Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. It therefore has nothing (as far as I know) to say to people who do not know they have done anything to repent of and who do not feel they need any forgiveness. C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity.
Archive for the 'C.S. Lewis' Category
In England, when a prisoner is on trial, the place where he sits is called “the dock.” So, the accused is said to be “in the dock.”
C.S. Lewis, in his brilliant essay, “God in the Dock,” points out that somehow modern man thinks that God is “in the Dock”: that God must give an account of himself to humanity.
The ancient man approached God (or even the gods) as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man the roles are reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock. He is quite a kindly judge: if God should have a reasonable defence for being the god who permits war, poverty, and disease, he is ready to listen to it. The trial may even end in God’s acquittal. But the important thing is that Man is on the Bench and God in the Dock (God in the Dock, page 244).[1]
Who can deny that Modern Man largely believes that God must defend himself to human beings? Somehow, Modern Humanity is audacious enough to act as though God must meet a standard humanity establishes.
Can anything be more ridiculous?
It’s as though Modern Man stands on the edge of the Sears tower in Chicago and peers over the side. With his toes hanging over the edge, and the wind gusting at his back, even as he watches others scream and pitch over the side, Modern Man says smugly, “I am not sure that I approve of the law of gravity. In fact, I’m not sure I agree with it at all. What kind of a law would cause people to fall off objects?”
Don’t get me wrong. Modern Man is a reasonable sort of “chap” (I have to stay with British words when interacting with Lewis), he is willing to listen to a few defend to him the law of gravity. But, generally, he takes a pass on accepting that gravity has any particular bearing for him and those he knows.
So, for a few moments - - the length of time a wisp of steam rises over your coffee cup (James 4:14), Modern Man stands with a smirk on his face laughing at the law of gravity. Soon enough, a gust of wind comes along and an eternal plunge begins.
[1] C.S. Lewis, “God in the Dock,” in God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics, ed. Walter Hooper (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970), 244.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader blog has already posted initial impressions of Prince Caspian. Don’t go there if you haven’t seen the movie yet.
Our family went last night and I won’t give anything away, except to say that we do think it is worth seeing. (And, given the price of movies, that is saying something).
CT interviews the director of the forthcoming Chronicles of Narnia movie, Prince Caspian. Read it here.
Click here to read a CT article about how Lewis had more in common with Prince Caspian than any of his other characters.
It’s only a month or so until the second of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia hits the big screen. (See Narnia: Prince Caspian)
I won’t tell you what happens, but one of my favorite parts in Prince Caspian is a part where Peter is having a dual with an evil king.
At one point, there is a break in the fighting. The dual isn’t going Peter’s way, and his brother Edmund says, “I say, Peter, you can beat him can’t you.” And, Peter responds, “Well, that’s why we’re fighting him. To find out.”
Lewis’ point here was that part of the adventure of the Christian life is that we don’t know how every particular dual will come out. That’s why it’s an adventure.
There are no guarantees about how a particular matter in your life may be resolved. The adventure is in continuing on for Christ, even when things look bleak. But, never forget this. Christ the King will win in the end.
On Tuesday, April 22, at 6:30, I will be leading a special discussion on Prince Caspian at the Julia Hull District Library in Stillman Valley. If you are a fan of the Chronicles of Narnia, or you would like to hear some reflection on how Lewis’ Chronicles are relevant for life, then join us on April 22 at the library in Stillman Valley.
John Piper summarizes advice C.S. Lewis gave to children on writing. You can read it here.
As Piper notes, it’s also good advice for those who preach and speak.
I see some areas where I need to target growth.
Prince Caspian (watch the trailer here) is coming soon! Jamie and I have talked about the idea of having a Prince Caspian party for church. Either way, I’ll be giving a special talk entitled, Savoring Prince Caspian at the Julia Hull District Library here in Stillman Valley, on April
You can read a post from Trevin Wax here. I agree with Trevin that I am a little sad Continue reading ‘Prince Caspian’
If you have ever experienced longings or yearnings of the soul, what the Germans called “sensucht” than you need to read C.S. Lewis.
From C.S. Lewis, Surpised by Joy:
Early in 1926 the hardest boiled of all the atheists I ever knew sat in my room on the other side of the fire and remarked that the evidence for the Continue reading ‘When C.S. Lewis Was “Shattered”’
