Looking at God

Looking at God

            While C.S. Lewis did not always agree with Calvinist theology, both Lewis and Calvin emphasized the utter dependence that humans need to have on God. Christianity is based off this sole dependence. Once we recognize that we are sinners, the only way that we can be forgiven is through God. Nothing we do can change our sinful nature or undo the bad that we have done.  Engaging God’s World emphasizes human dependence on God in a way similar to Lewis. An important part of God’s relationship with humans is the reason for human existence. After establishing that humans need God, Cornelius Plantinga looks at what humans are to God. Ultimately, humanity’s purpose on Earth is to glorify God and work to further his kingdom on Earth. While not always apparent, Plantinga’s view on this topic is also very similar to Lewis’s.

Engaging God’s World gives a basic groundwork of Calvinist beliefs. The most basic of these beliefs is that “Jesus Christ came to put right what we human beings put wrong by our sin” (Plantinga 81). This righting of wrong does not come from humans. We are completely unable to do anything that will bring about our salvation. “Salvation is a gift of sheer grace, which God intend to flow through saved persons and out to others” (Plantinga 109). By doing this, God has given us a second chance, but we must give ourselves up to him completely in order for this to happen. It is important to note that, often times, these beliefs build off of and intertwine with each other. As such, in order to believe that Christ is the savior of the world, one must believe that he is God and man, and that he is the God who created the world. If it were not for God, humans would not be on this planet. This means that God chose to create humanity because “creation is neither a necessity nor an accident” (Plantinga 23). We depend on God for our existence in addition to our salvation. We owe everything we have to God’s grace.

Throughout his works, C.S. Lewis often returned to the same theme as Plantinga, human dependence on God. For Lewis to be a Christian he had to subscribe to the belief that “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God “(1 Peter 3:18).  However, Lewis took this need for God a step farther. Not only does our salvation come from the Creator, “our happiness lies in Him” (Human Pain 94). By saying this, Lewis is arguing that all other things in life are mere distractions from the true happiness that is waiting for us in heaven. We can achieve a small taste of this on earth if we surrender to God completely. In fact, the things that we have here on earth do not matter in the slightest because “he who has God and everything else has no more than he who has God only” (The Weight of Glory 5). God is all fulfilling. The psalmist writes: “People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights” (Psalm 36: 7-8). The only thing that humans need is God.

By acknowledging that God purposefully made humans, it follows that Plantinga and Lewis agree that humans have a specific purpose in this world. This purpose is to glorify God by furthering his kingdom here on earth. As Plantinga puts it, “In Scripture, people are elected not to feel good (‘Look at me! I’m elected!’) but to do good” (109). Humans were not created for themselves, but for God. The best way to do this is to “Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always” (Deuteronomy 11:1). So many times, people forget that life is not about them. Rather than focusing on ourselves, “we might think of the created world as a stage not for humans, but for God, who puts on his shows in forest, sky, and sea every day” (27). Humans are the extras in the drama featuring God. When we can let go of ourselves and try to follow God’s bigger plan, then we will begin to fulfill the purpose that God has planned for us.

 Every person will execute their purpose in a different way. While many Christians tend to think that religious jobs are somehow better than nonreligious jobs, “all our merely natural activities will be accepted, if they are offered to God, even the humblest: and all of them, even the noblest, will be sinful if they are not” (Learning in War-Time 3). An activity is made holy by the attitude from which it is offered, not the result of the work that is done.  We must remember to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for [us] in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Lewis argues that we can offer up every aspect of our lives to the Lord. While our work is something that God can use, other things can glorify God as well: “The family, like the nation, can be offered to God, can be converted and redeemed, and will then become the channel of particular blessings and graces” (The Sermon and the Lunch 2). God is simply waiting to bless us, but we must first invite his blessings by offering ourselves up to him. When we do, our lives become complete.

My DCM class challenged me to think about what being a Christian in a fallen world really means. “Christian” is so much more than a label; it is a way of life. By identifying myself as a Christian, I am accepting a responsibility to take care of God’s creation. But I must be careful what I do in Christ’s name. “In the kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed, dominion is never ‘lording over’; its more ‘lording under’ by way of support” (Plantinga 31). The fallen nature of humanity dictates that we cannot do this by ourselves. We need God’s help to make it through the deserts. But someday, we will look back on our dry times and see that God carried us through our deserts to help us reach our destination (Deuteronomy 1:31). The first step to accepting our role in God’s kingdom is realizing that we cannot do this on our own, we need “to trust Christ, to lean on him, to surrender to him, to shape [our lives] to fit inside Christ’s kingdom” (Plantinga 93).

When we truly give ourselves over to God’s plan, beautiful things will happen. We will be living “the Divine Life, which gives itself to us to be gods, intends for us something in which morality will be swallowed up” (Man or Rabbit 112). This is the beautiful life that God originally intended for humanity when he first created the world. Nothing in human imagination can compete with the resurrected Earth that God’s people will live in after Jesus’ second coming. Perhaps the most wonderful thing about God is that, even though the new Earth will outstrip the old one in every way, it will pale in comparison to him. When we consider that our purpose is to glorify God, “that is enough to raise out thoughts to what may happen when the redeemed soul, beyond all hope and nearly beyond belief, learns at last that she has please Him whom she was created to please” (The Weight of Glory 6). It is a wonder that we try to satisfy our hunger for God with earthly things when we think about the contentment that awaits us in heaven.

 Sometimes we have a tendency to think that what we do does not matter to God because it is not explicitly “Christian”. What we forget is that God loves everything that we do if we give it to him with the right attitude. A movie star can be an agent of renewal just as much as a missionary can be. Some concert pianists may be offering their gifts to God with a better attitude than some pastors. Our job is to find the vocation where God can use us and do our best to serve him with a cheerful and humble heart. Plantinga writes that “Christians follow their main vocation by playing a lively part in institutions and endeavors that, consciously or not, seek the interests of the kingdom” (114). Both Plantinga and C.S. Lewis believe that, to fulfill God’s plan for our lives, we must be completely dependent on God. By letting God take control of our lives, we will be working towards the renewal of God’s creation. Even if God is using us in ways that we are not accustomed to, we must remember to constantly glorify his name. “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess his name” (Hebrews 13:15).

               

Work Cited

Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010. N. pag. Web. 24 Jan. 2011. <http://www.biblegateway.com/>.

Lewis, C.S. “Human Pain”. Print.

Lewis, C.S. “Learning in War-Time”. Print.

Lewis, C.S. “Man or Rabbit?”. Print.

Lewis, C.S. “The Sermon and the Lunch”. Print.

Lewis, C.S. "The Weight of Glory." Print.

Plantinga Jr., Cornelius. Engaging God's World: A Reformed Vision of Faith, Learning, and          Living. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002. N. pag.        Print.

Painful Surrender

“Human Pain” looks at what purpose pain has in human existence. Lewis starts out by defining what pain is. There are two types of pain, and it is “B. Any experience, where physical or mental, which the patient dislikes” (87), that Lewis looks at. One reason that there is pain, is so that we can realize that we need God. If we experience pain, then we realize that we need God or we completely rebel against the system, “but it give the only opportunity the band man can have for amendment” (93). When things go well in our lives, we tend to ignore God, but when bad things happen to us, we realize that we need him. Too often “We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it’s there for emergencies but he hopes he’ll never have to use it” (94). Ultimately, Lewis concludes that, despite the fact that we have pain in our lives, God is extremely good by letting us experience it. He shows mercy and forgives us when we ask him to. In order to do this, we must surrender ourselves fully, which is an extremely painful but fulfilling process.

                This reading was very interesting. So much was packed into these 22 pages that I don’t really know where to start. I think the part that I identified with best was when Lewis talked about how we tend to ignore God when things go well. I haven’t really experienced anything all that bad or painful in my life. As such, I haven’t felt the need to lean on God as much as I should. For a long time, I’ve stayed in the same, comfortable place in my walk with him. Meanwhile, different people I am very close to have gone through some pretty horrific stuff. In this essay, Lewis talks about how our pain will either cause us to reach out to God or to rebel against him completely. One of my friends has struggled with rebellion against God. She is so angry at him for her pain that she goes through stages of complete and total disbelief and lukewarm dependence. Another person close to me has let her pain lead her straight to God. She gives everything to him and, as a result, is the most peaceful person that I know.  I only hope that, if I ever face excruciating pain, I can cling to God in the same way.

Adding Virtue

Plantinga’s chapter on vocation explores what it means to be a Reformed Christian in God’s world. The chapter begins by talking about how our job here on earth is to further God’s kingdom. This kingdom has lots of smaller kingdoms within it. These kingdoms may take the form of a church or school, a family or a form of government. We need to pay attention to what kingdoms we belong to and how these kingdoms interact with one another. Next, Plantinga looks at what vocation is within the kingdom of God. Each of us has been given a calling and each of our callings are different. But, it is important to note that God furthers his kingdom through non-Christians as well as Christians. Our vocations will probably change throughout our lives and they include more than just our jobs. As such, we need to do everything to the best of our abilities. Pastors are not better than farmers because of their job. We are all called to do different things and should not be looked down on by others for it. Plantinga ends his chapter by talking about how our vocations tie into our educations and what this looks like at Calvin College.

                I really appreciated this last section. Plantinga does a really good job of laying out the important things that Calvin emphasizes. That the goals of the college were divided into three sections was also encouraging. Not only are we going to leave Calvin with knowledge, we will, hopefully, be leaving with the skills and virtues that will help us put our knowledge to work. This section also helped me realize the diversity of strengths that people have. That we all have different subject matters that we are good at is apparent, but we sometimes look over the different skills we have and almost never see the virtues. As I think about some of the people that I met at Calvin, I recognize that we all have different virtues that we are good at. Some people are good at listen, others at taking good care of the things they have been given. We often forget to look past the flaws that others have when it comes to virtues. This is sad because we are all flawed in this area and we are all working hard to develop the virtues that Calvin is trying to instill in us. Instead of criticizing, we need to encourage one another to develop our weak virtues and complement each other when we see a good virtue being put into practice.

Morality vs. Divinity

                Of all of the readings that we have done in class thus far, “Man or Rabbit?” seems to have produced the most dissention in my class. Lewis sets out to answer the question “Can’t you lead a good life without believing in Christianity?” (108). In order to answer this question, Lewis first outlines what it is asking. It is clear that Lewis feels this question is a little pointless. The person asking this question does not seem to care whether Christianity is true; he only wants to know if it will help him be a better person. This would seem to go against human nature because, Lewis argues, one of the things that distinguishes humans from animals is humanity’s thirst to know the facts. By asking the aforementioned question, a human would be simply ignoring the facts. The facts, it turns out, make all the difference. Lewis then changes the question to ‘Can I lead a good life without Christianity?’ No one who thought Christianity was wrong would ask this question, because humans look at the facts and accept what is true. As such, a person asking this question is simply asking if they can get away with trying not to figure out if Christianity is true. This is cowardly says Lewis. “He is deliberately trying not to know whether Christianity is true or false, because he foresees endless trouble if it should turn out to be true” (111). Someone who does this is running away from God and not using their intellect. In order to ignore the facts, one has to shut off parts of their brain. Besides, “the idea of reaching ‘a good life’ without Christ is based on a double error. Firstly, we cannot do it; secondly, in setting up ‘a good life’ as our final goal, we have missed the very point of our existence” (112-113).

                While this reading did not produce in me the same confused emotions that were verbalized by some of my fellow classmates, this essay did give me a lot to think about. Lewis, as we know, was an atheist until his early thirties, and he acknowledges that he was a very reluctant convert. I feel that this essay is addressed to the people in the world who are like Lewis; ignoring God because they don’t want him to exist. Knowing this, what can established Christians take from this reading? I believe the moral of the story comes towards the end for us. Lewis says that “mere morality is not the end of life” (112). We are not put here to be “good”. We cannot, in fact, be good. The reason that we are on this earth is to glorify God. The Divine Life for which God intends us will swallow up morality (112). If we keep this as our focus, our tendency to stray towards legalism in our lives will fall away. We will simply wish to be nearer to God.

Fix the Church

                In “The Inner Ring”, C.S. Lewis takes on cliques. These social divisions are present everywhere and Lewis takes a look at how and why they impact us and whether they are good. He attempts to define “inner rings” at the beginning of the lecture. To people on the outside, inner rings are very different than to those who are in them. Those who are in them may not even realize that they are. It is all very strange and hard to define, “it is not so constant” (2). Though they are hard to identify and we cannot always say why we want to be in them, inner rings produce in us a desire to be included. Though they can sometimes produce bad behavior, inner rings do not always have to be bad. We must be careful to not purposefully exclude people from our inner ring and we must be careful to not compromise ourselves in order to be included in an inner ring. For we often find that “if you succeed there will be nothing left” (5).

                Inner Rings are present all over our society. This is not a new phenomenon. People have been excluded and included for as long as humans have been recording history. This is not always bad. I will admit that I have never felt particularly disappointed at not being included by a group of guys who are playing video games. Common interest does dictate that there are some natural divisions between groups. But what about the groups that exclude people who have similar interests or tastes? We are often guilty of excluding people for reasons that are superficial or wrong. American high schools evidence this every day. The need to be accepted is something that we humans are trying to fulfill.

Unfortunately, the pettiness of high school does not end as we get older. Calvin has cliques, our parents deal with group friction at their work places. Churches have to deal with the inner ring as well. I find this absolutely unacceptable. The “acceptable” sort of inner ring is one that is based off common interest and excludes people because they do not share the same interest. Churches are filled with people who share the most important common interest! Why is it that families are excluded from church activities? Why do some people feel ostracized in worship settings? This is absolutely unacceptable. In order to mend some of the hurt in the world we must ask for God’s help to fix the things that are wrong on the home front.

Christian Mystery

                C.S. Lewis’s chapter on Eros is full of observation, advice, and examples. Some highlights include: the distinction between Eros and sexuality, the “ludicrous and portentous solemnization of sex” (138), gender roles, and the idolization of Eros. This is a lot to cover, but Lewis does so adeptly and in a concise manner. We learn that Eros is something that is followed by sexual desire, not the other way around. Lewis then goes on to talk about how sexuality is often taken too seriously in today’s society, which makes many believe that it is okay to add into culture with reckless abandon. After this, Lewis delves into tradition gender roles in marriage. “The husband is the head of the wife just in so far as he is to her what Christ is to the Church” (148). Finally, Lewis discusses how we must be careful not to make an idol of Eros. Falling in love is a sensation, he says, and being in love a decision. If we elevate Eros to too high of a position, we will always be disappointed.

                This reading felt a little different from some of the others that we have read thus far. Lewis addresses a lot of things in this chapter, which contributes to its 30 pages. Because of this length, many examples are used, which help to further the explanations that Lewis gives. One of the things that really stuck with me from this reading was the section where Lewis talked about the roles of man and wife in marriage. At first I was a little peeved with Lewis. Growing up, my parents always taught me that my gender should not hold me back. I felt that Lewis was going to descend into the old “woman’s place is in the home” jargon and I began to become disenchanted very quickly. Thankfully, our class discussion reeled me back in.

                In class we talked about what the examples that Lewis uses really mean in this context. The idea that the man is head of the wife is not something that belittles women. It is the way that God designed us. It is a beautiful and good thing. This does not mean that wives must stay at home all day and wait for their husbands. This passage is simply explaining the ways in which our differences can create unity. My favorite quote in this section is “He is to love her as Christ loved the Church…and give his life for her” (148). God has given us a physical example of his love for us in the relationships that we have here on earth. This way, whenever we see the one with love, we can be reminded of the special love that God has for us.

Finding "At-One-Ment"

                Today’s reading from Plantinga was hopeful. It went over the main points of how redemption works and what it means for Christians today. The introduction talked about the different ways that God has offered grace to his people. After this section, Plantinga talked more specifically about Jesus role in creation. There are three main elements to this: incarnation, atonement, and resurrection. Jesus became the word incarnate in human form. He atoned for our sins by dying on the cross. On the third day he rose from the dead. This is the basic belief of all Christians. After this, Plantinga goes on to talk about what our union with Christ means. Because we, as Christians, are now part of Christ, we die and rise with him daily. Whenever we sin, confess sin, or are sinned against by another, we are experiencing part of this cycle. “Double Grace” is another important thing that is talked about in this chapter. There are two sections to the grace that we receive from God, argues Plantinga. The two parts are sanctification and justification and, when put together, “the double grace releases us, relieves us, redeems us” (92).The final point that Plantinga talks about in this chapter is the reformed nature of Christianity. “Reformed Christians take a very big view of redemption because they take a very big view of fallenness” (97). This means that, in all we do, we should be seeking to change the world to further God’s kingdom here on earth.

                The quote that I thought about the most in this passage was on page 88: “Confession of sin is an enormously freeing thing to do”. I try to hide my sins from God so often. This is such a futile endeavor! God can see all that I do and he wants to forgive me for the sins that I commit. If I hide these sins from God, I start to pull away from him (as we’ve seen in The Screwtape Letters). I carry a weight that is impossible to hold. The beautiful thing is that Jesus can carry this weight and he already has. I just have to tell God about what is going on in my life, acknowledge that I have done wrong, ask for forgiveness, and try my hardest to do better in the future. Forgiveness is profound.

Divine Education

“Learning in War-Time” is an essay that C.S. Lewis wrote about whether participating in scholarly pursuits during wartime is a good idea. Lewis’s opponents argue that, when war is raging, one must commit to the war effort and not waste time on frivolous things like philosophy until the war is over. From a Christian perspective, Lewis says that this argument does not work. The war is small potatoes compared to the fight for human souls that is going on between heaven and hell. Lewis says that Christians should ask “how it is right, or even psychologically possible, for creatures who are every moment advancing either to heaven or to hell, to spend any fraction of the little time allowed them in this world on such comparative trivialities as literature or art, mathematics or biology” (1). Ultimately, Lewis argues that it is a Christian’s duty to learn if it is in God’s plan. Christians must be educated in order to help save others. Some Christians pursue education in order to find more beauty in God’s world.

                If a Christian finds that they are suited for a life of learning, they face three opponents. The first is excitement; if we become preoccupied with the bad that is going on in our life, we will not be able to focus on our jobs. In order to combat this, we need to recognize the enemy and work despite its existence. Next is frustration which makes us feel like we won’t finish our tasks. The best way to fight this, says Lewis, is to leave it up to God. “We may as well, for God will certainly retain it whether we leave it to Him or not” (5). The last enemy, fear, tries to scare us with the ideas of death and pain. Lewis says that we must acknowledge them and realize that they will come to everyone, whether we can stop them or not. Ultimately, Lewis argues that learning is a fit activity for some people, but only if it is “humbly offered to God” (5).

                This essay surprised me. I admit that I’ve never really thought about whether going to school during “war-time” was a bad idea. Perhaps this is because I have never encountered a “Great War” or because I have never personally suffered a loss because of a war. I think that this is a good essay to look at, even if I hadn’t thought about it. Lewis’s statements about vocation and learning made me think about my reasons for being at Calvin. So often it seems that people go to college because that’s what everyone else is doing. I don’t want to be someone who just “goes with the flow” despite have reservations of my own. After reflecting on this essay, I have realized that I really do need to be in school right now. I enjoy learning and I want to use my brain for God. What better place to start than Calvin?

Good

The Poison of Subjectivism is one of many essays that C.S. Lewis wrote about judgments of value. Lewis’s main premise is that all cultures have the same set of morals; it is just the way the morals are interpreted that is different. Anyone who attempts to change the moral system is just rewording the morals that they already have. Lewis then attempts to show that God must be the source of such morals. If judgments of value are not determined by society, then there must be some other determining factor. Lewis argues that goodness is not something that was created by God because “God is not merely good, but goodness; goodness is not merely divine, but God” (6). As such, no man can be truly subjective. Everyone has a sense of right in the back of their minds and saying that they are being subjective would be ignoring that sense of right. By trying to be subjective, Lewis argues that we have made people wishy-washy and afraid to stand up for things.

                The idea that God is goodness really interested me during this passage. This really gives weight to God’s character. Not only is he a good being, it is impossible for him to not be so. Goodness is so entwined in God’s nature that he is goodness. So often, we think of evil as being of Satan and not divine. How often do we think of goodness and being completely divine and perfect? Our imperfect natures can do what we call “good” at times, but we ultimately fall. I think that this is why it is so hard for us to grasp the power implicit in goodness. Goodness in our world is broken, but it is not meant to be that way. The world that God originally created was good in everything. We cannot even imagine the goodness in that world.

                As Christians, we tend to come up with lots of adjectives for God. Awesome, wonderful, mighty, majestic. These words seem so much cooler than good. But good is all that God needs. He is all those other things, but he is those things because of his goodness. We love him because he is good. We are dependent upon him because he is good. The only adjective that God needs is good.

Fallen Restoration

                Plantinga’s chapter on the fall takes a look at the Reformed position on evil in the world. The focus of this chapter was not so much on the lack of goodness in the world, but the hope that we have as Christians. Evil is not diminished in this chapter. On the contrary, Plantinga paints a lot of sad pictures. But he is quick to emphasize that these pictures are not the end of the story. The world was good originally, and evil took that goodness and twisted it. What is important about this is the fact that “the goodness is still there” (52). After establishing that creation can be redeemed, Plantinga looks at the way that God’s creation has been twisted. Humans have corrupted creation by perverting and polluting it. It is important to note that EVERYTHING has been thus corrupted. After establishing the ways in which we have twisted creation, Plantinga looks at who is to blame for this.

                This last section of the reading really does not give a very satisfying answer for the origin of evil. Unfortunately, this issue is one that people have struggled with their entire lives without coming up with satisfactory answers. It is only natural for Christians to question the origin of evil. Plantinga establishes that “God is perfectly holy” (62). The evil cannot have come from God. God created everything, however. A lot of people say that evil is in the world because God gave us freewill. The freewill argument seems to be the most followed explanation of evil in the Christian religion. There are things that we just cannot know and Plantinga raises a lot of questions like this in the chapter.

                One question that was raised that particularly interested me is “Is carnivorousness a part of God’s original design?” (65) This is not a question that I had thought about before. Being completely used to the idea of humans always eating meat, I was really surprised by this question. It seems that, originally, God would have made all of his creations to live together in harmony. No animal would have eaten another, and humans would not have eaten animals. Does this mean that we should not eat meat? Jesus did, so I think that it is fine for humans to eat meat. Being more conscious about where we are getting our food and how it is getting to us would not be a bad thing however. All of God’s creatures deserve respect, even in death. Eating locally or cutting out some meats that have inhuman slaughter practices would be a good idea. All of God’s creatures deserve respect.

Magnificent Dependence

The section of Mere Christianity that we read about for class today is divided into five parts. The first is an introduction where Lewis clarifies what he will talk about. Lewis says that he will not talk about which denominations are better or delve into the theological meanings of things.  The first chapter addresses the law of human nature. Lewis talks about how all humans have the same over all guiding Law of Nature. The important thing to acknowledge about the Law of Nature is that, while it is the same for all humans, not all humans follow it. Chapter two looks at some objections to Lewis’s thesis. By the end of the chapter, Lewis has disproved the ideas that morality is an instinct and a social convention. The Reality of the Law is looked at in chapter three. This chapter is devoted to proving that man’s lack of adherence to the Law of Nature is strange. Finally, chapter four delves into what causes this law. By the end of this chapter, Lewis has proved that there must be some directing force behind the law.

                Mere Christianity is accessible and straightforward. Lewis tells us the facts and uses reason to prove his points. One thing that I took away from this excerpt was the importance of admitting your faults. Throughout the passage, Lewis states that everyone is wrong and fails at following the law. Lewis admits that he has questions which he does not have answers for and that he is not qualified to discuss theology. My favorite quote from this piece comes in the first book where Lewis states: “None of us are really keeping the Law of Nature”. He then goes on to say that he is not better than anyone else. This made me think. If C.S. Lewis, one of the greatest Christian thinkers of the 20^th century and, perhaps, of all time, is no better than anyone else, then I most certainly am not.

                So often, I fall into this trap of thinking I am better. I think that I am a better student or a better child or a better Christian. This is far from the truth. I have only to look at my hidden sins to realize that, though I may fool myself into thinking I am better, I am really the worst. This is the beauty of Jesus sacrifice. We are all equal in our sin, but we are also all equal in our redemption. Jesus did not come to save some people more than others. We are all equally DEPENDENT on God. How beautiful is that?

Slow and Steady

                In the twelfth letter of the Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis’s diabolical character, Screwtape, instructs his nephew, wormwood on the best way to ensure that his patient will go to Hell. Screwtape write that it is better to consume the patient’s time with trivial, silly things that take his mind of God, rather than having the patient commit a “big” sin. This way, the patient will be somewhat aware that something is wrong, but he will be too uneasy to face God. Wormwood must distract his patient with unimportant things like newspaper ads and people he doesn’t enjoy talking to. By doing this, he will ensure that his patient will say the same as one of Screwtape’s: “I now see that I spent most of my life in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked.” In this way, the patient will be unaware of what is happening to him because “the safest road to Hell is the gradual one”.

                I found this reading almost disturbing. I began to think about where in my own life I might be doing Nothing. I need to be more aware of all the things that I think I’m doing that don’t have any impact on my life. There are so many times when I say “just one more game of solitaire” or “just one more TV show” and I end up wasting my whole night. As I reflect on all the time that I have wasted doing pointless things I start to think about all the things I missed out on. I’ve missed out on time with family and friends as well as valuable sleep. I think that every struggles with different things, but this seems to be my biggest problem.

                Lewis also talks about uneasiness in this letter. In some instances it can be said that it is harder to face God with our smaller, unseen sins than with our big, visible sins. Because we cannot see God, we tend to forget that he always sees us. We think that if we don’t tell God about the fact that we think badly of others he won’t know. It is so much easier to ask for forgiveness for something that we know people have seen, like the big fight we had with our sister over Christmas Break. It is the smaller sins that slowly take us down the path to Hell.

Lifestyle Changes

                The second chapter of Engaging God’s World focuses on creation and humanity’s role in God’s creation. Plantinga starts his chapter by emphasizing Jesus’ role in creation. When we learn the creation story, Jesus is never expressly mentioned, “so we find it difficult to think of him acting as the mediator of creation” (19). It is important to recognize that, through Jesus, all of God’s acts are made clearer to us. As Plantinga continues to talk about creation, he points out that “Creation is neither a necessity nor an accident” (23). God chose to create the world. He wanted us here! The reason he created us was for his glory. This means that, as much as we pretend otherwise, this world is not human centered. A good way to think of this, says Plantinga, is to imagine the world as a stage for God. We were merely secondary characters who contribute to God’s story. Because the world does not revolve of us, we have to take care of God’s creation. The creation story does not give humans the permission to destroy other parts of creation because humans are not the center. We must fight for God’s creation.

                I was really interested in this last part. So often I feel that many Christians ignore God’s call to take care of the Earth. The great irony of humanity is that, while we were given a mandate to care for creation, we are often the thing that endangers creation the most. Historically, Christians are not the people who fight against oil companies or inhuman meat processing plants. Why is this? Christians should be at the front lines of protest against creation killing operations. I am not saying that all Christians should join PETA and throw paint at anyone wearing fur. This is not a way to show God’s love. We may have to start small. Maybe this means riding your bike to work once a week or buying only organic vegetables. Just because you do not agree with the Global Warming contingent does not mean that you should drive an SUV everywhere in protest. The point is that you must think of what your decisions are doing to the planet. Sure, it is nice to have a bathroom for each of the four people in your family, but the amount of damage you leave on the Earth is smaller when you buy a house with three bathrooms. Good stewardship looks different for everybody, but I challenge you to do your research and think more about how what you do changes God’s creation.

Mere Mortality

                In “The Weight of Glory”, C.S. Lewis looks at the relationship between God and humanity and determines that God’s relationship with man is very special. Lewis starts out by reminding us that our love for God should in no way be mercenary, but a reward in and of itself. The longing that we attempt to quench with earthly things can only be filled by God. He likens this to the feeling that a schoolboy has when first learning Greek. The schoolboy wants to read English poetry, but must learn his Greek instead because “the desire which Greek is really going to gratify already exists in him and is attached to objects which seem to him quite unconnected with Xenophon” (2). We have a desire for beautiful things, but that desire can only be fulfilled by God. At first, it may be a chore to have a daily walk with God, but eventually, we will reap the benefits. The thing that we gain from our relationship with God is that God is delighted by us.

 This, however, is not a simple thing: “To please God…to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness...to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son – it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain” (6). It is a beautiful thing, but it carries responsibility. The fact that we have not yet felt the fullness of God’s delight means that there is something yet to come. Lewis is a firm believer that “we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door” (8). If, someday, we get in, all the things of our world will be like shadows compared to what God has in store for us.  

Lewis brings up one last interesting, sobering point before he ends his sermon. We need to remember that everyone we encounter will be in some form of eternity after this life. Whether hell or heaven, we do not know, but they will be around forever, as will we. All the people that we encounter have the potential to be “immortal horrors or everlasting splendours” (9). The implications of this are far reaching. We need to be serious when dealing with one another and we must be sure to distinguish between the sinner and the sin.

For me, this last section was the most intriguing. It is not often that we are reminded of the permanence of our existence. Everyone has to spend eternity somewhere. The people that we encounter in our everyday life may end up the same place as we do no matter if we like them or not. Lewis’s reminder is one that can only be followed with the idea that we need to respect the people we are around, for one day they may be sitting next to God or Satan.

Always Use the Front Door

                In “Our English Syllabus”, C.S. Lewis discusses the difference between getting an education and learning and what the difference means for students who are studying at the university level. Lewis covers many elements of this topic throughout his nine pages. He starts by saying that “the purpose of education is to produce the good man and the good citizen” (81). Education prepares pupils for leisure and vocational training prepares men for work.  He continues on by saying that it is important to prepare students for leisure because it is leisure that distinguishes humans from animals. Thus, education prepares students for humanity. It is after pupils become humans that learning kicks in. Learning is a thirst for knowledge that only a select number of people possess. It is this thirst that will be quenched at the university level. Lewis spends the rest of his essay focused on the idea that an important element of learning is a focus on one subject. If a pupil is taking lots of subjects, he is still learning how to be human.

                I thought this essay was the most interesting of all the essays that we have read in class thus far. Lewis does not beat around the bush. He challenges his readers to find what they are really passionate about and “to absorb [themselves] in getting to know some part of reality, as it is in itself” (87). In class, we talked about this idea of “the pursuit of knowledge”. It was emphasized that, as we pursue knowledge, we need to tread carefully and make sure that we do not allow our joy in the pursuit of knowledge to destroy God’s creation. I found this concept very interesting. I was not sure if I agreed with it entirely when I was sitting in class, but one image that was brought up was that of someone climbing a wall instead of entering by a door, as in The Magicians Nephew. In this story, the witch climbs a wall into a garden to get an apple which will allow her to live forever. She purposefully destroys a beautiful creation in pursuit of something. This is a metaphor for humanity’s first sin. It was in the name of knowledge that Eve picked the fruit from the tree and ate it.

While this may have been more apparent to some, it took me a little time to stumble upon this connection, but when I did, it really hit me hard. Part of being a Christian is taking care of God’s creation. I know that some people who choose jobs in fields such as Biology or Medicine may encounter more situations where they are faced with the option to pursue knowledge while disrespecting creation; they will be more glaring than the situations I will encounter in my field of study. As a history major, I will have to be aware of the way that my words reflect the past to the people of the present. When I tell people about things that happened long ago, I must ensure that I am not portraying a certain person or group of people in a way that is untrue to what they were actually like. I think that, no matter what area of study we are entering, we must be aware of the dangers that we pose to creation in that subject.

"The Logical Song"

“The Logical Song” is a song that questions the importance of being educated and intellectual. This song asks whether losing the marvels of childhood is really worth the gains of knowledge in adulthood. It seems that the man who sings this song does not recognize himself after he has been made “sensible/Logical, responsible, practical”. His struggle can be summed up by one line: “I know it sounds absurd but please tell me who I am”.

I believe that this song is a good example of the longing and the nostalgia that many people have for a simpler place or time that has been mentioned over the last few days in class. Many people wish that they were young and carefree again. They selectively block out the parts of being a child that they were not so fond of and create an idealized world where there were no bad experiences or painful moments. Everything was new and beautiful and perfect. This is shown best at the beginning of the song where the musician states “When I was young/It seemed that life was so wonderful/A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical”.

There is a deeper meaning to this song, however. Though it is only hinted at, I think the musician believes that individuality is being crushed in modern society. The third verse shows this the best. He says that people are being called “radical” and “criminal” for not being “acceptable”. It appears that an unnamed someone is trying to ensure that anyone who does not conform is punished. This song may represent a man’s longing for simpler days, but it is also possible that he is longing for more freedom.

God Given Planning

                “To hope for your future is to affirm the life that God gave you and the range of possibilities that it generates” (11). This quote from the first chapter of Cornelius Plantinga’s book, Engaging God’s World came off the pages and punched me in the face. I have a friend that this sentence seems to be written for. This friend recently lost his best friend to suicide. Needless to say, my friend has been deeply affected.  My friend has decided that planning is pointless. Planning is pointless, he believes, so he just sort of wanders through life by getting pulled along by others. My friend is a Christian, but he does not always see the importance of Jesus sacrifice in his everyday life. Plantinga knows what it’s like to long for something. So does my friend. Plantinga longs for Jesus. My friend longs for stability. What my friend does not know is that he is really longing for the same thing as Plantinga.

                God created us to be relational beings. We cannot be filled unless we have a relationship with God. Even when we become Christians and come to know the grace of God through his son Jesus, we still long to experience God in ways that our humanly features prohibit us from doing. As such, we have moments where we feel bits of the joy that will fill us in heaven. We long for the continuation of this joy and strive to find it. Sometimes we look in the wrong direction. Humans, food, technology, and nature are all things that people use to fill the God void in their life.

                My friend has chosen to fill his void with people. Ultimately, this has been unfulfilling and he has drawn farther away from God, causing his longing to grown from a mere pang to an all consuming ache. Because my friend has not been able to find fulfillment, he believes that planning is pointless. His plans have been ruined by outside circumstances. The people he has trusted have hurt him. Nothing has gone his way. Unfortunately, my friend has never looked solely to God. God has been a small part of his equation, but God has been more of a backup plan. He has given up on God.

                This longing that my friend is trying to fill is actually an important part of hoping and making plans. This longing is here to remind us that there is so much more that we have to look forward to. It is good to long for better because God has given us this longing for him. We have something to look forward to. Bad things will happen, but it is important to remember that god is waiting for us and, while we have a relationship with him now, we will soon get to spend every moment with him.

No Guarantee

                In his essay “We Have No ‘Right to Happiness’”, C.S. Lewis is fairly blunt in stating that happiness is chance, not guarantee. The essay discusses the difference between the lawful “pursuit of happiness” and the broader, moral “right to happiness”.  Lewis presents us with two people, each who leave their unhappy marriages to marry each other. This couple believes that they have the right to do so because it makes them happy. It is apparent that Lewis is not so sure. After a boiled down explanation of what is meant by the pursuit of happiness and Natural and national laws, Lewis states that the topic being discussed is not general happiness, but, in fact, sexual happiness. This presents a problem for the argument that happiness is a right. In all other impulses, humans are asked to show restraint. The attempt to allow sexual freedom has caused people to see sex as something that need not be practiced with restraint. Here, Lewis says that “Absolute obedience to your instinct for self-preservation is what we call cowardice” (2).

                This sentence stopped me in my tracks. In all honesty, I could care less about the rest of this essay because I love this sentence so much. Lewis destroys ever attempt any attempt at being selfish that I have ever made with these 12 words. In a world where we are bombarded by movies, songs, and advertisements about how we need to take care of ourselves and make sure that we’re ok, this sentence reverses the order. So often, I turn down opportunities to serve others because I come up with excuses like “I have a midterm coming up, I really should study for that” or “I haven’t been sleeping well, I should really take a nap”. More often than not I waste the time that I’m not serving by playing solitaire or watching TV. While I know that this is not exactly what Lewis was getting at in this essay, this sentence has been in my mind for the last two days, making me question all my motives. God calls us to love our neighbors before ourselves. This is the ultimate expression of our love for God, but we seem to forget that more often than not.

                Another thing that I have thought about while reading this essay is the fickleness of our human natures. No one could guarantee that Mr. A and Mrs. B would stay happy together. It is more probable that after a year or two they would go through a rough patch and start to regret their earlier decisions. They would try to find contentment somewhere else and, ultimately, discover that the feeling of wholeness that they were looking for could not be reached. This is a trap that everyone falls into. We tell ourselves that all we need is an ‘A’ or more money or a spouse, but what we are really looking for is a strong relationship with God. Yes, the other things that we strive for can be good, but they will not fulfill us and we may need to live without them. Happiness is not a guarantee.

Non-Bulverism

                In his essay on Bulverism, C.S. Lewis describes a way of argument that is all too common in today’s society. This type of argument, which was also prevalent in Lewis’s time, seeks to destroy any opposing argument without refuting it.  People now use the argument that one is wrong because they are a certain way rather than because the facts do not support their argument. Lewis writes that this is incorrect because “you must show that a man is wrong before you start explaining why he is wrong “(2).  Bulverism can be used to dismiss everything from religions to political ideologies.  Ultimately, argues Lewis, Bulverism is attempting to crush reason. If we crush reason, however, then we can never argue, even if we are Bulverizing.

                The importance of reason was extremely evident in this essay. Along with this came the importance of a force which created reason. The section taken down by the Socratic Club Secretary was harder to follow than the rest of the essay, but it also talked a lot more about the origin of reason. This was not something that we talked about much in class, so I would like to address it as best I can in my blog. Lewis does not shy away from the fact that there must be a creator when he is talking about reason. Up to this point, I had never seen reason presented as evidence for a creator. Usually, it is reason that is trying to destroy the idea of a creator. Perhaps this is the best example of Bulverism we have seen. People use their reason, a God given gift, when they attempt to disprove God. People who believe in a creator are often called “close-minded” or “old-fashioned”.  It is because of our Christianity that our core belief must not be true. God cannot exist because the people who believe in him are Christians. Yes, there is other evidence presented, but it often takes a backseat to the Bulverization.

                As Christians, how should we respond? Should we tell an Atheist that they would not understand our belief because they are a biologist or a journalist or a Democrat? Of course not! This proves nothing. There are many wonderful Christians who are biologists and journalists and Democrats! We must try to find a way to prove God’s existence by forging relationships and showing love to people who would attack us. If we can forgo Bulverism, then we can achieve a discussion that Lewis would be proud of.

Meditations in my Dorm Room

The perspective from which we view a situation obviously affects the way we react to the situation. This basic idea, while seemingly simple leads to so many other questions, some of which are addressed in “Meditation in a Toolshed”. Lewis seems to advocate for a sort of middle ground which errs on the side of looking along. Today’s society tends to err on the side of looking at, although there is another contingent of people in the religious world that is, perhaps, more dangerous than the “look at” group. Many people in religious settings today advocate for an all accepting, lacking in consequences type of religion. It does not matter what god one believes in or even if someone believes in a god at all. All that really matters is the goodness of the person. What may be true for them may not be true for me, but that is alright because everything is relative. As such, there are many houses of worship that do not advocate a subscription to a set of beliefs. This philosophy takes Lewis’s idea in “Meditation in a Toolshed” to an extreme. While it is important to recognize that we, as Christians, need to be accepting of others, we also must not forget that the only way to be saved is by belief in Jesus Christ.

 While Lewis acknowledges that the way one views things sometimes changes based on the situation, he would not agree that one way can never be better than the other. Lewis states at the end of the essay that “We do not know in advance whether the lover or the psychologist is giving the more correct account of love, or whether both accounts are equally correct in different ways, or whether bother are equally wrong (3).” The best way for us to determine which way to look at a situation is to use the tools we have been given. Religious and intellectual leaders, parents, teachers, and peers can all help us look at situations in different ways, but the only infallible authority will be the Bible. Unfortunately, the Bible does not explicitly state the answers to many of these deep questions, so we must do our best to assess situations and pick the correct perspective.