Lest we become Idiots

Over the course of this interim study period, I had the privilege of studying some of the works of C.S Lewis, a wonderfully smart and humble Christian author. With every one of his works that we read, I had the opportunity to have my thinking challenged in many ways as Lewis wrote on several engaging subjects. Some of the highlights of this course included readings from Mere Christianity and the Law of Nature, the eternal state of man’s spirit in the Weight of Glory, as well as several other articles such as the Poison of Subjectivism and Man or Rabbit. In addition, our readings from Cornelius Plantinga’s book, Engaging God’s World which focused on the Christians’ place in modern society, nicely complemented our readings from Lewis.

Though there were many interesting and engaging themes which we read from Lewis, the overarching theme which has stood out to me has been Lewis’s emphasis on avoiding foolish intellectual mistakes and opinions. In many of his articles, he gives examples of the mistakes different people make regarding faulty logic, their perception on relationships, the identity of man, etc. Through his sharp wit and systematic thinking, Lewis has inspired me to think with a more critical mindset towards the validity of my ideas and opinions.  Along with the readings from Plantinga’s book, the readings of this course have given me further revelation on how to better live a life that is dedicated to God. Below are some of the points which stood out to and challenged me to think in new ways.

            In his essay on Bulverism, Lewis briefly discusses the idea of how our thoughts are shaped by the “source” within us, that is, our core beliefs and presuppositions. He questions whether or not our “tainted” thoughts, stemming from our source, are prematurely influenced and thus invalidated when he asks:

“…are all thoughts thus tainted at the source, or only some? Does the taint invalidate the tainted thought-in the sense of making it untrue-or not?”(Lewis, Bulverism par 4)

Now this quote really challenged me to reflect on my own ideas and thoughts, causing me to question which of my ideas on truth were based on honest and thorough research and which ones were either “tainted” or biased as a result of their source. Because of my desire to approach ideas with an objective mindset, the idea that my thinking had somehow tainted the lens through which I viewed the world caused me to question my integrity. I detest the very thought of approaching new perspectives in presumption because a great many mistakes are made when we don’t have all of the facts. In sum, reading Lewis’ essay on Bulverism encouraged me to further keep in mind that the source of one’s thoughts may taint the ideas that follow the source or “lens” through which a person interacts with the world. Therefore, we must be careful to make sure that we do not operate in presumption when engaging with new ideas and instead do our best to approach new ideas with sincere objectivity.  

            Just as how we should not make presumptions when we are confronted with new ideas, another mistake that Lewis encourages his readers to avoid is that of assuming their right to happiness. In “ Have no Right to Happiness”, Lewis warns of the dangers that come with endowing every one with the “right” to happiness:

“If we establish a 'right to (sexual) happiness' which super­sedes all the ordinary rules of behavior…the fatal principle, once allowed in that department, must sooner or later seep through our whole lives. We thus advance toward a state of society in which not only each man but every impulse in each man claims carte blanche.”( Lewis, Happiness par 21,23)

            Basically, Lewis writes that if a right to happiness is allotted to the citizens of a society, the condition of that society will be as such that each individual will be endowed with unconditional authority. Any of their actions may be allowed simply on the notion that they had the right to seek whatever they believed would give them the most joy. The dangers of this idea are that this “right” can be used to justify numerous acts of crime or selfishness. The threat of a selfish and self-centered society eventually comes to destroy itself. Therefore, a right to happiness becomes the bane of a society. Through his logic and sound reason, Lewis shows that these humanist ideas will be the downfall of a society and that it should not make the error of making the supposed right to happiness a legitimized pursuit.

Another misconception which Lewis exhorts us not to have in “the Weight of Glory” is that our lives end when we die on earth. For as eternal creatures we should not entirely spend ourselves in pursuit of earthly things when we have eternity and our future glory to think about.  For whether we ascend into Heaven or descend into Hell, our spirits will last for eternity. Therefore, we must work at preparing ourselves according to our desired eternities, and not only for ourselves but also helping along others with their eternities as well. Lewis emphasizes this point when he writes:

“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 talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw 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. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations…There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” (Lewis, Glory 9)

            Therefore, as we’re not mistaken of the reality of our eternal presence, we cannot spend the substance of our beings focusing on our earthly happiness, for it is only temporary. On the contrary, we must continue to keep in sight the reality of our futures and adjust ourselves accordingly.

In the Poison of Subjectivism, Lewis discusses the dangers of installing reason as a substitute for the Law of Nature and morality. I agree with him. Observing the extent of how human values, tendencies, and laws, worldwide are based on the Law of Nature, such as honor or self sacrifice, an attempt completely separate ourselves from the Laws of Nature and come up with new ones would not only be extremely difficult, but extremely foolish. Lewis illustrates the folly which human’s fall into when he compares a human attempt at improving the Laws of Nature with attempting to replace them:

"You like your vegetables moderately fresh; why not grow your own and have them perfectly fresh? and a man who says "Throw away that loaf and try eating bricks and centipedes instead." (Lewis, Subjectivism par 14)

Attempting to separate ourselves from God’s standards of morality by setting up a faulty system of laws based on human understanding only results in hardship and toil for much of mankind. Humans should never attempt to step away from God's standards of morality because without His guidelines we will deteriorate as a species.

Finally, in his essay on Man or Rabbit, Lewis discusses the need for several individuals to step out of their intentional ignorance of the nature and character of God and instead to courageously examine the truths of Christianity. He condemns the behavior of those who dishonestly avoid confronting their curiosities as he gives an example of someone he imagines is committing this sort of folly:

“He is deliberately trying not to know whether Christianity is true or false, because he foresees endless trouble if it should turn out to be true. He is like the man who deliberately 'forgets' to look at the notice board because, if he did, he might find his name down for some unpleasant duty. He is like the man who won't look at his bank account because he's afraid of what he might find there. The man who remains an unbeliever for such reasons is not in a state of honest error. He is in a state of dishonest error…” (Lewis, Man or Rabbit 111)

            Lewis explains that the man who does not attempt to discover the validity of Christianity is operating in dishonest and harmful folly. The consequences of such an error ultimately end in eternal damnation, all because of one ridiculous act of cowardice! In my heart I was disturbed by such folly for I have observed these exact attitudes within many people whom I’ve met. With such severe consequences, our lives on Earth must be approached not out of foolish ignorance, but with sound discernment and good judgment. We must never intentionally walk in folly, for the consequences of our decisions hold much more in store than we’d like.

In conclusion, what I’ve come to discover is that although the various misconceptions that humans have are the result of the fallen world in which we live in, God offers each one of us redemption from these errors and more. His redemption spreads into every facet of fallen society and transforms it. In an excerpt from Engaging God’s World, Cornelius Plantinga writes:

“If all has been created good and all has been corrupted, then all must be redeemed. God isn’t content to save souls; God wants to save bodies too. God isn’t content to save human beings in their individual activities; God wants to save social systems and economic structures too…The whole world belongs to God, the whole world has fallen, and so the whole world needs to be redeemed-every last person, place, organization, and program”(Plantinga 97-98)

            Therefore, as there are many intellectual traps and misconceptions within ourselves and the world around us, we must be sure to be wary and on guard against folly, pride, and selfishness, lest we become idiots. Our lives in eternity and the quality of our relationships with God and people are at risk so we need to prepare and protect ourselves. Reading the essays of C.S Lewis, and to a smaller degree Cornelius Plantinga, have all helped me to mature in my perception of the world around me. In addition, I’ve also become more adept at evaluating my own ideas and opinions. This Interim course was a very thought provoking experience and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking forward to developing a Christian mind.

Works Cited

Lewis, C.S, “God in the Dock: Bulverism.”

Lewis, C.S, “Have no Right to Happiness.”

Lewis, C.S, “Man or Rabbit.”

Lewis, C.S, “The Poison of Subjectivism.”

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

Plantinga, Cornelius Jr. Engaging God’s World. Grand Rapids, Michigan:

William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 2002. Print

Vocation Ch. 5

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”   Matthew 28

These were the last words which Jesus charged to His disciples before He ascended into Heaven. The Great Commission, as it has been called, was a commandment from Christ to His disciples to go and to reach out to all of those that did not yet know Christ, to baptize them in the Holy Spirit and to make disciples of all people. I believe that this is still a call which we Christians still have the responsibility to fulfill before the second coming of Christ.

This passage from Scripture has greatly challenged me in many areas. It’s challenged my ambition and my passions, my priorities in life and values. It’s caused me to question whether or not my life is aimed in the direction of fulfilling what Jesus commanded us to do. If my life, and by my life not only the circumstances in which I find myself in, but also my heart attitude, aligned with this commandment? For as someone who professes to knowing God and being in relationship with Him, the only natural response to such a great God would be to start living and worshipping Him in a way which reflects the truth of who God is. Plantinga explains this Christian, a prime citizen of the kingdom of God, who truly reflects the disciple who follows this mandate when he writes:

“…a prime citizen passionately year for the kingdom. A prime citizen has been redeemed far down in her spirit, way downtown in her heart, so that she deeply loves God and the things of God. She relishes God’s Word. She rejoices in God her Savior. She finds that the things of faith- repentance, forgiveness, hope in God- seem sweet to her. ..In her best moods she long not just for happiness, but for joy; not just for joy, but for God; not just for God, but also for the kingdom of God. Because of her enthusiasm for the kingdom, she doesn’t merely endorse justice in the world; she hungers and worst for it. She doesn’t merely reject cruelty; she hates and fights it. She wants God to make things right in the world, and she wants to enroll in God’s project as if it were her own. She strives first for the kingdom in order to act on her passion. “

She is a person with a calling, and God has given each one of us a specific calling in our lives. I challenge myself to pursue or at least to continue to align and position my heart to reflect the image of God. I want to be available to God as a ready, strong, and reliable tool which He can use for His kingdom instead of an ever receiving spiritual infant. If this isn’t challenging to you or you haven’t really thought about this yet, it’s about time you start for especially in this season of our lives we must begin our preparations for where God would lead us.  

God is good.

Reading this excerpt on how God may potentially use pain was the most challenging I’ve read throughout this interim course. In this excerpt, one of the points Lewis discusses is how God uses pain to draw the attention of His children. Furthermore, Lewis writes that pain is one of the most effective ways through which God communicates to humans. He illustrates his point when he writes:

“But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain. Pain is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

Lewis writes that because we have so many distractions in our lives which do not allow us to focus on God, God needs to find alternative ways to draw our attention for He greatly wants to bless us with the many blessings which He has in store for us. Lewis borrows the words of St. Augustine to illustrate this point:

“God wants to give us something, but cannot, because our hands are full-there’s nowhere for Him to put it. St. Augustine.”

Moreover,  Lewis raises a very important that God risks losing an individual to rebellion when He uses pain to draw in unbelieving individuals, however without God’s advances, the potential of salvation for the unbeliever disappears. Lewis writes:

“No doubt Pain as God’s megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment.”

Another point which Lewis makes is that God must even at times inflict pain on those that are undeserving, who actually live quite deservedly comfortable lives. He writes that even with their worldly comforts, in order to save these individuals from eternal damnation, God bestows upon them situations which will encourage them to draw nearer to God than ever before. Lewis writes:

“God , who made these deserving people, may really be right when He thinks that their modest prosperity and the happiness of their children are not enough to make them blessed: that all this must fall from them in the end, and that if they have not learned to know Him they will be wretched. And therefore He troubles them, warning them in advance of an insufficiency that one day they will have to discover. The life to themselves and their families stands between them and the recognition of their need.”

I found this article to be very interesting for it challenges the way we understand and relate to God. God loves us and is for us, however there are times when we may become too content and forget the Lord. As a result, He may use certain painful situations in our lives which encourage us to draw nearer to Him. However, many people accuse God of taking away loved ones in accidents and diseases, as well as for not taking care of the hungry and for the depravity of man. This becomes a very touchy issue, for some situations look as if they are wonderfully God’s providence in having us draw nearer to Him as well as challenging situations where it seems as if God is the culprit for our sufferings. In my opinion, I believe that many bad things in the world such as world hunger, disease, and accidents are issues which humans are responsible for which God is able to redeem. However, where accidents have occurred or the sudden death of a child, I do not yet have an answer, yet I still trust God to know what He’s doing even though I do not understand His will throughout those tough moments.

I’ve always been touched by the faith of Abraham’s obedience to God’s will regarding the sacrifice of his only son born to him so late in life. I imagine the anguish and heartbreak Abraham endured while preparing to fulfill God’s will. I often ask myself how I would have responded in that situation, as I am right now I probably would have run away from God. Yet Abraham clung to God through this extreme trial and witnessed the incredible love and glory of God. Job also suffered yet persevered even after his world had fallen apart. These various examples of how regular men clung onto God was very inspirational, albeit challenging as well. I can now only pray that in the future I will also humbly cling to God and be sure to never forget the love of our Savior. God is our personal redemption and I was reminded of the reality of this incredible fact whilst reading this article. You should too.

There are many people in the world who have only one committed foot through the door of being a Christian while the rest of their spiritual bodies remain outside in uncertainty. They’ve gone to church, they’ve observed the environment and found it good, and they’ve felt the presence of the Holy Spirit inviting them to delve deeper in what is to become a relationship with God. However, as they’ve only received a bit of the knowledge about the goodness of the kingdom of God and have not yet conducted any more personal inquiries, a hesitation of uneasiness begins to grow within them and either they choose not to become a Christian or remain at that middle ground for years before they enter into a relationship with God. This process is unnecessarily a waste of time.

When contemplating not only the existence of an all loving God but the start of a committed life to Him, the consequences of accepting this information and making such a decision to follow God completely turns our whole lives around. C.S Lewis agrees with this point when he writes:

“Knowledge

of the facts must make a difference to one's actions.”

Moreover, as this decision of committing our lives to God has life changing results, we need to gather information in order to fully know what we’re getting into for it becomes the most important truth upon which we may live our lives. The person making the decision should not bother about with the shuffling feet of ignorance, you only waste time doing that, and instead begin their pursuit of truth. On the error of avoiding the work it takes to discover the truth of Christianity, Lewis writes:

“He is deliberately trying not

to know whether Christianity is true or false, because he

foresees endless trouble if it should turn out to be true. He

is like the man who deliberately 'forgets' to look at the notice

board because, if he did, he might find his name down for

some unpleasant duty. He is like the man who won't look at

his bank account because he's afraid of what he might find

there. He is like the man who won't go to the doctor when

he first feels a mysterious pain, because he is afraid of what

the doctor may tell him.

The man who remains an unbeliever for such reasons is

not in a state of honest error. He is in a state of dishonest

error…”

In sum, we cannot go on in an intentional state of ignorance. This decision is too important and personal to be cast aside and ignored. God is waiting for every individual and time wasted is time lost. In the words of Andy Dufresne from the Shawshank Redemption:

“Either we get busy livin, or we get busy dyin.”

An Unplanned Thought

As I’ve mentioned in my previous posts, I’ve moved around a lot, not just to and fro from different locations but cultures and experiences as well. These experiences have shaped me, I’ve become a very task-oriented person and need to remind myself to not be so serious when my schedule becomes busy. I take a lot more time to make even simple decisions because of my frustration with having to deal with avoidable mistakes, a trait I picked up in China when I’ve ordered the wrong dish of food and ended up with chicken feet or the slight drop off in tone of an address and ending up half the city away in the opposite direction by my taxi driver. I guess one of the biggest ways I’ve been shaped is my revelation of how introverted I am.

This is not to say that I have no extravert tendencies within me, for I still have a few, but in recent years I’ve come to know myself as needing time spent on my own to be more frequent. Now as I’ve moved from place to place, both my introverted tendencies and my extraverted tendencies will fight against each other, one yearning to belong and be part of a social group and the other yearning for the ease and peace which exists when you’re not around people all of the time. The latter yearning wins every time. Although a healthy balance can be found between satisfying both extraversion and introversion, well, I’ve always been terrible at multi-tasking and I’ve had enough long term change in my life, the switch from extraversion and introversion on a daily basis seems too much for me.

Now I’ve realized that the way I’ve come to understand extraversion, from my experience, has that meaning of conformity to the group dynamic and ways of saying things. The group dynamic being an “Inner Ring” in my experience, somehow influencing the way I speak and act. I guess the influence of the “Inner Ring” is something which I’ve not found agreeable to me, finding that in those settings it’s hard for me to be truly myself, I prefer groups of two or three. In my mind, conformity to the group dynamic really has come to feel the way Lewis describes the way a man is changed by his pursuit of the inner ring:

“if you drift with the stream, you will in fact be an ‘inner ringer." I don’t say you’ll be a successful one; that’s as may be. But whether by pining and moping outside Rings that you can never enter, or by passing triumphantly further and further in- one way or the other you will be that kind of man.”

However, I also know that I do need to find good and meaningful relationships with people that I like for I still need some sort of inner ring, a small one, but still an inner ring. Lewis reminds me of this important point when he writes:

“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.”

I know that I must find a healthy balance between my extravert and introvert tendencies. We should never lean too far in either direction.

It's gonna be a fight

Are you a gardener?

The distortion of Eros love is indeed a widely distorted love which much of society struggles with. Modern media promotes the pleasures of lust, even claims it as a natural, healthy instinct. In its original intended purpose it is, as God had planned this type of love to be shared between a man and woman in mind, body, and spirit. And this is exactly where society differs, for the activities related to the distorted version of Eros love place sole focus on the physical and psychological pleasures of lust. Eros was meant to be an externally focused love, whereas society places it within an internally focused or selfish motive to whet our physical appetites.  The lust of society reduces the human to an object of pleasure, a selfish pursuit of satisfaction. This devaluation of others made in the image of God is a sin.  Therefore I should stop my feelings of lust right now immediately. It makes sense in my mind of why it’s a sin, it’s disgusting, and should instead be realigned with God’s original intention for Eros love. End of story.

Unfortunately, making this sudden decision to refrain from being tempted or exposed to the distortions of Eros love is not easy. These distortions are all around us, from the temptations in our minds to the television shows and movies that we watch. Even secular humanism today not so much promotes sexual satisfaction but pushes the pursuit of self-gratification. In a sense, go after and enjoy whatever floats your boat! All of these ideas influence us and affect the way we respond to our struggles with lust.

With this realization, we must do our best to cling onto God, praying for grace and purity with which to help us persevere through our struggles. God gives us the grace with which we can overcome our internal challenges so we should never give up in our struggles.

“ So dear brother and sister, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. “

Romans 8:12-14

For your own good

God’s Laws

What do we think of when we hear the words “laws”, “rules”, and “regulations”? As a child I remember disliking the “rules” very much. I viewed them as restrictions which hindered me from attaining what I wanted. Rules shortened my recess times, regulated the amount of sugar I consumed, and forced me to go to bed when I didn’t want to. However, in retrospect, I can easily see that each supposed rule was indeed for my personal benefit so that I didn’t stay out playing all day, have poor health, and wasn’t exhausted the next day.

The Ten Commandments are also “rules”, or “laws” with the same purpose, except with much better consequences than merely good health. When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they were coming out of 400 years of not only slavery over their bodies, but also over their minds. Egyptian culture, religious beliefs, and law dominated the Israelite community. So when God led His people out of Egypt, He was leading out not the largest refugee nation of 2 million people, He was leading out a mass group of spiritual refugees as well.  When God gave the 10 commandments to His people, He was not only giving them laws, He was giving them an identity. God was making a covenant with His people to distinguish them among all of the other pagan nations that the Israelites were His people. God blessed them with laws which no other nation shared, a unique system of guidelines designed to fulfill the maximum blessings of freedom over the Israelites.  On the Ten Commandments, Plantinga writes:

“What God carved in stone at Sinai was a recipe for real freedom. I know it sounds paradoxical to say that we get freedom by obeying God’s commandments, but that’s actually the way things go. Sin traps people and makes them wilt; godly obedience liberates people and helps them flourish. The Ten Commandments are guides for a free and flourishing life…God’s commandments are all pro-life.”

Often the words “laws” and “Ten Commandments” connotes feelings of strictness, of an intolerably angry God pointing a finger saying “Do what I say!...Or else!”. However, we Christians need to remember the context for which God gave us those laws. God gave us those laws to obey because they would ultimately teach us to live in the purest and most righteous ways possible. God was actually giving us one of His greatest blessings when He gave us the Ten Commandments. In fact, when God commands us to obey them, not only is He commanding our moral righteousness, but He’s also commanding us to be blessed and to be a blessing. Fulfilling the Ten Commandments will only lead us along good paths, and those good paths will stand as examples to the other nations of the world and the glory of God will truly be known to others. Finally, as God’s people, it is our duty to live according to the good ways of God not only  to save ourselves, but to be a blessing to others as well.

“…Ten Commandments, a set of requirements that people have to fulfill not in order to be rescued by God from slavery, but because they have been rescued”.