Gina Luurtsema
Professors Paulo & Adriana Ribeiro
IDIS-150-07
24 January 2011
Work Count: 1,909
When I signed up to take the C.S. Lewis DCM (Developing the Christian Mind), I figured we would read the Chronicles of Narnia, discuss it a bit, and then watch the movies. Boy was I wrong. This class challenged me in ways I didn't know were possible. Many days I left class with a headache from thinking things over so thoroughly! The three hours I spent in that classroom everyday allowed me to discern and reckon with things that had never crossed my mind before. Over these few short weeks I feel like I've become more of a threat intellectually to the outside, chaotic world.
Many of the readings helped me in one way for another but I don't have the time (or patience) to include every single one. The first essay I'd like to reflect on was oddly enough the first reading of the class, called Meditation in a Toolshed. I love the picture that C.S. Lewis paints in the beginning of his meditation when he describes the stream of sunlight shining in the dark shed. I can see the dust particles floating and practically feel the heat of the suns rays. As he describes that two points of view, I can picture myself in a dark shed of my own experiencing the two angles. Continuing to read, I kept asking myself, "do I look at or along?". The answer I found was that it depends on the situation. I don't think you can live a fulfilled life with only one or the other. You need both an understanding and a personal experience to fully appreciate the ordeal (no matter what the thing is). The order in which the two different types occur can vary from person to person. But obviously, the two ARE related to one another. The example Lewis used to show how you cannot live with just one of the views was pain. "A physiologist, for example can study pain and find out what that it 'is' (whatever is means) such and such neural events. But the word pain would have no meaning for him unless he had 'been inside' by actually suffering. If he had never looked along pain he simply wouldn't know what he was looking at". For me that's a very powerful point because who am I to judge someone else's life style or choices when I've never looked along? I believe that as Christians we are called to use both angles.
For me, the first reading also tied into the last one (Problem of Pain chapter 6) The example of the physiologist and the two angles of pain really allowed me to dig deeper into Lewis' book on pain (specifically human pain). Oddly enough through the whole reading I found my mind wandering to the question as to why pain even exists? I mean I understand the fall, but why pain? The answer I came up with was evil. Because of human kinds spoiling of shalom, evil came to be. We as a human race have decided to live against God, each other, and God's world. As a result of this rebellion, sin, pain, and other unpleasant qualities exist on this "groaning" earth. God never wanted it to happen like this. Yes He gave us free will and He wants us to make the decision to follow and love Him but He (I'm assuming) initially wanted it to go a different route. I'm not saying that God had no say in the matter because obviously He could've prevented to fall if He wanted to but we let Him down. Does that mean the Lord is punishing us for our mistake? No. We must face the consequences of our own actions.
This is where Plantinga come in. The second chapter of his book Engaging God's World was written about the fall. This chapter was a great reminder for me. So often when we talk about sin and the fall I get depressed because I feel like those things bog us down and make us miserable. But, what Plantinga said on page 49 hit me; "Human life is not the way it's supposed to be". This also fits in with the Longing and Hope chapter from earlier in the book. We as humans aren't meant for this earth, but for something much better. During our life time here we will never be fully satisfied because we have a thirst for something eternal: life with the Creator. It's such an encouragement to know that we won't have to suffer under sin and evil forever. Someday our chains will break and we will be set free!
Another interesting point made was the fact that, "... evil needs good in order to be evil". You don't usually picture evil and good going hand in hand but (at least in this world) you can't have one without the other. We as humans also have both qualities inside of ourselves. Aleksandor Solzhenitsyn puts it this way, "If only there were evil people somewhere, insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?". There is no way to vanquish sin (until to coming of our Lord). Many may blame the entrance of evil into the world on Adam and Eve when we probably would have all done the same thing. We as a human race have corrupted all the good things God has given us. But remember, He has/will redeem them for good.
Thankfully, the story of our race has a happy ending: Redemption. Plantinga assures us of this in his fourth chapter. It's hard for me to actually wrap my mind around redemption. I mean, I know what it is but I feel like I can't fully appreciate it because I don't entirely know what complete redemption consists of. I can see glimpses of shalom here and there but we won't be completely exposed to perfect harmony until Christ comes back again. That being said I feel like it becomes easy to split our world into sections. The "holy section" and the "non-holy section". Plantinga refutes this very well; "The world isn't divided into a sacred and a secular realm, with redemptive activity confined to the sacred zone. The whole world belongs to God, the whole world has fallen, and so the whole world needs to be redeemed -- every last person, place, organization, and program". What a comfort to know the He will redeem every square inch of His creation. The earth will groan occasionally and we will suffer throughout life but we have an anchor in the storm: Our Lord and Savior!
The final sentence of the chapter really articulated with me. Plantinga ends with these words: "Christians seek wisdom because it helps us find and follow our vocation within the kingdom of God, which has 'come near' but has not yet 'come home'". Before I came to Calvin and even still today I pray about the plans for my life. I feel God calling me in a certain direction but what if it's only my selfish desires telling my to take that path? How can I tell the difference? I guess the only answer I can think of is I have to do what's in accordance with the Word. Only then can God's kingdom come close. But, I get so easily frustrated when God doesn't talk back to me. I want to do what He wants but how can I if every time we talk it feels like a one-way conversation? For now I guess I just have to be content, patient, and trust that He has a plan far greater than mine. I also believe that finally someday, His kingdom will come home forever. In a strange way, I'm almost excited that I don't fully grasp the concept of redemption, that way I will have no expectations. And even if I did, I know the Creator of the Universe would blow them out of the water.
Plantinga ends his book with a chapter about Vocation in the Kingdom of God. This reading was probably the one that hit closest to home for me. I know that vocation can involve every part of life and not just the college years but especially as a college student, I can't help but think about vocation and God's calling towards my future career. To be honest, I'm still not completely sure what He wants me to do, but I feel like that's part of His plan. If I knew exactly what my life held, where would my dependence on Him go? Probably out the window. He's not a cruel God that's trying to hide things from me, He's a loving God that wants me to trust Him.
As far as careers go, God calls us to be more than just an engineer, teacher, or doctor, (etc) but to be a sister, student, spouse, or friend... "This isn't a job that appears on any government list of occupations, but it is a calling from God, and it is surely a contribution to the kingdom on God". The kingdom of God (also known as the kingdom of heaven) is mentioned quite often in this chapter and I'd like to dwell on that for a little bit. 'Malchut ha-shemayim' also means the kingdom of heaven. The direct translation is: where the kings influence/authority is respected, and the sky or heavens. Now this is not an actual place. Where ever we do God's will is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 6:10 is the second part of the Lord's prayer that says: "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". This may seem like just a simple line that we've been told to memorize since we were young but it's actually such an encouragement. My discipleship teacher in high school told us to insert a "when" between 'come' and 'your'. With that it says, "your kingdom come, when your will is done on earth...". The Lord's prayer says that when His will is done on earth, His kingdom will come. Plain and simple. Now, understanding that isn't so difficult... it's the doing that makes things tough. The only encouragement I can give you is that we know the final chapter. We know that chaos does not prevail over shalom and His kingdom. Rejoice in the fact that the final victory is ours.
These few readings by C.S. Lewis and Plantinga only skim the surface of everything we discussed in our class over interim. Many of our talks brought up concepts and ideas that were new and interesting to me. Having the opportunity to learn and engage in such a welcoming and healthy yet (intellectually) challenging environment really allowed me to diminish doubts and fears about the future, set my true beliefs deeper in stone, and realign my life with Him.
Works Cited
Lewis, C. S. "Chapter 6: Human Pain." The Problem of Pain. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1940. Print.
Lewis, C. S. Meditation in a Toolshed, God in the Dock; Essays on Theology and Ethics. Grand Rapids. Eerdmans, 1970. Print.
Plantinga, Cornelius Jr. Engaging God's World. Grand Rapids. William B. Eerdmans, 2002. Print
When I think about pain and the way CS Lewis talks about it, I'm reminded of the first essay we read; Meditation in a Toolshed. In that meditation Lewis mentioned pain and how until someone has looked along pain, they can't truly comprehend it. A psychologist cannot say that pain is only nerves sending synapses to the brain. Pain is also "any experience, whether physical or mental, which the patient dislikes".
Even though I have only read a chapter from Lewis' book on pain, I feel like I have a better understanding of the subject. Oddly enough through the whole reading I found my mind wandering to the question as to why pain even exists? I mean I understand the fall and even reading Plantinga's third chapter (of Engaging God's World) was helpful but why pain? The answer I came up with was evil. Because of human kinds spoiling of shalom, evil came to be. Adam and Eve, (along with the rest of us) have decided to live against God, each other, and God's world. As a result of this rebellion, sin, pain, and other unpleasant qualities exist on this "groaning" earth. God never wanted it to happen like this. Yes He gave us free will and He wants us to make the decision to follow and love Him but He (I'm assuming) initially wanted it to go a different route. I'm not saying that God had no say in the matter because obviously He could've prevented to fall if He wanted to but we let Him down. Does that mean the Lord is punishing us for our mistake? No. We must face the consequences of our own actions.
While re-reading that last paragraph, I realized how "Debbie downer" it sounded. I apologize :) Here comes the happy part... redemption is coming! We've talked about redemption many times over the past two weeks in class but for me it never gets old. I forget the exact words but I remember Plantinga saying in his book that this life is not what God intended for us. We're supposed to be with Him for eternity, that's why nothing here can fully satisfy us. How encouraging! Pain and sin are only temporary chains. Soon enough we will be set free. Forever.
Plantinga's last chapter of Engaging God's World hit close to home. I know that vocation can involve every part of life and not just the college years but especially as a college student, I can't help but think about vocation and God's calling towards my future career. To be honest, I'm still not completely sure what He wants me to do, but I feel like that's part of His plan. If I knew exactly what my life held, where would my dependence on Him go? Probably out the window. He's not a cruel God that's trying to hide things from me, He's a loving God that wants me to trust Him.
As far as careers go, God calls us to be more than just an engineer, teacher, or doctor, (etc) but to be a sister, student, spouse, or friend... "This isn't a job that appears on any government list of occupations, but it is a calling from God, and it is surely a contribution to the kingdom on God". The kingdom or God (heaven) is mentioned quite often in this chapter and I'd like to dwell on that for a little bit. 'Malchut ha-shemayim' also means the kingdom of heaven. The direct translation is: where the kings influence/authority is respected, and the sky or heavens. Now this is not an actual place. Where ever we do God's will is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 6:10 is the second part of the Lord's prayer that says: "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". This may seem like just a simple line that we've been told to memorize since we were young but it's actually such an encouragement. My discipleship teacher in high school told us to insert a "when" between 'come' and 'your'. With that it says, "your kingdom come, when your will is done on earth...". The Lord's prayer says that when His will is done on earth, His kingdom will come. Plain and simple. Now, understanding that isn't so difficult... it's the doing that makes things tough. The only encouragement I can give you is that we know the final chapter. We know that chaos does not prevail over shalom and His kingdom. Rejoice in the fact that the final victory is ours.
For me this was probably one of CS Lewis' most straight forward essays. He got right to the point and I understood what he was trying to get across. This whole meditation is in response to the question, "Can't you lead a good life without believing in Christianity?". Lewis starts by stating that yes, non-Christians and Christians alike are both capable of living a good life. "But sooner of later the difference of their beliefs would produce differences in their practical proposals". It's impossible for a Christian and a non-Christian to live the same life. Lewis then makes a great point by stating that only someone who is contemplating Christianity would be asking such a question. This person is just a lazy coward (according to Lewis). They're not really trying to figure out how to live a good life, they just want to have a good life without the commitment to Christianity. In a sense, this person wants the 'best of both worlds': a good life with no commitment to the ways a Christian ought to be. I think that as humans sometimes we are afraid of commitment, no matter what we're commiting to. Lewis describes it perfectly: "He is like the man who won't look at his bank account because he's afraid of what he might find there". This person is trying to deny the facts! It's clear that the Christian way of life is the path that is meant for us. "... And if it isn't, then what the door really conceals is simply the greatest fraud, the most colossal 'sell' on record". If Christianity is just a big joke and the Lord doesn't exist then how did we all get tricked into buying it? My senior year in high school I took a bible class about defending the faith. Of all of defenses (like the dead sea scrolls etc) one stood out to me: the fact that the disciples (and every martyr since then) was willing to DIE for what they believed. If our faith wasn't/isn't real, would those people have died to protect and defend what we have today? I don't think so.
Today's reading really challenged me. It's so easy to get caught up in trying to get into a certain circle that you forget your purpose. By 'circle' I mean group of people you want to be associated with or relate to. Lewis describes this "dilemma" of rings very well: "...one of the most dominant elements is the desire to be inside the local Ring and the terror of being left outside". We as humans want so badly to fit in with the people around us. We thrive on the appreciation, acceptance, and adoration given by others. It's terrifies us to think about being alone or unwanted. When we belong to a group, we feel important and valued as people. One longs so deeply to fit in that "Unless you take measures to prevent it, this desire is going to be one of the chief motives of your life". This made me wonder.. is trying to fit in everywhere I go a goal in my life? Of course when I started waitressing last summer I felt like I needed to become one of the "them" (the waitresses) or else work wouldn't be much fun. Freshman year of college I found a solid group of people I call my friends and I'm still close with them today. Now, there is nothing wrong with belonging to a group (or even many groups for that matter) but, the problem occurs when belonging to a group consumes you and you become a different person to fit the mold of a certain ring. That thought fits perfectly with my last quote from CS Lewis. He says, "The quest for the Inner Ring will break your heart unless you break it". We shouldn't be driven by the need or want to fit in with a certain clique. If that's what motivates you, you will be easily broken. Your real motivation should come from the Lord. Life is hard and people won't always like you. This may sound harsh but if life wasn't hard at some points, the happy and enjoyable times in life wouldn't be worth near as much.
I don't think I've ever put in as much time thinking about (Eros) love as I did today. I feel like I'm still too young (and maybe immature) to know what love really is. One idea that I had never thought about until listening to CS Lewis today in class was the fact that we need to love people. This seems like such a simple concept and yet it can be terribly hard. It's easy for us to love the pleasure or happiness a person can bring to us, but not the person themselves. This concept was a great reminder for me in my own life. I need to appreciate and love the people around me for who they are, not for what they can do for me.
Out of the whole discussion today, one quote stood out to me. It went something like this, "love ceases to be a demon when love ceases to be a god". At first I didn't completely understand what that meant... but as I thought about it longer, a light bulb came on. Especially for people who don't know the Lord, love towards someone/something or even love itself can consume a person and become their number one priority. When this happens, love becomes a god. In this context love is a demon because it takes the place of the real Lord and distracts us from what truly matters. Love in the right context is a beautiful thing, created by God and meant to be enjoyed. But one must be cautious that it doesn't replace the Creator of love Himself.
Finally, Lewis ends with a beautiful picture of love (passion). He describes it as a garden that provides life, happiness, and beauty. He does add one word of caution though.. he reminds the listener that you can't expect the garden to weed and take care of itself. The gardener needs to tend and look after it. The same goes for love. It takes hard work, patience, and persistence to keep a healthy 'love' relationship going but if you stick with it, the end result will be magnificent and well worth the effort.
It's hard for me to actually wrap my mind around redemption. I mean, I know what it is but I feel like I can't fully appreciate it because I don't entirely know what complete redemption consists of. I can see glimpses of shalom here and there but we won't be completely exposed to perfect harmony until Christ comes back again. That being said I feel like it becomes easy to split our world into sections. The "holy section" and the "non-holy section". Plantinga refutes this very well; "The world isn't divided into a sacred and a secular realm, with redemptive activity confined to the sacred zone. The whole world belongs to God, the whole world has fallen, and so the whole world needs to be redeemed -- every last person, place, organization, and program". What a comfort to know the He will redeem every square inch of His creation. The earth will groan occasionally and we will suffer throughout life but we have an anchor in the storm: Our Lord and Savior!
The final sentence of the chapter really articulated with me. Plantinga ends with these words: "Christians seek wisdom because it helps us find and follow our vocation within the kingdom of God, which has 'come near' but has not yet 'come home'". Before I came to Calvin and even still today I pray about the plans for my life. I feel God calling me in a certain direction but what if it's only my selfish desires telling my to take that path? How can I tell the difference? I guess the only answer I can think of is I have to do what's in accordance with the Word. Only then can God's kingdom come close. But, I get so easily frustrated when God doesn't talk back to me. I want to do what He wants but how can I if every time we talk it feels like a one-way conversation? For now I guess I just have to be content, patient, and trust that He has a plan far greater than mine. I also believe that finally someday, His kingdom will come home forever.
In a strange way, I'm almost excited that I don't fully grasp the concept of redemption, that way I will have no expectations. And even if I did, I know the Creator of the Universe would blow them out of the water.
