Dead Theologians Society, Lakeview Edition

DTS suspended for a season

2009-09-29T12:36:00.000-07:00

I am sorry to say that Dead Theologians will be suspended for the time being. I do apologize for the belated notice. When it came time to restart the group for the fall, I agreed to go ahead with it. However, I have gone back to school and will be starting a new job shortly. At the moment, I don’t feel that I have the time and energy to devote to all those things I’d like to. I am encouraged, however, to see so many other great small group offerings available and hope that you will take advantage of those.

For those who have been a part of this group, I have to say that these past three years have been a great experience, studying alongside you, sharing ideas, struggles and successes. I pray that the family God put together will remain connected even in this new season.

Tortured for Christ reading schedule (Updated 6/18)

2009-05-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

This is the reading schedule for the current book, Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand. If you haven't received your free copy from Voice of the Martyrs, Amazon also has many used copies. The dates are subject to change. We will likely have cookout sometime during this schedule; date to be determined.

I am looking forward to this study and hope that you will go into it prayerfully. While some of Wurmbrand's criticisms of communism may not be as relevant today as they were when he wrote them (simply because of the Soviet Union's fall), I think the broader insights into persecution and how we can live our faith in the face of monumental, even state-sponsored, adversity are valuable and timeless.

JUNE
25 - No group (VBS block party!)

JULY
2 - Cookout? Details to come...
9 - Chapter 4 (pg. 69-84)
16 - Chapter 5
23 - Chapter 6
30 - Chapter 7 & Epilogue

Tortured for Christ starts tonight 5/21

2009-05-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

After taking a week off, we will be getting into our new book tonight--Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand. Don't worry if you haven't received your copy yet. We will be doing intros to the book, author and one another. I'll post a reading schedule in the next few days. Looking forward to diving into this new study with you!

5/14 Update to an Update

2009-05-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hey folks. As you may know, our next study is Richard Wurmbrand's Tortured for Christ. Unfortunately, only one person in the group has received their copy so far. So, we won't be meeting tonight, but should be next week. You may want to request your copy again through VOM, just in case, or possibly even order it through a bookstore online. It's a fairly inexpensive book.

DTS So Far

2009-04-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to revisit the works we've studied as a group since we began in the fall of 2006. Here they are:

The Books...

How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer (actually a video series with study guide)

Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy Sayers

The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

A Practical View of Christianity by William Wilberforce

Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby (an exception to the “dead” theologians rule)

All of Grace by Charles Spurgeon

Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer

And Excerpts From...

Soren Kierkegaard

C.S. Lewis

Flannery O’Connor

Martin Luther

Jonathan Edwards

Thomas Merton

Did I miss any? Let me know.

A.W. Tozer's "Knowledge of the Holy"

2009-02-06T09:18:00.000-08:00

Updated (4/19) reading schedule for A.W. Tozer's Knowledge of the Holy (full text in linked PDF):

APR 22* - Chapters 16, 17 & 18
APR 30 - Chapters 19, 20 & 21
MAY 7 - Chapters 22 & 23

*NOTE: This week we'll be meeting on a Wednesday rather than our usual Thursday. Thanks for your flexibility!

All of Grace by Charles H. Spurgeon

2008-10-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

DTS is currently reading Charles H. Spurgeon's All of Grace. Our remaining schedule is as follows (updated 1-12-09):

January 15
No meeting
January 22
Ch. 17 The Fear of Final Falling
Ch. 18 Confirmation
January 29
Ch. 19 Why Saints Persevere
Ch. 20 Close

We have no yet decided on the next book to be read by the group. Once we have, that will be posted here along with a tentative schedule.

"Dead" not Dead

2008-09-08T23:51:00.000-07:00

To those who kindly stopped by the table at Taste of Small Groups, the random souls who happen upon this site seeking profundity and the friends and family who drop by occasionally to see if I'm in a blogging "groove"...welcome!

For the moment, the blog is functioning as a bulletin board where reading schedules can be posted. Feel free to dig back into the archives if you'd like something more content-rich.

On October 2nd, we'll be getting back into the swing of things. I apologize for the delay and hope that stories and pictures of Africa will make up for the very long intermission. I'd mentioned that we may do a Charles Spurgeon book next, All of Grace. We'll likely decide on the reading and just spend some time catching up and getting to know new folks that day, maybe revisiting the Thomas Merton that we passed over, then diving into Spurgeon the following week.

In the meantime, I covet your prayers. Keep me posted on how I can be praying for you as well. And feel free to leave book study suggestions in the comments. Or poems. Or recipes.

DTS Schedule into the Fall

2008-08-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, I'm leading a group from New Life to Kenya in September (prayers appreciated!). As I've been juggling everything going on, I've realized that I'm not able to devote the time I'd like to everything I'd like to. SO, from now until I get back, the DTS schedule will be a bit lighter. It's not that I don't love you, don't worry. Knowing you DTS faithfuls, I know you'll fill the time with plenty of great opportunities.

Aug. 7 - DTS
Aug. 14 - No group
Aug. 21 - DTS
Aug. 28 - No group
Sept. 4 - Cancelled
Sept. 11, 18, 25 - No group
Oct. 2 - DTS

If you haven't checked out DTS, we've been enjoying a smorgasbord this summer...a Flannery O'Connor short story and excerpts from Soren Kierkegaard, Lewis' Screwtape Letters, Luther's Table Talk and Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Good stuff...

DTS update, 5/27--Input welcome!

2008-05-26T22:41:00.000-07:00

This Thursday, May 29th, we'll be at New Life Lincoln Park instead of my place. We just wrapped up the 40 day Experiencing God study and will be joining the other small groups from Lincoln Park and Lakeview for a night of worship and testimonies. Come at 6pm for pizza. At 7pm, we'll meet as a small group for roughly a half hour then go right into worship.

Next week, we'll be mixing up the format a bit for our group. Throughout the summer we'll be foregoing lengthy theological books for shorter works that folks can more easily fit into summer schedules. We may read an essay one week, a short story another and maybe even dabble in some poetry. It's all going to be within the genre of "works by dead theologians." Or, at least "theologically thought-provoking works by dead believers." I will aim to post a schedule in the very near future, once some of the works have been nailed down. If you have suggestions, let's have 'em!

Experience God with Us - Study Starts 4/10

2008-04-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

We've just finished Wilberforce's A Practical View of Christianity and are jumping right into Reality: 7 Truths from Experiencing God by Henry and Richard Blackaby starting Thursday, April 10th.

This study is a departure for us. You see, this group, as part of its foundational format, studies only the works of deceased authors. Both Blackabys are very much alive, though, and we wish them both well. Our impetus to do this study is to be in solidarity with our church body as a whole, most of whom are also doing this study (or a variation) during this season. We look forward to what God has in store for us, both individually and collectively.

The schedule for this study will be fairly straightforward. The book has seven DVD segments, a weekly group discussion and daily reading for forty days. We'll come together, enjoy some fellowship, eat some snacks, then catch up on how everyone's doing. We'll then dive into the discussion and end with prayer time together.

Please purchase the book prior to group if possible. They should be available for purchase at New Life Lakeview this Sunday, and I will have an extra copy or two. Christian bookstores and online book sellers should also have them available. They're only $4.

If you'd like to join us, you are welcome. We meet Thursdays from 7-9pm at our place near Montrose and Ashland. Parking is usually not difficult, and we are close to the Montrose Brown Line stop. Contact me for directions. We are a mixed group (men, women, married and single) and both my wife Jen and I are involved in the group.

A Practical View of Christianity - Reading Schedule

2008-02-21T22:34:00.000-08:00

Better late than never...here's our reading schedule for the Wilberforce book study. We are biting off slightly larger chunks than we started with in an effort to join the rest of the small groups in doing Experiencing God starting in April. Details to follow as we get closer.

February 28 - pg. 83-115
March 6 - pg. 116-137
March 13 - pg. 138-175
March 20 - pg. 176-205
March 27 - pg. 207-240
April 3 - pg. 241-278

Wilberforce Study Starts Thu., Jan. 17

2008-01-06T08:35:00.000-08:00

Apropos of this political season, our next DTS study will be William Wilberforce's work, A Practical View of Christianity. Wilberforce, a member of British parliament, put his faith in action and was instrumental in abolishing the slave trade in Great Britain. If his name rings a bell, the fairly recent movie Amazing Grace was about Wilberforce and his efforts.

If you are a DTS regular, I enjoyed partying with you twice over the past month and look forward to jumping back into a book study with you. The Pilgrim's Progress made for some great discussion, and I'm eager to see how God will challenge us in this new year and season.

If you're new to DTS or thinking about checking us out, Welcome! We are a mixed group (men and women, married and single) that began as a short-term focus group studying Francis Schaeffer and grew into the Dead Theologians Society. We are not theologians by profession, just people who enjoy being stretched and challenged.

On a "practical" note, we will no longer be meeting in the church cafe. We are now going to be meeting at my apartment, though our time remains the same: 7-9pm. (Contact me for directions.)

Also, the books for the new study will be available to purchase from me. Please order through me for the $6 deal or order the edition linked to above so that we can be sure to all be literally "on the same page" in our discussions. Thanks!

The Pilgrim's Progress Reading Schedule-Revised 12/3

2007-10-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

The following is the reading schedule. Please read the scheduled passage prior to coming to group.

Oct. 24 - through pg. 39
Nov. 1 - pg. 39 - 80
Nov. 8 - NO GROUP
Nov. 15 - pg. 80 - 120
Nov. 22 - THANKSGIVING - NO GROUP
Nov. 29 - 120 - 160
Dec. 6 - 160-191
Dec. 13 - CHRISTMAS PARTY @ PATTY'S
Dec. 20 - 191 - end

The Pilgrimage Begins Oct. 18th

2007-10-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, the next DTS study will be The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. (No, not the guy with the blue ox. That's Paul, his brother.)

This will be a bit of a departure for us. Thus far we've studied Francis Schaeffer's How Should We Then Live, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together, C.S. Lewis' The Weight of Glory and Dorothy Sayers' The Mind of the Maker. Unlike these, The Pilgrim's Progress is not strictly a theological work. It is a story, an allegory of the Christian life. Though we are bound to have good discussion and some deep questions, my hope is that this will give us an opportunity to share our own journeys and spur one another on. That is my prayer.

If you'd like to join us, we will have our first meeting on Thursday, October 18 at 7p.m. in the cafe upstairs at New Life. From that point we may well meet in coffee shops and other places in the community. Notices of a change in location will be emailed or posted here.

We have a great deal on the book for this series--$4, half off the retail price. I encourage you to order the version the rest of the group is using so that we can literally be on the same page in our discussions. If you'd like to order a copy, let me know.

Updated Schedule for "The Mind of the Maker"

2007-09-13T09:14:00.001-07:00

Updated reading schedule for the remainder of The Mind of the Maker. Please have the selection listed with each date read by that date.

Oct. 4 - Chapter 10 & 11

Get Into "The Mind of the Maker" This Week

2007-08-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

The next book study starts this week--Thursday, August 2nd @ 7pm in the Cafe at New Life Lakeview. The book we are diving into is Dorothy Sayers' The Mind of the Maker.

Dead Theologians Society wrestles with works by, you guessed it, dead theologians. While we will typically deal with classic, well-known writers like C.S. Lewis and Dietrich Bonhoeffer (our last two studies), I think it's worthwhile to occasionally throw in an author we're less familiar with, someone who will stretch our discussion a bit and someone whose perspective we may not already know by osmosis through living in Christian community.

The following is a summary from the back cover of the 1987 version published by Harper San Francisco (this is the cheaper of the current paperback versions, by the way, at roughly $11):

This classic, with a new introduction by Madeleine L'Engle, is by turns an entrancing meditation on language; a piercing commentary on the nature of art and why so much of what we read, hear, and see falls short; and a brilliant examination of the fundamental tenets of Christianity. The Mind of the Maker will be relished by those already in love with Dorothy L. Sayers and those who have not yet met her.

A mystery writer, a witty and perceptive theologian, culture critic, and playwright, Dorothy Sayers sheds new, unexpected light on a specific set of statements made in the Christian creeds. She examines anew such ideas as the image of God, the Trinity, free will, and evil, and in these pages a wholly revitalized understanding of them emerges. The author finds the key in the parallels between the creation of God and the human creative process. She continually refers to each in a way that illuminates both.

Ch. 9: A Slip of the Tongue

2007-08-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

This final chapter of this book, and a long-overdue post, is about Lewis' struggle to live out his faith. In it, he begins with a prayer that he prayed. "I had meant to pray that I might so pass through things temporal that I finally lost not the things eternal; I found I had prayed so to pass through things eternal that I finally lost not the things temporal." He adds shortly thereafter, "I thought that what I had inadvertently said very nearly expressed something I had really wished."

On some level, if we are Believers (Christians, the Saved, however you want to put it), we truly want to live lives completely sold-out to God. We want to not even blink an eye when He calls us to do something outside of our comfort zone but to jump up and do it. We want long, intimated conversations with Him where we draw close to Him and allow Him to strip away the things that hinder our walk or make us to attached to this world.

And yet, we are attached to this world, and we do resist getting too close to Him. "I come into the presence of God with a great fear lest anything should happen to me within that presence which will prove too intolerably inconvenient when I have come out again into my 'ordinary' life," writes Lewis.

"Our temptation"--one that we've been looking at during New Life's "Revolutionary" series about the Sermon on the Mount--"is to to look eagerly for the minimum that will be accepted." If I go to church every Sunday, that should be enough, right? If I am charitable to the fellow at the Irving Park exit from Lake Shore Drive, I don't need to be charitable to my neighbor. If I see a woman stranded in a parking lot with a flat tire and it's really hot out, it's sufficient for me to offer up an earnest prayer for someone to help her.

The kicker, though, is that doing the minimum is not enough but neither is doing the maximum. "For it is not so much of our time and so much of our attention that God demands; it is not even all our time and all our attention; it is ourselves. For each of us the Baptist's worlds are true: 'He must increase and I decrease.'"

Lewis goes to address those living "good" lives without God. "He cannot bless us unless He has us...If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead...Does it matter to a man dying in a desert by which choice of route he missed the only well?"

In closing, he acknowledges the struggle that this Christian life presents but exhorts us. "We may never, this side of death, drive the invader out of our territory, but we must be in the Resistance, not in the Vichy (the French who cooperated with the Nazis) government. And this, so far I can yet see, must be begun again every day. Our morning prayer should be that in the Imitation: Da hodie perfecte incipere--grant me to make and unflawed beginning today, for I have done nothing yet."

*******************************************

Thanks to everyone who joined us for these past 9+ weeks. It's been a true pleasure both growing as an individual through our study and growing as a little family together. I look forward to diving into this next study with you.

Ch. 8: On Forgiveness

2007-06-18T21:39:00.000-07:00

A reminder to start off--the Thursday, June 21st, meeting of DTS will conclude The Weight of Glory (but not DTS). Please see the prior post and weigh in on which book/author you'd like to read next. We will be taking 2-3 weeks off, then beginning the next work. A schedule will be posted as soon as I nail down details.

In Matthew 6:12, Jesus says/prays, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." In this chapter, Lewis looks at the difference between forgiving and excusing, the giving of forgiveness and the asking of the same. What is stated plainly in the Apostles' Creed, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins," is not really so simple, according to him.

While I didn't feel that Lewis' treatment of forgive vs. excuse was breaking any new ground, it was very interesting to me that he felt that we may well be guilty of fewer sins than we realize and not more. "Often He must know many excuses that we have never thought of, and therefore humble souls will, after death, have the delightful surpise of discovering that on certain occasions they sinned much less than they had thought." Hmm... He adds that we often likely make excuses because we don't fully understand forgiveness.

"Real forgiveness means looking steadily at the sin, the sin that is left over without any excuse, after all allowances have been made, and seeing it in all its horror, dirt, meanness, and malice, and nevertheless being wholly reconciled to the man who has done it. That, and only that, is forgiveness, and that we can always have from God if we ask for it."

On giving forgiveness, he continues.

"To excuse what can really produce good excuses is not Christian charity; it is only fairness. To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you."

"[T]o forgive the incessant provocations of daily life--to keep on forgiving the bossy mother-in-law, the bullying husband, the nagging wife, the selfish daughter, the deceitful son--how can we do it? Only, I think, by remembering where we stand..."

Book Possibilities for Next Round of DTS

2007-06-13T23:44:00.000-07:00

The following are some ideas for the next book to be read by the Dead Theologians Society. Feel free to add to the list or you can simply let me know if any of these grab you.

Orthodoxy, G. K. Chesterton

The Mind of the Maker, Dorothy Sayers

The Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan

Mysticism, Evelyn Underhill

Others???

Keep in mind that we're looking for classics--tried and true works--but preferably not those we've already read individually. Also, while we want to avoid heresy, we may well read some books that we disagree with. Hopefully this will sharpen us and make for some lively discussion.

Ch. 7: Membership

2007-06-13T22:43:00.000-07:00

In this chapter, Lewis looks at the trend toward collectivism and the elimination of true solitude (a trend which has continued, obviously). He addresses the paradoxical nature of faith, in that it is both public and private, and encourages us to not simply allow cultural trends to dictate our spiritual lives. He also looks at the true nature of membership for believers and discusses the sentiment that people are equal.

On collectivism:

"Even on those rare occasions when a modern undergraduate is not attending some such society he is seldom engaged in those solitary walks, or walks with a single companion, which built the minds of the previous generations. He lives in a crowd; caucus has replaced friendship."

"There is a crowd of busybodies, self-appointed masters of ceremonies, whose life is devoted to destroying solitude wherever solitude still exists."

"We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence , and privacy, and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship."

On true membership:

"The society into which the Christian is called at baptism is not a collective but a Body. It is in fact that Body of which the family is an image on the natural level."

"We are summoned from the outset to combine as creatures with our Creator, as mortals with immortal, as redeemed sinners with sinless Redeemer."

"The sacrifice of selfish privacy which is daily demanded of us is daily repaid a hundredfold in the true growth of personality which the life of the Body encourages. Those who are members of one another become as diverse as the hand and the ear. That is why worldings are so monotonously alike compared with the almost fantastic variety of the saints."

"Obedience is the road to freedom, humility the road to pleasure, unity the road to personality."

On equality:

To be continued...

Ch. 6: The Inner Ring

2007-06-06T23:36:00.001-07:00

If you missed this discussion, you also missed sundaes at Margies' Candies on Western. (Let that be a lesson to you!) You also missed the induction of Dr. Robert Webber, a former professor of mine, into the Dead Theologians Society.

This chapter was a talk Lewis gave to a group of college students. He set out to tell them about the World (as opposed to the Flesh, which he felt they should understand full well already, and the Devil, whom he believed he was too closely aligned in the public eye) and focuses on the phenomena of the "Inner Ring."

This inner ring is neither good nor bad but is something we all strive for at one point or another, according to Lewis. It suggests belonging, value, possessing secret knowledge and other things. But Lewis warns at against pursuing the Inner Ring for the sake of itself and encourages a truer, more satisfying pursuit.

"The quest of the Inner Ring will break your hearts unless you break it. But if you break it, a surprising result will follow. If in your working hours you make the work your end, you will presently find yourself all unawares inside the only circle in your profession that really matters. You will be one of the sound craftsmen, and other sound craftsmen will know it. This group of craftsmen will be no means coincide with the Inner Ring or the Important People or the People in the Know."

He continues...

"And if in your spare time you consort simply with the people you like, you will again find that you have come unawares to a real inside, that you are indeed snug and safe at the centre of something which, seen from without, would look exactly like an Inner Ring. But the difference is that its 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. Aristotle placed it among the virtues. It causes perhaps half of all the happiness in the world, and no Inner Ring can ever have it."

Ch. 5: Is Theology Poetry?

2007-06-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

Lewis expands the question initially asked of him to be "Is Theology merely poetry? Does Theology offer us, at best, only that kind of truth which, according to some critics, poetry offers us?"

I underlined nearly a third of this chapter. The discussion ran long on this one, and we didn't even get to the end. I regret that this is a hasty post as there were many great passages. I'll just leave you with the very last line of the chapter: "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I have seen everything else."

Randoms

2007-05-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

For those interested in Greek or who secretly wished they'd been part of a fraternity/sorority in college, DTS in Greek is "Delta Theta Sigma" or Δ Θ Σ. Maybe we can get matching sweatshirts.

Paraphrasing T.R. Glover, Christians of the early church out-lived, out-thought and out-died their pagan counterparts. How are we doing today, compared to the world?

I was reminded of a DTS tradition that I'd totally forgotten (thanks, Charla!)--that of welcoming theologians who have passed away recently into the league of other greats studied and honored by the Dead Theologians Society. As I mentioned in my other blog, Another Inkling, Dr. Robert Webber, a former professor of mine, passed away at the end of April. We will do something to toast him at next week's meeting of DTS.

Ch. 4: Transposition

2007-05-10T20:44:00.000-07:00

In this chapter, Lewis creates and explores a concept he calls "transposition." This is not in the musical sense of changing music to a different key nor is it in the sense of flipping lettesr around when you type. It is a description of the interface, in a way, between the spiritual and physical realms. Or, put another way, the way higher things are explained/experienced through lower things.

Lewis begins with the example of speaking in tongues. This is a practice which he admits "has often been a stumbling block...an embarrassing phenomenon." He continues later, "We cannot as Christians shelve the story of Pentecost or deny that there, at any rate, the speaking of tongues was miraculous...It looks, therefore, as if we shall have to say that the very same phenomenon which is sometimes not only natural but even pathological is at other times (or at least at one other time) the organ of the Holy Ghost." I think of 1 Corinthians 1:27--"But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong."

Ultimately he leaves speaking in tongues alone and expands on the concept he's come up with. He talks of the difficulty of having to understand things through our physical senses and the disadvantage of having those things we can sense in the natural realm be more inviting to us than those things we'd like to hope for in the spiritual realm, simply because we can more easily understand them. He also talks about the impossibility of the unbeliever grasping most anything spiritual. Those who can grasp the higher can grasp both the higher and the lower things. Those looking "up from the bottom" can only grasp the lower things.

Much more to cover on this chapter, but this post is long overdue already. Others want to chime in?

Ch. 3: Why I am Not a Pacifist

2007-05-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

It was great having two new people this past week. We're definitely having more fun than should be allowed!

This chapter, "Why I am Not a Pacifist," was actually a talk given by Lewis to a pacifist group in 1940. There was much speculation in our group as to how that came about. Did they not know his position? Did they invite him, looking for a fight? (Not in the literal sense, of course...maybe a Scrabble duel or something.) Regardless, he lays down a thorough foundation (some say too thorough) for how he's going to examine the pacifist position. He looks at it from the perspectives of facts/reason, intution and authority and ultimately finds no strong argument for accepting the pacifist position as the right one, particularly for a Christian believer.

In the interest of time, I'll forego the usual collection of quotes, though there are many. Whether you're a war-monger or a pacifist, I'd strongly encourage you to read this chapter. Most people have never critically considered their own position, and I think Lewis creates a good framework for this, whether you agree with his conclusions or not.

I will pass on couple of articles I found elsewhere responding to "Why I am Not a Pacifist," both supportive and critical of Lewis:

"Failure of the non-violent Gospel: tragically, C.S. Lewis and much of Christendom are pro-violence" from the Catholic New Times

The Problem of War: C.S. Lewis on Pacifism, War & the Christian Warrior from Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity

For the sake of full-disclosure, a couple people from this group joined me to go shooting the weekend prior to this discussion. No hateful epithets were heard nor were any bloodythirsty looks observed. I'm a peace-lover. Though it may seem paradoxical to some, I am not a pacifist precisely because I am a peace-lover. That said, all perspectives were and are welcome. We seek the truth ultimately and hopefully can hold our opinions loosely in that pursuit, prepared to surrender our own ideas for God's should we find the two to be at odds.

Ch. 2: Learning in War-Time

2007-05-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

This was a sermon given in 1939, early in World War II. Though it initially deals with the debate over learning's importance during a time of war, it's really broader than that. Lewis looks at the "sacred vs. secular" debate, i.e whether one's life should be fully devoted to "religious" activities or not. Ultimately, he chooses a middle path, neither advocating for people to run off to monasteries nor encouraging them to compartmentalize their lives into sacred and secular realms. As 1st Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

Some prime quotes from this chapter:

"The war creates no absolutely new situation; it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice...We are mistaken when we compare war with 'normal life.' Life has never been normal."

"[People] propound mathematical theorems in beleaguered cites, conduct metaphysical arguments in condemend cells, make jokes on scaffolds, discuss the last new poem while advancing to the walls of Quebec, and comb their hair at Thermopylae. This is not panache; it is our nature."

"[E]very duty is a religious duty, and our obligation to perform every duty is therefore absolute."

"A man may have to die for our country, but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders himself without reservation to the temporal claims of a nation, or a party, or a class is rendering to Caesar that which, of all things, most emphatically belongs to God: himself." This is a great quote, in my estimation, to rebut those who blur the line between faith in God and patriotism/nationalism.

"The work of a Beethoven and the work of a charwoman become spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly 'as to the Lord'."

"To be ignorant and simple now - not to be able to meet the enemies on their own ground - would be to throw down our weapons, and to betray our uneducated brethren who have, under God, no defence but us against the intellectual attacks of the heathen. Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered."

"[W]ar does do something to death. It forces us to remember it...War makes death real to us, and that would have been regarded as one of its blessings by most of the great Christians of the past."

"If we had foolish un-Christian hopes about human culture, they are now shattered. If we thought we were building up a heaven on earth, if we looked for something that would turn the present world from a place of pilgrimage into a permanent city satisfying the soul of man, we are disillusioned, and not a moment too soon."

There's almost too much to cover, so I'll leave it at that. Join us this week as we dive into another war-time topic, "Why I am Not a Pacifist." This should be a great discussion.

Ch. 1 or...Cruising the Cosmos in My Convertible

2007-04-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

While I will continue to blog our weekly discussions, I have to say that it's a shame to give the Cliffs Notes version of the discussion. Everyone brings so many great contributions to the table. There's no way I could capture them all here. So...you'll just have to come see/hear it live!

We began our discussion of "The Weight of Glory" (the chapter not the book) with a discussion of our views of Heaven. Not surprisingly, personalities played a part in how each person thought about Heaven. For some, the hope is that it will be a very social place. We will see God, walk with Jesus, catch up with loved ones and get to know such people as the "thief on the cross." For others it is about getting questions answered and exploring the universe. One brother envisioned cruising the cosmos in a convertible with Jesus--repetitive choruses and joyous throngs aren't really an appeal. Lewis himself admitted that the "natural appeal of this authoritative imagery [the biblical description of heaven with streets of gold, etc.] is to me, at first, very small. At first sight it chills, rather than awakes, my desire." I love his honesty.

In the interest of space, I'll just share a few gems from our reading:

"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." (emphasis mine)

"In speaking of this desire for our own far-off country [I love that], which we find in ourselves even now, I feel a certain shyness. I am almost committing an indecency. I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you--the secret which hurts so much that you take your revenge on it by calling it names like Nostalgia and Romanticism and Adolescence...we betray ourselves like lovers at the mention of a name."

"[I]t is a remarkable thing that such philosophies of Progress or Creative Evolution themselves bear reluctant witness to the truth that our real goal is elsewhere."

This may become a guiding proverb for the Dead Theologians Society: "If our religion is something objective, then we must never avert our eyes from those elements in it which seem puzzling or repellent; for it will be precisely the puzzling or repellent which conceals what we do not yet know and need to know."

"The promises of Scripture may very roughly be reduced to five heads [regarding Heaven]. It is promised (1) that we shall be with Christ; (2) that we shall be like Him; (3) with an enormous wealth of imagery, that we shall have "glory"; (4) that we shall, in some sense, be fed or feasted or entertained; and (5) that we shall have some sort of official position in the universe--ruling cities, judging angels, beings pillars of God's temple." Wow--how often do we think about any but the first of these?

Then Lewis shifts his attention. If Heaven is glorious and we are either destined for eternity there or in Hell, where should our present concerns lie?

"The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor's glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you say it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare...There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal."

Think on that for a moment...

Schedule for "The Weight of Glory"

2007-04-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a tentative schedule for "The Weight of Glory." Please read the chapter for each date prior to the group.

April 19--"The Weight of Glory"
April 26--"Learning in War-Time"
May 3--"Why I am Not a Pacifist"
May 10--"Transposition"
May 17--"Is Theology Poetry?"
May 24--"The Inner Ring"
May 31--"Membership"
June 7-- "On Forgiveness"
June 14--"A Slip of the Tongue"

This schedule is subject to change. We will also likely have a fellowship opportunity related to C. S. Lewis after the book. If we can swing it, a visit to the Wade Center at Wheaton College would be a great way to cap things off.

"The Weight": Week One

2007-04-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday was the first week of this new book study, C. S. Lewis' The Weight of Glory. As will be typical of each new work, we spent the first week doing a brief introduction of the man and his writing. You can read the bio that we read together here.

Lewis was a fascinating character with enormous talent, heart and insight. Though we may not agree with everything "Saint Jack" thought or wrote, I look forwarding to seeing what God would have us to learn from his writings.

If you'd like to hear the voice that was once "second only to Winston Churchill" in familiarity in the U.K., check out these excerpts from "The Four Loves."

Lastly, this book is unlike our last one in that it doesn't really build upon itself. Each chapter stands alone and is topical, so feel free to jump in and join us Thursdays at 7pm in the cafe, even if you can't make the first week or two.

The "Weight" begins Thursday, April 12th

2007-04-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

The Dead Theologians Society is back after a respite from the last book.

Starting this Thursday, April 12th, we'll be diving into C. S. Lewis' The Weight of Glory. We will be meeting weekly on Thursdays at 7pm in the cafe at New Life Lakeview. If you would like to join us or have any questions, feel free to contact me.

I hope to see you there!

A Tangent: Wild at Heart and Captivating

2007-03-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

As we wait to begin the new book for the Dead Theologians Society, I offer a tangent.

Some women at the church recently studied the book Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. I've read Eldredge's Wild at Heart, as have many men at New Life, and have just been watching the DVD series.

Initially, I found Wild at Heart to be thought-provoking and challenging. A little overloaded with manly-man stuff at times but worthwhile. If nothing else, it motivated many men to "Do something!" and not be satisfied with a mundane life. But the more I've thought about Wild at Heart and impressions I've gotten of the companion volume, Captivating, the more I think the Eldredges have missed the mark in several areas.

An article in Christianity Today, What Women (Don't) Want, challenges some of the suppositions in Captivating. I found myself nodding throughout, but I'd be curious to hear thoughts on either Captivating or Wild at Heart. Have these works rung true to you? Do you think they square with a real biblical model for men and women?

Next book: The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

2007-03-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

The next book we will be studying in the Dead Theologians Society is C.S. Lewis' The Weight of Glory, starting Thursday, April 12th and 7pm in the Cafe at NL Lakeview.

Your input needed

2007-03-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

Busyness has me a couple chapters behind in the blog posts, but DTS marches on. We are wrapping up Bonhoeffer's Life Together this evening and will soon be moving on to another book. If you've been involved in DTS or are considering joining us for the next work, please let me know which of these books holds the most interest for you.

In alphabetical order:

The Mind of the Maker, Dorothy Sayers

Orthodoxy, G. K. Chesterton

The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis

We will be starting the next work in April. I will post details before the month is over.

Bonhoeffer's life

2007-02-27T22:35:00.000-08:00

If you want a better idea of Bonhoeffer’s life and times, check out PBS’s Bonhoeffer timeline. You'll see Life Together in there in 1938.

I look forward to watching a movie with you about Bonhoeffer's life. There are a couple of good ones. Bonhoeffer, is a documentary. The other, Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace is a drama. Let me know if you've seen either.

Schedule update

2007-02-19T20:23:00.000-08:00

FEB 22 This week we'll been breaking off into pairs rather than meeting as a whole to have some one-on-one fellowship. We will regroup next week.

MAR 1 Chapter Three: The Day Alone, pg. 76-89

MAR 8 Chapter Four: Ministry, pg. 90-109

MAR 15 Chapter Five: Confession and Communion, pg. 110-end

TBA Dinner & a (Bonhoeffer) movie

Chapter One: Community

2007-02-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

Bonhoeffer cuts to the heart in this first chapter. He addresses disillusionment in Christian community and identifies the major cause--our own mistaken ideas about Christian community. Written in 1938, Bonhoeffer was writing during tumultuous times in Nazi Germany. His urgency is clear. He essentially says, Here's what Christian community isn't. Here's what it is. Now get about the work of the Kingdom.

Everyone seemed to have gleaned several gems and challenging statements from this reading. Rather than sum up the discussion inadequately, I'll just share a handful of these and let you mull them over.

"It is not simply to be taken for granted that the Christian has the privilege of living among other Christians. Jesus lived in the midst of his enemies...So, the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes." pg. 17

"Communal life is again being recognized by Christians today as the grace that it is, as the extraordinary, the 'roses and lilies' of the Christian life." pg. 21

"Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. No Christian community is more or less than this." pg. 21

"The more genuine and the deeper our community becomes, the more will everything else between us recede, the more clearly and purely will Jesus Christ and his work become the one and only thing that is vital between us." pg. 26

"Only that fellowship which faces such disillusionment, with all its unhappy and ugly aspects, begins to be what it should be in God's sight, begins to grasp in faith the promise that is given to it." pg. 27

"For Jesus Christ alone is our unity. 'He is our peace.' Through him alone do we have access to one another, joy in one another, and fellowship with one another." pg. 39

I could go on and on. This is a serious underlining/highlighting book and pushes me out of my comfort zone Sumo-style. How about you?

DTS Movie News!

2007-02-06T12:53:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already heard, C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters is coming to the big screen in 2008. See the Variety article.

Field trip anyone?

Ignite Summit

2007-01-30T08:41:00.000-08:00

It was great to see several from this group at the Ignite Summit this past Saturday. This sort of thing is really something to be a part of. You work, you sweat, you stress...and you get to the point where you say, "Lord, we've done what we can, but You're the one who's going to pull this off." And He does. Over 500 people attended, and it was a success, both from the earthly pulling-off-a-conference perspective and the people-being-motivated-and-equipped perspective.

My prayer is that it won't be simply an emotional high but will be a change in the way people think about the ministry they're in and the ministry they may be feeling pulled toward.

Ignite Summit pics (a couple of these are mine but most were taken by Mike Vazquez--thanks, Mike!)

Life Together - Introduction & Introductions

2007-01-22T20:22:00.000-08:00

We had a good group this past Thursday. Thanks to all those who came out. Though this meeting was primarily introductory, I can already tell that God's brought together an interesting group that will make for some lively discussion.

Hopefully you've picked up the book by now and are into Chapter One. I don't know about you, but Bonhoeffer definitely pushes me out of my comfort zone and makes me think about my presuppositions. I pray that God will challenge us each through this study and grow us together as a Body.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer himself is a fascinating guy. We'll watch a movie about his life after we've read the book, but do a little online search for him when you have a moment. He life is inspiring, though you'll run across some who view him as a mixed bag because, though he defended the Jews and opposed the Nazis, he still believed that Jews needed to believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, to be saved. Interesting...sadly, as I was reading some more about him, I was reminded of the shameful way many in the church fell in with the Nazis. Many, I suspect, did not do so out of active hatred of Jews or national pride but were simply cowardly or apathetic. They took the easy way out.

May we be stirred to boldness in our faith.

Schedule for "Life Together" REVISED

2007-01-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

Deleted due to further revisions, but I'll leave this post so we don't lose the Comments.

The Five Ws

2007-01-06T08:54:00.000-08:00

WHO?
All are welcome. Men, women. Single, married. Believer, non-believer. You needn’t be a “theologian” or have any formal Christian education, just a willingness to grow and (lovingly) spur others to grow. The group is facilitated by me, Nate, with Michael Atto assisting.

WHAT?
This group will read and discuss classics of the Christian faith. The only qualification is that they be written by those who have departed this “mortal coil.” Some works may be comfortable to us and find us in agreement, but others may require wrestling. Our first will be Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together. We will generally read a chapter at a time on our own during the week then come together for discussion. Each "course" will also include an extra or two, such as a shared meal or an opportunity to learn more about an author through a video, museum visit, etc.

WHEN?
Thursdays at 7pm starting January 18th. As we begin each work, a schedule will be posted here. This first work, Bonhoeffer’s Life Together, will be discussed over seven weeks. Depending on the length of future works, the discussion period may be shorter or longer.

WHERE?
New Life Lakeview in the café upstairs. Exceptions will be posted in advance.

WHY?
This group grew out of a focus group on Dr. Francis Schaeffer's How Should We Then Live? The small but lively group filled a unique niche and there seemed to be a hunger and interest in continuing in the same vein. When I learned of Dead Theologians Societies, the idea seemed a perfect fit. There is much to learn from the great thinkers of our faith, and it's my hope that DTS will be a fun and edifying place to wrestle with their works and to grow in our faith.

[NOTE: This group will be discussing one work for several weeks, breaking for a week or two, then starting with a new work. Ideally, I would love for you to commit to sticking with the group for an extended period. This will allow you to get to know the saints who have persevered before you, as well as the saints persevering alongside you week to week. If you would like to participate for a shorter term, however, please commit to starting a work with us, such as Life Together, and sticking with it. Thanks.]