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.
Your blog really points out the important parts of this sermon. Not only is it important for us to learn, I think that it is important for us to learn the things that we are passionate about. Christ needs biologists and actors. God can use football players and concert pianists just as much as he can use doctors and ministers. We need to find where God needs us and be willing to move if he asks us to change.
ReplyDeleteI like the quotes you included and how you talked about how education can be used to bring a person closer to God. I think that is such an important aspect of learning here at Calvin. Through our learning, we can learn not only about our world, but also our amazing God, to whom we owe everything.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you talked about our desire to learn and how as Lewis describes it is given to us by God. I think its important that we use our gift and continue to search for wisdom. There is not only one way that we can glorify God but rather we must glorify him in everything we do!
ReplyDeleteLoved your last paragraph, before this class I never thought of my education in this new way. We need to learn everything that we can about God and our profession so that we can witness to others, especially in our workplace. I think of my career as a nurse and how many opportunites I will have to share the gift of God's grace.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we need to be educated in order to be a good witness of our faith. I think that this is especially relevant to us, who God has given the opportunity to experience higher education, but even those who do not go to school must search the Scriptures and be ready to give an answer about their faith.
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