Integrative Essay

Abigail Dodrill
Professors Paulo & Adriana Ribeiro

IDIS-150-07
22 January 2011
Work Count: 1,750

I just transferred to Calvin in the fall of 2010. I had already spent two years at a state university back home in Tennessee but by the end of my first semester there I knew that was not the school for me. So after a long journey of searching for colleges, visiting multiple schools and taking a year off to work and save after I found Calvin I was finally able to start attending this past fall semester. Because I am only able to attend Calvin for two years before graduating from college it was my goal, and still is, to get all I can out of every class I take. I knew that my first interim I was going to take DCM I just didn’t know which one. After searching the long list of options I had narrowed it down to two DCM classes but C.S. Lewis won over for multiple reasons. The main reason was that I did not know much about him. I had heard of the man and read bit and pieces of his first Chronicles of Narnia book but that was the extent of my knowledge about the great author.

The first day in the class we discussed his article Meditation in a Toolshed which was a great article to start with. Reading this article in a way brought me into the world of C.S. Lewis and gave me a little picture of how his mind worked when he was writing. In this reading Lewis was telling me to keep an open mind and explore everything around me with multiple view points. It was a good start to the class because it opened my mind and made me more receptive to what those in the class had to say and it made me more open for additional reading by Lewis and Plantinga that were ahead of us.

The next article that we read was Bulverism and this one really got my attention because as a social worker this seemed to be another form of an ism such as racism, sexism, ageism etc. I work every day to train myself to be equal to all and to not judge others and in this article that is was I saw Lewis reminding us to do. As Lewis said in the article so many of our thoughts today are “tainted” by society and we have to remove ourselves from that and keep ourselves aligned with God and not this world. As we were being taught how to keep our eyes on heavenly things instead of earthly things we dove into the book Engaging God’s World by Cornelius Plantinga Jr. The first chapter we read was titled “Longing and Hope” and it focused on finding complete happiness and how that can only by found in heaven so we should stop looking for it on earth. One example that Plantinga gave was “Even if we fall deeply in love and marry another human being, we discover that our spiritual and sexual oneness isn’t final. It’s wonderful, but not final. It might even be as good as human oneness can be, but something in us keeps saying 'not this' or 'still beyond.'” As a recently married woman I am so blessed to be able to get this little glimpse of what God’s relationship is with the church when I look at my relationship with my husband.

The next article that I was really interested in was The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis. He said “Money is not the natural reward of love; that is why we call a man mercenary if he marries a woman for the sake of her money. But marriage is the proper reward for a real lover, and he is not mercenary for desiring it.” I think that through this Lewis was telling his readers that they needed to check themselves when going to God for something because we can often turn to God with the goal of getting something for ourselves instead of to glorify Him. We do not need to seek out fame or fortune but instead want to be famous in God’s eyes and have him say “well done my good and faithful servant” In chapter two of Plantinga’s book he reminded us that in order to be good and faithful servants of God that we are to tend to the earth that God entrusted us with. I thought of it as, if we desert God’s earth and don’t care for it that is being disrespectful to our Heavenly Father.

We should live strong, passionate lives always for Christ and as Lewis’ book The Screwtape Letters says we are never to have “lukewarm behavior.” In this reading of the twelfth letter in his book gave a warning that is we become lukewarm Christians we are letting the devil win because we are not growing as we are called to do. This is exactly what our enemy, the devil, wants. Lewis would often tie his writings together and I think that his article The Poison of Subjectivism ties in with how Christians should grow because it says “If water stands too long it stinks.” This means that as Christians we are not supposed to just sit back and wait for Christ to return. We are supposed to be active in caring for the land, the people, and all creatures God created. We are supposed to keep busy with God’s work until the second coming. Then we get to spend the rest of eternity with Jesus.

Plantinga reminds his readers in chapter three of his book that as we are to work hard until the second coming we are only here temporarily. We are to tend to the earth and keep it in good shape for God’s glory but we do not need to make it our home because our home is not of this earth. As we take care of the earth we are showing God’s goodness and we are spreading that around the world. That brings God joy and we are found to be good in His eyes.

In chapter 4 of Plantinga’s book titled “Redemption” he writes about how Jesus died, was buried, went to hell for 3 days, conquered evil and rose and is now seated at the right hand of God. Jesus died the ultimate death so that all of His believers would not have to. Plantinga also mentions how Jesus did not only suffer on the cross but he endured throughout his entire life. Even though the life he led was perfect, he lived it like a fallen Christian. To quote Plantinga “He [Jesus] got himself baptized, like every sinner. He absorbed accusations. He accepted rebuke without protest. He endured gossip about his choice of friends and his eating and drinking habits…Jesus endured the kind of mockery that shreds a person’s dignity.” God sent his son and his son died for us. That is always a good reminder of how much God loves us.

Reading the chapter on Eros in C.S. Lewis’ book The Four Loves was my favorite reading of the entire interim because it really resonated with where I am in my life right now, as a newlywed. Eros, as Lewis defines it is "being in love" in the lovers sense. As I have recently entered into marriage where as Lewis calls it we engage in “venus” or “sexual element within Eros” Being in a marriage and having all the benefits of marriage such as what Lewis calls venus is the closest thing to being one with a physical person. This is what is meant when people say that marriage is the closest thing we can get to understanding God’s relationship with His church. It is a very special gift to be married and it is a gift that should not be taken lightly. In a marriage one does not put themselves first, they are to think of their other half and communicate with them when making a decision. This is how the church is to act with their decisions. Churches are supposed to consult God with any decision but far too often churches get away from this and think that they are making the best decision for their congregation, but churches need to ask is that what God would want for His church. Everything should go back to God before a final decision is made. This applies to every Christian because we make up God’s church.

Making up God’s church Christians also make up something that Lewis wrote about in his article The Inner Ring. We make up rings, gangs, or to phrase is to today’s culture what we call “cliques.” Lewis talks about how rings are not bad or good but they can become bad when the goal of a ring is to exclude people once you get into the group because it was so hard for you to get in. This is not how God wants us to form relationships with others. We are to be open and always inviting to anyone who wants to join in company with us. We should fellowship with all kinds of people. We should also have good accountability with our closest friends so that we do not go down a path that will lead us to sin against God.

To conclude I think it is appropriate to write about the last chapter from Plantinga’s book which is titled "Vocation in the Kingdom of God" because this chapter really speaks to college students, like myself. It informs the readers that education is important and is a decision that should not be taken lightly because in our college years we really shape our minds and gain knowledge about how to have a good career that glorifies and focuses on God and not ourselves. Plantinga also reminds students to pick a career based on what God is calling us to do and not based on what income we want to have. God will always care for us if we follow Him and do His will.

This DCM class gave me many reminders of why I chose to attend Calvin College, why I chose the career of a social worker and that my focus needs to be on God and not myself. Through C.S. Lewis and Cornelius Plantinga Jr. I was refreshed and given new perspectives on many concepts and ways that all Christians need to be reminded of. We live for God everyday to glorify His reputation because we love Him.


                                          Work Cited

Lewis, C. S. Meditation in a Toolshed, God in the Dock; Essays on Theology and Ethics. Grand Rapids. Eerdmans, 1970. Print.

Lewis, C. S. Bulverism, God in the Dock; Essays on Theology and Ethics. Grand Rapids. Eerdmans, 1970. Print.

Plantinga, Cornelius Jr. Engaging God's World. Grand Rapids. William B. Eerdmans, 2002. Print

Lewis, C. S. The Weight of Glory. Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford, 1942. Lecture

Lewis, C. S. The Screwtape Letters. New York City: HarperCollins, 1942. Print.

Lewis, C. S. The Four Loves. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1960. Print.

Lewis, C. S. The Inner Ring. University of London, England, 1944. Lecture.

The Problem of Pain

The main question that C.S. Lewis asks in this book is why did God allow there to be pain and suffering to this world? If God knows everything and loves everyone why does He let us suffer? These are very hard questions to answer but C.S. Lewis tackles them as best he can. Yet again C.S. Lewis tries to give is advice on a lot of information we already know. He just brings new light to it. A part that really caught my attention in the chapter that we read was "all that is given to a creature with free will must be two-edged, not by the nature of the giver or of the gift, but by the nature of the recipient." In this idea it seems that Lewis is saying that in order for us to know peace we need to have suffering. This leads me to the questions would our world be dull without conflicts? What would we do if there were never any problems to solve? Wouldn't we get bored? These are questions that I have thought about before reading this chapter of Lewis' book. I know that after the second coming there will be no pain or suffering and that we will not be bored because we will be completely satisfied with just being with Jesus for eternity.

All this makes me think about my times of trouble, heartbreak, and tragic losses I have gone through and we have all gone through. It makes me think how I found myself needing God more than ever in those situations. When I was going through something hard the first thing I would do would be to ask why? And I didn’t ask a person why, I ask God why? I do not think that tragedies, pain or suffering are good things by any means. I do know though that we grow closer to God in those hard times. I think that if the world was the way it is now but without pain and suffering and everything was easy, would we need God? Would we go to God? Or would we get along by ourselves and just go with the flow of life because it was easy and nothing ever went wrong.

As humans we do not always depend on God but as Christian humans we should always go to God with our joys and our sufferings. Lewis reminded me of this during the reading and I know that I do not always thank God during the good times and I do not always ask for His help during the bad. After reading Lewis’ book I am reminded to do that. This was the last reading for the interim and I think it was very appropriately put here. We all need reminders about how to live our lives as Christians. We all need to go to God with everything everyday.

Engaging God’s World – Chapter 5

The final chapter of Plantinga’s book was interesting. I greatly enjoy being at Calvin College for many reasons that Plantinga mentioned and in a way I think he was too harsh on secular universities but then again I agree with him based on my experience. I attended a secular university for two years prior to coming to Calvin and they were not fun enjoyable years. I hated the school, I know hate is a strong word but it is true. I became depressed, I did not care about my education and simply got through each semester by doing as little as I could and I still made good grades because the people there, the professors did not care about their students or if the students got a good education. Of course there are some who do but yet again speaking from my experience I did not have many who did. I am not saying that all professors need to be strict and mean because you can have a professor who is funny, silly, and makes the class exciting and enjoyable, but they can still give you a good education.

From my experience at Calvin College the level of education I have received here completely opposite from the state university I was at for two years. The classes are great because not only do the professors care but the students care just as much, sometimes more about their education. Much of the time too it is not about the grade but about getting as much out of the class as one can. At Calvin is seems that those professors who do not care about their students are rarely found whereas at the state university the professors who truly cared about their students getting a good education were a rare find. This is where they are different. I would say that people go to most state universities to get a diploma to get a job. Lewis talks about education in Learning in War-Time and he stresses that we do not need to go to school as a means to an end, such as just to get a job. We need to go to school to get knowledge about a variety of subjects so we can help in many ways those who need help. God wants us to be well rounded and I think that getting an education at Calvin College, for the most part will give students that well rounded education. It is up to the students to pursue it though. As Lewis said in Learning in War-Time “We can therefore pursue knowledge as such, and beauty, as such, in the sure confidence that by so doing we are either advancing to the vision of God ourselves or indirectly helping others to do so."

I also think that students often just pick a college that is close to home or where their friends are going to go and as Christians we need to put more thought into where we get our undergraduate education because those four years at college will often shape a person in a way that no one imagines. As Plantinga says in chapter 5

“So deciding whether to marry or to remain single, and, if married, whether to conceive or adopt children, or do both. There are all vocational decisions for a citizen of the kingdom, and some of them are large. But a Christian looks at even the smaller decisions (who deserves my support for the office of county drain commissioner?) with faith and good humor, aware that in the plan of God, the mustard seed of one of our decisions may combine with the mustard seeds of others’ decisions to bring good growth for the kingdom.”

This also relates back to C. S. Lewis’ article Man or Rabbit. Because as good Christians we are called to live everyday for Christ, which means that every decision we make reflects back on God. We need to be careful as we go through our lives that we are living it to the best of our ability. God needs to be the center of our lives. I think that Calvin College helps students with putting God in the center of everything; education, family, and in the future our job.

Man or Rabbit?

Lewis asks just one question in this article. Can both Christians and non-Christians live good lives? He quickly answers the question with a strong "yes" however there is still a difference in their lives that comes out through their daily activities. I think that Lewis' purpose in writing this essay is to write to Christians telling them this is how you should act but right now you are acting a lot like a moral non-Christian. Lewis is very straightforward with this article, as he is with all his articles.

Lewis writes about questions that non-Christians may ask about becoming a Christian such as "Need I bother about it? Mayn’t I just evade the issue, just let sleeping dogs lie, and get on with being ‘good’? Aren't good intentions safe and blameless without knocking at that dreadful door and making sure whether there is, or isn't someone inside" Lewis seems to show disgust at the thought of this. He accused people who ask those questions of being lazy and cowards and intentionally turning away from God. They keep their morals, but do not want to do more than that. That is where Christians are called to be different. Christians and non-Christians can be moral beings but Christians are called to take it a step further by not only being moral, but being knowledgeable so that they can help in any situation. Lewis gives the example of knowing medical science. “If you had no knowledge of medical science, you would probably give him a large solid meal; and as a result your men would die. That is what comes from working in the dark.” Christians do not need to “work in the dark.” We need to use the light of the Lord that we were given. This reminds me of the importance of getting a good education, such as the education that Calvin gives. As college students we are equipping ourselves with the information we need to know in order to be successful in helping others through this life on earth.

Lewis yet again reminds us how we are to live as good Christians. This is extremely important because, as Lewis says in other writings that our actions do not only impact us but they impact how people see God because we are little Christs. We live for God.

The Inner Ring

This reading by C. S. Lewis yet again was written long ago, but is still very relevant to today’s culture and societies around the world. No matter what country you live in there are going to be little groups or friends here and there, cliques of people, gangs, bands etc. There are so many names for what Lewis calls “the inner ring” Lewis wrote “You merely wanted to be ‘in.’ And that is a pleasure that cannot last. As soon as your new associates have been staled to you by custom, you will be looking for another Ring.” This makes me think of all the products that we buy into today and the particular brand that comes to mind is Apple. Right now anything that has an Apple logo is “in” such as the iPhone, iPad, MacBook, iPod. I am not saying that having apple products is a bad thing. I have one myself. Like Lewis said “I am not going to say that the existence of Inner Rings is an Evil. It is certainly unavoidable...But the desire which draws us into Inner Rings is another matter. A thing may be morally neutral and yet the desire for that thing may be dangerous.” I think that when we start making the products we have our little idols that is when it is bad. Many people buy the first new products as soon as Apple puts them up for sale. This is what I like to call “keeping up with the Joneses.” It is a worldwide clique the much of society participates in. Much of society keeps up with the latest Apple products because they want to be “in.”

Also Lewis says that we will always be looking for another ring to enter as soon as we enter into one because we will never be satisfied with what we have. This seems to me the biggest reason why companies, such as Apple, make upgrades because then people who had the first iPhone can now throw that one out and get the one that is better and looks cooler and they can be the first to have is which will give them a societal advantage above all their friends. Of course I am being sarcastic here but isn’t that what businesses in today’s society tell us. That in order to be accepted by our friends and colleagues then we must have the latest and greatest things that money can buy. Because as advertisements tell us, then we will be happy.

I love that Lewis brings us back to reality and tells us that it is not about that at all. God doesn’t care what gadget you have. He cares about what is in your heart, how you treat people and who you really worship. Lewis yet again gave me a different perspective on the simplest thing.

The Four Loves - Eros

This is the reading that I suspect I will most enjoy out of all the readings this interim. It is very relevant to me right now because I just got married on December 27. As I read it I thought back to the beginning of my relationship with my husband, Matt. We were just 17 and about to be high school seniors with many big life choices to make. As single people we had been inclined to put ourselves first when it came to decisions as simple as what movie to watch or what to do on a Saturday night to the more important decisions such as what college to attend. Then we began to fall in love. Our relationship grew and we began to think more and more about each other’s wants and needs instead of strictly ourselves. This brings me to the quote by C.S. Lewis in the chapter about Eros in his book The Four Loves where he said "Eros enters him like an invader, taking over and reorganizing, one by one, the institutions of a conquered country. It may have taken over many others before it reaches the sex in him; and it will reorganize that too." My interpretation of what Lewis said here is that as humans we are naturally inclined to put ourselves first, but when humans fall into true love that natural inclination changes as the time goes on and the love grows stronger and stronger.

As a boyfriend or girlfriend people are technically still single because they are not married. They are courting each other and considering if that person is the one they wish to engage in marriage with. As Lewis said that reorganization takes place once Eros enters a person. Still as two people, who are not married yet, are in a relationship it makes some decisions much harder such as choosing a college. Deciding on what college to attend it hard enough when you are not in a relationship with a man or woman, but because that love is blossoming it makes it extra hard. Matt and I spent our first year of college together at the same university in our home town but we both knew that university was not where we wanted to graduate from. We had the thirst for knowledge from a Christian perspective. We wanted the kind of education that Lewis wrote about in Learning in War-Time but we had to do the searching to find the right place; that was found in the discovery of Calvin College. The hard part was that Matt was able to get to Calvin College before I was. At this point we had been together for just over 2 years. We were very much in love and were getting closer and closer to thinking that marriage was the right decision for us. Matt made the right decision for him and came to Calvin but I was unable to do so just yet so I stayed in Tennessee at the state university for one more year. All in all we spent a full year apart in a long distance relationship. This is where the aspect that we were still single people came into play. Because we were not married we still had to live our own lives. As much as we longed for our own lives to walk along the same path so we could be together our lives took two different paths for one year and I can honestly say that was one of the hardest years of my life so far.

After that year apart some tough decisions were made regarding our relationship with each other. We were both deeply in love with the other. As Lewis said we were engaging in the love that brought "simply a delighted pre-occupation with the Beloved." We just wanted to be together. I strongly agree with the saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” I like to say it will either make you or break you. After many tough decisions about our future as single people and our future as two people in a loving relationship that was leading to marriage we both ended up back in Grand Rapids. He attended school and I worked with the goal of saving enough money to attend Calvin College as I had wanted for two years. A year later we were both attending school and were engaged to be married. Love can carry you all over the place. It will drag you through the mud and it can also put you on the highest cloud. We had definitely been drug through the mud by love but had made it to a high cloud.

My intention in sharing my story with you is to show how Lewis was so right in saying that love can definitely reorganize a person’s thought process. Five years ago, before I knew my husband, I saw my life taking a completely different path, but as soon as I fell in love with him the path I saw myself started to change. Eros invaded my life and I could no longer just think of myself. I thought of my boyfriend, then my fiancé and now I think of my husband. With each step we took our relationship grew and changed. Now because of marriage we have just entered into a whole new level where we are no longer single people in a relationship, but we each make up a part of one marriage. We will now consider the other in every decision that we make. In the process of our courtship God reorganized our lives and our priorities changed as our love for each other grew. Each step of our relationship was an  important one and I think that everything we went through to get to where we are today will help us as we grow in our new marriage. Even though Lewis was not married when he wrote this, he definitely knew what he was talking about.

I want to end this post with a picture of our ceremony and this quote from Lewis saying “First, theologically, because this is the body's share in marriage which, by God's choice, is the mystical image of the union between God and Man.” It was very important for us to get married in God’s house because our marriage is to be an example of the relationship between God and His church. We are very blessed to be able to share in this kind of relationship with each other and I hope that everyone of you who are yet to be married will be able to do the same.

Engaging God’s World – Chapter 4 - Redemption

So far we have read about longing and hope, how we were created, the fall of man, and now we move on to the redemption of man which means we must understand that Jesus, God's one and only son was sacrificed in our place. He took all of our sins upon himself and carried them to the cross where he died. He was placed in a tomb and descended to hell. After three days he conquered the grave and rose to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. Plantinga begins chapter 4 of his book Engaging God’s World with this verse from Isaiah 53:3 which says “But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.”

In my group discussion today we discussed in depth where Plantinga talked about how Jesus suffered not only at the cross but all throughout his life on earth. Jesus lived in a way that a “repentant sinner” would act even though he was sinless.

            “He got himself baptized, like every sinner. He absorbed accusations. He accepted rebuke without protest. He endured gossip about his choice of friends and his eating and drinking habits…Jesus endured the kind of mockery that shreds a person’s dignity.”

Jesus lived through all this without complaint, without sinning or wanting to sin once. He lived a complete pure life. We must remember too that while Jesus was here on earth he was human just like us. He had been emptied of every spiritual attribute so that he could resist the same temptations as we do every day. Jesus resisted and never sinned once, even when the devil tempted him for days and nights on end. Plantinga does a good job at reminding us that Jesus sacrificed all so that we could be with him forever in eternity. Now it is our responsibility to be good representations of little Christ’s until the second coming when we will be forever united with Jesus and we will spend eternity in paradise.

From C.S. Lewis’ writing on Mere Christianity Lewis says “The child wears a coat that’s too big and a hat that falls down over her eyes. She clumps around in grownup shoes and she clips on earrings that swing down to the middle of her neck. It’s all a kind of pretending, but it’s also a kind of preparing, because every child wants one day to be a person who fits into clothes of this size.” As every child yearns to be a grownup and act like a grownup, we wish to be a part of the kingdom of God. We grow closer to God in our everyday walk, the time grows closer to the day when we will see Jesus. We must patiently wait on His return. It is good to stay refreshed with books such as Plantinga’s that will further prepare us for the second coming of Christ.

Learning in War-Time

C.S. Lewis preached this sermon at St. Mary the Virgin in Oxford in 1939. He preached this at a time of a European war so it was very relevant to those who heard it. He talked about war and education. This is a pretty common topic even today for many young people. I think a very important part of the sermon is when Lewis said

"I mean the pursuit of knowledge and beauty, in a sense, for their own sake, but in a sense which does not exclude their being for God's sake. An appetite for these things exists in the human mind, and God makes no appetite in vain. We can therefore pursue knowledge as such, and beauty, as such, in the sure confidence that by so doing we are either advancing to the vision of God ourselves or indirectly helping others to do so."

Lewis is really focusing on the education aspect of his sermon. I agree with that Lewis said about this because there is a natural human desire to learn and become educated. I think with the right kind of education at the right school, such as Calvin College, and then a higher learning experience will bring a person closer with God. Getting an education can enlighten and open a person’s mind about different views on a multitude of subjects. Lewis has a very high view of education. Lewis briefly talks about ignorance when he says that we need to be educated in order to defend ourselves against our enemies of all kinds.

"Good philosophy must exist, if no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered."

Upon saying this I think that Lewis was saying that we need to be well educated and have knowledge of philosophy so that we can not only defend, but be good witnesses for God. If non-Christians came to Christians with questions and we were uneducated then we would not be able to answer and our beliefs could be skewed and change over time. I believe that is one reason why God gave us the ability to soak up knowledge and learn. If we can get closer to Him, grow in our lives and be able to be good moral beings that is glorifying God, our creator.

Engaging God’s World – Chapter 3 - The Fall

There were so many quotes and great points in this chapter that we can take away from it as an example of why we are living this way, how to live as best we can and encouragement to have patience until the coming of Christ. Plantinga reminds us that we are living this way on earth temporarily and that "Human life is not the way it's supposed to be." The fall of man changed life completely. It is good to remember that this is just a place to stay until the second coming. We are simply aliens in this place and are getting closer and closer to the day when we can be with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Another encouraging factor in the chapter was when Plantinga said “the goodness is still there.” There is goodness on earth today because Christians, God’s people, roam the earth and despite the fact that we are a fallen land there is still good in this place because we carry Jesus with us in our hearts forever. What makes it even better is the reminder that one day he will return! That brings a kind of joy to my heart mind and soul that I cannot fully describe because there are not words good enough to describe it. We are so weighted down by this sinful world that to remember that God will conquer it done day and the earth will return to having the fully perfection that it once did in the days of the Garden of Eden.

Sin crept upon the earth by way of the fallen angel. God created a world that was perfect, as He is. Plantinga said “God is perfectly holy.” God also despises sin because wherever evil is God cannot be. In bible times wherever sin was God would remove Himself completely from that area. Now because of the death and resurrection of Jesus our God can be in our presence which is how every Christian is able to have Jesus in our hearts every day, with us at all times. This chapter was a great little reminder of that fact that God loves us, hates sin and that he cannot wait until the day of the Lord when we can all rejoice together and celebrate the Lord for the rest of our days.

Plantinga began the chapter with the lyrics to "This is My Father's World." I am going to end this blog with those lyrics.

This is my Father's world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres. 
This is my Father's world: 
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker's praise. 
This is my Father's world: 
he shines in all that's fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world. 
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet. 
This is my Father's world: 
why should my heart be sad? 
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! 
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

The Poison of Subjectivism

If water stands too long it stinks.

As Children of God we are to be active in our communities, in our own lives and we are to be good witnesses. In our everyday lives we are called to be good examples of Christians. If we want to be Christians it would be wrong to say “I am saved by God and live for him” then go sit in our houses and do nothing until the second coming of Christ. Romans 10:9 says This is telling us that we need to not only believe in our hearts but we also have to use our mouth and our actions to show others what we will do to deny our sinful selves something that might be fun or tasty but would not be good for the bodies which God gave us.

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

In church today the pastor told the congregation that we are not putting our reputations on the line but our God’s reputation. He is the important one; He is the one whose reputation matters. As Christians we should live to glorify him in everything we do. If we are not willing to change our lives for the one who gave us life, than we might not be ready to call ourselves Christians. I really think that Lewis was focusing on telling the readers who mattered. He seemed to be aggravated because from readings we have had in class before he touched on this subject, but in this reading he just came straight out with his thoughts and told his readers what he believed we need to do in order to live right in the eyes of our Lord.

This reading by C.S. Lewis was tough for me to grasp. If it weren't for all of his illustrations I don't think I would have been able to follow along. It was a good read just a bit more challenging than the previous readings in this class. I just felt that I was missing something as I was reading it. Having the discussions in class really brought up some new thoughts about the reading. The quote above was the one that really stuck out to me and that was the one that my group really focused on when we were discussing this during class. It was so simple yet said so much. Talking about water seems like a normal everyday conversation, but Lewis turned it into a great illustration about how Christians should live every day.

Show and Tell

For show and tell I was going to share a quote, which I also blogged about by the philosopher St. Augustine. Who greatly struggled with his sex addiction. He loved having sex and did so with many women. He was so addicted that he even had sex in a church once. However, St. Augustine knew what he was doing was wrong and the moral person in him wanted to stop and end his addiction, but the sinful part of him wanted more and more and more. St. Augustine prayed to God and in his prayer he said this  “Lord, Make me chaste, but not yet.” This reminded me of what we talked about with the reading in the Screwtape Letters. We all say yes Lord I know I keep doing wrong but I don't want to stop just yet. I will stop later. What we need to remember is that there may not be a later. We do not know at what hour Jesus will return. We need to be ready and since we do not know of His return then we should not say I can sin today but I will not tomorrow. We need to live pure lives that glorify God EVERY day of our lives. That has really stuck with me from this class so that was my show and tell.

Thank you =)

Mere Christianity – Chapters 1-4

And above all you must he asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and panelling. In plain language, the question should never be: 'Do I like that kind of service?' but 'Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here? Does my conscience move me towards this? Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular doorkeeper?

This quote from the article reminded me of the last few years of my Christian walk. I have moved a few times, tried many churches especially in Grand Rapids AKA the Bible Beltline. I feel that is being in the hall when you are waiting. That is what Lewis seemed to imply. Three years ago I moved out of my parent’s house. Moved to California for a summer and explored churches there. I did not really settle in a home church because I knew I was only going to be there for the summer. Then I moved back to Tennessee and tried our several churches in my home town. I feel that I kind of settled in a church that was just starting up. I began to get very involved and the church fell apart as the pastor abruptly left the new congregation. A few months later I moved to Michigan, where my husband, boyfriend at the time had already been for a year. We “church shopped” for 3 months and finally said that we could continue shopping for three years. We settled in a CRC church in downtown Grand Rapids which we greatly enjoy and still attend to this day. We are slowly making that church our home but still feel like we are standing in the hall. We both feel this way because being somewhat new to the CRC denomination we are unsure if that’s where we want to settle even though we do really enjoy it.

Some of the questions that C.S. Lewis asks in the quote are some of the questions that my husband and I have asked ourselves in the church searching process. What about the doctrines? Is the Lord’s holiness in the church? There are so many questions to be asked and even though it is mostly frustrating to be “in the hall” it is also good learning and growing experience whether you are going through it alone or with friends or family. God is backing you and eventually he will get you where he wants you to be. I think one of the biggest things is patience and open ears and eyes to be aware and follow when He tells you where to go or where to be. We always need to be ready and willing for God to take us where he wants.

The Screwtape letters

The Screwtape letters

This chapter of The Screwtape letters made me think of so many Christians today who have gone through a time when they were lukewarm or are going through that time now. The chapter title “Lukewarm Behavior” was appropriately picked in my opinion. It really revealed a lot about the chapter by just reading those two words. It seemed that this chapter was saying that the devil tries his hardest to get Christians to stay where they are in their walk and not grow anymore. To the devil that would be successful.

As long as he retains externally the habits of a Christian he can still be made to think of himself as one who has adopted a few new friends and amusements but whore spiritual state is much the same as it was six weeks ago.

That verse has a very powerful message behind it. It seemed to say that if a person looks Christian on the outside and thinks of himself as alright in the eyes of God then he can stay put where he is and still go to heaven when he dies. However, this is not what God calls his children to do. He calls us to grow and flourish in our heavenly walk. This was discussed in class along with the question about church habits and how they can be good or bad. We all know how church habits can be good such as being involved in a community, taking Eucharist, being kept responsible by being convicted by the Holy Spirit through the message given etc. It is a little harder to think of way in which going to church can be bad. One that was brought up today was going to church just to be able to say that you went.

The second part of that quote reminds me of the theologian St. Augustine who became

convicted that his sexual addiction needed to be controlled. He had gone as far with it as to have sex in a church. So St. Augustine made a request to God for help. He said “Lord, Make me chaste, but not yet.” St. Augustine knew he needed to become clean and end his addiction but because he enjoyed it so much he did not want it to end just yet. As Lewis said in this chapter "this dim ineasiness needs careful handling." Addictions are a hard thing to cure and do have to be handled with much care and patience. St. Augustine let his natural sinful nature come out just as it does in everyone of us when we have a conviction about an addiction. We often can get a conviction about a sin we have that needs to end, but the human in us doesn't want it to end. However, with help from fellow Christians and our will backed by God we can overcome addictions which will bring us closer to God. They often take years and years of persistence and often relapse but with God all things are possible; not always easy, but possible.

Engaging God’s World – Chapter 2 - Creation

Chapter 2 of Plantinga’s book focuses on creation and in a way reminds Christians how we are to treat the world which God created for us.

             

“In the kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed, dominion is never ‘lording over’; it’s more like ‘lording under’ by way of support. In the kingdom of God, to have dominion is to care for the well-being of others.”

                This seems to mean that instead of humans seeing the earth as their blank slate that they get to do whatever they want that it is indeed God’s world that humans were placed here to care for. We are here to care for the plants and animals and all living things. If we did not care for those things then they could, as many already have, become extinct. If humans continue to tear down forests and build what they want there will eventually be very little plants and trees left. Those plants and animals often serve as food and give us healthy nutrition. As we discussed in class yesterday, we need those plants and animals to live but if humans die off the plants and animals will live on. We need the plants and animals but they don’t really need us. However God does want us to be good stewards of his creation. It is a gift to us that God gave us so we should take care of it. If someone gave you a present wouldn’t you take great care of it? Creation is a gift not just from another human, but from our creator and Lord.

“The wind, water, or fire that harms such people in such places is not necessarily out of bounds. When such forces hurt us, it might be because we are out of bounds.”

This really just restates again that this world is not the humans but just a place for us to live until the second coming. We still have boundaries though and should abide by those boundaries. Many tragic natural disasters have occurred with people being caught in mountains, mud slides, and floods. Perhaps those people were out of their boundaries. What do you think? Should humans have free roam of tearing down anything they want on earth in order to make that place a mall or neighborhood? Should we instead restrict human building constructions to safer locations?

                Those last questions makes me think of how humans are commuting and it makes me ask another question would the state of the earth be in a better state if we would all stick to our neighborhoods and not drive our gas guzzling cars all over the country. We all do it and see nothing wrong with it because that’s the life we live in. I wonder what it would be like if we all still drove horse drawn buggies? It would make life very different. Do you think it would make life better or worse?

The Weight of Glory

Money is not the natural reward of love; that is why we call a man mercenary if he marries a woman for the sake of her money. But marriage is the proper reward for a real lover, and he is not mercenary for desiring it.

When Lewis said this I understood it as him saying not to approach God with a decision to live for Him when your intentions are to live to get benefits such as rewards for doing good deeds for God because that is not what God will call a “good and faithful servant.” Every person who calls themselves a Christian should want to do good deeds for others or help preserve the earth because they want to honor God and glorify his name.  I was with someone who kept pointing out to me all the good deeds she was doing such as giving to the less fortunate and leaving large tips at restaurants that we would go to. It made me wonder who this person was trying to please. Who was she trying to get praise from? As a Christian we should not seek praise from human beings, but from the heavenly father. Going along with this Lewis states the following

Either glory means to me fame, or it means luminosity. As for the first, since to be famous means to be better known than other people, the desire for fame appears to me as a competitive passion and therefore of hell rather than heaven. As for the second, who wishes to become a kind of living electric light bulb?

In that quote some more of Lewis’ sassiness comes out when he ends the paragraph asking who would want to be a light bulb. The rest of the quote really stresses that earthly fame does not matter because it seems to be coming from hell instead of heaven. He keeps a good balance between the fact that praise is not bad as shown because all Christians want to hear God say to them “well done my good and faithful servant. This is similar to what we talked about in class about children and how they will often come up to their mother with a picture that they just colored. They may turn to their mom and say look mommy, look how pretty it is. Isn’t it pretty. Of course the mother will proclaim oh my goodness it’s beautiful! I love it! Would a wonderful picture! Good job etc.

That child wanted their mother to praise them for the hard work they had done on their pictures just as we want to get praise from God for the hard work we do. However, our goal in life should be to glorify God in everything we do daily. This was a good reminder for me to read from Lewis’ sermon.

Our English Syllabus

“We wage war in order to have peace; we work in order to have leisure.”




This was another spirited article by Lewis in which he writes about education and his thoughts on attending the university. He gives both views on getting an education. He also gives his thoughts on the purpose of education altogether. On one end education seems to be a good thing to get because it brings with it knowledge about a multitude of subjects. If one enjoys learning then a university is the perfect place for that person to be so they can soak up as much knowledge as they want. However vocational training, which often takes the mask of education, turns the person looking for an education into a worker. Lewis talks about how humans are the “amateur animal” because we work for leisure. Animals such as the cow, lion, beaver and bee cannot stop their routine and do not go through their daily routine to gain leisure time.

“In their original institution they are homes not for teaching but for the pursuit of knowledge”

That to me is a perfect example of a proper institution that fosters a good learning experience. Anyone who wants to go to college usually wants to go to become more knowledgeable and not just get an education as a means to get a job. Often when parents send their children to college the children do not want to be there and so they usually learn very little because they do not care. They go to a university to “get through it” and get a job.

“His business is to pursue knowledge”

If our job is to “pursue knowledge” then those who go to college for their parents or as a means to an end, the end being a job might want to reconsider their motive to attending. If a student does not want to be in an institution they are not going to pay attention, put time into studying or contribute to a class. They are going to take as many short cuts as they can and not work to the best of their ability. In my opinion, not everyone is cut out for college and I think that it is becoming me widely accepted that not everyone should attend college.
Since the real reason to attend college is to learn and gain knowledge then how much should grades matter? We say in theory that they do not matter because it’s the knowledge you that you carry with you the rest of your life. However, so much pressure is put on grades such as in testing, future jobs, and graduate schools. Does this seem hypocritical to anyone? I have mixed feelings about testing. I can see pro’s to it but I can also see many cons that can permanently hurt people with their future dreams. What do you think about testing?

Engaging God’s World – Chapter 1 - Longing and Hope

This chapter titled Longing and Hope really tied in the article that Lewis wrote titled No Right to Happiness. I say that because the first chapter of Cornelius Plantinga’s book discusses complete satisfaction and essentially complete happiness. Plantinga and C.S. Lewis have the same view that complete fulfillment cannot be found on earth. Chapter one does mention that there are much happiness on earth but that nothing can make a human completely happy except when we are reunited with Christ upon the second coming. Some example Plantinga give are having the joy of a marriage, a happy family, or a good career.

The one example that stuck with me throughout the reading was that of marriage. I have just recently become married and that is a happiness I never could have imagined yet I am still not completely satisfied. My marriage is great and as both my husband and I strive to keep our marriage God centered I think that makes it even more fulfilling.   

There was a quote early on in the chapter that really got me thinking about happiness. It was when Plantinga said

Even if we fall deeply in love and marry another human being, we discover that our spiritual and sexual oneness isn’t final. It’s wonderful, but not final. It might even be as good as human oneness can be, but something in us keeps saying 'not this' or 'still beyond.'”

The human oneness that the quote mentions really resonates with me because I do feel that intimate oneness with my husband every day we are together. It makes me think of Revelation 21:2 which says

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

I think of my wedding day and walking down the aisle toward my future husband. As I looked at his face his eyes were glistening with tears of joy. His joy was for our marriage and for the little glimpse of the joy God will feel upon the second coming. Our uniting in marriage gives us the picture of our eternity with Jesus.

As we discussed in class there is no full fulfillment of happiness on earth, but all humans try to find it anyway. I understood from the chapter that we should daily focus on our future fulfillment with Christ and not on our earthly happiness. Even though it is great to have earthly happiness, such as that which I have found in my new marriage, we do not need to think that our happiness is complete or that is can be completed before Christ returns. Focusing on heavenly things instead of earthly things will bring us much more joy than focusing on finding complete happiness on earth.

No Right to Happiness

 
This article is quite different from the previous articles we have read in this class. Lewis writes in a dialogue form as if he is speaking to a friend or neighbor named Clare. Lewis doesn’t really input his responses to Clare, but more so all of Clare’s thoughts on the matter in which they are discussing. In the writing they were discussing a situation that had occurred with a neighbor whom they called Mr. A and his wife, Mrs. A. A quote at the beginning really summarizes what happened with Mr. A. it says

Mr. A had deserted Mrs. A and got his divorce in order to marry Mrs. B., who had likewise got her divorce in order to marry Mr. A.

Lewis confirmed that Mr. A and Mrs. B were very much in love with each other and they felt they had made the right decision with their divorces. Lewis pondered on the thought of the right to have happiness throughout the entire article. I found it interesting when he wrote that if a person had a right to happiness then that is like having

A right to be six feet tall, or to have a millionaire as a father, or to get good weather whenever you want to have a picnic.

Those are ridiculous to think about as was a right to happiness to Lewis. Clare did not agree with Lewis on this matter. She said that there was a both a legal and moral right for Mr. A to leave his wife for another woman. Clare justified this by saying that since it was legal by law then is was morally legal as well for Mr. A to pursue finding happiness.

I really think that Mr. A and Mrs. B acted on an impulse to make themselves physically happy. Their impulse was very selfish because they hurt two people in the process because they were not physically attracted to them anymore. Mrs. B’s husband had been injured in war and had lost his job. Mr. A’s wife had aged and was no longer the same cheery person she had been when she was young. Her long and hard pregnancies were suspected to be the cause of those changes. All the qualities named above about Mrs. A and Mr. B are all physical. This makes me wonder what kind of love Mr. A and Mrs. B’s first marriages consisted of and also what their marriage together would consist of. What do you think?

Lewis was very sassy in a way with his thoughts toward Clare’s views. The one example that despite the seriousness of the conversation made me chuckle was Lewis’ illustration about nectarines. He said

It is like having a morality in which stealing fruit is considered wrong – unless you steal nectarines.

I think this quote shows that he is clearly aggravated that anyone could possible think that it is morally right for a man to leave his wife for another woman. I agree with Lewis on this matter. We are never going to find complete and utter happiness on this earthly world. We will be completely happy and content when Jesus comes back for us Christians and we live for eternity with Him. However, many people try to find that heavenly happiness on earth and they turn away great things because the kind of happiness they are looking for cannot be found here.

Bulverism

In C.S. Lewis' writing titled Bulverism he describes what exactly bulaerism is. I saw that Lewis' definition of Bulverism comes in more of a defintion example. The example was that someone could simply tell a person they are wrong because they are a woman, a man, a republican, a democrat etc. without any other explanation. This was very interesting to me as a social work major. I say this because in a way this seems to be a form of an ism such as racism, sexism, ageism, classism etc. As all the isms are very commonly practiced today so is bulverism. I found it interesting that despite that fact that this article was written so long ago, the main concepts Lewis wrote about are still very present in today's society.

In the class discussion today we really focused on how to combat bulverism. Many options were brought up such as ignore it, confront that fact that it is not a moral thing to do. The reason that most aligned with what I believe is that fact that we (Christians) are supposed to align ourselves with God and His commandments. The world has created a kind of heirarchy by the idea that one person, group of people, or culture is better than another. Many Christians try to justify how this is acceptable. I do not understand this because this was never mentioned in the bible that one human is better than another. We are all Gods creations and God is above us all. I think that often times bulverism occurs when people begin to think of themselves as gods in a way and they begin to believe that they are better than others. Their way of thinking, as Lewis puts it is "tainted" Below is a quote that Lewis stated in his article that I found very interesting.

Nowadays the Freudian will tell you to go and analyze the hundred: you will find that they all think Elizabeth [I] a great queen because they all have a mother-complex. Their thoughts are psychologically tainted at the source. And the Marxist will tell you to go and examine the economic interests of the hundred; you will find that they all think freedom a good thing because they are all members of the bourgeoisie whose prosperity is increased by a policy of laissez-faire. Their thoughts are “ideologically tainted” at the source.

In a way this quote and the whole article for that matter relate back to the article we read yesterday. I say this because this quote reminds me that people see the world as subjective because there are so many different mind sets and because of this the world's way of thinking is often "tainted." We should think simply and listen very closely to what God has to say to us. C.S. Lewis in a way gives us the little reminder push that we should not focus on thinking about this world and our life here but that we should focus on doing what is right in God's eyes. As long as we stay in the presence of the Lord we will stay on the right path that will lead us to grow in our Christian faith.