Will Vaus

Here we go with week 2 of our discussion of Mere Theology . This week we get into the meat of the book and talk about Lewis's work as an apologist. I look forward to hearing your responses to these questions, as well as hearing questions of your own. . . . Do you agree with the statement: We cannot prove the existence of God?Why or why not? Have you experienced sehnsucht? If so, describe the experience. Do you think the experience of sehnsucht is an echo of our human longing for God? Many people today say they do not believe in any kind of absolute right and wrong. Do you think this belief can be held consistently? Do you think that some sort of belief in ultimate Reason is necessary to science or clear thinking in general? Why or why not? What do you think of Lewis's evaluation of various world-views? Do you think they hold water, or are they too superficial? What about Lewis's argument that Jesus was either a madman, something worse, or the Son of God? Is this ar...

Here we go! This is the beginning of our discussion of Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C. S. Lewis . The plan is for each of us to read one chapter of Mere Theology every week and then discuss it. Each week or so I will offer a few questions to get us started on each new chapter, starting this week with the Introduction to the book. We may go slower than a chapter a week if a lot of discussion is generated. So here are the questions for the first week: How were you introduced to the work of C. S. Lewis? What Lewis books have you read? Why do you think Lewis denied being a real theologian? What do you think of Lewis's definition of theology as "the science of God"? Do you think theology is more like science or more like art? In what ways does Lewis approach theology like a science? In what ways does he treat theology as an art? Do you agree with Lewis that theology is like a map? If so, is it a helpful map? Why or why not? Do you agree with Lewis that t...

A few of the members of our Harrisonburg C. S. Lewis Society have expressed a desire to discuss my book: Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C. S. Lewis . So, with this blog I hereby announce the forthcoming discussion. We will discuss one chapter per week. This should take about 27 weeks! I will post a few questions each week dealing with each chapter, just to get the discussion going. Then you can join in by posting a comment on that question. It would be helpful to know how many Lewisians out in cyberspace would like to join in, so you can let me know by posting a comment on this blog. If you need to purchase the book I would recommend doing one of two things. Click on the link to order from Amazon.com: http://www.willvaus.com/mere_theology or, if you would like a signed copy, send a check for $25 (covering the cost of the book plus S&H) to: Will Vaus P. O. Box 581 Monterey VA 24465 and I will send you an autographed copy. Any questions?

A friend's blog written yesterday ( http://wesroberts.typepad.com/ ) got me thinking about C. S. Lewis's experience of the church. I wrote this in a comment on Wes Robert's blog: It is interesting to note that C. S. Lewis attended the same small church for over thirty years. The experience was nothing spectacular on a weekly basis. For most of those years Lewis didn't care much for the sermons; he even sat behind a pillar so that the priest would not see the expression on his face. He attended the service without music because he so disliked hymns. And he left right after holy communion was served probably because he didn't like to engage in small talk with other parishioners after the service. But that life-long obedience in the same direction shaped Lewis in a way that nothing else could. Lewis was once asked, "Is attendance at a place of worship or membership with a Christian community necessary to a Christian way of life?" His answer w...

Enjoy this video blog of Ben Barnes, the new Prince Caspian from the forthcoming movie . . .