Silence
“. . . a silence that is overwhelming in its eloquence.” Somebody should write a book someday about the silences in Scripture. Maybe somebody already has. “For God alone my soul waits in silence,” the psalmist says (62:1), which is the silence of waiting. Or “Be not silent, O God of my praise,” which is…
Continue readingC.S. Lewis on the Reading of Many Books
“My father bought all the books he read and never got rid of any of them. There were books in the study, books in the drawing room, books in the cloakroom, books (two deep) in the great bookcase on the landing, books in a bedroom, books piled as high as my shoulder in the cistern…
Continue readingSilence and Reflection
Silence, reflection, hearing the Word of God, and understanding; Augustine instructs us in all of these in Sermon 52, 22. “Let us leave a little room for reflection in our lives, room too for silence. Let us look within ourselves and see whether there is some delightful hidden place inside where we can be free…
Continue readingLewis, Tash, Aslan, and Emeth
Many of us love the writings of C.S. Lewis, not because they tickle our ears with things we want to hear; but precisely because they challenge us with a new way of hearing the old message of the Gospel of Jesus. When we think we have our theology and practice all worked out, it is…
Continue readingDoubt (Speak It Plain) – A Follow-Up To “No Answer”
The song “Doubt (Speak It Plain)” by Sandra McCracken, alludes to a novel written by C.S. Lewis. Her words, “Until we come to set things right I have no words and I have no face” are a direct reference to the words of Orual in the book Till We Have Faces,1 in which Queen Orual first…
Continue readingIt’s Only Words
Five-hundred is a nice round, satisfying number. As I write my five-hundredth blog I pause to think of the significance of the words written in this space. Although there are many empty words in our world, words can, and do, make a difference. I pray that some of the words in this blog have made…
Continue readingNo Answer
C.S. Lewis tells a story in one of his novels of a queen who writes two books from two perspectives. The first quote is from book one; the second from book two. I say, therefore, that there is no creature (toad, scorpion, or serpent) so noxious to man as the gods. Let them answer my…
Continue readingTea and Christmas
My wife, Maureen, gave me a wonderful mug for Christmas. It has the following quote stenciled on it: “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” – C.S. Lewis. It is the perfect gift on so many levels. I had never heard these words of…
Continue readingFifty Years Ago
Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the death of C.S. Lewis. Yes, it is also the fiftieth anniversary of the death of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Aldous Huxley. The fact that all three died on the same day prompted the author Peter Kreeft to write a book entitled…
Continue readingAvoiding God
C.S. Lewis had this to say about avoiding God. The avoiding, in many times and places, has proved so difficult that a very large part of the human race failed to achieve it. But in our own time and place it is extremely easy. Avoid silence, avoid solitude, avoid any train of thought that leads…
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