Of Hobbits and Books
Peter Jackson’s movies have done a great service in making stories come to life on the big screen. One of his greatest accomplishments has been his ability to make The Hobbit (also known as The Hobbit, Or There and Back Again) by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (J.R.R. Tolkien) accessible to all. He has created a…
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Uncertainty and Hope
1 David P. Goldman, in an article entitled “Christianity and Myth: Why There’s No Jewish “Narnia’” says that he thinks J.R.R. Tolkien is a better writer than C.S. Lewis. Goldman goes on to say, Whereas C S Lewis tries to make us comfortable in what we already believe by dressing up the story as a…
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Power Over Blindness
A few days ago I wrote about a miracle or legend in the life of Saint Columba. Today, take a look at this passage from Acts 13:6-12. Here we read about a miracle that happened when Barnabas and Paul chose to do the work to which God had called them. Opposition came but God overpowered…
Continue readingLonging To Reach Home
Part of what attracts me to the writing of C.S. Lewis is the transparency with which he writes. He was a person of immense intellect, but also, immense emotion. He shared these emotions in his writings and prompted his readers to experience similar sentiments. His awe inspiring book, Til We Have Faces, was published in…
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 readingThe Intensity of Prayer
The true work of a contemplative nun is praying. I had never appreciated the power and intensity of prayer until I prayed with nuns. On the surface, praying seems easy. Knit your eyebrows in concentrations, mutter a few words, and then get on with your day. It’s not like that in a convent. Think of…
Continue readingFollow-Up to Much Afraid
The Much Afraid album contains a song called “Crazy Times.” Jars of Clay band members have said in interviews that this song is about how prayer is often “the last place we go.” I understand what they mean. We go about life without a thought about God and think that we are fine – for…
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 readingRecognizing the Divine
I have this sense that God might sometimes be showing up in my life and I am missing it. I am concerned that I may not recognize all of the ways in which God is at work. How do I recognize him and his handiwork when he shows up in my world? In the years…
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