At the Christian Book Club we are heading in to week three of C.S. Lewis “The Weight of Glory”. This week we will be reading “Is Theology Poetry” and “The Inner Ring”. I have only glanced at the readings but I have to say that I am always impressed by the way that Lewis sets up his talks. I am usually captivated almost immediately. I find, however, that it is hard for me to sit down and read the discussions through till the end in one sitting. I generally have to stop and ponder for a while. That has been the case with each of the readings so far in The Weight of Glory. I usually tear through a book of this sixe in an afternoon or two. In this case, I need all of the time we have allotted to read the two discussions a week.

I would like to hear from you about your opinions on the way the book reads. Do you think the discussions make good reading? I think they do, but everyone likes different styles of writing.

I thought I would share some of my pondering points over the last couple of weeks. In “Learning in War Time” I got stopped at the idea our mortality on page 62. I think that until we have actually considered our own mortality, we really can’t embrace life. Culturally, I believe we try and push the idea of death away, which makes sense if this life is all you have. As believers, knowing that what lies ahead is better by far, we can embrace death in a way that leads to a fuller life.

I got stopped on the first page of “Why I Am Not a Pacifist”. The statement half way down page one, “How do we decide what is good or evil?” I spent days thinking about how people can have such different perspectives over the same issue. Clearly, the black and white of good and evil is clear, but it seems to me there is a lot of gray areas, especially when it comes to war. The idea that God is one one side or the other is worth considering.

In “Transposition” I was caught up in the discussion of Pentecost and then Lewis uses a fable on page 109 of a mother who has only been able to teach her son by the thinks she has drawn with a pencil. They have been locked away and unable to experience the world. She realizes that he believes everything in the world has pencil lines on it. When he is told that the world is not like that, he has no way of comprehending any longer. We tend to look at the world with our own filters strongly in place.

I look forward to reading your comments!

(I was recently interviewed by Christian Retailing for an article they are writing about Christian Book Clubs. if we make it in to the article it should have a positive impact on our readership)

At the Christian Book Club we are into our first week of reading C.S. Lewis “The Weight of Glory”.  I am always captivated by the writings of Lewis.  I may have mentioned in the past that in 2005 my wife, teenage daughter and son, and I all went to England for a once in a life time trip as a family.  The highlight of the trip was a visit to Oxford to see where C.S. Lewis hung out.  We went to the pub that he frequented with Tolkien and the other Inklings and we sat and ate at the table where they would sit and talk.  They had framed napkins on the walls that all the Inklings had signed.  It was a memorable experience.  I wonder what it would have been like to be sitting there and listen to their discussions of their writing.

As I have been reading this week I was really impressed with the way Lewis wrote about a feeling that I am sure we all have from time to time.  He was once again able to describe something that is hard to describe.  Starting at the bottom of page 29:

“In speaking of this desire for our own far-off country, which we find in ourselves even now, I feel a certain shyness.  I am almost committing an indecency.  I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you - the secret which hurts so much that you take revenge on it by calling it names like Nostalgia and Romanticism and Adolescence; the secret also which pierces with such sweetness that when, in very intimate conversation, the mention of it becomes imminent, we grow awkward and affect to laugh at ourselves; the secret we cannot hide and we cannot tell, though we desire to do both.  We cannot tell it because it is a desire for something that has never actually appeared in our experience.  We cannot hide it because our experience is constantly suggesting it, and we betray ourselves like lovers at the mention of a name”.

What a gift to be able to write like that!  Keep on commenting.  I love to read what you are getting from the books!

In July, the Christian Book Club will be reading “The Weight of Glory” by C.S. Lewis. Lewis is one of my favorite authors. This book is a collection of nine messages that Lewis gave during World War II. I am confident you will enjoy reading and discussing the ideas and concepts that Lewis puts forth. So if you don’t have a copy, you can use the link below to order one to make sure you have it in time.

The Weight of Glory: And Other Addresses By C.S. Lewis