Ch. 4: Transposition

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

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

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

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"

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

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

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!