Letters to Children

Out of the hundreds of letters C. S. Lewis wrote during his lifetime my favorite letters are those which he wrote to children. Lewis's correspondence with one of the young readers of Narnia, and the child's mother, have now been posted online. You can read that correspondence and a bit about the background to these letters by clicking here: http://home.comcast.net/~krieg5208/Lewis/index.htm.

15 More Days and Counting!

Only 15 more days until Prince Caspian opens in theaters in the United States! My family can't wait. What about you?

New Book

I have a new book in the works! To learn more about it click here: http://narniaprof.blogspot.com.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The photo above is of me sitting on the grave of St. Patrick in the lovely city of Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. I don't know if C. S. Lewis ever visited Downpatrick but I imagine he did since it is in his beloved County Down. At any rate, Lewis did have this to say about asking for the prayers of the saints:

"There is clearly a theological defence for it; if you can ask for the prayers of the living, why should you not ask for the prayers of the dead? There is clearly also a great danger. In some popular practice we see it leading off into an infinitely silly picture of Heaven as an earthly court where applicants will be wise to pull the right wires, discover the best 'channels,' and attach themselves to the most influential pressure groups. But I have nothing to do with all this. I am not thinking of adopting the practice myself; and who am I to judge the practices of others? I only hope there'll be no scheme for canonisations in the Church of England. Can you imagine a better hot-bed for yet more divisions between us?

"The consoling thing is that while Christendom is divided about the rationality, and even the lawfulness, of praying to the saints, we are all agreed about praying with them. 'With angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.' Will you believe it? It is only quite recently I made that quotation a part of my private prayers--I festoon it round 'hallowed be Thy name.' This, by the way, illustrates what I was saying last week about the uses of ready-made forms. They remind one. And I have found this quotation a great enrichment. One always accepted this with theoretically. But it is quite different when one brings it into consciousness at an appropriate moment and wills the association of one's own little twitter with the voice of the great saints and (we hope) of our own dear dead. They may drown some of its uglier qualities and set off any tiny value it has." Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, Letter III, para. 3-4.

Forgiveness

I know, I know. It has been a long time since I posted anything on this blog--six weeks or more! Mea culpa! Well, here is the next installment of discussion questions on Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C. S. Lewis. These discussion questions are for chapter 9 on forgiveness:

1. Where are you in terms of "preparing for forgiveness"?
2. What do you think of the definition of forgiveness given in this chapter?
3. Has theoretical belief in God's forgiveness of your sins become a reality for you? Explain.
4. How are you doing at forgiving others? Do you find any of Lewis's suggestions helpful toward that end?
5. What are your thoughts about confessing sins to a spiritual director?

I look forward to reading your responses. . . .

The Holy Spirit

Here are the discussion questions for chapter 8 of Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C. S. Lewis:

1. Is the person and work of the Holy Spirit somewhat mysterious to you as it was to Lewis? Why or why not?
2. What do you think of Lewis's view that the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is more important than the feeling of his presence?
3. Do you agree with Lewis about speaking in tongues? Why or why not?
4. Do you think God speaks to himself through us, as Lewis suggests in his interpretation of Romans 8:26?
5. Which way of God speaking to us do you think is the most important - Scripture, the church, friends, other books? Why?

I look forward to reading your responses. And here is one more question: Why do you think Lewis writes so little about the Holy Spirit?

"Jack" by George Sayer

Last night our C. S. Lewis Society in Harrisonburg, Virginia, was discussing "Jack: A Life of C. S. Lewis" by George Sayer. However, we were only able to discuss about half of Jack's life in an hour and a half! Here are the rest of the discussion questions for anyone from the group, or anyone else for that matter, who would like to comment:

1. How do you think Lewis's life as a fellow and a tutor shaped his life and writing? How did Lewis's re-conversion to Christianity influence his outlook on his job?
2. What people, events and discoveries were influential in Lewis's return to Christian faith?
3. How do you see Lewis's love of nature and walking coming out in his books?
4. Why do you think Lewis wrote his cosmic trilogy? Do you think he succeeded in accomplishing what he set out to do?
5. What impact do you think WWII had on the writing and success of C. S. Lewis as a popular author? How do you think Lewis's BBC talks and his lectures to the RAF influenced his style of writing?
6. What was the response of Lewis's colleagues to the expression of his faith? What do you think we can learn from Lewis in this regard?
7. How do you think Lewis's writing of "Miracles" and his debate with Elizabeth Anscombe at the Socratic Club influenced the future course of Lewis's writing? Do you agree or disagree with Sayer's view on this subject? Why?
8. Why do you think Lewis wrote "The Chronicles of Narnia"? Do you agree with Mr. Sayer that these books will be the best and most long remembered of all Lewis's writing? Why or why not?
9. What influence do you think Lewis's tortuous relationship with Mrs. Moore and his brother Warren's alcoholism had upon him personally and upon his writing?
10. What do you make of Lewis's life-long friendship with Arthur Greeves? Why do you think Lewis kept up his contact with Greeves?
11. What do you think of Lewis's relationship with Joy Davidman Gresham? How is the relationship portrayed in Jack similar or different from that portrayed in the movie Shadowlands? What influence do you think Joy had on Lewis's mature writing?
12. Do you think Lewis lost his faith after the death of his wife? Do you think that he wanted to die or found it difficult to go on living?
13. How do you think reading helped Lewis through some of the difficult times in his life? What do you think of his statement: "In reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in a Greek poem, I see with a thousand eyes, but it is still I who see. Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself: and am never more myself than when I do."?
14. In what ways do you think Lewis grew in his Christian faith from 1931 until his death in 1963?
15. What new insight did this book give you into the man, C. S. Lewis, or into your own spiritual journey?

If you would like to learn more about the C. S. Lewis Society of Harrisonburg, Virginia click on this link: www.willvaus.com/c_s_lewis_society.

Politics, the White Witch & Tumnus

Now I know where the comparison of Hillary Clinton to the White Witch originated. It apparently began with a piece written by John Kass for the Chicago Tribune. Today in the Tribune online Kass wrote:

"Last Sunday, I dipped my fingertips into fairyland analogies, into C. S. Lewis' land of Narnia, describing Obama as a gentle forest faun, the Mr. Tumnus of the Democratic primaries, the one national political character who gets media hugs from almost everybody. I like Obama, but I won't apologize for comparing him to a kind and beloved faun. He is indeed the Mr. Tumnus of
American politics, gently offering free tea and cakes to all Americans, all the free stuff that won't cost us anything (unless you're a taxpayer). He doesn't play a flute, but he sure makes great speeches, and you can see that infectious, charismatic Tumnusotude on TV. But, blinded by Obama, I foolishly used the 'white witch' analogy for Sen. Clinton. So I apologize to her, and not just because my wife told me to. Women have it hard enough without foolish 'white witch' analogies. I went too far, I shouldn't have done it, and besides, Hillary had that emotional moment at the diner the other day, and you probably won't believe me, but it melted my frozen heart. I think it was an absolutely sincere moment. And even though a politician would use everything -- even a sincere moment -- the fact is that Hillary Clinton let her guard down, finally, and stopped being icy."

So there you have it. But still no journalist has dared to compare any of the politicians in the current U. S. presidential race to Aslan. And I think that is very wise.

Any votes for which candidate is most like Mr. Beaver?