Reflections on God … Man … Life
C. S. Lewis can often take a Scriptural principle and, just by the shading of his words, help us see it in a new light. And he’s always very practical when doing so. On the difficulty of forgiving others, for instance, he reminds us why it is essential that we do so: To forgive the incessant provocations of daily life—to keep on forgiving the bossy mother-in-law, the bullying husband, the nagging wife, the selfish daughter, the deceitful son—how can we… Read more »
I like the way C. S. Lewis deals with sin and forgiveness in the following passages. First, he unfolds how people often, but erroneously, think of it: If you had a perfect excuse you would not need forgiveness: if the whole of your action needs forgiveness then there was no excuse for it. But the trouble is that what we call “asking God’s forgiveness,” very often really consists in asking God to accept our excuses. What leads us into this… Read more »
Not all of C. S. Lewis’s writings are explicitly Christian, yet he brings a clarity to any subject that is drawn from his Christian convictions. One of his favorite subjects, naturally, was education, since he spent a lifetime teaching and tutoring students at Oxford and Cambridge. I find this particular Lewis commentary in an essay titled “On the Reading of Old Books,” to ring true. See if you agree. I have found as a tutor in English Literature that if… Read more »
As Christians, we want to believe the best about people. We seek to look beyond what they are now to what they may become once they get their lives in sync with the Lord. Yet we cannot ignore the sinfulness of man; we need to be realistic. C. S. Lewis provides us with a perspective we need to keep in mind in our dealings with everyone. I have two short quotes for you today, but they are related. Let’s begin… Read more »
Pretty good dissertation on the problem we sometimes have with faith. C. S. Lewis helps explain what the problem might be: There are things, say in learning to swim or to climb, which look dangerous and aren’t. Your instructor tells you it is safe. You have good reason from past experience to trust him. Perhaps you can even see for yourself, by your own reason, that it is safe. But the crucial question is, will you be able to go… Read more »
In his customary pithy way, C. S. Lewis reminds us that we do stand for something, and that we had better make that stand: As Christians we are tempted to make unnecessary concessions to those outside the Faith. We give in too much. Now, I don’t mean that we should run the risk of making a nuisance of ourselves by witnessing at improper times, but there comes a time when we must show that we disagree. We must show our… Read more »
In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis targets those who think their religious beliefs don’t have to be specific. I like his colorful way of expressing his dissent: A vague religion—all about feeling God in nature, and so on—is so attractive. It is all thrills and no work; like watching the waves from the beach. But you will not get to Newfoundland by studying the Atlantic, and you will not get eternal life by simply feeling the presence of God in… Read more »