Reflections on God … Man … Life
Reflections on living as a disciple of Christ.
Everyone always says “Happy New Year!” Is that what we really expect, or do we look ahead with more anxiety than anticipation? Is there much to be happy about in our world? In this blog, I’ve tried hard to stay upbeat even while pointing out the follies, misfortunes, and outright sins in our society. I’ve never desired to be a Jeremiah. Maybe that’s because I don’t like suffering. No one wanted to hear his words; at one point, he was… Read more »
So much of our culture and politics today is devoted to accentuating the differences among us. We concentrate on the outward—race, gender, etc.–and minimize the internal. We are a hypersensitive people who perceive slights and disrespect in innocent comments and actions. Speaking truth about individuals is dangerous if those individuals are part of a group that continues to harbor resentments and grievances, both genuine and not so genuine. Sometimes those who dare to speak truth are accused of being racist,… Read more »
What has impressed me tremendously as I read through the letters of C. S. Lewis to Americans is his genuineness. He takes time to respond even to those most of us would consider a bother. I’m now into 1955 in these letters, and at this point Lewis is getting a steady stream of them from children who are reading his Narnia books. One letter stands out. It’s actually written to the boy’s mother, who has informed Lewis that her son… Read more »
When Whittaker Chambers was making his testimony against Alger Hiss, his former associate in the communist underground, the stress of the situation was sometimes overwhelming. But encouragement can come in many forms. In his classic autobiography Witness, he remarks on one of those means of encouragement: In those days, came the first of a series of letters that I was to receive throughout the Hiss Case. They came almost weekly and, in the depths of the Case, sometimes twice a… Read more »
It’s been both a revelation and a joy to be able to sit in my study and systematically go through C. S. Lewis’s collected letters, concentrating on the correspondence he had with Americans. He became quite personal with a good number of regular correspondents, sharing tidbits of his life and offering whatever advice he could when they asked questions regarding the Christian life. One of those letters, from January 1954, may provide a perfect example of how he combined the… Read more »
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 last two posts provided an update on my sabbatical with respect to research into spiritual advisers to presidents. Another project I’ve been working on is my desire to write a book on the influence of C. S. Lewis on Americans. I’ve posted before about my attempt to collect testimonies from Americans on how reading Lewis has impacted their thinking and their relationship with the Lord. The Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College has been the conduit for receiving… Read more »