Narnia - CathNews New Zealand https://cathnews.co.nz Catholic News New Zealand Wed, 13 Nov 2013 03:47:12 +0000 en-NZ hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://cathnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cropped-cathnewsfavicon-32x32.jpg Narnia - CathNews New Zealand https://cathnews.co.nz 32 32 70145804 CS Lewis: "the most dejected and reluctant convert" https://cathnews.co.nz/2013/11/15/cs-lewis-dejected-reluctant-convert/ Thu, 14 Nov 2013 18:30:39 +0000 http://cathnews.co.nz/?p=52088

He liked to be called Jack. Plain Jack. But Clive Staples Lewis, arguably the greatest communicator of the Christian message in the 20th century, was anything but plain. He died on November 22, 1963, the same day as Aldous Huxley and President Kennedy, and while Lewis never completed the journey from Anglican to Catholic, he Read more

CS Lewis: "the most dejected and reluctant convert"... Read more]]> He liked to be called Jack. Plain Jack.

But Clive Staples Lewis, arguably the greatest communicator of the Christian message in the 20th century, was anything but plain.

He died on November 22, 1963, the same day as Aldous Huxley and President Kennedy, and while Lewis never completed the journey from Anglican to Catholic, he was well on the way; according to his last secretary Walter Hooper - whom am I proud to call a good friend - it was inevitably and only a matter of time.

Although evangelicals have adopted him as one of their own, this sacramental, liturgical Christian who smoked and drank was always a Catholic at heart.

He wrote Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, Surprised by Joy, and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, among so many other titles. Several of his Narnia books have been made into movies, and commercialism being what it is, there is now a thunderstorm of books and videos.

But it is a sweet rain and in this case it is a joy to be made wet. Lewis would have laughed at such antics, always considering himself to be an ordinary teacher and an ordinary Christian.

In fact, Lewis was a most extraordinary teacher. A lecturer at both Oxford and Cambridge, he was considered one of the finest minds of his generation by fellow professors.

His English Literature in the Sixteenth Century Excluding Drama and The Allegory of Love are still considered to be academic masterpieces.

But it is Lewis the Christian who changed the world. Continue reading.

Source: Catholic World Report

Image: cslewisjrrtolkien.classicalautographs.com

CS Lewis: "the most dejected and reluctant convert"]]> 52088 You want ME to pray for you? Day 19 https://cathnews.co.nz/2013/05/17/you-want-me-to-pray-for-you-day-19/ Thu, 16 May 2013 19:10:55 +0000 http://cathnews.co.nz/?p=44228

Not one prayer Marcia. Even though you asked me to pray for your pilgrimage to Santiago, not one dialogue with God has unfolded. No petitions have been sent heavenward asking for your safekeeping. Not even any candles lit on your behalf. My lack of proper praying hasn't given rise to any guilt at all; just an engaged interest Read more

You want ME to pray for you? Day 19... Read more]]> Not one prayer Marcia. Even though you asked me to pray for your pilgrimage to Santiago, not one dialogue with God has unfolded.

No petitions have been sent heavenward asking for your safekeeping. Not even any candles lit on your behalf.

My lack of proper praying hasn't given rise to any guilt at all; just an engaged interest in my lack of interest in wanting to pray in the colloquially accepted sense, if that makes any sense. I just can't see the point of it now, if I ever could.
'But what does Marcia mean by pray?' asked my best mate. My ranting on about people using the word God indiscriminately, as though we all have some kind of shared understanding when we use it, has influenced him.
'Not sure,' I replied, my head in Tanya Luhrmann's book When God talks back . 'I didn't ask,' which when you think about it was an early mistake.
'Soren Kierkegaard the philosopher,' I added helpfully, hoping to make good my lack of enquiry, 'reckoned that "the function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays."' My friend looked doubtful.
The Vineyard Church people in Tanya's book hope to be changed or better still, transformed by their prayer. They say that prayer, when done by a properly trained person (this will probably eliminate me) can be imagined as a vehicle to draw the supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit to the person in need. (p12)
It was the imagination bit that enchanted me for according to Tanya's anthropological observations, the singing itself brings the Spirit into presence, 'the way Aslan sang the beasts of the new Narnia into life.' Continue reading
Sources

Sande Ramage is an Anglican priest and blogger.

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