Drawn to Jesus in “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” | Crossway

Crossway--a fantastic publishing company--is holding a contest where the winner will receive a copy of A Family Guide to Narnia by Christin Ditchfield.

The book looks interesting and helpful, and it is easy to enter the contest. Click the link below, read the article, and then post a brief message sharing who you plan to take to see Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and why.

Drawn to Jesus in “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” | Crossway

The Day C.S. Lewis Died

Compiled by Justin Taylor


C. S. Lewis—one week shy of his 65th birthday—collapsed and died at 5:30 PM (GMT) at his residence at The Kilns, outside Oxford, England.

Two hours later, U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, TX, pronounced dead at 1:21 PM (CST). He was only 46 years old.

Exactly six hours later, Aldous Huxley, the English writer and author of Brave New World, died at 5:21 PM (PST) in Los Angeles. He was 69

C.S. Lewis on Writing

Justin Taylor had a fantastic post today full of great quotes from C.S. Lewis on the subject of writing.  You can read his post HERE

or if you don't have time to read what is there, then here is my all-time favorite quote from Lewis on writing (I have lots of favorite quotes from my "Uncle Lewis" on several different subjects):

Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.


I happen to LOVE big words, so it is a reminder to me to choose my words wisely when writing.  :)

Movie Trailer for Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Voyage of the Dawn Treader will be released next fall.  Not a fan of my Uncle Lewis' non-fiction, allegorical writing, however I have enjoyed the previous Chronicles of Narnia books.

C.S. Lewis on Pride

“In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that — and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison — you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud, you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”


From C.S. Lewis, quoted in Keith Mathison’s review of C.J. Mahaney’s book,Humility: True Greatness.

N.T. Wright, C.S. Lewis, Tullian Tchividjian

Admittedly I have yet to read any of N.T. Wright's books.  However I do find the dialogue between Wright, John Piper and Tim Keller to be very though-provoking.  I need to read something by Wright, so I can better understand the points of agreement as well as the points that are questioned between these three theologians.

Wright has a new book out, After You Believe, is reviewed by Michael Horton on the Christianity Today website here.

Another one of his books that has garnered much attention, is Surprised by Hope.  While nothing can compare to C.S. Lewis' autobiography, Surprised by Joy,  (which is still one of the most important books I have ever read in my life), I do wonder if I will find it worthy of Top Shelf placement on my bookshelf, alongside my "Uncle" Lewis and the book I recently finished by Tullian Tchividjian titled Surprised by Grace:  God's Relentless Pursuit of Rebels.
  

My Uncle Lewis

If one has never read C.S. Lewis' non-fiction works, then they, in my opinion, are missing out on the opportunity to not just read a brilliant thinker and writer, but they are also missing the privilege and honor to be allowed to see inside another human's soul, as they reason out the complexities of approaching God, and of being approached by God---being pursued by God.  Lewis' transparency and use of language can't help but cause the reader to examine their own mind and soul, and their very thinking about a relentless God's pursuit of a person like me, unworthy and a failure.

I will admit, I am one of the very few who do not like his fiction writing.  At all.  But as far as his non-fiction works, his brutal honesty about his own mind and soul, and his willingness to share (and admit!) that the human mind can be an entanglement of so many different textures of thoughts about God, funneling down eventually for him, to a surrender as quoted below---his words so echo my own heart and process.  That is why I have adopted him as my uncle, and how I wish he was still alive today, writing just the right words to express the very similar thoughts that I have in my own mind, that I just seem to be able to express as eloquently and succinctly.  Just don't ever make me read Chronicles of Narnia again.  Ever. :)

"You must picture me alone in that room at Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet.  That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me.  In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.  I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms.  The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet.  But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape?  The hardness of God is softer than the softness of men."  (C S Lewis)

Even BETTER Recommendations :)