The Memphis C. S. Lewis Society
Since I am an Inklings fan, it was with great interest that I recently discovered that there is a C. S. Lewis discussion group that meets in Memphis. Their web site is narnia.org. They meet every second Sunday night of the month at 7:00 PM in the library at the Memphis Theological Seminary.
This month, August, Linda and I attended for the first time. They were finishing their discussion of Charles Williams' book The Forgiveness of Sins. We had not read the book, but the discussion was interesting. I should have written this post earlier, since now I cannot remember much of it.
One interesting point, on the side of receiving God's forgiveness, was that sometimes people get too hung up on deciding whether they need forgiveness for some particular sin, and forget that they are sinners. Each of us can confess to God every day that we have sinned, whether we can remember the particulars or not.
On the side of giving forgiveness to others, there was an interesting discussion of how approaching someone to "forgive" them can in fact become a weapon against them. If I am going to forgive you, that means that you did me some wrong. But what if you do not think that you did me a wrong? Such interactions call for much discretion, good judgment, and tact.
The society will next move on to a discussion of the first of Lewis' Narnia Chronicles: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I say first advisedly. It was the first in the original order of the series, and should still be the first. I do not agree with the decision of the current publishers to try putting the stories in chronological order, beginning with The Magician's Nephew. Beginning the story in the middle, then filling in the beginning later on, is a well-known literary device. The author's intentions in using it ought to be respected.
Linda and I are rereading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe now in preparation for the next meeting. I plan to make some posts on this blog of my thoughts on it, especially Christian and biblical references in the story.
This month, August, Linda and I attended for the first time. They were finishing their discussion of Charles Williams' book The Forgiveness of Sins. We had not read the book, but the discussion was interesting. I should have written this post earlier, since now I cannot remember much of it.
One interesting point, on the side of receiving God's forgiveness, was that sometimes people get too hung up on deciding whether they need forgiveness for some particular sin, and forget that they are sinners. Each of us can confess to God every day that we have sinned, whether we can remember the particulars or not.
On the side of giving forgiveness to others, there was an interesting discussion of how approaching someone to "forgive" them can in fact become a weapon against them. If I am going to forgive you, that means that you did me some wrong. But what if you do not think that you did me a wrong? Such interactions call for much discretion, good judgment, and tact.
The society will next move on to a discussion of the first of Lewis' Narnia Chronicles: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I say first advisedly. It was the first in the original order of the series, and should still be the first. I do not agree with the decision of the current publishers to try putting the stories in chronological order, beginning with The Magician's Nephew. Beginning the story in the middle, then filling in the beginning later on, is a well-known literary device. The author's intentions in using it ought to be respected.
Linda and I are rereading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe now in preparation for the next meeting. I plan to make some posts on this blog of my thoughts on it, especially Christian and biblical references in the story.
posted by John at 1:55 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home