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)