The Magician's Nephew

I think many people can get caught up in the attitude of Uncle Andrew...

But of course you must understand that rules of that sort, however excellent they may be for little boys - and servants - and women - and even people in general, can't possibly be expected to apply to profound students and great thinkers and sages. No, Digory. Men like me, who possess hidden wisdom, are freed from common rules just as we are cut off from common pleasures. Ours, my boy, is a high and lonely destiny."
As he said this he sighed and looked so grave and noble and mysterious that for a second Digory really thought he was saying something rather fine. But then he remembered the ugly look he had seen on his Uncle's face the moment before Polly had vanished: and all at once he saw through Uncle Andrew's grand words. "All it means," he said to himself, "Is that he thinks he can do anything he likes to get anything he wants."

Once again the idea of joy and beauty being like a memory...

The horse seemed to like it too; he gave the sort of whinney a horse would give if, after years of being a cab-horse, it found itself back in the old field where it had played as a foal, and saw someone whom it remembered and loved coming across the field to bring it a lump of sugar... The Cabby and the two children had open mouths and shining eyes; they were drinking in the sound, and they looked as if it reminded them of something.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader {II}

"And she never could remember; and ever since that day what Lucy means by a good story is a story which reminds her of the forgotten story in the Magician's Book."

This reminds me of what Lewis said in The Weight of Glory:
"The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing... For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited."

When Lucy saw Aslan,

"Her face lit up till, for a moment (but of course she didn't know it), she looked almost as beautiful as that other Lucy in the picture." 

I love how Lucy is most beautiful when she sees Aslan {Christ}

Aslan has to keep his own rules.

I wondered at the meaning of the Dufflepods. I think this line about them, spoken by the Magician, gives some insight:

"Sometimes, perhaps, I am a little impatient, waiting for the day when they can be governed by wisdom instead of this rough magic."

Aslan cannot show himself to them because it would frighten them. They are not yet ready for him.

Surprised by Joy {II}

"This was a religion that cost nothing. We could talk religiously about the Absolute: but there was no danger of Its doing anything about us. It was "there"; safely and immovable "there." It would never come "here," never (to be blunt) make a nuisance of Itself. This quasi-religion was all a one-way street; all eros (as Dr. Nygren would say) steaming up, but no agape darting down. There was nothing to fear; better still, nothing to obey."

I like how Lewis describes God as "hunting," or actively pursuing him. I definitely agree that God's love is powerful and active, and that He does pursue us. His love is relentless.

"Total surrender, the absolute leap in the dark, were demanded. The reality with which no treaty can be made was upon me. The demand was not even "All or nothing." I think that stage had been passed, on the bus top when I unbuckled my armour and the snowman started to melt. Now, the demand was simply "All.""

Surprised by Joy {I}

"An unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction." This is what Lewis calls "Joy." Like Happiness or Pleasure, anyone who has experienced it will want it again. Considered only in its quality, it might almost equally well be called a particular kind of unhappiness or grief. But then it is a kind we cant. Joy is never in our power and pleasure often is. "Joy is distinct not only from pleasure in general but even from aesthetic pleasure. It must have the stab, the pang, the inconsolable longing."

Lewis says in his childhood, as he prayed for his mother to live, he approached God , or his idea of God, "without love, without awe, even without fear. He was, in my mental picture of this miracle, to appear neither Savior nor Judge, but merely as magician, "and when He had done what was required of Him I supposed He would simply - well, go away." I think this is the attitude Howard W. Hunter was talking about when he said,

"If prayer is only a spasmodic cry at the time of crisis, then it is utterly selfish, and we come to think of God as a repairman or a service agency to help us only in our emergencies." 

Of his father - "It is strange that having known me all my life he should have known me so little."

On prayer - "My nightly task was to produce by sheer will power a phenomenon which will power could never produce, which was so ill-defined that I could never say with absolute confidence whether it had occurred, and which, even when it did occur, was of very mediocre spiritual value." I'm pretty sure I've prayed like this before; trying to use all my imagination to conjure a picture of God to pray to.

Miracles {II}

Again, I would like to start by giving part of a definition of miracles that comes from my church:

"Christianity is founded on the greatest of all miracles, the resurrection of our Lord. If that be admitted, other miracles cease to be improbable."

C.S. Lewis starts chapter XIV by promoting a different miracle as the greatest of all:

"The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this." 

However, I think that the two are similar enough that Lewis' discussion will still hold some jewels of merit for us. Lewis maintains that miracles are not "arbitrary interferences" or "disconnected raids", but

"the various steps of a strategically coherent invastion - an invasion which intends complete conquest and "occupation." The fitness, and therefore credibility, of the particular miracles depends on their relation to the Grand Miracle; all discussion of them in isolation from it is futile."

In other words, all miracles are in some way connected to the condescension of God. Lewis would I think definitely agree with the last sentence of the LDS definition given above: "If that [the resurrection] be admitted, other miracles cease to be improbable."

Miracles {I}

I would first like to include a definition of miracles given by my own church:

Miracles: An important element in the work of Jesus Christ, being not only divine acts, but forming also a part of the divine teaching. Christianity is founded on the greatest of all miracles, the resurrection of our Lord. If that be admitted, other miracles cease to be improbable. Miracles should not be regarded as deviations from the ordinary course of nature so much as manifestations of divine or spiritual power. Some lower law was in each case superseded by the action of a higher. They were intended to be a proof to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ... Many of them were also parabolic and instructive, teaching by means of symbols such divine truths as the result of sin and the cure of sin; the value of faith; the curse of impurity; and the law of love. The miracles of healing also show how the law of love is to deal with the actual facts of life. Miracles were and are a response to faith, and its best encouragement. They were never wrought without prayer, felt need, and faith. It is important to notice the different names by which miracles are described. They are called signs, as being visible tokens of an invisible power; they are powers or mighty works, because they are the acts of One who is almighty; they are simply works, or the natural results of the Messiah’s presence among men; they are wonders, marvels, because of the effect produced on those who saw them... Miracles are a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If miracles cease it is because faith has ceased. See Mark 6:5–6;Morm. 9:10–20; Ether 12:12. {emphasis added}

Mere Christianity [book III, ch. 8 - book IV, ch. 7]

Main points: Lewis discusses pride, charity, hope as desire for a better country, faith as holding on despite changing moods, and faith as it works with good acts to bring about salvation once we have accepted that we can do nothing. He discusses the nature of God, and how His aim is to make us into new creatures. 

The Great Sin

The seminal work in LDS culture on the topic of pride is Ezra Taft Benson's talk, Beware of Pride. I went through this talk and looked for similarities to my favourite quotes by Lewis on the same subject. 


Lewis: "Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind."
Benson: "Our will in competition to God’s will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled... Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers."


Lewis: "Pride is competitive by its very nature: that is why it goes on and on."
Benson: "Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.”"


Lewis: "Pride always means enmity—it is enmity. And not only enmity between man and man, but enmity to God."
Benson: "The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us."

Mere Christianity [book III, ch1-7]

Main points: Lewis discusses morality and how it is the condition of the inward man that matters most. Among other virtues, he touches on marriage and Christ-like forgiveness. 

Lewis starts his next section talking about morality and virtuous living. In the first chapter, he establishes the long-term importance of morality:

Christianity asserts that every individual human being is going to live for ever... Now there are a good many things which would not be worth bothering about if I were going to live only seventy years, but which I had better bother about very seriously if I am going to live for ever. Perhaps my bad temper or my jealousy are gradually getting worse —so gradually that the increase in seventy years will not be very noticeable. But it might be absolute hell in a million years: in fact, if Christianity is true, Hell is the precisely correct technical term for what it would be. 

Living with an Eternal Perspective means that the little things I do... that might not be so good... that I think don't matter so much..... actually matter a lot. 

Lewis then moves into a discussion of virtues - but more important than the specific actions are what they make of us. He writes, 

"There is a difference between doing some particular just or temperate action and being a just or temperate man... A man who perseveres in doing just actions gets in the end a certain quality of character. Now it is that quality rather than the particular actions which we mean when we talk of "virtue."" 

This reminded me of Elder Lynn G. Robbin's talk, What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be? 

Speaking of perseverance, Lewis also writes, "You will notice, of course, that you cannot practise any of the other virtures very long without bringing [fortitude] into play." In The Screwtape Letters, Lewis expressed the same idea when he wrote, "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty or mercy which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions."

Mere Christianity [books I&II]

Main points: Lewis sets up his argument for Christianity, discusses free will, "good dreams", the trilemma, repentance, and the end of the world.

Mere Christianity is a book I first read all the way through a year ago. It's a fascinating work that builds a logical case for Christianity and teaches us a lot about Christian beliefs. I've been inspired by it, and taken many favourite life quotes from it.

Book I - Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe - is mostly spent building a philosophical case for Christianity, starting with the very basics - there exists some sort of moral law that all humans are aware of. Lewis progresses logically from there and discusses the nature of this Mind behind the moral law. This part is very interesting, but not particularly inspiring to me because I already have a very firm belief in God. This just serves to back up what I already know. 

Once Lewis has set up the idea that there is a Power or Mind behind the moral law we all know, he establishes a God that loves goodness {as evidence by the moral law He has created} and cannot abide badness. This creates a dilemma - one that is necessary for us to accept before we can accept Christianity. We have to see ourselves in the predicament that we are actually in - opposed to Absolute Goodness. Lewis writes,

"It is after you have realised that there is a real Moral Law, and a Power behind the law, and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with that Power—it is after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk. When you know you are sick, you will listen, to. the doctor. When you have realised that our position is nearly desperate you will begin to understand what the Christians are talking about." 

This reminds me of the quote by Ezra Taft Benson - "Just as a man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ." Lewis expertly sets up our dilemma and gets us to see how much we really need Christ.

Love Wins // The Great Divorce

It occurred to me yesterday to compare Lewis' beliefs espoused in The Great Divorce to the more recent work by Rob Bell - Love Wins. Unfortunately I've never read Love Wins, and though I would very much like to I don't foresee myself having the time {or money...} anytime soon. Still, I've heard quite a bit about it and read various articles online and I think the comparison still holds.


According to a USA Today article, Bell makes the following claims: 

• Heaven and hell are choices we make and live with right now. "God gives us what we want," including the freedom to live apart from God (hell) or turn God's way (heaven).
• Death doesn't cut off the ability to repent. In his Bible, Bell sees no "infinite, eternal torment for things (people) did in their few finite years of life."
• Jesus makes salvation possible even for people who never know his name. "We have to allow for mystery," for people who "drink from the rock" of faith "without knowing who or what it was.

One of my favourite parts of The Last Battle is when Aslan says, 

"Therefore, if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him…Beloved, said the Glorious One, unless thy desire had been for me thou wouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek.” 

I think this goes along with what Bell says - that Jesus makes salvation possible even for people who never know his name. "We have to allow for mystery," for people who "drink from the rock" of faith "without knowing who or what it was."