{"id":32695,"date":"2023-08-15T18:56:11","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T01:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=32695"},"modified":"2023-08-15T18:56:11","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T01:56:11","slug":"learning-from-c-s-lewis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/learning-from-c-s-lewis\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning from C.S. Lewis"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I pull into my driveway, I arrive at 4332 Morning Brook Court, Stockton, California. This is a special place: it is home. The physical locality of my home has some significance, but not so much as the people who I know in my home. When I walk through my front door, what gives me joy is my family and the many memories with the people whom I love. While reading<\/span> The Secret History of Oxford<\/span><\/i>, I couldn\u2019t help but think: walking onto Oxford campus will be exciting as it is rich in history, but also because I will be in the home of <\/span>who<\/span><\/i> has lived there, making it the place that it is.<\/span><\/p>\n

In chapter three of <\/span>The Secret History of Oxford<\/span><\/i>, a list of the many celebrities are described. The celebrity which holds the most meaning for me is C.S. Lewis, a presiding professor at Oxford from 1925-1954. [1] This is the person who makes the pilgrimage to Oxford worth my time and expense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

C.S. Lewis Contribution to Christian Thought<\/b><\/p>\n

I had a set direction in looking at the life of C.S. Lewis at the beginning of this month (August 2023) and I ambitiously collected many C.S. Lewis books with the intention of reading as much as I could in one month’s time. Consuming the writings of C.S. Lewis has been a journey. I discovered that my efforts pale in contrast to others who have gained much from this man who wrote so clearly what we believe as Christians. Timothy Keller, in his book <\/span>The Meaning of Marriage<\/span><\/i>, shares a story about a man who attended his church who said of Keller, \u201cWhen you are well prepared for a sermon, you site a great variety of sources, but when you aren’t well prepared, you just quote C.S. Lewis.\u201d\u00a0 [2]\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Keller agreed with this man and shared the profound influence Lewis has had on him: \u201cWhen you dive deeply into the life and works of a single figure, something interesting happens. You don\u2019t just get to know his writings; you get to know how his mind works. [3]\u00a0 Christian writers use C.S. Lewis as an example of someone who knew how to approach scripture and what God intended us to learn. Leighton Ford, in her book <\/span>The Attentive Life<\/span><\/i>, makes C.S. Lewis the example of someone who paid attention to how creation illustrates what God wants to communicate with those seeking Him. [4] I have been inspired while reading other books, discovering C.S. Lewis as a role model to learn from!<\/span><\/p>\n

C.S. Lewis Contribution as an Author<\/b><\/p>\n

C.S. Lewis\u2019 contribution as an author is staggering; he authored over thirty books. I wanted to challenge myself to read some of his works which I had not read before, or had not read extensively. In this essay I will draw from several of these books. I picked up <\/span>The Problem of Pain <\/span><\/i>and was struck with this insight: \u201cGod whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.\u201d [5] Working as a Marriage and Family therapist, I often get to hear my clients’ pain and ask the Spirit, \u201cHow are you at work in this person\u2019s life, Lord?\u201d On page 25 Lewis states: \u201cTry to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself.\u201d [6] Lewis is able to share the purpose of pain. My father would often say: \u201cEmbrace the pain.\u201d I believe this is what I must do and then surrender it to the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Grief Observed<\/span><\/i> was helpful because it gave me a clearer picture for how Lewis\u2019 lamented the loss of his wife, Joy.\u00a0 <\/span>A couple of years ago, I read <\/span>Becoming Mrs. Lewis <\/span><\/i>by Patti Callahan. This author wrote compellingly, taking great efforts to draw from manuscripts that Lewis wrote, but her work is still a fictional account of Lewis’s and Joy Davidman’s love story.<\/span> Some of Callahan’s conclusions were in question to the reader’s, such as\u00a0 C.S. Lewis’ intentions in marrying Joy.\u00a0 <\/span>A Grief Observed <\/span><\/i>was validating for me as it substantiated the great love that C.S. Lewis had for his wife and his great loss in her death. [7]<\/span><\/p>\n

Aspirations to be like C.S. Lewis<\/b><\/p>\n

Reflections on the Psalms<\/span><\/i> gives me an example to emulate as C.S. Lewis describes how he goes about his writing: \u201cI write as one amateur to another\u2026I am comparing notes, not presuming to instruct. It may appear to some that I have used the Psalms merely as pegs on which to hang a series of miscellaneous essays.\u201d[8]\u00a0 As I enter into my final year as a doctorate student, I am encouraged by Lewis\u2019 humble yet courageous example to write.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Further inspiration from C.S. Lewis came in reading <\/span>Mere Christianity <\/span><\/i>where he describes how a Christian is to live. In the IV section of this book he describes how we are to live within the trinity, calling it a \u201cGood Infection.\u201d Lewis uses imagery to describe how this life is pursued: \u201cIf you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water.\u201d [9] This encourages me in the spiritual disciplines of reading my Bible and spending time waiting on God. It is my desire to live this kind of life in becoming more like Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I go to Oxford in September, I look forward to being in this remarkable place and I hope to learn more about C.S. Lewis and the profound impact of his life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1] Sullivan, Paul, <\/span>The Secret History of Oxford<\/span><\/i>, Gloucestershire: The History Press, 2013., p.129<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] Keller, Timothy, <\/span>The Meaning of Marriage, <\/span><\/i>\u00a0Penguin Books 2016, p.75<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] Ibid. p.75<\/span><\/p>\n

[4] Ford, Leighton, <\/span>The Attentive Life: Discerning God\u2019s Presence in All Things<\/span><\/i>, Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2008, p.16<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] Lewis, C.S., <\/span>The Problem of Pain<\/span><\/i>, New York: MacMillan1940, p.91<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] Ibid. p.25<\/span><\/p>\n

[7] Lewis, C.S., <\/span>A Grief Observed<\/span><\/i>, New York: Harper Collins,1961, p.2<\/span><\/p>\n

[8] Lewis, C.S. <\/span>Reflections on the Psalms<\/span><\/i>, San Francisco: Harper Collins 1958, p.2<\/span><\/p>\n

[9] Lewis, C.S.\u00a0 <\/span>Mere Christianity<\/span><\/i>, New York: Macmillan.1952 p.143<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I pull into my driveway, I arrive at 4332 Morning Brook Court, Stockton, California. This is a special place: it is home. The physical locality of my home has some significance, but not so much as the people who I know in my home. When I walk through my front door, what gives me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2794,1552],"class_list":["post-32695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-c-s-lewis","tag-oxford","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32695"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32696,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32695\/revisions\/32696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}