Lewis on the Joy of Receiving Books in the Mail

How many of us can relate to this?  In a letter to his friend Arthur Greeves, C. S. Lewis wrote,

I quite agree with what you say about buying books, and love the planning and scheming beforehand, and if they come by post, finding the neat little parcel waiting for you on the hall table and rushing upstairs to open it in the privacy of your own room. (Letters of C. S. Lewis, edited by W. H. Lewis, p. 27)

(Via Addenda & Errata)

Jonathan Edwards on the Holy Spirit’s Work on the Soul’s Faculties

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This quote I recently read caught my attention.  Edwards had some great insights into theological and philosophical anthropology.

But in the renewing and sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost, those things are wrought in the soul that are above nature, and of which there is nothing of the like kind in the soul by nature; and they are caused to exist in the soul habitually, and according to such a stated constitution or law, that lays such a foundation for exercises in a continued course, as is called a principle of nature. Not only are remaining principles assisted to do their work more freely and fully, but those principles are restored that were utterly destroyed by the fall; and the mind thenceforward habitually exerts those acts that the dominion of sin had made it as wholly destitute of, as a dead body is of vital acts.

From the sermon, “A Divine and Supernatural Light”

Science and Religion are “Cousins” in the Search for Truth

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John Polkinghorne recently told ABC Radio in Australia.  Here’s a great insight that those who adopt scientism fail to understand:

“People sometimes say that science is about facts and religion is simply about opinion, but that’s to make a double mistake actually,” the Rev. Dr. John Polkinghorne, a physicist, theologian, and Anglican priest, recently told ABC Radio National in Australia. “There are no interesting scientific facts that are not already interpreted facts, and to interpret what’s being measured, you have to use theoretical opinions. So there’s a very subtle exchange between theory and experiment in science, which means its conclusions are never absolutely certain but well-justified. Similarly, religion isn’t just a question of shutting your eyes, gritting your teeth, and believing impossible things on some unquestionable authority. It’s also concerned with the search for truth through motivated belief, but it’s a different level and kind of truth, and so it’s motivations are a different kind of motivation. But I think, under the skin, science and religion are cousins in the search for truth.”

(Via Science & Religion Today)

The Importance of Relationships in Getting Published

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Jane Friedman gives some good advice here on the importance of networking and helping others to succeed for your publishing career – and life in general.  For example:

I’m reading a yet-to-be-published business book by a woman who was the first female VP of manufacturing at Procter & Gamble. Her entire argument comes down to trust. Are you creating experiences with your colleagues that lead them to trust you, recommend you, and essentially “vote” for you to get the new project, get promoted, or get a new job?

• Here’s a story of a 14-year-old who got hired at Apple. Years later, he says success is attributable to people liking him. Quote:

Recognize that by being useful and good to others, you will eventually build a very strong team of supporters. They’ll lift you up to new heights and protect you. If you falter they will be there to bring you back up and support you.

I think it’s one of the most overlooked components of business. Simply, we’re always able to say that at the end of the day, all you have is your friends.

• • Seth Godin speaks in this 1-minute video about social networking done right—how it can be relevant and helpful, or entirely pointless, depending on how you’re using it. Are you helping people achieve their goals, reliably and repeatedly? Collecting masses of followers will not help you succeed.

Insightful Commentary on Craigslist Erotic Services News

Her.meneutics (a Christianity Today blog) interviews Kaffie McCullough “who for eight years has led a statewide campaign to stop the prostitution of children in Georgia” and heads up the Atlanta-based A Future. Not a Past. program, a wing of the Juvenile Justice Fund.

If you’re not familiar with the recent developments, the post summarizes:

The same feature that has made Craigslist so popular — namely, unlimited free advertising — has brought the decade-old website under heavy criticism for providing unmonitored forums for prostitution in its 570 city hubs. After several state representatives met with Craigslist attorneys Wednesday, the site agreed to remove its “erotic services” section and replace it with an “adult services” section, in which posts will cost $5-10 and be manually reviewed by staff before going up.

The interview is eye-opening.  It begins:

What was your response to yesterday’s announcement?
I’m grateful that Craigslist is trying to monitor what’s happening, because their erotic services [section] was clearly a place where young girls were being prostituted. I have mixed feelings as to whether this is going to work. I’d want to know what they mean when they say they’re going to “monitor” it. And without training staff, for instance, the research that we’ve been doing since August 2007 says that people were not accurate when they’d make estimates as to whether somebody is young or not. I’d like to think Craigslist would be open to having training so that staff can screen more effectively.

I realize that all of this makes it harder for the perpetrators, but . . . the reality is that even if Craigslist had totally taken it down, that wouldn’t stop the problem of the prostitution of children — it would just spring up somewhere else.

Why has Craigslist become a hotbed of prostitution?
Craigslist is so easy, and so accessible, and so large. In other words, when we first started our research, we looked at other places, but it happened to such a greater extent on Craigslist that there was no point in taking the time to monitor the other websites, because the amount that was happening on Craigslist so dwarfed everything else . . .

Why We Read

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The L.A. Times has an interesting collection of quotes by authors and journalists on why we read.  I still resonate with the proposal from the movie Shadowlands:  We read to know we’re not alone.

A sampling:

There’s a book I don’t remember well, though I can remember precisely where I found it in my elementary school library — three yards to the right of the door, in the middle of the third shelf from the floor.

I was, and remain, a compulsive reader. Back then, I read on the school bus, at the bus stop in the cold, at the dinner table, beneath the sheets and for hours sometimes in the only room with a door that locked, the bathroom, despite my sister’s pounding. This book was about a solitary little boy who, as I did, had a nervous habit of tapping everything he touched, and counting the combinations of taps. One day, he tapped a wall of stone. A door appeared. Behind it was a different world, not better really, but brighter and less dull. I read for the same reason that he tapped: to look for doors, to push through walls.

– Ben Ehrenreich is the author of the novel “The Suitors.”

Confession: I am an abuser of books. I break their spines; I underline passages with felt-tip pen. Once, on vacation, I actually dropped Joyce Maynard’s delectable “Where Love Goes” — a beach-book “Anna Karenina” that I like to re-read every three years — into the Jacuzzi. For my books, it’s spring break at Ft. Lauderdale and they’re scared. This is all to the horror of a fusty male friend who keeps his British first editions in a humidity-controlled room, as though they were wine. I see now, though, that my 7- and 8-year-old daughters have caught their mother’s bad habit. Across the back seat of our filthy wagon are capsized or spread-eagled “Goosebumps,” Jenny B. Joneses, “Beastmasters.” They are smeared in juice and Cheetos, and, to my horror recently, I saw this terrifying pink thing called “The Puppies of Princess Place” covered in ants. But, as my girls pointed out, ants like a good read too. Indeed.

– Sandra Tsing Loh is the author of “Mother on Fire.”

When I was a kid, the greatest thing about reading was that it made the world so much more sympathetic. The bully around the corner, the mouthy girl in class, the recluse nobody talked to — I understood them all as composites of characters who lived in the stories of Louisa May Alcott, Beverly Cleary, Charles Dickens, Norman Juster, Aesop, the brothers Grimm. Every two weeks, my mother took me to a library to stock up on a new set of books, and I looked forward to those visits the way I looked forward to parties or social engagements. The library was where I made my best friends.

There’s a genuine community of reading out there that transcends a lot of differences. Even if you’re into James Baldwin and somebody else is into William F. Buckley, you can always argue ideas. Curiosity and critical thinking put you in the same house, if not always the same room.

Much is made about the cultural relevance of books, about whether they speak to a child’s background or view of the world. I understand the concern. But books are ultimately about stimulating imagination and broadening a worldview. In my South-Central neighborhood, Dickens more than did the job.

– Erin Aubry Kaplan is a Los Angeles journalist.

Well Said – C. S. Lewis

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

That’s a wonderful quote, which I just came across today.  It took some searching to find the source, and it seems that it originally appeared in chapter 9 of a collection of Lewis essays entitled They Asked for a Paper – now out of print.  However, it does appear in the Lewis anthology A Mind Awake (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003).

Ten Lesson from Great Christian Minds

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Via CrossCore Blog, via Between Two Worlds

Between Two Worlds: Spiegel: Ten Lessons from Great Christian Minds
From philosophy professor James Spiegel:

1. Augustine (5th century): Remember that you are a citizen of another kingdom.
2. Martin Luther (16th century): Expect politicians to be corrupt.
3. Thomas Aquinas (13th century): God has made himself known in nature.
4. John Calvin (16th century): God is sovereign over all, including our suffering.
5. Jonathan Edwards (18th century): God is beautiful, and all beauty is divine.
6. Thomas a’Kempis (15th century): Practice self-denial with a passion.
7. John Wesley (18th century): Be disciplined and make the best use of your time.
8. Fyodor Dostoevsky (19th century): God’s grace can reach anyone.
9. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (20th century): Beware of cheap grace.
10. Alvin Plantinga (21st century): Moral virtue is crucial for intellectual health.

Read the whole post for his explanation of each point.

Poetic Preaching on Christ As King – Video

I first heard this short sermon almost ten years ago while attending Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham at a get-together for our international members.  I hadn’t thought of it in years, though, until our friend Armida sent us the YouTube link today.

The write-up on YouTube describes it well.

If you’re not already familiar with S. M. Lockridge’s “That’s My King!” – then you should be! He speaks for six minutes about Jesus and it’s impossible not to listen without being touched by the wonder of our Lord.

It reminds us of the greatness of our King – and shows great lyrical artistry (also to God’s glory).

Ben Witherington Critiques Bart Ehrman

New Testament scholar Ben Witherington has begun a series of posts at his blog critiquing Bart Ehrman’s latest book, Jesus, Interrupted.  Part one covers chapters 1 and 2; Part two covers pages 61-75 (this will likely become a lengthy critique).  He brings his considerable expertise in New Testament studies to bear on Ehrman’s hyperbolic (in my view) claims.  An excerpt:

One of the problems however with some of Bart’s popular work, including this book, is that it does not follow the age old adage— “before you boil down, you need to have first boiled it up”. By this I mean Bart Ehrman, so far as I can see, and I would be glad to be proved wrong about this fact, has never done the necessary laboring in the scholarly vineyard to be in a position to write a book like Jesus, Interrupted from a position of long study and knowledge of New Testament Studies. He has never written a scholarly monograph on NT theology or exegesis. He has never written a scholarly commentary on any New Testament book whatsoever! His area of expertise is in textual criticism, and he has certainly written works like The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, which have been variously reviewed, not to mention severely critiqued by other textual critics such as Gordon D. Fee, and his own mentor Bruce Metzger (whom I also did some study with). He is thus, in the guild of the Society of Biblical Literature a specialist in text criticism, but even in this realm he does not represent what might be called a majority view on such matters. It is understandable how a textual critic might write a book like Misquoting Jesus, on the basis of long study of the underpinnings of textual criticism and its history and praxis. It is mystifying however why he would attempt to write a book like Jesus, Interrupted which frankly reflect no in-depth interaction at all with exegetes, theologians, and even most historians of the NT period of whatever faith or no faith at all. A quick perusal of the footnotes to this book, reveal mostly cross-references to Ehrman’s earlier popular works, with a few exceptions sprinkled in—for example Raymond Brown and E.P Sanders, the former long dead, the latter long retired. What is especially telling and odd about this is Bart does not much reflect a knowledge of the exegetical or historical study of the text in the last thirty years. It’s as if he is basing his judgments on things he read whilst in Princeton Seminary. And that was a long time ago frankly.