Wednesday, November 29, 2006

C.S. Lewis


Was born today November 29 in 1898 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I loved his Space Trilogy, though it's written for children, I was impressed by Lewis' intelligence and subtlety. In high school, East Catholic no less, you couldn't swing a cat without hitting a C.S. Lewis tome so I was surprised to learn that he wasn't Roman Catholic. His Christian apologetics are first rate, notably Mere Christianity and The Great Divorce.
This quote by Lewis, it's describes to a large degree why I am a conservative:
We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.
And this quote on the nature of man:
You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Screwtape Letters were my introduction to Lewis from a woman who could be your ideological twin while I was in the army, she was even at the 84 Republican convention. I also enjoyed the film Shadowlands with Anthony Hopkins as Lewis.

El Duderino said...

I saw Hopkins and Winger meandering around on a bridge in Oxford waiting for their scene to be shot, yet oddly enough I still havn't seen the movie.

CultMan said...

The so-called "Space Trilogy" is still my favorite, especially "That Hideous Strenght", which makes an acute presentation on how human society "works"; the NICE vs The Christian Community.

www.dod.org will send you a free DVD on CS Lewis.

CultMan said...

One more thing -- you do not "have a body" either; "spirit and matter, in Man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature," ie the human person. Somewhere in Vatican II (Gaudium et Spes?) or the new Catechism.

I don't know the source of the Lewis quote. But Lewis did have an almost imperceptible strain of dualism in his writings (and also in his chosen style of worship - he hated singing at Church, and the ritual he, apparently, merely endured. But even so, this was almost overwhelmed by his sense that we Christians need to rememeber we are not only spirits. Hence, that great, recurring theme in The Screwtape Letters, etc. I especially like his take on this in his short essay against the Ordination of women.

Anonymous said...

"I especially like his take on this in his short essay against the Ordination of women."

That is hell of way to end a paragraph and begin a fight.

CultMan said...

Yes'm. Them's fightin' words.

But I am a confirmed pacifist (just kiddin' El D! Ha ha, fooled ya!). Remember 'rastlin' around on my parents' front lawn, and I always kicked your a**? Back when I was in shape.... But then again El D, you are probably as much of a hot air balloon, in your old age, as am I, no?

But seriously, I would be happy to engage anyone in a discussion about CS Lewis' article on Ordination, and Christian theological/philosophical anthropology....

I might be outta my league, but as far as I know, I am among one of the few N. Americans who might actually be 'qualified' to do so, as the Christian view of Human sexuality, ecclesiology, sacramentality, and the development of Xristian doctrine are the things "tiggers like best", and the "wonderful thing about tiggers etc." And I'm the only one.

CultMan said...

PS "Shadowlands" was very enjoyable, but somewhat inaccurate in moments.... but who doesn't enjoy A. Hopkins et al in a film? Forgivable, and the film maintained 'unity' by pseudo-dramatizing certain parts. Heck, that's art, and ya gotta make it. Fine film.