Things I Think…
1. C.S Lewis : “It is a serious thing . . . to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.
All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics.
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.”
2. It is impossible to overestimate C.S. Lewis influence on modern Christian thought. It is a sad fact however, that had Lewis been born fifty years later and written in our era, he would be dismissed as a heretic and compromiser of the highest sort. His brilliance would have been buried under piles of criticism by people unworthy to sharpen his pencil. I cannot help but wonder how many Lewis’s are smothered under those piles today…
3. We’ve lost the ability to read any theology with true discernment. I’m not talking about some mystical (non existent, made up in the fevered imagination) “gift of discernment”, but the ability to separate wheat from chaff and celebrate wheat. Every great theologian also trades in chaff now and then…
4. Had Eugene Peterson not retracted his support of gay marriage,my response would have been a resounding snore. What I’ve learned from Peterson is true and valuable and it’s still true and valuable even if he’s wrong about some other things…like the rest of us are…
5. You will never grow in grace or knowledge if you demand that every teacher check all the boxes on your holy checklist. You simply create a list of people your sect approves of…
6. Whenever I see an argument on Facebook lamenting that some politician is opposing “we the people” , I want to remind the person that whichever side they’re on they’re only talking about half of “we the people”…
7. Most folks today don’t engage in theological discussions to learn, but to be affirmed in what they think they already think they know. It’s like taking the third grade over and over again…
8. Whenever you have a physical issue that causes intense pain, approximately half the people you share with will tell you what they went through that really hurt…
9. I’ll say it again…we’re no longer looking for solutions to our political and cultural issues, but victories over perceived enemies. Which means that we have already lost…
10. If they will know us by our love, we have either redefined love or chosen to live in disguise…
C.S. Lewis could write. I mean he was really skilled and artistic with words. There is more to communication than simply passing on information. Lewis was the kind who could earn a listen because of his brilliant manner within his craft. That’s another thing that is lost when everyone is an expert: Used to be that the actual special ones were noticeable. Now they are drowned in a sea of mediocrity.
“Whenever you have a physical issue that causes intense pain, approximately half the people you share with will tell you what they went through that really hurt…”
Or, they tell you of their uncle who had the same thing and died.
“If they will know us by our love, we have either redefined love or chosen to live in disguise…”
Or maybe the “us” is just smaller than we’d like to believe.
“Whenever you have a physical issue that causes intense pain, approximately half the people you share with will tell you what they went through that really hurt…”
I’m sure I have been guilty of this. I’ve also been on the receiving end. What I’m trying to remember is that pain is relative to the person who is hurting, and it does no good to compare my pain with theirs. If someone who has never jammed their toe into the dresser in the middle of the night finally has that experience, I guarantee that, for that person, it is one of the worst pains they’ve ever felt. When they tell me about it the next morning, for me to tell them that I live with pain 24/7 is not only useless, it is unsympathetic and un-Christ-like.
“His brilliance would have been buried under piles of criticism by people unworthy to sharpen his pencil.”
^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^
I got a blister on my thumb the other day while doing some yard work. It kind of hurt a little bit.
Just my contribution to #8. I feel so much better now that I’ve shared. 🙂
CS Lewis writes in such a way that is simple and at the same time profound. My wife lent his space trilogy to a friend at church and she gave them back. It made me wonder how long it had been since I read them and consider putting them on my summer reading list.
I also picked this little ditty up at the Library store for 3 bucks… https://www.amazon.com/Unnecessary-Pastor-Rediscovering-Call/dp/0802846785
Yeah, I bought it after the EP stuff went down…
10 amens! You have hit the nail on the head with all ten! You heretic!?
a lot to soak in today!
Captain Kevin, been praying for you….still praying
1 – oh how we judge, we can’t help it… so maybe we could learn to not play executioner?
3 – maybe most of us aren’t theologians so maybe what we must learn is to listen with some discernment to those who are?
4 & 5 – why do we attach virtue to our teachers (as if the truth was their concoction) instead of celebrating truth they bring us and then letting those teachers be human and, thus fallible?
6 – we are in the midst of a quiet, below the tumult, revolution… i wonder what we’ll see when all the shouters run out of breath…
7 – i had a great 3rd grade teacher – my best grammar school year… Mrs. Knott
10 – we equate love with feelings (not always there)… we need to raise a generation on C. C. Lewis and his kind
just readin and sayin … again … and prayin with all the pray-ers here
Thanks for the good comments this morning.
Em, we’re all theologians…of varying ability. 🙂
Regarding #8…and this is one of the reasons why pain, especially chronic, is such a lonely thing to experience. Talking about my pain to an empathetic/sympathetic person is so helpful, even if the pain remains. It provides fuel to keep going. Talking to a person who only humors or diminishes it just adds to the pain and frustation. Even adds to the guilt and shame. So you put back on the tough or faith-filled disguise and shuffle off.
Amen Michael. Esp #10 in light of recent discussions here, it should be noted that loving others is not just a feeling or an approval of sin. That is really all that needs to be said.
CS Lewis is pretty much the only non-Orthodox author whose works are commonly sold in Orthodox bookstores. He is often quoted. We love him. 🙂
Checking in while traveling… As I understand it, Christian love is known as such because it is measured by sacrifice, not warm fuzzy feelings…
Victor,
I’ve learned more than I want to about severe pain the last week…raises some large theological questions for me.
If you don’t love or at least appreciate Lewis’s writings…either you have no imagination or you’re part of an exclusivist Christian cult or church. He had an amazing way of connecting with all kind of folk.
Hi, Duane!
I continue to maintain that the heart of Christianity is sacrificial love as modeled by the Incarnation and the Cross…it doesn’t pull traffic, however…
It has for me too, Michael. For the last 20 years, actually, since my back injury. I’ve studied healing in great depth and sought it myriad times over those years but experienced almost none on myself. Yet the Lord has allowed me to pray for others who’ve then experienced healing in a supernatural manner. Truthfully, I’d rather the shoe be on the other foot 🙂 Chronic pain is like a bully after awhile. You live in fear waiting for it to come out of nowhere and kick your a**. But since the bully lives inside you, it’s hard to fight back. Today has been a good day though and I’m grateful to be His and have his promises to keep pursuing and standing on.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Our greatest gospel tool to the unbeliever is, in Jesus’s view, our love for each other. Not the redefinition of it, as Michael stated. The church is gnawing on that root of bitterness. So we look like hypocrites.
“we’re all theologians…of varying ability.” ummm, i used to enjoy miniature golf – does that make me a golfer? just thinking on it, Michael, just pondering
i don’t know if our wrangling among ourselves is all bad (some is), because we are open and honest… now, if we play nice and look good all the time to the outside world, all the while we’re seething and back stabbing when we think no one is looking that makes us hypocrites, doesn’t it?
if we disagree, as i think has been noted here in the past, we could all be wrong, but the dialog is good isn’t it? … until we call our brother a fool
can you say, “that’s a dumb idea, brother,” without implying that your brother is, himself a fool?” hope so…
my late husband (diagnosed in Feb with AML, he was gone 5 weeks later), hated the question, “on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is your pain?” because in his mind, who was doing the calibrating…
pain is difficult both mentally and physically – it wears one down… my concern with our dear brother, Michael is that his health wasn’t good before this episode… i’ll say it again (i have to) keep a prayer cover over Michael now, folks… don’t take for granted that we’ll not lose this man just because he’s still keepin on, keepin on here
#18 Michael
Funny you should mention the Incarnation and the Cross. Part of the reason I’m in Paris is to do a post-graduate seminar on +Michael Ramsey’s view of the Cross as the highest expression of love at the Sorbonne. It seems some Catholics are still interested in classical Anglican theology. Keep me in your prayers… my French is VERY rusty!
Ouch. Almost like reading a prophets scroll for today Michael. I think Moses would have liked it.
Is it hot in here? (As I tug at the collar of my shirt)
5. You will never grow in grace or knowledge if you demand that every teacher check all the boxes on your holy checklist. You simply create a list of people your sect approves of…
Every single ODM is so much like that.
I marvel at how they all…
“Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!”
Matthew 23:34
Surfer, every one, every ODM? That’s just poor logic – that or you spend way too much time perusing ODM’s.
Michael and Victor,
I’m right there with you. I keep praying and asking for prayer, knowing that God can heal me any time He chooses. For now, I keep hearing the same words spoken to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.” I’ll be praying for you both.
Thank you dear Dusty. You are a blessing!
Please tell Buster I said hello and that I think of the two of you often.
CS Lewis was a better writer of non-fiction in my opinion. He had a broad intellect and wide background that served him well. His greatest contributions are in the non-fiction category. Just completed the Bonhoffer book by Metaxes–well worth the time. He contributed much to the Church as well in a short 39 years. Plowing through some more Herman Wouk…what a mind behind those historic fiction novels.
Oh, good list of thoughts today! Just ramblin’ this evening
The flip side of your Lewis comment is that generally Christians are poor purveyors of writing, period. They purchase and LOVE some of the worst writing I’ve ever endured, both fiction and non-fiction. Not only is our biblical literacy poor, our literacy in general is lousy–most read little beyond facebook or news. Yet, despite the complete lack of authority, so many speak and judge as though they were ‘informed.’
Posers.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Michael and others.
Here’s a little hopeful thought to add to the mix on a random Tuesday:
“But the ultimate reason for our hope is not to be found at all in what we want, wish for and wait for; the ultimate reason is that we are wanted and wished for and waited for. What is it that awaits us? Does anything await us at all, or are we alone? Whenever we base our hope on trust in the divine mystery, we feel deep down in our hearts: there is someone who is waiting for you, who is hoping for you, who believes in you. We are waited for as the prodigal son in the parable is waited for by his father. We are accepted and received, as a mother takes her children into her arms and comforts them. God is our last hope because we are God’s first love.”
-Jürgen Moltmann
Captain Kevin, thank you for praying! I will also pray for you and Michael.