Reflections on God … Man … Life
Doors open, and when the Lord is the One who opens the door, we should enter in to what He has for us. That’s how I looked upon the opportunity to go to Romania and participate in the C. S. Lewis and Kindred Spirits Conference this past week. The theme of the conference was “The Re-Enchanted Academic,” and I was pleased to offer a presentation in the very first panel. That’s me—second from the right, in preparation for the presentation…. Read more »
C. S. Lewis’s essay, “The Grand Miracle,” concludes with a comparison of Christianity with other religions. He notices what he calls “an odd point.” All other religions, he comments, are either “nature religions” or the very opposite—religions that are “anti-nature” in their beliefs. The nature religions are easily identified as all the old pagan types where “You actually got drunk in the temple of Bacchus. You actually committed fornication in the temple of Aphrodite.” He then identifies the anti-nature religions… Read more »
C. S. Lewis, in 1945, gave a talk at St. Jude on the Hill church in London, a talk that was then published that year. The title given to this presentation was “The Grand Miracle.” Lewis based the talk on the passage in Philippians chapter two that expresses the great humility Christ displayed by leaving Heaven to become a man to suffer and die for fallen humanity. God becoming man is a grand miracle. Lewis states, One is very often… Read more »
The first recorded words of Jesus as He hung upon the cross were “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” He uttered these words after being beaten, scourged, forced to carry the crossbeam through the streets of Jerusalem, and then having nails pounded into His hands and feet. And yet, as He hung there, He wanted those who were responsible for this to be forgiven. C. S. Lewis once wrote, “Everyone says forgiveness is a… Read more »
I don’t comment on my birthday every year, but I do want to take some time today to reflect on God’s blessings as I consider my 72nd birthday. First and foremost, I am grateful to the Lord for His unfailing love and compassion toward me. I have had highs and lows spiritually in my life, and at one time I almost succeeded in walking away from Him. Yet He never gave up on me. This particular Scripture rings true on… Read more »
I have been blessed these last two years with opportunities to teach classes that are very near and dear to my heart. Those who follow my blog posts know that my research and writing focus on C. S. Lewis has been central to my teaching ministry. I just completed a semester at Southeastern University teaching my basic Lewis course, while simultaneously teaching a course on Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy at my church. While my next Lewis-centered course won’t be until the… Read more »
Last year’s major teaching project was the Ransom Trilogy. I’m now embarking on another one for the coming fall semester for my church’s Parish Academy program. I have no title for it yet, but the substance is set: an examination of key authors in C. S. Lewis’s life and circle. They are George MacDonald, G. K. Chesterton, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Dorothy L. Sayers. Lewis knew two of these writers by their works only; the other two he knew… Read more »