I think Mark DeVine may have finally hit his stride in the blogosphere. By my count he's churned out four posts in the last four days. That's four posts laced with Emerging Church, Theology, C.S. Lewis, and the perfectly understated DeVine wit that occasionally causes foolhardy students to turn red in the face and jerk awkwardly in their seats. (Not me, of course - never me.) It's no wonder that I link DeVine's stuff all the time, and now I'm linking this masterful post on why C.S. Lewis's writing tends to slip down through the cracks in our egos and echo in our minds and hearts for years:
Very often I pause when reading Lewis and let the book drop to my lap or I turn from the open book to gaze out the window to savor what has just happened. Lewis has captured in words some personal experience I have known and has nailed it so exactly that to simply read past it would be unseemly, ungrateful. I do not think I am alone in this.
No, you're not.
Accurate description of our deepest often most elusive experiences weakens our defenses against instruction and leaves us docile. And the next thing you know, we not only allow but thank someone for using the word “wicked,” even if we are the offender.
Ka-ching. This is only one of the reasons that Lewis should be required reading in all seminaries. Aspiring pastors and leaders, ostensibly learning to dole out this very kind of moral instruction, should learn from a master of the craft. Can you inform a person that he is a "greedy swine" in a way that makes him chuckle and nod in agreement? Didn't think so. READ C.S. LEWIS!!
But if I were you, I'd also read DeVine's blog on a regular basis. Of course, don't tell him I sent you. Obviously I wouldn't ask that of you. Whatever you do, don't mention that "Ariel Vanderhorst sent me here." Don't say anything like "Ariel told me to come read this." And above all, don't mention that "Ariel links a lot of your posts and sends traffic to your blog." Everyone knows that kind of servility is way, way beneath me.
Got the message?
7 comments:
C.S. Lewis!?!
Egads!
He liked Plato, don't you know. Plato was a pagan!!!.
We cannot have this in our seminaries, darn it.
I will now retire to my library and cross my arms across my chest and "hurumph" a bit.
Cheers.
Thanks for the introduction to M.DeVine.
I have been looking for some substance and after 30 seconds looking over some of his comments I suspect I will spend some time there.
RE: C.S. Lewis
Read: The Abolition of Man and then read anything by Brian McLaren. Also read That Hideous Strength.
Lewis is clearly speaking to Greeves about Sehnsucht here. He echoed these same thoughts as he penned Pilgrim's Regress in Greeve's own house one holiday. I don't have the book with me right now, but he essentially draws a parallel between the absence of sehnsucht and the absence of ecstatic experiences during the process of spiritual growth, very similar to the way St. John of the Cross speaks of Dark Night of the Soul.
He doesn't *seem* to extinguish the presence of sehnsucht in the Christian life altogether, but Corbin Scott Carnell seems to think that Lewis considered it to be an inconsequential experience to the Christian. I'm not exactly sure I agree with Lewis if that is so. But at the same time, I just can't see Lewis dismissing the experience of sehnsucht as unimportant after conversion... something to explore in more depth, to be sure.
In my research on sehnsucht, I discovered two basic functions of it in relation to John's journey to faith (in Regress). First was that it pointed John to a kind of proof of the Transcendental Other (God); second, it gave him the fuel and determination to seek that prize. While the Christian would have no urgent need of the first function of Sehnsucht, I do see a distinct advantage to having the second.
And I think this second function is really rooted in Christian mysticism. Hmm... something to look further into as well... Piper writes about Desiring God. Christ appeals to our sense of reward. Ah yes... Lewis's Weight of Glory sermon--about the goodness of the Joy experience and spoken to Christians (lightbulb!). Hmm... Hmm... yes and John of the Cross does not dismiss sehnsucht in the Christian life either... hmm....hmm.... I need to write a sequal to my paper on Sehnsucht.... sheesh!!!
Reading C.S. Lewis = an offer of a holiday at the sea
He liked Plato, don't you know. Plato was a pagan!!!.
But it gets worse. I don't know if you were aware that Lewis...smoked a pipe!! And that's not all. He as actually known to DRINK BEER!! Regularly! And with friends (thus affirming them in their evil behavior)! Yeah, once a guy like Lewis gets inside the seminary doors, you never know what might happen.
Read: The Abolition of Man and then read anything by Brian McLaren. Also read That Hideous Strength.
I'm wondering if you'd care to elaborate on this, Mr. Batholomew. Specifically, what's the connection with Brian McLaren? I've read and loved Lewis's Space Trilogy. I'm happy I could point you toward DeVine's blog.
I just can't see Lewis dismissing the experience of sehnsucht as unimportant after conversion... something to explore in more depth, to be sure.
Adam, your Lewis commentary continues to be very welcome on the blog (not to imply that you can't talk about other stuff too). The question regarding Lewis's downplaying Sehnsucht is a fascinating one, and it's come up before. Check out the comments on this review of The Pilgrim's Regress. Excerpt:
I'd always thought that Lewis came to savor Joy as a foretaste of heaven, and therefore not to be shunned...that's certainly the way in which I interpret my own experiences of bittersweet Joy. It's central to the way I live, and comprehend experience.
Ched said: Reading C.S. Lewis = an offer of a holiday at the sea
Right on. As opposed to making mud pies in a slum. I wonder which author(s) represent the slums, then...
Good stuff on your Regress post--a very accurate reading of it!
Yes, Lewis seems to be confused himself about Sehnsucht. I'm not sure if he ever really figured it out. Perhaps this is why he never wrote a book on it? He certainly contradicts himself about it time and time again. There is certainly a danger from it becoming idolotrous, and he is wise to not make it all-important. And there is wisdom, I think, in the fact that (as John of the Cross shows us) mature spirituality is not dependent upon these ecstatic experiences in order to do the will of God. Perhaps he left his greatest explanation of the experience in the form of allegory so that his insufficiencies might be filled by the Spirit's work through our imaginations?
there is wisdom, I think, in the fact that...mature spirituality is not dependent upon these ecstatic experiences in order to do the will of God.
Good call. Especially in today's culture, when experience, ecstatic and otherwise, seems to be central rather than peripheral to many versions of "Christianity." Experience is also infamously hard to dissect outside of the creative/poetic mode, I think.
Lewis probably realized this. I wonder if he would be uncomfortable with the allure that Sehnsucht holds for some people (like us) these days.
Not that I'm apologizing.
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