More Lewis . . . (soak it up)

"We tend to think about non-human intelligences in two distinct categories which we label 'scientific' and 'supernatural' respectively. . . In quite a different mood we let our minds loose on the possibility of angels, ghosts, fairies, and the like. But the very moment we are compelled to recognise a creature in either class as real the distinction begins to get blurred: and when it is a creature like an eldil the distinction vanishes altogether. These things were not animals -- to that extent one had to classify them with the second group; but they had some kind of material vehicle whose presence could (in principle) be scientifically verified. To that extent they belonged to the first group. the distinction between natural and supernatural, in fact, broke down; and when it had done so, one realised how great a comfort it had been -- how it had eased the burden of intolerable strangeness which this universe imposes on us by dividing it into two halves and encourageing the mind never to think of both in the same context. What price we may have paid for this comfort in the way of false security and accepted confusion of thought is another matter."
-- "Perelandra" by C. S. Lewis

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. . . The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."
-- John 1:1-4, 9, 10, 14

"Home"

Okay, now I have a question for all of you. (This is a special opportunity for all of you who have still failed to leave me any comments yet. I know who you are.) Question: What makes a home a "home"? I will be looking forward to all of your thoughts. (By the way, thanks for the recent comment Mom!)

Remembering

These thoughts are again sparked by C. S. Lewis and his book "Out of the Silent Planet". At one point in the book a "Hross" (or Martian, native to Mars that is) is speaking to Ransom about their first meeting and the memory of it, or better put: the action of remembering it. He comments that remembering their first encounter is still part of the actually experience of the encounter. He continues to explain that the meeting was just the beginning of the actual experience, and this experience continues to play out between the two as they remember and are effected by it. I really love the idea that Lewis presents here; it seems to be saturated with Trinitarian influence. How true it is that remembering, in itself, often brings as many physical and psychological effects on our bodies and minds (and sometimes more) than the actual experience itself we are remembering; and seeing how the experience and memory are directly linked, it is only logical to say that it is all part of the same experience.
I believe this idea begins to show us in another way how intertwined are lives are with each other, the large effect our relationships have in our lives, and the continual (or eternal) significance of all our encounters with each other under the rule of a sovereign, Triune God. When we "remember" we are not doing nothing, it is something, it is the continuation of an experience started some time before. Remembering, I believe, can be a rich blessing: it can encourage us, make us thankful, and give us wisdom. And it can do all these these things because it is god-like.
And for those of you who believe in covenant renewal worship, is not this action practiced by both our Heavenly Father and His Children every Lord's Day? May God grant us wisdom and discernment as we seek to remember faithfully.

Update/Misc.

Well, I don't have any particular subject in mind to discuss today; but I am here and feel obligated to write to those of you who may check in from time to time. Not sure if that is healthy or not. Life has been busy -- in many ways, really. I am at the stage of closing my third condominium which means a few things: first, work will be hectic and chances are I will become slightly crabby for a week or so; second, one of these condo's in this building is mine, and so I will be moving into a new place this weekend, finally. This week amoung the chaos I will also turn another year older. A few things here . . . first, at this point in my life sanctification is not very fun; second, "becoming a man" or "growing up" is not quite has spectacular or as easy as I had once supposed it to be. Thank God for covenant community and for the brothers He has blessed me with.
On a lighter note, I have been reading "Out of the Silent Planet" by C. S. Lewis (there seem to be few things better in life than reading a book by Lewis). This is the first in his space trililogy, or maybe everyone knew that already. It has been a wonderful book so far, and has shown me a man who really took the gospel to every square inch of literature he was involved in. One scene I enjoyed is when Ransom (a human from Earth who is kidnapped and taken to the planet Malacandra or Mars) meets his first living creature, a Hross. Of course the Hross does not resemble a human at all, nor does he speak English, so the first action they take to show their peace and trust towards each other is to share a cup of alcohol. Lewis also goes on to show quite a few ways in which society has been corrupted by the fall. I highly recommend this series, though I haven't even read the remaining two.
I also went to the movies with a few guys this weekend and saw "Cinderella Man". I set my expectations low, and to my pleasure they were far surpassed. The boxing scenes were well done in my opinion, and the story-line never seemed to linger too long in one place. Based on a true story of a man and his family brought low and humbled by the Great Depression, and then raised up again was not, much to my surprise, overly-dramatic. I thought it told the story well of a man struggling to be a "man" and dealing with responsibility, pride, courage, and faith. A part of the story, somewhat in the background, but which I believed expressed some of the most truth in the movie, was the marital relationship between this man and his wife and their parental relationships with there children.
I will try to scrounge up some interesting topics for you all next time. Good day!

A Sight to See

Saturday I was able to travel to Helena with a bunch of family to compete in the annual Govenor's Cup races. I really love the architecture of our capitol's downtown area. While I was walking back to the car at one point I had to pass the huge Catholic cathedral downtown and I mentioned to my dad that it would be nice if my church in Bozeman could build a church building like that. There is a beauty and superiority to the building that immediately demands your respect. I thought to myself, "I bet it would be hard to sing praise songs in a church like that." At the same time though, it was the type of building you really wanted to go inside, just to see what magnificent things might lie within its doors. I think it's funny that one of the main reasons I hear argued against building churches like this today is that they make people feel small and insignificant and that makes it hard to worship and attract people. Heaven forbid we should ever feel small and insignificant before our Lord and God. Maybe a building like this only makes it harder to worship ourselves. I also feel that that the "attraction" part of the argument is weak too. From the moment I saw this cathedral I was attracted to it. I think back to C.S. Lewis' "The Magician's Nephew" and I remember the excitement and attraction Digory had upon venturing into the great hall of the white witch; and it was a place of death and darkness. There is something inside us that pulls us to things that are bigger, grander, and holier than ourselves. It can be scary, but that never really seems to be something that stops us in the end; and I think fear is probably an appropriate reaction.
I think Winston Churchill was on to something when he said, "We shape our buildings, and then our buildings shape us."