Reflections on God … Man … Life
My sabbatical has given me more time than usual to simply sit and read—all for a purpose, of course. One of my projects is a proposed book on C. S. Lewis’s influence on Americans, so I am enjoying reading through his collected letters, sorting out those addressed to Americans. A couple days ago I came across one letter that was rather amusing. Lewis is well known as someone who felt more linked, academically and emotionally, to earlier ages than his… Read more »
My fourth and final commentary on C. S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man concentrates on the “conditioners” in our society who seek to remake man and society in their own image. Lewis saw this happening back in the 1940s. What would he say today about this? He saw the beginnings; we are seeing the fruit of that evil. Who are these conditioners? Lewis says they are the scientists, philosophers, and educators who have rejected what he calls the Tao, and… Read more »
In my previous American history posts about the Puritans we’ve seen the good (city on a hill, establishment of Christian education, the first American bill of rights and constitution) and the not-so-good (treatment of Quakers, the Halfway Covenant that watered down the message of salvation). What about their relationship with the natives? It was mixed. The Puritans weren’t as missions-oriented as later evangelicals. Yet there were attempts to reach out to the surrounding tribes. I want to give credit in… Read more »
Let’s continue to talk about the ramifications of last week’s elections. Why? Because it’s a relief to finally have something positive to say about politics in our country. Most people understand what those elections meant. I say “most” because there are some who still just don’t get it: The hypocrisy and self-serving nature of Obama’s response is pretty blatant. At his now-infamous press conference the day after the elections, he revealed that he isn’t changing his views on anything. And… Read more »
Today marks an auspicious historical anniversary: 25 years ago today, the Berlin Wall fell. First erected in 1961 to keep East Germans from fleeing communism, it became the symbol of the Cold War. Its demise, and the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in general, is worth remembering—that is, if you have a memory of it at all; our education system isn’t exactly top-notch: I grew up with the reality of the Cold War and the threat it posed. I… Read more »
For the third Saturday in a row, I want to share some poignant excerpts from C. S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man, a small book with rather large insights. Taken from lectures he gave, and published in 1943, it remains astoundingly relevant today as we watch our civilization teeter on the edge of utter rebellion against God-given natural law. Lewis takes aim at the change in education during his time, and its attempt to replace undeniable truths with man-made ones…. Read more »
Last Saturday, I gave an overview of the first chapter of C. S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man. Today, I would like to offer some of his clearheaded thinking in chapter two. In it, he delves more deeply into the idea of natural law—that there are some things that are built into the universe, and into our very being, that can never be erased, no matter how hard some people try to do so. That natural law he calls the… Read more »