis said it. Society today asks many questions that it knows the answer to. I more applicable quote for today could be: we methodically disassemble the economy and then wonder why it does not work. Or, we cut funding from schools and then wonder why only two-thirds of high schoolers graduate. Lewis has a very valid and applicable point.

Lewis also works to help people see that their instincts will lead them astray. So often we believe that our instincts will lead us in the right path but this can be deceiving. Lewis writes, "Telling us to obey instinct is like telling us to obey 'people'. People say different things: so do instincts. Our instincts are at war." One instinct will be gratified at the expense of the rest. We must be very careful when we follow our instincts. No matter what we believe our selfishness and subjective nature will lead us down an unhealthy path.

The Four Loves: Eros

2009-01-21T16:34:00.000-08:00

C.S. Lewis goes into great detail about Eros in his writing The Four Loves. This section may be better understood by someone who is married rather than someone who is still single. None the less this writing provides some excellent thoughts on what love really means. Eros is defined as "that state which we call 'being in love'; or if you prefer, that kind of love which lovers are 'in.'" I was surprised when Lewis separates sexuality and Eros love. Lewis writes, "Sexuality may operate without Eros or as part of Eros." A true reply of Eros love Lewis writes would be, "To go on thinking of her." I believe that this sentence would make a good billboard. Since so many marriages end in divorce in the United States it seems that people are definitely thinking of something besides their relationships. Lewis goes on to say, "But in Eros, a Need, at its most intense, sees the object most intensely as a thing admirable in herself, important far beyond her relation to the lover's need." More words of wisdom from Lewis however I don't know if this would fit as well on a billboard.

The other part of "Eros" that I enjoyed was where Lewis compares the relationship between husband and wife to the relationship between Christ and the Church. He writes, "The husband is the head of the wife just in so far as he is to her what Christ is to the Church. He is to love her as Christ love the Church...and give his life for her (Eph. V, 25)." Even though there is no way that human relationships can be as flawless as Christ's relationship with the Church it still provides a great example. Christ loved the Church so much that he died for us. Many people believe that their love is as strong as that when they get married but so often they fall short. Eros love is much harder to reveal than it appears.

Learning in War Time

2009-01-20T18:06:00.000-08:00

Learning in War Time is now one of my favorite writings by C.S. Lewis. He asks the question, "He must ask himself how it is right, or even psychologically possible, for creatures who are every moment advancing either to heaven or hell, to spend any fraction of the little time allowed them in this world on such comparative trivialities as literature or art, mathematics or biology." I had never thought of this question but it is a very important question. Lewis also explains that the war (World War II I believe) has not created a new situation for human nature. He states that we have been deceived into believing we live a normal life when it is always far from normal.

If we were to suspend all of our intellectual or aesthetic activity for our religion or our nation we would only "succeed in substituting a worse cultural life for a better." This is clearly not what we want or need. The solution to this is to glorify God in everything that we do. Lewis writes, "All our merely natural activities will be accepted, if they are offered to God, even the humblest: and all of them, even the noblest, will be sinful if they are not." Our vocation should glorify God because even though we may do something completely different we are all members of one body.

So it is possible to "advance the vision of God" through our intellectual challenge even as we are work and learn towards something that does not directly appear to Christ's work. God's kingdom is at work no matter what we try and do. The entire cosmos is part of God's kingdom and we cannot escape it. Our purpose can be made clear through a variety of things that we do. Calvin College has done an excellent job working towards showing that it is possible to glorify God in everything that you do. All type of learning are clearly directed towards furthering God's kingdom to benefit ourselves and those around us.

Is There Sex in Heaven?

2009-01-20T16:34:00.000-08:00

That is an excellent question. Is There Sex in Heaven? was a talk given by Peter Kreeft in 1996. He begins by pointing out that we all desire sex and heaven. This is something that I can agree with. Next he points out that we need to connect these two great mysteries because connections keep our cosmos from turning into chaos. We have lots of evidence for sex through science and lots of evidence for heaven from divine revelation. Kreeft provides insight when he says, "We do not think too much about sex; we hardly think about at all about sex." This is true when we think about it. We are berated with things related to sex all day but we are hardly every exposed to sex.

Kreeft explores the term "having sex" not as we commonly see it today but as being male or female. So technically speaking we are all "having sex" in that we are male or female. Our sexual identity is tied to many things including our social roles. Sexuality is part of our inner essence and follows us to heaven whether or not we have sex. Kreeft goes on to opposed the views of Chauvinism and new egalitarianism. He says, "If sexual difference are only humanly and socially conventional, heaven will remove them as it will remove economics, penology, and politics." In his third principle Kreeft says that we have sexual souls. Even though it sounds strange it has a very believable case. Our view of sexuality is based on our subjective view from what we have seen, heard, and experienced. However, biological sexuality is innate and pervasive in our entire body.

Kreeft concludes his argument by writing that God is a sexual being who is the most sexual of all beings. He states that the love relationship between the Trinity is a sexual relationship. There will be sex in heaven because it is closest to the source of sex. He writes, "Human sex is a foretaste of that self-giving, that losing and finding the self, the oneness in manyness that is the heart of life and the joy of the Trinity. However, sex on Earth and heaven cannot possible by the same for two reasons. The first is that our sexual pleasure on Earth will be incomparable to the pleasure that we get from being near God. The second is that we will no long need to procreate in order to fill heaven up. God has chosen who will fill it.

Plantinga Chapter Five

2009-01-19T19:11:00.000-08:00

Plantinga poses an interesting question, "Do contemporary Christians bring the same passion to their hope of redemption as people in the Bible did?" Christians today have certainly not wandered in the desert or been oppressed by slavery like the Israelites in the Old Testament. Plantinga points out that we are a kingdom living inside of God's kingdom. We rule over our lives and our jobs while the government rules over the land we live on all while inside of God's kingdom. In order to successfully live in God's kingdom we need to take responsibility for our own kingdom and respect those whose "kingdoms" we are inside.

I often find myself thinking that I am in charge of my own kingdom. To a large extent I am. I am in full control of the decisions that I make which can be both good and bad. The problem is that I often forget that my kingdom is infinitely small compared the enormous kingdom of God. I know it exists because there is no possible way that I can live outside of it. I just often forget what my calling is in God's kingdom, to glorify God in everything that I do. So often it seems that God's kingdom is uneventful and personally unhelpful to my life. Our selfishness is the reason we believe that our kingdom can do more for the world than God's kingdom can. However, we are reminded quickly and painfully many times what our kingdom is powerless compared to God. It is then that we learn how joyful and fulfilling that God's kingdom really is. Even though we will undoubtedly stray from this kingdom often, we are accepted back with loving and open arms. We can hope to remain in God's kingdom by grouping with those who are also in God's kingdom so that we can lead each other towards further glorifying God.

Plantinga Chapter Three

2009-01-19T18:10:00.000-08:00

This chapter is a rather dark and reflective in Engaging God's World. The fall has tainted our lives forever in every imaginable way. Plantinga provides many different viewpoints how the Fall has affected humans and how humans interact with each other after the fall. Each and every day we fall painfully short of anything we could possibly do to be right in God's eyes. Plantinga defines evil as anything that "spoils the shalom" which God has graciously given us. Every moment of are waking lives we are corrupted and polluted by the Fall. There is nothing that we can do to stop what is happening in the world with our own power. Plantinga notes that our corruption not only affects us as individuals but everyone that is around us. Our corruption spreads like wildfire once it has taken hold of us. It is not hard for anyone think how one person in our lives spread their corruption from sin onto us. We quickly return the favor by spreading this corruption to others. Plantinga says it best, "evil runs through everything, not around some things." Thankfully God is outside of this mess and has provided hope; hope in Jesus Christ who has the power to overcome the fall.

The Poison of Subjectivism

2009-01-18T16:24:00.000-08:00

This writing is a bit much for my mind on a Sunday afternoon but it is very enjoyable as I slowly work my way through it. I am a bit hesitant to state any opinions on this article because I do not feel that I have completely grasped what Lewis has to say. But this is what I have understood so far after a slow and careful reading:

Lewis begins by exploring practical reason, or the judgement of good and evil from a modern view. "It (the modern view) does not believe that value judgments are really judgments at all. They are sentiments, or complexes, or attitudes, produced in a community by the pressure of its environment and its traditions, and differing from one community to another." Out of this Lewis says that humans will believe that they can improve their morality which creates a "fatal superstition" in which men believe they can create their own values. From this we cannot measure what is good or bad and therefore not make any progress what so ever. Lewis also writes that men could be led to believe that their traditional judgment of values can be abandoned in favor of more "real" or "solid" values.

Lewis goes on to disprove the view of modern mind. He writes, "The first claims that traditional morality is different in different times and places - in fact, that there is not one morality but a thousand. The second exclaims that to tie ourselves to an immutable moral code is to cut of all progress and acquiesce in stagnation. Both are unsound." Lewis disproves the second one first by pointing to many aspects of the world and our minds which do not go stagnate over time. Lewis disproves the first argument by pointing to thousands of ancient civilizations who have not changed morality from what we see it as today. He says that only real moral advances can be understood when looking at it in light of the moral tradition.

Lewis writes that once a people see something as "good" and what is "good" is different from what God considers "good" there is no difference between pure religion and devil worship. This brings up the question, "Are these things right because God commands them or does God command hem because they are right?" Both parts of the question pose major problems for humans.

In the closing paragraph of his essay Lewis states that "we and our rulers are of one kind only so long as we are subject to one law." With more than one law we are subject to the poison of subjectivism just as Lewis has warned.

Mere Christianity

2009-01-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

In Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis provides a refreshing view of the Christian faith that is free from denominational controversy. In the second page of his writing he makes it clear that he makes no attempt to help a person deciding between two denominations. One interesting comment that he makes is that only believers should discuss the differences between denominations. This seems to be a bit of a daunting challenge considering some of the divisions of the church today. However, the divisions in the modern church are far easier to deal with than the issues of the early church.

Lewis also warns that we cannot fall into the trap of refining the word Christian. This is something that even I have trouble with sometimes. Just as with everything we see, we refine the word Christian to fit into our worldview. I often find myself classifying people into categories such as "more" or "less" Christian than myself. The Christian faith is not about categorizing Christians and Jesus certainly did not only visit with the "more" Christian groups. One aspect that I think Lewis should have added is that we should be wary of the wide definition of Christian. Many groups of people who are not Christian all together manage to slip into the broad definition of Christian by skewing the teaching of the Bible while saying they believe everything that a true Christian does.

Lewis begins his book by taking the first four chapters to explore first, the idea that "human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it." Second he explores, "that they do not in fact behave in that way." Lewis covers objections to moral law and asks how man cannot ignore this law if he tries to but can choose whether to follow what his mind tells him.

I did find a bit of humor in Lewis' writing as I was reading. At the end of chapter one Lewis writes, "None of us are really keeping the Law of Nature. If there are any exceptions among, you, I apologise to them....And now, turning to the ordinary human beings who are left:" This is Lewis' humorous ways of proving his point. No matter how hard we try we will always break the Law of Nature, it's simply how we are and have been.

The Screwtape Letters

2009-01-16T11:41:00.000-08:00

C.S. Lewis does an excellent and eloquent job of working from the devil's perspective in the Screwtape Letters. I have found very few people who do not enjoy these letters that Lewis has written. The very first aspect that I noticed of these letters is the way in which they were written. These letters are written in a sort of conversational tone that we often use to address good friends. Lewis writes in a way that keeps a reader drawn in by using a relaxed tone and simple vocabulary. This shows that Satan is not writing to us as a distant friend who we have never met on the other side of the world, but as a good friend who knows everything there is to know about us. In addition, it is also clear that Satan is not a bit worried about any situation that he is in. As Christians we are led to believe that God is constantly fighting Satan and that he barely hanging onto control of the Earth. Lewis in his letters makes clear that Satan is far from worried about the Earth in its current state. If these letters had been postmarked I believe they would be from the Bahamas. Picture Satan on vacation writing a letter home to deal with small business matters while sitting in his cabana on the beach. It's just that easy.

The concluding sentence of letter twelve is one of truest ever written. Lewis writes, " Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,". Truth be told, sinning is really fun. If it was not so fun we would probably catch ourselves sooner. But when you are having fun and everyone else around you is having fun nobody stops to look around where they are headed. It's a lot easier to run down the gentle slope as fast as you can than to try and climb back out. Lewis hit the nail on the head so to speak when he wrote the Screwtape Letters.

Plantinga Chapter Two

2009-01-13T12:53:00.000-08:00

The second chapter of Plantinga's book titled, "Creation" provides some insight into the Biblical view of creation and how we should live our lives as creatures who were created in the image of God. Plantinga manages to tip toe around the issue of how God created the world which is probably good. Even though the debate is becoming a bit more one sided the controversy still exists and that was something that Plantinga probably wanted to avoid. This chapter looked fairly familiar in many respects because he used many ideas from a book that we read in Religion 131 by Daniel Miligore. The biggest idea that I took away from this chapter is that God's creation is not a one way street. Even though God created the world and put us in charge of it humanity is still responsible for how we appreciate and use God's creation. Definitely more of a two way street than a one way street. It is a bit like my previous post, its not all about what God does for us, we must return the favor in an infinitely small way which to Christians could be a variety of things.

The Weight of Glory

2009-01-13T12:32:00.001-08:00

The Weight of Glory which was preached by C.S. Lewis in 1942 is an excellent sermon. I enjoyed how Lewis used the school boy who is learning Greek as an example for Christians. Lewis says, "He has begun by working for marks, or to escape punishment, or to please his parents, or, at best, in the hope of a future good which he cannot at present imagine or desire....The Christian, in relation to heaven, is in much the same position as this school boy." In the previous page he note that "it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak."

So often we come to faith or to church wanting to know what God can do for us. For many reasons this can be a good thing. When we ask and wonder what God can do for us He has responded infinitely better ways than we can imagine. However, as Christians we ask wanting to know everything such as what heaven will be like. Lewis says, " Heaven is, by definition, outside our experience, but all intelligible descriptions must be of things within our experience." I think that Christians should not ask what God can to for them everyday but what they can do for God. Lewis states that simply being noticed by God could describe glory. We should try, no matter how hard it seems, to cast away some of the doubts and questions we have for God and work to serve Him. Simply being noticed and loved by God is incomparable to anything that we can accomplish.

The English Syllabus

2009-01-12T17:41:00.000-08:00

I regret not bring this up in class but I do have one issue with The English Syllabus.

First of all I found this reading refreshing considering that it was written in 1939. It is truly a timeless piece of writing seeing how it can still be applied today. Though times have changed the deeply rooted ideas behind education have not changed. Lewis' writing here is a very persuasive argument for the mission of Calvin College as many of my friends are asking me why I would bother to take so many core classes.

The one issue that I have with Lewis' writing here is that in a few sentences in certain sentences he comes off as a bit of a elitist Oxford academic. Maybe elitist is a bit of overkill but I still think the word fits. I just sense this feeling throughout his writing that he is saying something to the effect of, "Sure you can thirst for knowledge, but in order to satisfy that thirst for knowledge you truly have to be among the best which is why I am here at Oxford." I just get the feeling that he seems to discount knowledge gained in the real world outside of the university. My fellow classmate Josh suggested the Lewis was saying that only those who wanted to learn should be at Oxford. He stated that Lewis was simply looking down on those who did not want to learn. I took a more radical view in that I saw Lewis saying that there were simply people who had the thirst for knowledge but that they did not have the intellectual "firepower" to learn from the best.

I find nothing wrong with the stance he takes. He has a gift that very few people have and many people at that level think in a way that we cannot compare to. I am fine with that. However, I believe that there is tremendous knowledge to be learned outside of a university like Oxford.

Lewis should know this because a man two years younger than him by the name of Joseph Needham made tremendous discoveries in China regarding science and technology after the Western world had discarded China as lacking in knowledge to create anything modern.

The Sermon and the Lunch

2009-01-12T16:54:00.000-08:00

C.S. Lewis' The Sermon and the Lunch provides a look at good intentions gone wrong. This is something that each and every one of us has experienced. Lewis uses the example of a preacher whose sermon clearly deviates from what happens in his own home. The happiness in the home that is preached is clearly not found based on the personal experience of the writer. Lewis puts it bluntly by saying, "The trouble is not that he is insincere but that he is a fool. He is not talking from his own experience of family life at all: he is automatically reproducing a sentimental tradition - and it happens to be a false tradition."

I believe that so often many people fall into this trap. However, everyone falls into this trap at sometime or another. Many people are turned away from Christianity because they hear and see from someone who clearly does not follow their own beliefs. As Christians we are held up to a higher standard which can be difficult to keep. Fix that. Incredibly difficult to keep. Almost daily Christians are faced with situations and decisions that they would rather not have to make.

In the January Series last week John Ortberg suggested that the church should replace the reciting of the Apostle's Creed with something different. After awhile the Apostle's Creed simply becomes a mindless recitation. He suggested that Christians allow someone to individually watch them for thirty days and then rewrite the Apostle's Creed based on those thirty days. I quickly realized how fast I would want to crawl under the church pew and hide. The pastor in Lewis' essay has fallen into a trap and become a fool. In many respects we have also become fools by mindlessly reciting many beliefs that we fall utterly short on.

Plantinga Chapter One

2009-01-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

The first chapter of Plantinga's book reminded me of a sermon that I read by a Calvin Seminary graduate, James Van Tholen. In his sermon, Surprised by Death, Van Tholen preaches on the the fear that he has of his own immanent death from cancer and the hope he has found in Christ. He uses the verse Roman 5: 6, 8 which says, "While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly ..... But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us." The part that I love is where he finds hope in this verse. Van Tholen says that he finds hope in one word, still. The word still saves us from any fear that we have of falling short. He states, "While we were still weak, while we were still sinners, while we were still enemies of God, we were reconciled with him through the death of his Son. I find it unfathomable that God's love propelled him to reach into our world with such scandalous grace, such a way our, such hope." He ends his sermon will a reassurance in the unwavering hope in one simple word, still. Its hard to believe that one small word can give us hope but it does. No matter how little we have accomplished, no matter how many times we have failed, we still have hope in a faithful and eternal God.

The Best Christian Writings of 2000. "Surprised by Death" James Van Tholen. 251-257.

We Have No Right to Happiness

2009-01-10T11:39:00.000-08:00

After reading this article I believe that C.S. Lewis had a very valid point. The problem is that not enough people have read his words. Too many people today believe that they do have a right to happiness, usually through money and power. As Christians I believe that we have no right to be unhappy in the hope that we have in an eternal life with God. In the despicable humans that we are, God has sent Christ into the world to save us. No matter where we are at we should be beyond happy in the hope that Christ has given us. As Christians we can work towards transforming people from their right to happiness in money and power to believing that they have no right to be unhappy in the hope that God has given all of his creation.

Bulverism

2009-01-10T10:19:00.000-08:00

In C.S. Lewis' essay Bulverism from his book God at the Dock he introduces a fictitious character by the name of Ezekiel Bulver who says that he is right and then says that he is right because it flashed into his mind. Lewis states that the modern method is "to assume without discussion that he is wrong and them distract his attention from this (the only real issue) by busily explaining how he became so silly."

Lewis goes on to point out how reason cannot be used effectively in human affairs. Everyone will be biased toward what they believe in or what they will want. So often our attempts to remain non-biased and non-judgmental end up with one side lying to remain equal. In addition Lewis notes that the forces discrediting reason require reason in themselves.

Near the end of his essay Lewis notes that there are two types of causes, ordinary causes and special kinds of causes called "reason." He states that we can either know nothing or know that thought has only reasons and no causes. We talked about this briefly last year in philosophy class about this concept. When I look out the window and see a tree I assume that I am seeing a tree because it looks like every other tree that I have seen before. Thinking about the ways in which our senses or the world around us really can give you a headache. I sure hope that my senses aren't deceiving me but they could very well be.

With so much uncertainty in our minds and in the world it sometimes becomes unclear where an omnipotent God comes into our world. We clearly cannot reason ourselves out of some of our most difficult problems and cannot declare ultimate and absolute truth. Lewis states that we are either self existent or "a colony of some Thought and Will that are self-derived from a self-existent Reason and Goodness outside of ourselves, in fact, a Supernatural." And we cannot be self-existent because that is a belief that no one can accept.

Meditation in a Toolshed

2009-01-08T12:53:00.000-08:00

After reading "Meditation in a Toolshed" twice I have come away with two different ideas, one a question and one a reflection. In his essay Lewis describes the difference between looking along something and looking at something. He is concerned that people have begun to assume that in order to find a true account of something you must look to science or other experts in the field. Lewis raises objections to looking for a true experience by solely taking into account one perspective. In class we discussed perspectives of science and experience.

My question arises when I look at science and experience as separate. In science there can be different results to an experiment that are both true based on the perspective that a person has. Results derived from the observation show that each perspective is equally correct. Is it possible to do the same with experience? Can the experiment in which two perspectives of say God both be right?

I am aware that this leads to exactly what Lewis warned of by looking at only one aspect instead of both. But if one is different than the other which do I believe? Are they both right, is one right, or is neither right?
I don't have any doubts about my faith but this question may force me to edit this post sometime in the near future based on new insight.

The brief reflection that I had come in Lewis' last paragraph in which he states, "But we must start with no prejudice for or against either kind of looking." Too often we preoccupy ourselves thinking of reasons that other people are wrong. Lewis notices a problem that still exists today in is incredibly hard to overcome. In any perspective we should look to understand others before we create more problems for both sides.

In reading this article I was reminded of the beginning of Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz. The author's note on the first page of the book says, " Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way." 1