Listening to the Giants

David Brainerd, missionary, born in Haddam, Connecticut, April 20th, 1718; died in Northampton, Massachusetts, October 9th, 1747. From early childhood he had strong" religious feeling, and after entering Yale College in 1739, at the time of the great revival under Whitefield, his zeal led him into indiscretions. The' attitude of the College toward the "New Lights" was cold, and students had been forbidden to attend their meetings. Brainerd, then in his junior year, disobeyed this rule, and was also heard to say of one of the tutors that he had "no more religion than the chair on which he sat." Refusing to make public confession of these offences in chapel, Brainerd was expelled. He never ceased to regard this action as unjust, though acknowledging that he had been at fault. After leaving College he began to study theology, and on July 20th, 1742, was licensed to preach by the Danbury association of ministers. He had for some time been interested i...

Guest blogger: Dr. Matt Farlow Dr. Farlow and his family reside in Folsom, CA where he currently serves as the Director and Pastor of Inreach Ministries for Lakeside church. Matt completed a Ph.D. in Theology and Literature at The University of St Andrews. Matt’s doctoral research focused on humanity’s participation in God’s drama of reconciliation. His project investigated God’s imaginative performance in order to make further attempts in realizing the relationship between personhood (being) and how our identity helps to define our role and mission upon the world’s stage. ************************************************************************                                           C.S. Lewis— A man enmeshed in the scandalous nature of                                    ...

Is this true? Did C.S. Lewis believe in the concept of Purgatory? See for yourself.  Below are Lewis’ words: “Of course, I pray for the dead (i.e. the dead in Purgatory). The action is so spontaneous, so all but inevitable, that only the most compulsive theological case against it would deter me. And I hardly know how the rest of my prayers would survive if those for the dead were forbidden. At our age the majority of those we love best are dead. What sort of intercourse with God could I have if what I love best with unmentionable to Him?” (Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on prayer). “How do I know all her (Joy, Lewis’ deceased wife) anguish is past? I have never believed before—I thought it immensely improbable—that the most faithful of souls could leap straight into perfection and peace the moment death has rattled in the throat.” Again, referring to Joy (his deceased wife), “I know there are not only tears to be dried but stains to be scoured.” And finally.... ...

One of the most strange (and possibly disturbing) facets of Lewis’ life was his consistent commitment to a woman who is called, “Mrs. Moore”. A recent Lewis’ biographer sets the background, "Jack," as Lewis was known to his family, enlisted during the First World War while still a teenager. While undergoing training, he befriended a young man named Paddy Moore, who had a divorced mother (Mrs. Moore) and younger sister, Maureen, back at home. The young men promised each other that if one of them were to be killed in combat, the other would look after his friend's parent.” As providence would have it, Jack survived and made good on his promise…. a promise that would last for more than 30 years. To those who are unfamiliar with this feature of Lewis’ life, this commitment likely seems very noble and even ethical. Yet it was the degree of commitment and concurrent mystery surrounding this relationship that concerned many of Jack’s friends. Since Jac...

One of the most engaging seminars on C.S. Lewis was done by Dr. Knox Chamblin (who died earlier this year) at Reformed Theological Seminary. This series explored primarily Lewis’ life, his works and his theology. In one of the earlier seminars, Dr. Chamblin shared this historic interaction between the well-known fundamentalist Dr. Bob Jones Jr. and C.S. Lewis. Asked afterwards for an assessment regarding the Oxford Don, Dr. Jones stated, “That man smokes a pipe….and that man drinks liquor….but I do believe he is a Christian!” This quote leads us into the central thesis of this blog post, “What is the Christian’s position regarding alcohol and tobacco?” I admit grappling with this issue is nothing new in the blogosphere or in pockets of evangelicalism.  Furthermore, I will gladly confess that this blog post will not bring anything original to this provocative topic. Being a Christian is not about abstaining from alcohol or tobacco. I used to judge the indiv...

Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.           C.S. Lewis Lately I have been obsessed with the writings of C.S. Lewis. I feel like I have been woken up from a 20-year nap with a Rip Van Winkle beard and new eyes, eyes that see through the lens of imagination. Recent personal examples: Reading Lewis’ The Great Divorce , I can actually imagine the Deep Heaven and the grey town (Hell). Reading The Magician’s Nephew , I imagine the horrific evil eyes and curved mouth of Queen Jadis and sit in fearful awe of the majesty Sovereignty of Aslan (Jesus Christ). Reading Perelandra (the second of Lewis’ Space Trilogy), I felt my imagination overtake me…in a way I haven’t experience since I read A Wrinkle in Time at the innocent age of 8. To paint the landscape, here is the scene in Perelandra that literally shook my inner soul: “There he (Ransom) stopped dead and stared at Weston (a man likely posse...

In his autobiography Lewis recalls his personal grief, “I must now turn to a great loss that befell our family when my mother became ill. There were voices and comings and goings all over the house. Our whole existence changed into something alien and menacing, as the house became full of strange smells and midnight noises. ... I remembered what I'd been taught — that prayers offered in faith would be granted. I set myself to produce by will power a firm belief that my prayers for her recovery would be successful. It didn’t work. He later adds, “With my mother's death all settled happiness, all that was tranquil and reliable, disappeared from my life. And there has never been really any sense of security and snuggness since. I've not quite succeeded in growing up on that point. There is still too much of mommy's lost, little boy about me. My father's good qualities as well as his weaknesses incapacitated him for the task of bringing up two noisy and...