Characters losing belief along the way

Drew Clarkson
November 8, 2016
Narnia

One question that has been on my mind is the fact that many of the human characters in the Narnia series do not appear in the later books, as they do not believe anymore in the world they once knew. This is an interesting concept for me, which seems peculiar given their direct experience and interaction with this world. But, what is the deeper meaning that Lewis is trying to portray by this? Given the nature of the Biblical symbolism this series represents, I think we have to try and understand this idea from a Biblical perspective. So what does it mean? Honestly, I'm not completely sure about it, and I think that it is further complicated by the fact that they so directly experienced this land, yet still lost their belief. Moses directly experienced God on a few occasions, but even though he made his mistakes, he never completely lost belief in God as did these characters. Another example would be Paul on the road to Damascus. After his direct experience, he never turned away from the faith that he experienced so vividly. I think it is cynical to compare these instances to direct experience with the living God of the universe, but in this context, I can see no other way to interpret it from a Biblical example. My only other idea would be that those who lost belief, maybe never truly believed in Narnia in the first place, so even though they had a chance to experience it directly, they never fully understood. Or, maybe it was a comparison to the thousands upon thousands of people who heard Jesus preach while he was on earth, saw him work miracles, yet never believed. However, I'm not really sure what it means!

Edmond, Essential or Lucky?

David Clarkson
Narnia
November 7, 2016

From early on in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, we are drawn to dislike Edmond, and rightfully so. He is in constant strife with his siblings, always the odd one out, always the one who gets blamed. It even gets to a point where we even begin to feel bad for the kid, hoping that he will turn it around. But, I think that he is a an essential element to Lewis' larger picture. On the surface, it seems as if he just ends up being lucky to make it back to his siblings. Against all odds, when it seemed like he had ruined everything, being responsible for the death of Aslan, our opinion of Edmund begins to change. We slowly embrace him. By the end, he is the subject of a feel-good story revolving around the power, grace and foresight of the almighty Aslan, This is what makes Edmond essential to Lewis' story. He is the sinner that we all see deep inside ourselves, the one that deserves nothing but gets everything in the end, because of the sacrifice and grace of the mighty one. His story gives the viewers the hope they so desire. Deep down, I think we all see ourselves in Edmond enabling us relate to him. Otherwise, we wouldn't show him the sympathy we so easily give Edmund, when he deserved it least. His renewal is what we all long for and want to believe in. Edmond is undoubtedly an essential part of this story.

Evidence in Creation

Drew Clarkson
Topic of choice
November 5, 2016

"For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." Romans 1:20. Francis Chan once suggested that many Christians should take a step back and stop praying in the form they understand it, instead of speaking they should sit in his presence and try to gain a better understanding of who they are praying to, with a more appropriate reverence, before they start praying with words again. This really hits home for me. Countless times in the Bible we see men falling on their face in utter fear when they encountered the Lord, some of whom we would consider to be champions of faith. But when we approach God, we too often immediately approach Him, as if He works for us, with all of our problems, before we offer Him the reverence His character demands. All we have to do is look a the world around us, the mountains the oceans, our bodies, everything works in perfect harmony, such that it is enough to 'clearly perceive' God's divine nature. Though we will more than likely never encounter God in this world in the fashion that brought so many Biblical characters to their face in fear, we must discipline ourselves in prayer on apportioning God the reverence He demands.

History and Mythology

History and Mythology

Connections with Lewis: Space Trilogy

November 4, 2016

The landscape of Malacandra slowly fades as the ship soars into space. Ransom looks outside the window wondering if the memory of that strange world would soon become mythical in his mind with the distance of space and time. Then it occurs to him that “the distinction between history and mythology might be itself meaningless outside the Earth.”(p.144) We often distinguish between history and myth in such a way that privileges the historical account as more real. and mythology as a backwards, primitive form of communicating. History gives an almost scientific account of events. It presents the stream of life in a systematic, rational manner. But what is it that shapes and defines us as a race? Is it not story that makes us who we are, gives us our culture, and sculpts our identity? Is not myth the very foundation of history, even when presented in a highly structured method? Myth animates history with magic and meaning, while history keeps myth coherent. 

Beauty of Surrender

Drew Clarkson
Topic of Choice
November 3, 2016

In this life as a Christian we are called to live a life of surrender. The call pertains to all aspects of our life, and it is nothing short of a daily and challenging task. Matthew 16:24 talks about this idea saying that we need to turn from our selfish ways (everything we do naturally), and take up our own cross to follow him. But how do we do this? I believe a good way to start is by making ourself available for God to use us. By making ourselves available to God, we will naturally and progressively begin to take up our crosses and follow him. But, in order to be available we have to put our own interests aside. Obviously, this pertains to the sin in our life, but I believe it also pertains to the amoral aspects in our life. Sports, significant others, family and friends, these parts of our live should not trump our availability for God. When Jesus asked Peter and Andrew to follow him, it says they immediately left their nets to do so. What isn't said in this text is that they also left most, if not all, of their family, friends, jobs, and everything else they knew in their life. The same thing can be said about James and John when Jesus called them. There were undoubtedly numerous, logical reasons why these men might not have followed Jesus. Just like us, they had a life, they had things that were important to them and enjoyed doing. Would I have made myself available to leave everything and follow Jesus like these disciples did? I'm honestly not sure, but probably not. However, this is the call and example that we are called to follow. Take up our own cross and follow him, and I believe that the first step to this is making ourselves available for Him to use us.

Importance of Bible as sole source

Drew Clarkson
Choice Topic
November 2, 2016

How closely should we hold writings pertaining to religion from writers such as C.S Lewis, if we consider ourselves a Bible Believing Christian? This is a topic that is constantly on my mind, as I find myself reading many books and biographies ON Christianity. On the surface this seems like a great way to allocate time, but my opinion based on my study is that this can be an unhealthy activity without correct balance and reverence for the Word of God as the SOLE authority in our lives. Matthew 24:35 says, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." From this we can see clearly that the Word of God will always be around, it was here before we got here, and will be here after we are gone. Not only is the Word of God everlasting, but it is also flawless. Psalm 18:30 says, "This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him." These two verses will always be true, and it is very comforting to know that the word of God will always be around somewhere, and will always be true. Lastly, we can see from 1 Timothy 3:16-17, that the old testament is God-breathed, and sufficient for doctrine. Further study from 1 Timothy 5 and 2 Peter 3 prove the same to be true for the New Testament. The Word of God will and has been forever, flawless, God-breathed and sufficient for doctrine or teaching.

This is where the initial question comes in to play, how do we allocate all these other religious themed books, if at all? My opinion is that these books do have some value, but an important balance and reverence to the sole authority is necessary. However, if we find ourselves using time we would be spending in the Word of God on other works, or possibly even more time overall, I believe we are misusing our time as Christians. If we find ourselves looking for answers to our questions in a source other than the Bible FIRST, our priorities aren't straight. I think it is important to keep in mind that all of these works, regardless of the author, were all written in response to their understanding and response to the Word of God. If we aren't careful, we will develop a worldview based off somebody else's view instead of constructing our own based on the Bible. All this being said, with appropriate balance and reverence, I think there is value to these works. If we are using them to supplement, strengthen, or understand the Word of God after we have spent the appropriate amount of time in it, then they can be a great help and resource.

Unsuspecting Hero

Danielle Benedict: Space Trilogy (1)

   

I wanted to write about the “unsuspecting hero.” Many classic tales are about people who are seemingly dragged into adventure. Life does not always give us a choice about where we are being taken or what we will do once we arrive and writers have picked up on that theme. I am not necessarily talking about an underdog, or someone who is unprepared, but quite literally someone who is forced to relocate during a quest or undertaking. A modern day example is when soldiers are deployed to distant countries to fight a war they did not personally start. However, they are still held responsible and must go on that journey.

In Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins could have stayed within Hobbiton his entire life but instead he saw parts of his world he would have never seen otherwise without an inciting incident. If anything is to be gained, risk is necessary. Risk comes in many forms and we are not always the decision makers about the level of risk in our lives. Frodo did not intend to destroy an evil ring of power with little assistance but he did want to restore balance to his world and that is why he volunteered to be part of the Fellowship. His safety was endangered and he lost people he loved but through his travels Frodo developed into a more mature and experienced individual. Tolkien accurately describes the unsuspecting hero when he wrote “home is behind, the world ahead.”

In Out of the Silent Planet, Random met his kidnappers while he was inquiring about a missing local boy. He was acting nobly, trying to return a boy home when he was taken from his. Ransom is drugged, kidnapped, then taken into space. He had no choice in going to another planet, he simply woke up on a space ship. We can be forced into the role of adventurer or even hero. Rarely do people wake up one day and say “I am going to be a hero today.” It is not that easy and the choices we make in order to be perceived as a hero require true sacrifice, pain, or relocation.