The Quotable Lewis

After two weeks of mid-term madness and 15-page research papers, I am very thankful to see this weekend nearing. Please pray for us; Kyle and I are exhausted, but thankful.

As mentioned, I just completed a 15-page research paper for my Theology I class. The topic I chose is "C.S. Lewis and the Problem of Evil." Lewis has long been my favorite author and apologist, and this tedious and difficult paper has revived my admiration of his writings. I thought it worthwhile, in light of this, to post a few of my favorite quotes from the man who called himself Jack...

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."   -The Problem of Pain

"Tribulations cannot cease until God either sees us remade or sees that our remaking is now hopeless."   -The Problem of Pain

“Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”   -The Screwtape Letters


"Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind." -Letters to an American Lady


"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."   -Mere Christianity 

"When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less. A moderately bad man knows he is not very good: a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right."   -Mere Christianity 


"Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable."   -A Grief Observed 

I may be a bit biased, but I would highly recommend that you pick up a book or two by Lewis. They read quite easily, and he writes everything from essays to apologetic literature to fairytales. Unless you are willing to die on the hill of distinctly Southern Baptist doctrine, there is much that you can stand to learn from this Episcopalian Oxford don.

Some of my favorites include:
Mere Christianity
The Screwtape Letters
A Grief Observed
Till We Have Faces
The Great Divorce
The Four Loves 



Cheerio.

A Troubling Rant from Fellow Christians

I've tried and tried to ignore it, but after today, I cannot help but express my opinion on this matter. 


I have heard many Christians - friends and family members included - ridicule the media, fellow Christians, and myself for giving any attention to the two dogs in Japan who stuck by each other's side in the aftermath of the recent disaster. At every turn, I'm hearing Christians say, "Why are you reporting on dogs instead of the tragedy?" or "You should be more worried about the 500,000 Japanese people without a place to live than about the lives of two animals." 


On some level, these are fair assertions to make...but it also involves a tremendous amount of assumption on the part of the accusers. Nobody ever said that the media isn't reporting on larger issues tied to the disaster or that I don't care about the families without homes or the spiritual condition of those whose lives were lost. This story is a small, sweet reminder that there is still HOPE for Japan; that, despite everything, all is NOT lost. If it takes two measly dogs to remind the world of that, then so be it. 


So, unashamedly, I'd like to invite you to watch this news clip from Japan. Yes, it's about dogs. And no, I'm not less of a Christian for caring about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_8yIPLAJZQ