#81

Another summer read:

If you have yet to make your own personal Lewis Pilgrimmage or have and desire a moment of nostalgia check out The Inklings of Oxford by Harry Lee Poe. For a review of the book by David Downing follow this link.

#80

...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...

...the State has a lot of different objects - military, political, economic, and what not. But in a way things are much simpler than that. The State exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life. A husband and wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden - that is what the State is there for. And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc., are simply a waste of time.

From Mere Christianity, Book 4, Chapter 8

#79

Continuing with Summer Reads:

Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis by Douglas H. Gresham is another book I had on my shelf for years and finally picked up a few months ago. The story is good and a quick read. One story I have to share takes place when C.S. (Jack) Lewis and Joy take a trip to Greece with two friends. At this point Joy's cancer had returned, but they took the trip anyway. In the words of Joy's son Douglas, "It was at Mycenae that Mother, at the limits of her endurance, decided that the famous lion gate was as far as she could manage to walk. She told Jack that she could go no further and suggested that she sit and rest and that he go on with the rest of the party. Jack, of course, would have none of this and said that, as he was tired himself, he would sit with her and await the return of the rest of the party from the ruins at the top of the hill. Jack sat down, his heart aching for love of his Joy, his pride in her achievements, and his concern for her. A typical middle-aged, over-painted, over-weight tourist lady (perhaps jealous of all the attention lavished upon Jack and Mother) came puffing up the hill. Upon seeing that Mother and Jack had given up the idea of ascending to the top of the hill and had stopped to rest, she took the opportunity to make a snide comment. "Well!" she said, "you didn't get very far, did you?" Jack's iron self-control bent for a split second. "Oh, go and have a heart attack!" he snapped. This lady sniffed, raised her nose like a banner, followed it up the hill and, upon reaching the top, did precisely that! Jack and Mother, still sitting, resting, saw her carried down on a stretcher. Mother related this tale to me with a certain relish and enjoyment, almost with glee. Jack, on the other hand, was filled with horror and remorse. He felt deeply ashamed and guilty; whilst Mother's attitude was that it served the old bitch right, Jack's was that for him to wish ill upon another human being was a deeply shameful act and he was embarrassed and hurt by Mother's telling of the tale. He made her promise never to mention it again."

From the middle of Chapter 14

#78

After reading Dorsett's biography of Joy Davidman I decided it would be a good time to read Smoke on the Mountain: An Interpretation of the Ten Commandments. I purchased this a year or so ago, mainly because C.S. Lewis says it is worth reading (he mentions this in a few of his letters and he wrote the forward) and I have not been disappointed. The book stands on its own (even though the publishers use C.S. Lewis's name to sell it - see picture of front cover). The overall thrust of Joy's argument is that the Ten Commandments are Commandments of Joy and not Commandments of dour duty.

One example concerning the Sabbath: "How, then, may the churches recapture Sunday? They will never recapture it, if they think of churchgoing itself as the goal. God is the goal. If we believe in him at all, we must believe that every man wants God in his heart far more than he can ever want anything else; that is, every man wants peace and love, answers to his questions, and the keys of heaven. When a church gives these, its doors overflow. When it does not - well, though it speak with the tongues of popular psychologists and radio commentators, though it make donations to hospitals and conduct political forums, it avails nothing."

While not as easy to find a short poignant quote as one quickly finds in any Lewis work, each chapter is a refreshing view of each commandment.

#77

Today is the first day of summer and I have already finished my first summer read. I recently read And God Came In: The Extraordinary Life of Joy Davidman by Lyle Dorsett. This story was originally published in 1983 and has now been reprinted as part of the Hendrikson Classic Biography series. Unlike other biographies which focus on Lewis's late in life romance and marriage this book does aim directly at Joy filling in many holes Lewis fans may have of this Jewish, Atheists, and finally Christian convert.

#76

If the Divine call does not make us better, it will make us very much worse. Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst. Of all created beings the wickedest is one who originally stood in the immediate presence of God.

From Reflections on the Psalms

#75

My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?
Mere Christianity