Grant Jobkar
January 25, 2010
Professors Adriana & Paulo
Ribeiro
DCM- C.S. Lewis
1262 Words
Reflections on my first Interim
I want to start by admitting that going into interim I wasn’t all that thrilled about rotting in class for three hours each day. After the first class period and our discussion of Meditation in a Toolshed, I quickly realized that this class wouldn’t be as bad as I thought. The discussions we had in class about Engaging God’s World and the works of C.S. Lewis really opened up my Christian perspective and they helped achieve what Calvin College wanted me to accomplish during Interim, develop a Christian mind. Now I may not have developed the ideal Christian mind that they were aiming for but I can tell you that I have a new outlook on everyday life.
Over the course of the three weeks we covered Lewis in many different situations ranging from education to learning in war time to rings of friendship. It really is amazing the way he writes and how he can just captivate a reader. I also thought that his conversion from Atheism to Christianity was just remarkable and I found proof of it in The Poison of Subjectivism, “God is not merely good, but goodness; goodness is not merely divine, but God” (1). This quote struck me because God is good and God is great. He is loving and caring and accepting. In the modern society I really think that some people forget that God is always with us and always loves no matter what. We also need to remember that we are His creation.
There were parts of the Plantinga book that I really enjoyed and other parts that I objected. I thought Plantinga did a great job of explaining the essence of the Reformed faith. The three main points that he brought up were Creation, Fall, and Redemption. A couple parts of these points that caught my attention were the concept of total depravity and common grace. Total depravity was one of the topics that I had an objection with. The concept of total depravity says in other words means that humans are totally corrupt from Original Sin. This struck a bad chord with me because I think that humans aren’t completely corrupt from sin, granted all of us have sinned but that doesn’t make us unable to find God. God is always there for us even when we have sinned and I think that to be completely true.
Common grace was a pretty simple topic for me to grasp about the Reformed faith. Common grace states that God loves everyone regardless of faith (2). This is simple for anyone to understand and I think it contradicts total depravity a little bit in that it states “consisting in natural blessings, restraint of corruption” (2). This enforces the point I made in the last paragraph, and again I will state, God loves everyone and everything He created.
As we went through the C.S. Lewis material and watched his transformation from Atheism to Christianity I kept thinking about how tough it must be to pick or find a faith. Some people are born into a religion that the parents already practice but some people switch. For example my mom was a Methodist all of her life then she met my dad and turned Roman Catholic and was baptized and is now a member of the Roman Catholic Church. Lewis at one point described himself as “angry with God for not existing” (3). I think that it must have been very challenging for Lewis to discover God having been without Him for his whole life up to that point.
Lewis conversion to Christianity is something truly remarkable that he did during his life, what’s even more remarkable is the kind of Christian he became. Even in the description for the other C.S. Lewis course it says “C.S. Lewis was one of the greatest champions of the Christian faith in the twentieth century” (4). Hard to believe he was Christian for only thirty- two years of his sixty-five year life. That is half of his life and people call him a champion of Christianity, that is amazing. That it proof aloneof his commitment to Christianity, he didn’t just become a Christian, he showed it in the way he acted, the way he taught, the way he wrote. This ties into Developing a Christian Mind in that through the years, and without the aid of this class at Calvin College, Lewis did it himself, granted with the influence of a couple close friends, but still I find it amazing that he found Christianity.
One of the most prevalent things I learned from C.S. Lewis was the concept of looking at and looking along. This was the first essay we read for class and I thought it was the most effective in “hitting home” so to speak. This concept was truly captivating for me because it distinguishes the difference between analyzing an action and doing an action and I thought it was really cool how Lewis explained it. That’s merely what life is, a series of either looking at or along things in daily life. You look along that juicy hamburger as you’re eating it, you look at and analyze a couple kissing on the park bench. This is a simple concept of life and I credit Lewis for helping me realize it.
Another thing I learned from Lewis was the price of education and how valuable it is. Reading Our English Syllabus opened my eyes about college and the next three years of my life. I can consider myself a member of the audience for this lecture because I applies to me. I really want to broaden my horizons but I only have four years to do it so I need to pick and choose what I really want to do. “The proper question for freshman is not ‘What will do me most good?’ but ‘What do I most want to know?” (5). This is an important question on many other fields other than education. I came into DCM thinking, “What do I most want to know about C.S. Lewis and Christianity?” I found during reading the essays of Lewis that he is not only a teacher and intellectual but also what could be considered a life coach.
Going into DCM I had mixed emotions about the whole thing, I thought it would be boring, drawn out, and no fun. Paulo, Adriana, Plantinga, and Lewis quickly changed that within the first week of class. They had a way of getting me to engage myself in class and really truly made it fun for me. In the end my theory of the class was proven wrong, my colleagues and myself, I can say, really learned a lot. Lewis and Plantinga paired up to teach us about the Lord our God and to show us His divine ways. God really does love us all, my friends, it is up to us to remember that. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). Everything they wrote was written for us to learn and grow in grace to God. I think it is rather funny Lewis didn’t consider himself a theologian because, in the three weeks I spent learning about him and the way he writes and thinks, I became closer and more informed about God, and in my mind, that is a theologian.
Bibliography
1. Lewis, C.S. “The Poison of Subjectivism.” 25 January 2010.
2. Plantinga, Cornelius. “Engaging God’s World.” Page. 59. 25 January 2010
3. Lewis, Surprised by Joy, p. 28. 26 January 2010
4. Calvin College Interim Course Catalog. Page 8. 26 January 2010
5. Lewis. Our English Syllabus. Page. 87. 26 January 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Shattered Glass
Humility is the first thing that came to mind as I watched this movie. Glass is a hypocrite during the voice over at the beginning when he says that the reporters should be humble. This struck me a great foreshadowing, humility is something Stephen Glass clearly never had. I think that anyone who has the audacity to publish fake articles just for the notoriety is a trashy no good liar and I think that the way Lane dealt with Glass was fitting. Proverbs 16:19 says "Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud." I thought this was good scripture for this because God wants us to be humble. Glass was a member of the proud category and he paid for his actions by being fired from The New Republic.
The Lord has an amazing way of punishing us for our negative actions. He wants us to be good, caring, honest people but unfortunately there are some people who aren't the model that God wants us to be. It is much better to be humble then proud because people generally don't like people who are arrogant and prideful. I know I tend to shy away from those people.
I thought that the end of the movie was ironic because in the end nobody listened to him anymore. In the end, all of the cut scenes to the classroom were merely Glass' imagination telling him the he was this popular, important writer. When all of the facts fell into place, Glass was merely a liar and a cheater who would do anything to get a good story published. Ultimately the lesson I learned from the movie was as Proverbs stated, it is better to just be humble and honest or else you will crumble with all of the liars and cheaters and prideful people.
The Lord has an amazing way of punishing us for our negative actions. He wants us to be good, caring, honest people but unfortunately there are some people who aren't the model that God wants us to be. It is much better to be humble then proud because people generally don't like people who are arrogant and prideful. I know I tend to shy away from those people.
I thought that the end of the movie was ironic because in the end nobody listened to him anymore. In the end, all of the cut scenes to the classroom were merely Glass' imagination telling him the he was this popular, important writer. When all of the facts fell into place, Glass was merely a liar and a cheater who would do anything to get a good story published. Ultimately the lesson I learned from the movie was as Proverbs stated, it is better to just be humble and honest or else you will crumble with all of the liars and cheaters and prideful people.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
The Problem of Pain
I will start by saying that I will probably get away from the article in this blog. Pain is a very peculiar feeling in that it has so many different forms and limitless ways to deal with it. There is physical pain, mental pain, emotional pain, and many more, but the type of pain that Lewis focuses on is emotional pain. I can't assume that all of us have lost a loved one but I can assume that we know somebody who has. Myself I have lost both of my grandmothers and they hit me hard. Granted this isn't the same pain as losing your spouse, as Lewis experienced when he lost Joy. But in a way, after watching the clip in class and seeing my grandpa after my grandma passed, I can feel their pain. I know if my girlfriend were to die suddenly I would be devastated. It is hard to move on when someone you loved for so long is gone forever, it has to be a very hard and challenging experience.
The best way I have found to deal with pain is just let it out, its best to get all of the crying out of your system as fast as you can (in my opinion). Yeah it may suck crying constantly but when you're done crying you realize that its for the best and that it is time to move on. When you get past the hardest part it starts getting easier. It must be also hard for parents when they lose a child. I don't really know how I will take it when one of these challenges faces me but I go in knowing that it will suck, a lot, and I just need to be strong and keep my chin high and realize that it is not the end of the world.
The best way I have found to deal with pain is just let it out, its best to get all of the crying out of your system as fast as you can (in my opinion). Yeah it may suck crying constantly but when you're done crying you realize that its for the best and that it is time to move on. When you get past the hardest part it starts getting easier. It must be also hard for parents when they lose a child. I don't really know how I will take it when one of these challenges faces me but I go in knowing that it will suck, a lot, and I just need to be strong and keep my chin high and realize that it is not the end of the world.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Is Christianity Real?
Lewis writes a very compelling and risky piece about the validity of Christianity. His main point during the piece is whether or not Christianity is true. Now, obviously there is a Materialist and Christian argument, as Lewis points out. I considered myself a third while reading this essay, trying to distinguish the arguments of both sides and as a Christian I have to say that Christianity is true. But we need not forget that just because someone isn't Christian, doesn't mean they're wrong. Lewis sites examples of non-Christians who had formidable lives.
I think that some Christians have an arrogance about them, they think that they're high and mighty because they're Christian. This is wrong, we are all equal beings, I don't care if you're Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, Mormon, or even Athiest. Just because people have different beliefs doesn't make us better, and there are probably people of those religions who think they're better than Christians. God made us all equal so nobody is better than someone else, they may think that they are better but they aren't.
So when it comes to the question of is Christianity real i say yes, Christianity is as real as we want it to be. This kind of depends on how Christian you consider yourself, whether or not you are an active Christian, and just how much you really feel like arguing. But the essence of what I am saying is that everyone has a different belief of what they think is true and to that I say, let them think what they want, as long as a war doesn't over the validity of Christianity I fine with my ideation and I am sticking to it.
I think that some Christians have an arrogance about them, they think that they're high and mighty because they're Christian. This is wrong, we are all equal beings, I don't care if you're Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, Mormon, or even Athiest. Just because people have different beliefs doesn't make us better, and there are probably people of those religions who think they're better than Christians. God made us all equal so nobody is better than someone else, they may think that they are better but they aren't.
So when it comes to the question of is Christianity real i say yes, Christianity is as real as we want it to be. This kind of depends on how Christian you consider yourself, whether or not you are an active Christian, and just how much you really feel like arguing. But the essence of what I am saying is that everyone has a different belief of what they think is true and to that I say, let them think what they want, as long as a war doesn't over the validity of Christianity I fine with my ideation and I am sticking to it.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The Inner Ring
Of the Lewis essays we have read so far during DCM, this ranks up there as one of my favorites. The one point it stressed with me is that there are inner rings everywhere and we can't avoid them. they are at work, at church, at home, in school, everywhere. We were asked in the discussion if we thought that inner rings were a bad thing, I answered both ways, they're good and bad. I found a quote in the text that said "the number of people who first smoked or first got drunk for a similar reason is probably very large." I think that having to be initiated (in some cases) or doing desperate things to get into an inner ring can be very very bad. These are usually the people who seek a sense of belonging and have a low self esteem, in which case the ring members can't help but to see just how far the person is willing to go to be a part of the click. This is when inner rings are very very bad.
Inner rings can also be very good because it establishes sort of a pecking order amongst people. You may not think it the way I did, but isn't the world just one giant ring? You've got the the governments followed by the working and so on down. We might has well just face, inner rings are just as much a part of everyday life as eating. In some form, everyone is in an inner ring. I know I am in a few inner rings, these rings are the people I trust the most and can really rely on as friends. I liked the quote "Exclusion is no accident; it is the essence." This quote really speaks on how clicks exclude people who they don't see fit for the group, and Lewis says it right, it is no accident, people blatantly exclude others time and time again. I know I have been excluded a few times in my life and it sucks, it really does, but thats how it goes, life goes on you know? One thing I think that people should avoid is letting exclusion get to their head, if someone doesn't want you just forget them and move on before things get too bad, remember the more you try the funnier they'll think it is, so don't be that person, be strong.
Inner rings can also be very good because it establishes sort of a pecking order amongst people. You may not think it the way I did, but isn't the world just one giant ring? You've got the the governments followed by the working and so on down. We might has well just face, inner rings are just as much a part of everyday life as eating. In some form, everyone is in an inner ring. I know I am in a few inner rings, these rings are the people I trust the most and can really rely on as friends. I liked the quote "Exclusion is no accident; it is the essence." This quote really speaks on how clicks exclude people who they don't see fit for the group, and Lewis says it right, it is no accident, people blatantly exclude others time and time again. I know I have been excluded a few times in my life and it sucks, it really does, but thats how it goes, life goes on you know? One thing I think that people should avoid is letting exclusion get to their head, if someone doesn't want you just forget them and move on before things get too bad, remember the more you try the funnier they'll think it is, so don't be that person, be strong.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Eros and Love
Listening to Paulo tell the story of how he and Adriana met and ended up getting married has really showed me that God is involved in all parts of our life. I credit Paulo for being able to deal with the temptation of the girl in his class and he was rewarded by a phone call the next day from Adriana. I thought that all parts of this story were just beautiful. This story has put love into perspective for me, I sit in class everyday and I see what true love is with these two beautiful, wonderful people at the front of the classroom and each and everyday they show me what true love is and the rewards of being faithful and loyal. I will admit that in the past I was not what you would call the ideal boyfriend but then I met Amanda, talk about someone grabbing your ear and straightening you out. Sorry if I am getting away from Eros but rather I am just talking about love in general.
Love is such a strong feeling that I hope each person gets a chance to experience because it is a beautiful thing. I do want to point out that I liked Lewis' differentiation between being in love and falling in love, he couldn't have stated it in any better fashion. And I credit whoever gave the example of swimming in ponds (I can't remember if it was Lewis or one of the Ribeiros). Falling in love is an experience that some people take for granted and bounce around and "swim in new ponds" with new women/men periodically. I think that falling should lead to being in love, taking people for granted just isn't fair to the other party and it is not fair to yourself.
Love is such a strong feeling that I hope each person gets a chance to experience because it is a beautiful thing. I do want to point out that I liked Lewis' differentiation between being in love and falling in love, he couldn't have stated it in any better fashion. And I credit whoever gave the example of swimming in ponds (I can't remember if it was Lewis or one of the Ribeiros). Falling in love is an experience that some people take for granted and bounce around and "swim in new ponds" with new women/men periodically. I think that falling should lead to being in love, taking people for granted just isn't fair to the other party and it is not fair to yourself.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Redemption
Redemption is where we learn how, as a fallen race, to become closer to Christ. This is where the Ten Commandments come into play, they're like a list of guidelines that we should follow in hopes of again becoming one with Jesus Christ. John Calvin said "Until we grow into one body with him." This is how Calvin suggests we reunite with Our Savior, in sort of a sarcastic tone, which in my interpretation means that he doesn't think that we can be redeemed. Plantinga then talks about the Church saying "Baptism and the Lord's Supper are CHURCH sacraments, intended to bind to Christ and to each other a whole body of people..." I thought that the essence of this quote is that we can also seek redemption through the sacraments offered at Church.
Plantinga also talks about "The Double Grace" of Christ. Basically what he means by the Double is guilt and corruption. We need to except that we are guilty of sin and are a corrupt race before we can start pursuing the grace of Christ and redemption to our Lord. We also look for a big redemption or in other words, the redemption of the whole world, which we know can't happen all at once but thats not to say that people haven't tried (haha). I am a believer that we can find redemption, but we will be put through many trials before we can accomplish this goal. It isn't something that we can just decide to do, it won't be easy but I think that if we really show Christ that we love Him and God then we might have a chance at being redeemed.
Plantinga also talks about "The Double Grace" of Christ. Basically what he means by the Double is guilt and corruption. We need to except that we are guilty of sin and are a corrupt race before we can start pursuing the grace of Christ and redemption to our Lord. We also look for a big redemption or in other words, the redemption of the whole world, which we know can't happen all at once but thats not to say that people haven't tried (haha). I am a believer that we can find redemption, but we will be put through many trials before we can accomplish this goal. It isn't something that we can just decide to do, it won't be easy but I think that if we really show Christ that we love Him and God then we might have a chance at being redeemed.
Learning in War Time
One thing that Lewis really stresses in this sermon is the fact that everything we do must be a form of worshipping God. This is evident in two quotes, both of which I really loved. "Whether ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Now this last quote, I am suspecting, isn't directly from Lewis but a different source, regardless, whomever is responsible for this quote is right. Everything we do, accomplish, take part in, should be a way of glorifying God. After all, isn't that what He wanted, for us to glorify Him at every step, breath, and action.
The second quote is on the same page and reads "A mole must dig to the glory of God and cock must crow. We are members of one body but differentiated members, each with is own vocation." Here Lewis cites the work of a mole and cock, exemplifying that they both have different "jobs" but no matter what they do, it is in the glory of God. I really like the second part of this quote, it really states that we are all different, unique, which gives us a unique way of glorifying God.
I thought that the last paragraph of the sermon tied things together quite well. He says (paraphrased) that if we wanted heaven on Earth we are sorely mistaken and will come up disappointed. And the last sentence really hits home "If we thought that for some souls, and at some times, the life of learning, humbly offered to God, was, in its own small way, one of the appointed approaches to the Divine reality and the Divine beauty which we hope to enjoy hereafter, we can think so still." This paragraph basically states that if you're hoping for a paradise during the war, you're going to be disappointed, but this gives us a chance to further glorify God, then have at it.
The second quote is on the same page and reads "A mole must dig to the glory of God and cock must crow. We are members of one body but differentiated members, each with is own vocation." Here Lewis cites the work of a mole and cock, exemplifying that they both have different "jobs" but no matter what they do, it is in the glory of God. I really like the second part of this quote, it really states that we are all different, unique, which gives us a unique way of glorifying God.
I thought that the last paragraph of the sermon tied things together quite well. He says (paraphrased) that if we wanted heaven on Earth we are sorely mistaken and will come up disappointed. And the last sentence really hits home "If we thought that for some souls, and at some times, the life of learning, humbly offered to God, was, in its own small way, one of the appointed approaches to the Divine reality and the Divine beauty which we hope to enjoy hereafter, we can think so still." This paragraph basically states that if you're hoping for a paradise during the war, you're going to be disappointed, but this gives us a chance to further glorify God, then have at it.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
The Fall
Plantinga talks about The Fall and total depravity in chapter 3 of Engaging God's World. Total depravity is the idea of us being totally corrupted as a fallen race, unable to choose God. I wouldn't say I disagree with total depravity, but I find it a little bit ridiculous. God loves us, we are His creation, we are God in the flesh. We are a fallen race from original sin, yes, but I feel that we are still able to find God even in our depravity. We must also remember that God doesn't just love religous people, he didn't create only Christians and Jews, he created the Mormons and Athiests too. The Athiests would disagree with my point but what I mean by saying that is that God created EVERYONE.
I feel as though our class can be split down the middle when it comes to the topic of depravity. Friday in class you could cut the tension with a knife, I honestly felt very uncomfortable. I'm not the most religious on the block and alot of the discussions we have had in class have made me very uncomfortable. But I think that discovering religion involves some discomfort and second guessing. This class has really opened my eyes to God and God's creation and you know, I have loved every minute of it.
I feel as though our class can be split down the middle when it comes to the topic of depravity. Friday in class you could cut the tension with a knife, I honestly felt very uncomfortable. I'm not the most religious on the block and alot of the discussions we have had in class have made me very uncomfortable. But I think that discovering religion involves some discomfort and second guessing. This class has really opened my eyes to God and God's creation and you know, I have loved every minute of it.
Subjectivism
The most striking part of this piece for me was when Lewis talks about people and societies choosing their own ideologies to live by. In my opinion, I think that it is very bad for people to choose their own morals and ideologies because often times it doesn't end so well for all parties. Its a slippery slope because they see it as right but outsiders may see it as bad or even a cult. He then cites Nazi Germany as an example of a group of people who chose their own ideology and ended up killing millions and millions of people who didnt fall correctly into that ideology.
This essay was powerful becaus eit made so many good points, almost too many to mention. Lewis states " Unless the measuring rod is independent of the things measured, we can do no measuring." Basically what this means is that you can't be biased when talking about moral ideas.
On the closing pages of this essay Lewis really sums everything up with a very simple quote, "God is not merely good, but goodness; goodness is not merely divine, but God." This quote really put everything into proportion for me, put simply, God is good and great and we must NEVER forget that. He put us in this world to thrive asa race and sometimes I think people forget that God can see everything and that he loves us all. It is good to keep this in mind during everyday life because when things go bad and you have no human to turn to you have God, he will always listen and will always be there.
This essay was powerful becaus eit made so many good points, almost too many to mention. Lewis states " Unless the measuring rod is independent of the things measured, we can do no measuring." Basically what this means is that you can't be biased when talking about moral ideas.
On the closing pages of this essay Lewis really sums everything up with a very simple quote, "God is not merely good, but goodness; goodness is not merely divine, but God." This quote really put everything into proportion for me, put simply, God is good and great and we must NEVER forget that. He put us in this world to thrive asa race and sometimes I think people forget that God can see everything and that he loves us all. It is good to keep this in mind during everyday life because when things go bad and you have no human to turn to you have God, he will always listen and will always be there.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Mere Christianity
Chapter 2 of Mere Christianity deals with Moral Law and the Law of Decent Behaviour. This part of the essay really grabbed me by the ankles and swung me around. "The Moral Law tells us the tune we have to play: our instincts are merely the keys." This quote compares Moral Law and our instincts to to a piano composition. I agree with this because Moral Law really does gives us the guidelines for which we should follow but ultimately we as people are the ones who choose whether or not to follow them. The essays of Lewis that we have read so far have had a way of getting me to really sit down and think about my life. This piece, especially chapter 2 has already has already got me thinking about how I make decisions.
Another point brought up in chapter 2 is, in essence, dealing with "putting all of your eggs in one basket" when it comes to making decisions. Lewis states "The most dangerous thing you can do is to take any one impulse of your own nature and set it up as the thingyou ought to follow at all costs." It is not safe or good to 100% committ to a decision until you have analyzed all of the angles and gone over it like ten times. You need to leave room for error and be able to avoid any obstacles that come up.
I agree that we learnt the Rule of Decent Behaviour (Decent not Descent, Mary) from the people around us. As we go through life we learn what is socially acceptable and what is not, this helps to shape us as Christians and adults. We learn simple things like how to interact with our elders or how we should act at the dinner table. I would go out on a limb and say that shaping ideal behavior is a case of trial and error. Oftens times we fail before we learn how to correctly do or act upon something. I know I have failed many times to correctly answer a math problem or a chemistry problem. Through failing we learn what is correct and believe that it is a stepping stone in life, accepting failure.
Another point brought up in chapter 2 is, in essence, dealing with "putting all of your eggs in one basket" when it comes to making decisions. Lewis states "The most dangerous thing you can do is to take any one impulse of your own nature and set it up as the thingyou ought to follow at all costs." It is not safe or good to 100% committ to a decision until you have analyzed all of the angles and gone over it like ten times. You need to leave room for error and be able to avoid any obstacles that come up.
I agree that we learnt the Rule of Decent Behaviour (Decent not Descent, Mary) from the people around us. As we go through life we learn what is socially acceptable and what is not, this helps to shape us as Christians and adults. We learn simple things like how to interact with our elders or how we should act at the dinner table. I would go out on a limb and say that shaping ideal behavior is a case of trial and error. Oftens times we fail before we learn how to correctly do or act upon something. I know I have failed many times to correctly answer a math problem or a chemistry problem. Through failing we learn what is correct and believe that it is a stepping stone in life, accepting failure.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Screwtape Letters
Letter 12 of the Screwtape Letters deals with Lukewarm behavior. Here, Screwtape explains to Wormwood what the proper way to treat "the patient" is. Screwtape wants the patient to slowly change his habits and basically accumulate sins. Every desicion we make brings us either closer to heaven or closer to hell, so essentially Screwtape wants the patient to make desicions that would bring him closer to hell. Screwtape really wants the patient to become numb to God. God would argue the opposite, wanting the patient to build an armor of Christ by staying spiritually healthy. This armor would help to fend off the Devil and his deeds.
This really depicts the patience of evil because the Devil doesn't want to just instantly force sin on the patient, rather, he wants to gradually "impose" i guess you can say and point the patient down the road towards Satan.
God's way of dealing with habits is to keep your habits positive. Take church for example, don't just go through the motions, but participate, listen, and pay attention to the sermon. Ultimately God wants you to stay faithful and active to Him and to enjoy doing it, because if you don't enjoy it then you're just wasting your time.
This really depicts the patience of evil because the Devil doesn't want to just instantly force sin on the patient, rather, he wants to gradually "impose" i guess you can say and point the patient down the road towards Satan.
God's way of dealing with habits is to keep your habits positive. Take church for example, don't just go through the motions, but participate, listen, and pay attention to the sermon. Ultimately God wants you to stay faithful and active to Him and to enjoy doing it, because if you don't enjoy it then you're just wasting your time.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
The Weight of Glory
I was captivated by the words Lewis wrote in The weight of glory. I found the essay to be very strong in meaning and it really cut deep into my mind and got me really thinking. I really liked the quote from page 1, “There is the reward which has no natural connexion with the things you do to earn it.” I agree with Lewis when he talks about the mercenary and men wedding women for the money. I agree when he states that “marriage is the proper reward for a real lover and he is not a mercenary for desiring it.” This basically got me thinking and I concluded that everything has an action and a reward, sometimes the reward isn’t what we want but we take it anyway. We can’t perform false tasks for false rewards i.e. marrying woman for her money. We need to marry the woman who captures our heart and we fall head over heels in love with. Lewis then states an example about a young boy learning Greek poetry which I thought was really insightful.
He then puts the Christian in the same perspective as the schoolboy. In relation, our goal is to make to Heaven and everlasting life. That is the reward for a life that is lived in “obedience in our increasing power to desire the ultimate reward” as Lewis states. This essay was really insightful for me and it opened my understanding of getting to the next life and living to love the Lord. I would recommend this essay for anytime reading to “refresh” the knowledge and difference between and mercenary and a true lover or a true general.
He then puts the Christian in the same perspective as the schoolboy. In relation, our goal is to make to Heaven and everlasting life. That is the reward for a life that is lived in “obedience in our increasing power to desire the ultimate reward” as Lewis states. This essay was really insightful for me and it opened my understanding of getting to the next life and living to love the Lord. I would recommend this essay for anytime reading to “refresh” the knowledge and difference between and mercenary and a true lover or a true general.
Creation
Chapter 2 of the Plantinga book was an in depth look at the creation of man and the world around us. It was a very captivating piece in my opinion. God’s glory is made manifest by Jesus Christ, I can safely bet that any Christian with half a brain knows this. But in my analysis of the chapter, I also concluded that God’s power is also manifested through everything He created. “We can spot signs of God’s glory, disclosed in ‘the whole workmanship of the universe.’” This quote pretty much enforces my last force. Everything God created was good, everything He created was perfect, and He loves every last bit of what He created.
God created the world out of His love for creation, His passion for life, and out of the goodness of His heart. What I also took from this chapter is that every being on earth has a unique way of glorifying God. This statement basically means that nobody is the same as someone else, every person is unique in some way, and their purpose is to glorify God. God created us all to flourish and to love, in some cases the latter isn’t when we look at how screwed up the world is in our day, but for the most part we have all done what God wanted us to do.
This was a very powerful piece and it really struck home in a number of ways. It really gave me a better perspective of our creation and how God really loves us all. God loves everything He made, the trees, oceans, humans, and animals alike. We need to always know that God is almighty and watching as we tread His creation. Love life, love His creation, love everyone around you, and most importantly love God.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Our English Syllabus
I thought Our English Syllabus was a great piece and really tackled, at least, Lewis' personal issues with education. HE distinguished what he thought the difference between education and learning was. He then exaplined the difference between education and vocational training. Education makes a good man whereas vocational training makes a good janitor, a good plumber, or a good chef. It thought his explanation of the difference between the two was clear and concise and a very good point. He then adds that education is for the rich man and vocational training for slaves.
My next and favorite point of the essay was the following, "The proper question for a freshman to ask is not 'What will do me most good?' but 'what do I most want to know?'" This is a great reality, one that I can, and pretty much any freshman can relate to. I came to Calvin as an engineer, after a semester of engineering I quickly realized that engineering would do me the most good, but it wasn't what I most wanted to know. After some soul searching I landed on Secondary Education. But my example is beside the point, DON"T PICK A MAJOR JUST FOR THE MONEY, pick something that you will love doing 10 or 30 years down the road and who cares if you make less money.
When he talks about scheduling for majors, I thought this was an interesting point also. There is not enough time in 4 years of college to do every class in every area you can think of. You have to pick and choose. Like with making requirements for a major, they can't make you take every single class offered, as Lewis stated "We have not time, in four years, for Greek, Spanish, Italian, French, and German. If one could be saved, it would be modern French." He really cements the fact that not all classes need to be taken, just the important ones. I really like this whole area of the essay, in fact, I really enjoyed the whole essay. Lewis is very good at captivating a "CS Lewis Novice" and opening up his perspective to people.
My next and favorite point of the essay was the following, "The proper question for a freshman to ask is not 'What will do me most good?' but 'what do I most want to know?'" This is a great reality, one that I can, and pretty much any freshman can relate to. I came to Calvin as an engineer, after a semester of engineering I quickly realized that engineering would do me the most good, but it wasn't what I most wanted to know. After some soul searching I landed on Secondary Education. But my example is beside the point, DON"T PICK A MAJOR JUST FOR THE MONEY, pick something that you will love doing 10 or 30 years down the road and who cares if you make less money.
When he talks about scheduling for majors, I thought this was an interesting point also. There is not enough time in 4 years of college to do every class in every area you can think of. You have to pick and choose. Like with making requirements for a major, they can't make you take every single class offered, as Lewis stated "We have not time, in four years, for Greek, Spanish, Italian, French, and German. If one could be saved, it would be modern French." He really cements the fact that not all classes need to be taken, just the important ones. I really like this whole area of the essay, in fact, I really enjoyed the whole essay. Lewis is very good at captivating a "CS Lewis Novice" and opening up his perspective to people.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Longing and Hope
I will start by stating that I really like the quote from the book, "you can hope only for something you want, and if you really want it, you long for it." This really means alot to me because I have looked along this quote, I can tell you from personal experience that this is completely true. About 2 years ago I met this new girl in my biology class, Amanda, and lets just say I was hooked the moment I saw and got to know her. When I first started wanting to date her I could feel myself just wanting it. But as time went on I discovered that I was longing to be with her, she was all I thought about. Now I am happily in a relationship with her and I could not be happier. Long story short and as the book states, longing is an ingredient of hope.
Dreams coincide with hopes, they are things that we wish would happen and want to happen. I would say that to long for something, it is something that you constantly think about, something that your life won't be complete without. For example, one hopes for lots of money and all the things that money brings, but doesn't long for it because they are fine without lots and lots of money. In my mind there is a distinct difference between the two.
Dreams coincide with hopes, they are things that we wish would happen and want to happen. I would say that to long for something, it is something that you constantly think about, something that your life won't be complete without. For example, one hopes for lots of money and all the things that money brings, but doesn't long for it because they are fine without lots and lots of money. In my mind there is a distinct difference between the two.
Do we have the right to happiness?
Do we have the right to happiness? This is a simple question with an infinite amount of angles, because one could easily answer both yes and no and have a great justification for such an answer. I think that we don't have the right to happiness itself, but, as the Bill of Rights states, I believe that we have the right to pursue it. Happiness isn't something that is given to us on a silver platter, we have to do things that we enjoy in order to achieve happiness.
I wouldn't say that we have to earn happiness. In some cases people think that earning lots of money can bring happiness, but this isn't always true. How often do you hear about how celebrities have it easy and love their life? Most of what you hear is them resorting to drugs and drinking for happiness, thus proving that money doesn't bring automatic happiness.
When I say that we have the right to pursue happiness, I mean just that. And again I will state that happiness isn't something that is just given to us, we have to find it. I'll take myself for example, I play baseball here at Calvin College. Baseball makes me happy, after playing ice hockey for ten years of my life I realized that hockey didn't really make me happy like baseball does. I wasn't born a great baseball player, I had to practice and better myself. Every person has their niche in the world, sometimes its obvious, other times we really have to dig to find it. This is where happiness develops, by the pursuit of finding what makes us the most happy in life.
To summarize, happiness isn't given to us like "here is some happiness". It is something that we have to search for and, here is the keyword again, pursue. We don't have the right happiness, rather, the right to pursue it.
I wouldn't say that we have to earn happiness. In some cases people think that earning lots of money can bring happiness, but this isn't always true. How often do you hear about how celebrities have it easy and love their life? Most of what you hear is them resorting to drugs and drinking for happiness, thus proving that money doesn't bring automatic happiness.
When I say that we have the right to pursue happiness, I mean just that. And again I will state that happiness isn't something that is just given to us, we have to find it. I'll take myself for example, I play baseball here at Calvin College. Baseball makes me happy, after playing ice hockey for ten years of my life I realized that hockey didn't really make me happy like baseball does. I wasn't born a great baseball player, I had to practice and better myself. Every person has their niche in the world, sometimes its obvious, other times we really have to dig to find it. This is where happiness develops, by the pursuit of finding what makes us the most happy in life.
To summarize, happiness isn't given to us like "here is some happiness". It is something that we have to search for and, here is the keyword again, pursue. We don't have the right happiness, rather, the right to pursue it.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Bulverism
Bulverism was a very good essay that called on the existence of thoughts and arguments. It discussed Marxism and Freudianism as types of existence. Freudians state that we exist as bundles of complexes whereas Marxians say that we exist as members of an economic class. Both of these thoughts are tainted at the source.
Bulverism is basically proving your opponent to be wrong. This is partly how the judicial system works, one side tries to prove that the other side is wrong about their argument. The piece brings up how Bulverism is used in politics and I thought this was a great point. It states that capitalists must be bad economists because they want capitalism and likewise Communists must also be bad economists because they want Communism. Of course the rights and wrongs can only be found by reasoning.
I really liked the quote about proving all proofs to be invalid. I thought that this part was very deep and, although it seemed to contrdict itself, very true. Even if you succeed or fail to prove they are invalid, your argument is still wrong because the proof the all proofs are invalid is also invalid itself. I think Bulverism is a very cool and interesting topic that I would really like to study further. It had depth and can start a pretty good argument if kept within just Bulverism. Of course, even if I prove that Bulverism exists, I am still wrong.
Bulverism is basically proving your opponent to be wrong. This is partly how the judicial system works, one side tries to prove that the other side is wrong about their argument. The piece brings up how Bulverism is used in politics and I thought this was a great point. It states that capitalists must be bad economists because they want capitalism and likewise Communists must also be bad economists because they want Communism. Of course the rights and wrongs can only be found by reasoning.
I really liked the quote about proving all proofs to be invalid. I thought that this part was very deep and, although it seemed to contrdict itself, very true. Even if you succeed or fail to prove they are invalid, your argument is still wrong because the proof the all proofs are invalid is also invalid itself. I think Bulverism is a very cool and interesting topic that I would really like to study further. It had depth and can start a pretty good argument if kept within just Bulverism. Of course, even if I prove that Bulverism exists, I am still wrong.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Meditation in a Toolshed
This piece is really had some good points to it. Lewis explained the difference between looking at something and looking along something. From my interpretation I would say that looking along something is describing or analyzing what it is, and looking at something is actually doing it, experiencing it.
I think that both are important because you need to experience something before you can truly and correctly describe it. Without the experience of it happening to you, your explanation will be missing some things because you are only approaching it from a scientific or outsiders basis. If it happened to you then you can correctly explain it because you can tell from a point of view perspective because you actually lived it.
My experience with CS Lewis is brief, which is part of the reason I am in this class. I want to learn more about him and how he writes. I'll admit that when I read this piece the first time it really didn't make much sense to me considering that philosophy isn't my strong suit. But after reading it a couple of more times and after the class discussion it all made more sense to me. Now I can say that I have looked at CS Lewis, before yesterday I was only looking along CS Lewis. Now with the experience of looking at CS Lewis, it makes more sense to me.
I think that both are important because you need to experience something before you can truly and correctly describe it. Without the experience of it happening to you, your explanation will be missing some things because you are only approaching it from a scientific or outsiders basis. If it happened to you then you can correctly explain it because you can tell from a point of view perspective because you actually lived it.
My experience with CS Lewis is brief, which is part of the reason I am in this class. I want to learn more about him and how he writes. I'll admit that when I read this piece the first time it really didn't make much sense to me considering that philosophy isn't my strong suit. But after reading it a couple of more times and after the class discussion it all made more sense to me. Now I can say that I have looked at CS Lewis, before yesterday I was only looking along CS Lewis. Now with the experience of looking at CS Lewis, it makes more sense to me.
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