I deeply enjoyed the talk with our guest speaker. I enjoyed the correlation between Bible verses and direct applications to our life. The analogies were helpful and applicable. I wished we could have had more time with him. I enjoyed the sticker that he showed us with the man on his knees. I believe that this is the only way we can truly come to God, in prayer.
What more can be said that hasn't already been said?
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Inner Ring
(In response to The Inner Ring except by C.S. Lewis)
The quest for the inner ring appears to be a meaningless runaround that is descriptive of all our lives. We are constantly caught up with proving ourselves, or having some sort of approval. We all seek glory, or a place to fit in, a place that makes us feel superior to others, a sense of accomplishment.
I believe that every person who lives has at one point questioned the meaning of their existence. They seek to find some meaning in life. Regardless of their religious beliefs we are all on a journey to find meaning. I believe that God has placed this void among us. We as humans find ourselves searching for something on this world to fill that void. However, there cannot be anything that fills the void, there cannot be anything to make us feel completely accepted, nothing to give us perfect joy, and nothing to completely suffice our hunger for happiness. We search the ins and the outs of the world, looking in every dark dank corner, and every lighted room. Still we find nothing. This is what allows us to know that we are not made for this world. If we were made for this world, for this finite existence, then we would be able to find something that satisfies these appetites. We search among our things and friends to find meaning, to find a sense of worth that can never be found. C. S. Lewis talks of this endless pursuit to an inner ring. Once a ring has been entered it loses its appeal, we seek yet another ring, an endless pursuit for emptiness.
"In the whole of your life as you now remember it, has the desire to be on the right side of that invisible line ever prompted you to any act or word on which, in the cold small hours of a wakeful night, you can look back with satisfaction?" C. S. Lewis poses this question rhetorically because he knows that non of us can answer in the affirmative.
"Until you conquer the fear of being an outsider, an outsider you will remain." It is this that drives our search for fulfillment. We desperately want to be included; however, our desperate desire will lead us nowhere, and it is not until we give up this desire that we can in fact be included in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is not until we give up the notion of ourselves that we enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
C.S. Lewis goes on to speak of the difference between "the search for the inner ring" and friendship. "But the difference is that the secrecy is accidental, and its exclusiveness a by-product, and no one was led thither by the lure of the esoteric: for it is only four or five people who like one another meeting to do things that they like. This is friendship."
The quest for the inner ring appears to be a meaningless runaround that is descriptive of all our lives. We are constantly caught up with proving ourselves, or having some sort of approval. We all seek glory, or a place to fit in, a place that makes us feel superior to others, a sense of accomplishment.
I believe that every person who lives has at one point questioned the meaning of their existence. They seek to find some meaning in life. Regardless of their religious beliefs we are all on a journey to find meaning. I believe that God has placed this void among us. We as humans find ourselves searching for something on this world to fill that void. However, there cannot be anything that fills the void, there cannot be anything to make us feel completely accepted, nothing to give us perfect joy, and nothing to completely suffice our hunger for happiness. We search the ins and the outs of the world, looking in every dark dank corner, and every lighted room. Still we find nothing. This is what allows us to know that we are not made for this world. If we were made for this world, for this finite existence, then we would be able to find something that satisfies these appetites. We search among our things and friends to find meaning, to find a sense of worth that can never be found. C. S. Lewis talks of this endless pursuit to an inner ring. Once a ring has been entered it loses its appeal, we seek yet another ring, an endless pursuit for emptiness.
"In the whole of your life as you now remember it, has the desire to be on the right side of that invisible line ever prompted you to any act or word on which, in the cold small hours of a wakeful night, you can look back with satisfaction?" C. S. Lewis poses this question rhetorically because he knows that non of us can answer in the affirmative.
"Until you conquer the fear of being an outsider, an outsider you will remain." It is this that drives our search for fulfillment. We desperately want to be included; however, our desperate desire will lead us nowhere, and it is not until we give up this desire that we can in fact be included in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is not until we give up the notion of ourselves that we enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
C.S. Lewis goes on to speak of the difference between "the search for the inner ring" and friendship. "But the difference is that the secrecy is accidental, and its exclusiveness a by-product, and no one was led thither by the lure of the esoteric: for it is only four or five people who like one another meeting to do things that they like. This is friendship."
Thursday, March 20, 2008
The Fall
(In response to Chapter 3 "The Fall" in Engaging God's World by C. Plantinga Jr.)
This chapter was particularly interesting and deepened my thoughts in terms of where sin comes from. Because sin has so perversed our lives my struggle is with preventing sin, and not searching out its source. Plantinga analyzes the origin of sin. He says that it cannot be from God because not only would that be against his nature, but God wouldn't be a loving god if he caused his creation to sin. There would be no justice or salvation, something that he promises and fulfills through Christ. The interesting thing is that he says that Sin doesn't come from Satan either. Satan doesn't cause us to sin, rather he only presents to us an opportunity to sin, or tempts us to sin. He doesn't provide the causation for sinning. This is interesting when you think about it because if Satan cannot cause you to sin he is powerless. His power is that of persuasion and not of a controlling demon. This is something that I find comfort in.
I also liked the analysis of sinners. Sin causes us to become perverted and that perverted person lacks judgment. This lack of judgment brings the person to more sin. This is a cycle that cannot be overcome even though we may want it to. We are born into original sin, with a proclivity to do that sinning. It is only through the grace of God and the salvation that he brings to us on the cross that we can overcome the grave and live eternally with him.
Good insights by Plantinga, I enjoyed this chapter deeply and enjoyed seeing things from a newly presented perspective.
This chapter was particularly interesting and deepened my thoughts in terms of where sin comes from. Because sin has so perversed our lives my struggle is with preventing sin, and not searching out its source. Plantinga analyzes the origin of sin. He says that it cannot be from God because not only would that be against his nature, but God wouldn't be a loving god if he caused his creation to sin. There would be no justice or salvation, something that he promises and fulfills through Christ. The interesting thing is that he says that Sin doesn't come from Satan either. Satan doesn't cause us to sin, rather he only presents to us an opportunity to sin, or tempts us to sin. He doesn't provide the causation for sinning. This is interesting when you think about it because if Satan cannot cause you to sin he is powerless. His power is that of persuasion and not of a controlling demon. This is something that I find comfort in.
I also liked the analysis of sinners. Sin causes us to become perverted and that perverted person lacks judgment. This lack of judgment brings the person to more sin. This is a cycle that cannot be overcome even though we may want it to. We are born into original sin, with a proclivity to do that sinning. It is only through the grace of God and the salvation that he brings to us on the cross that we can overcome the grave and live eternally with him.
Good insights by Plantinga, I enjoyed this chapter deeply and enjoyed seeing things from a newly presented perspective.
Phillia
(In response to "The Four Loves" chapter 2: "Philia" Friendship by C.S. Lewis)
C.S. Lewis talks of friendship from several different viewpoints in this chapter. He states that it is the least natural of loves. He goes on to say that friendship is not a necessity to life. One can hardly argue that we need friends in order to live and go about our daily lives, yet at the same time can any of us imagine navigating the troubles of this world alone? Certainly friendships help us through our lives and provide a support system that is not found elsewhere. Oh ya, a support system like the church. God calls us to be in a community of believers, and I think in a sense he calls us to surround ourselves with good friends. Friends are people who can influence us immensely. Due to this fact we must be careful in choosing our friends. I am a friend of God, he knows my name. We must use Christ's example of how to befriend those around us and apply it to our relationships.
I found it interesting when he talked about how friends meet... that they don't set out to meet or become friends but that it just happens. He says that those who set out to make friends have no friends. Because friendship is not something you can create, it is some shared focal point that you have in common. Some goal or direction that you are both seeking that brings you together and allows you to connect on a level that others cannot.
I found it interesting when Lewis said that: "The very condition of having Friends is that we should want something else besides Friends." It means that we as humans are not here for friendships, or relationships that do not last and that we are not here for eros, friendships closely resembling our relationship to God. What we are here for is to love God, and seek AGAPE--the greatest of loves.
Quotes:
"We meet like sovereign princes of independent states, abroad, on neutral ground, freed from our contexts."
"But in Friendship, being free of all that, we think we have chosen our peers. In reality, a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another, posting to different regiments, the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting--any of these chances might have kept us apart."
"Man, pleas thy Maker, and be merry, / And give not for this world a cherry."
--Dunbar
C.S. Lewis talks of friendship from several different viewpoints in this chapter. He states that it is the least natural of loves. He goes on to say that friendship is not a necessity to life. One can hardly argue that we need friends in order to live and go about our daily lives, yet at the same time can any of us imagine navigating the troubles of this world alone? Certainly friendships help us through our lives and provide a support system that is not found elsewhere. Oh ya, a support system like the church. God calls us to be in a community of believers, and I think in a sense he calls us to surround ourselves with good friends. Friends are people who can influence us immensely. Due to this fact we must be careful in choosing our friends. I am a friend of God, he knows my name. We must use Christ's example of how to befriend those around us and apply it to our relationships.
I found it interesting when he talked about how friends meet... that they don't set out to meet or become friends but that it just happens. He says that those who set out to make friends have no friends. Because friendship is not something you can create, it is some shared focal point that you have in common. Some goal or direction that you are both seeking that brings you together and allows you to connect on a level that others cannot.
I found it interesting when Lewis said that: "The very condition of having Friends is that we should want something else besides Friends." It means that we as humans are not here for friendships, or relationships that do not last and that we are not here for eros, friendships closely resembling our relationship to God. What we are here for is to love God, and seek AGAPE--the greatest of loves.
Quotes:
"We meet like sovereign princes of independent states, abroad, on neutral ground, freed from our contexts."
"But in Friendship, being free of all that, we think we have chosen our peers. In reality, a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another, posting to different regiments, the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting--any of these chances might have kept us apart."
"Man, pleas thy Maker, and be merry, / And give not for this world a cherry."
--Dunbar
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Eros
(In response to chapter 3 of The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis and 1 Corinthians 13)
If I do anything but have not love, then I have nothing. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a) If we take this definition of what love is, and we take what we know about God--that God IS love-- then we can use this as a definition of who God is. God does not keep any records of wrongs, he always protects us, and he never ever fails. The Bible has presented us with a perfect definition of what love is. 1 Corinthians 13 describes what we should be looking for in a relationship, this is what we desire, and should strive for. We must keep this in mind while we read and discern the meaning of C.S. Lewis's The Four Loves.
"Very often what comes first is simply a delighted pre-ocupation with the Beloved," I believe this fits into a working definition of what love is in the fact that it is first an unexplainable joy rather than a deep love that develops first.
Lewis goes on to develop a term called Eros. This term I believe describes what love should be. Lewis says that "Sexual desire, without Eros, wants it (my emphasis), the thing in itself, Eros wants the Beloved." I believe that this refers to sex as an object, or desiring the person as an object to perform a task, rather than desiring the person in order to have a dynamic relationship. We must be careful not to become creatures driven by sexual desires. "We must not attempt to find an absolute in the flesh."
I did find it interesting to hear the take on nakedness. He made reference that naked was the past action of naking, meaning to become naked. If this is true then man is not meant to be naked, rather he had to change his state in order to become naked. When we were created we were created naked. However, this term, no the realization of our nakedness came into being until after the fall. So, before the fall we were perfectly right to be naked, but after the fall we have become changed beings and therefore must accommodate our change and cloth ourselves.
This reading shed light on one way and description of love. It was interesting to read. It makes me look forward to what is to come, and what can be realized in life.
If I do anything but have not love, then I have nothing. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a) If we take this definition of what love is, and we take what we know about God--that God IS love-- then we can use this as a definition of who God is. God does not keep any records of wrongs, he always protects us, and he never ever fails. The Bible has presented us with a perfect definition of what love is. 1 Corinthians 13 describes what we should be looking for in a relationship, this is what we desire, and should strive for. We must keep this in mind while we read and discern the meaning of C.S. Lewis's The Four Loves.
"Very often what comes first is simply a delighted pre-ocupation with the Beloved," I believe this fits into a working definition of what love is in the fact that it is first an unexplainable joy rather than a deep love that develops first.
Lewis goes on to develop a term called Eros. This term I believe describes what love should be. Lewis says that "Sexual desire, without Eros, wants it (my emphasis), the thing in itself, Eros wants the Beloved." I believe that this refers to sex as an object, or desiring the person as an object to perform a task, rather than desiring the person in order to have a dynamic relationship. We must be careful not to become creatures driven by sexual desires. "We must not attempt to find an absolute in the flesh."
I did find it interesting to hear the take on nakedness. He made reference that naked was the past action of naking, meaning to become naked. If this is true then man is not meant to be naked, rather he had to change his state in order to become naked. When we were created we were created naked. However, this term, no the realization of our nakedness came into being until after the fall. So, before the fall we were perfectly right to be naked, but after the fall we have become changed beings and therefore must accommodate our change and cloth ourselves.
This reading shed light on one way and description of love. It was interesting to read. It makes me look forward to what is to come, and what can be realized in life.
Monday, March 3, 2008
The Sermon and the Lunch
(In response to "The Sermon and the Lunch" by C.S. Lewis)
I can somewhat understand the position of Lewis and of the youth not listening to someone who they know is a hypocrite and is trying to portray themselves in a perfect light. Teachers, Ministers, parents, and leaders should be careful with what they say and be careful not to contradict their words with their actions. They must also be able to communicate to their audience that they are themselves fallible due to the fall and therefore they themselves are not the model to strive after. Only God, Jesus Christ the incarnate, can be our true example.
I do however feel that any person who attempts to teach someone moral values is himself a hypocrite. With the exception of Jesus we are all sinful by nature and therefore cannot be perfect in our teaching and actions. We can however be striving towards that perfection, trying to be in the image of God. As Matthew 5:48 says, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." This is our goal, while non of us can achieve this we must still strive for it.
"The real minds of the young people have at last been called into action. They talk fiercely, quickly, contemptuously. They have facts and logic on their side. " This quote makes me proud as a young person. This is the first time that I can think of that the youth are talked about in a positive light.
"Since the Fall no organization or way of life whatever has a natural tendency to go right." This cannot be used as our excuse to do wrong, rather it should only be used to keep us out of great depression and deep troughs in our lives.
I can somewhat understand the position of Lewis and of the youth not listening to someone who they know is a hypocrite and is trying to portray themselves in a perfect light. Teachers, Ministers, parents, and leaders should be careful with what they say and be careful not to contradict their words with their actions. They must also be able to communicate to their audience that they are themselves fallible due to the fall and therefore they themselves are not the model to strive after. Only God, Jesus Christ the incarnate, can be our true example.
I do however feel that any person who attempts to teach someone moral values is himself a hypocrite. With the exception of Jesus we are all sinful by nature and therefore cannot be perfect in our teaching and actions. We can however be striving towards that perfection, trying to be in the image of God. As Matthew 5:48 says, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." This is our goal, while non of us can achieve this we must still strive for it.
"The real minds of the young people have at last been called into action. They talk fiercely, quickly, contemptuously. They have facts and logic on their side. " This quote makes me proud as a young person. This is the first time that I can think of that the youth are talked about in a positive light.
"Since the Fall no organization or way of life whatever has a natural tendency to go right." This cannot be used as our excuse to do wrong, rather it should only be used to keep us out of great depression and deep troughs in our lives.
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