galumphing

My Annual Reading Review

2011-01-01T20:35:00.002-05:00

It has been a dismal year for blogging (on my part, I mean) and yet I still found time to read and write. For writing, I have been maintaining a Moleskine journal for personal reflections; I have reverted to pen-and-paper log---"plogging" if you will. I am not a Luddite who has rejected technology and blogging; I am just trying to sort out what this blog ought to be. I keep reading other bloggers who seem to be doing a great job writing interesting and relevant posts.... In the meantime, I will continue to post in the intermittent and non-committal way. Hopefully I will find my blogging-way soon.

One thing that I have done regularly with this blog is to record my reading list from the preceding year. I didn't have any specific goals this year, such as reading (almost exclusively) C.S. Lewis or Francis Schaeffer. So here is the list from 2010.

Epic poetry
The Aeneid by Virgil (trans. by Robert Fagles)
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Inferno by Dante (trans. by Dorothy Sayers), not finished

Biography
Marshall McLuhan by Douglas Coupland
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Christian Lover by Michael Haykin
The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis by Alan Jacobs

Angels and Ages: A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln and Modern Life by Adam Gopnik

Abraham Lincoln: A Presidential Life by James McPherson
Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson (not finished)

Nonfiction
The Educated Imagination by Northrop Frye
The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

The Uses and Abuses of History by Margaret MacMillan

Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
7 Habits of a Highly Effective Person by Covey
Art for God's Sake by Philip Ryken
A Brief History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton (not finished... yet!)

Fiction
All Quiet on the Western Front by Eric Remarque
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
A Christmas Carol by Dickens (not finished)

Children's Literature

Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Crispin: The Lead Cross by Avi (a wonderfully written novel set in Medieval England)

The Sword in the Tree by Bulla

Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien... I am still reading with the boys (but clearly not often enough!)

I have some ideas for this coming year; besides finishing Chesterton's masterpiece The Everlasting Man, I would like to read a little more C.S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer. I will continue my odyssey through "epic poetry" with Dante's Divine Comedy translated by Dorothy Sayers. I am hoping to get to John Milton's Paradise Lost right after Dante. I could also do for a little more theology reading. As I typed up this list just now, I became painfully aware of the lack of good old theology. It has been a few years since I dabbled in the Puritans. I wouldn't mind reading some J.I. Packer, John Piper or more R.C. Sproul. I would also like to read Augustine and Bunyan again. So many books, so little time! In terms of fiction, I feel that I might now be old enough to read Russian literature... I have a brilliant former student who keeps recommending authors like Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Solzhenitsyn (Although young in years, he is an old soul). 2011 might be the year... might be.

Carpe MMXI. Tolle Lege.

A dinosaur who reads Homer

2010-12-02T15:18:00.003-05:00

I think I am teaching myself to be a dinosaur... that is, extinct. I read Virgil and Homer for pleasure, I teach Latin and Classical civilization courses, and I am presently embarking on a whirlwind tour of hell, courtesy of Dante.

C.S. Lewis, in his inaugural speech as Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge university, called himself a "dinosaur". What he meant by that was he considered himself to be a rare breed of man, the classically educated man, the man of letters, a true product of Western civilization as it once was. I am not a dinosaur in that sense, nor will I ever be. I am a product of "New Western civilization" whether I like it or not. I did not grow up with tales of heroes and monsters, but rather with Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and Loony Tunes. In the late 1950s, C.S. Lewis already considered the world a totally different place than the world he grew up in. Nevertheless, I persist in my attempts to "repair the ruins" of a long, lost culture and civilization. But I wonder if I am like a Roman studying Cicero or Ovid while barbarians are at the gate. Am I training myself for a civilization that no longer exists or can no longer exist? There are no time machines.

Although my goals as an educator and as a student of literature, history, and philosophy are no longer considered relevant in a world steeped in ignorance, self-centredness, and apathy, my only hope is the fact that I am a Christian. Christianity is the one and only perfectly universal truth in the universe. I am not talking about "cultural or social Christianity" but Christianity itself. Christianity is trans-temporal, trans-cultural, trans-denominational, trans-everything. Cultural or social Christianity, which can be quite a different thing, has been imported, sometimes imposed (intentionally or unintentionally) on cultures by varying military, colonial, political, and missionary efforts throughout history. When I distinguish "Christianity" as unique, I am referring to when the Gospel of Jesus Christ truly takes hold of someone, powerfully and transformatively. A Christian is someone who has become catholic in the universal sense... a follower of Christ, the God-Man---not just Christian ideas---but the person of Christ. We become part of the everlasting, eternal, and living body of Christ.

So, I may be training myself to be dinosaur-like in terms of literature and philosophy and education. As a teacher, I may become extinct... replaced by a website or a podcast or nothing at all. Although the sun is setting on Western civilization, I will not despair. Christ is my only hope. He should always be my ultimate and only hope. Perhaps the demise of Old Western civilization is, in part, a result of misplaced hope. As beautiful and true and powerful as Homer or Virgil or Dante might be, it can never save a person, much less a civilization. If we did recover the "Lost Tools of Learning" as Dorothy Sayers calls it, we will only produce "clever devils", as Lewis puts it.

An Unchanging God

2010-08-21T12:38:00.000-04:00

The next sermon in the Studies in Joshua series.

L'Abri Ideas library online

2010-06-15T21:45:00.001-04:00

The L'Abri Fellowship has recently opened their Ideas Library to the World Wide Web. You can hear classic lectures by Francis Schaeffer and others, or you can download the current lectures from the 21st century L'Abri Fellowship lectures. The Ideas Library is worth checking out; it is topically indexed for efficient searching. Click the link below:

L'Abri Ideas library

Pitching your tents: Christians at the movies

2010-06-03T09:11:00.001-04:00

When George Lucas resurrected his Star Wars movie franchise, millions of fans were ecstatic. People lined up for days in advance to see the premiere of the Star Wars prequel, The Phantom Menace (1999). Some people donned Storm Trooper uniforms and Jedi ropes; some fans even pitched tents and lived outside movie theatres for weeks. I must admit that I cut classes at Western the day it premiered and saw the movie along with Chewbacca and Darth Maul look-a-likes. As Christians, what are we to make of all this hype? Well, movies and pitching tents causes me to recall a story in Genesis that may help us consider Christians at the movies.

In Genesis, we read about Lot “pitching his tents toward Sodom” (Gen 13:12); the next time we read about Lot (Ch. 19) he is living in Sodom, a wicked and abominable city. We find him applying skewed “righteousness” in an unrighteous situation (v.8), we discover Lot’s wife has become too attached to a worldly lifestyle (v. 26), his son-in-laws fail to take life seriously (v. 14) and his children lack a moral compass (vv.30-38). Whatever righteousness Lot had before he went to Sodom was dramatically overshadowed by the unrighteous culture he immersed himself and his family in. I use this phrase, “pitching my tents toward Sodom” to remind me to keep some distance between my family and the influence of the immoral culture we live in. As Christians, we are constantly struggling to be “in” the world, but not “of” the world, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to steer clear of “Sodom” these days. Through television, the Internet, movies and magazines, Christians are bombarded with the influences of our society. Perhaps the most potent of these influences is Hollywood.

Movies impact our culture in a way no other medium has before. With drama and realism, movies present a made-for-film world where God’s reality—His decrees, His design, and His plan—often have no bearing. As a result, social values—the cultural blueprint for how we interact with each other and with God—are being created, shaped and solidified through the magic of movie-making. Our children, our churches, the next generation of citizens, the people we are trying to reach with the gospel, are all being influenced by movies. So we can’t stick our heads in the sand and hope it all goes away; Hollywood is not going away. And, well, there is nothing blatantly wrong about Christians enjoying popcorn and a movie. So how are Christians to respond to movies?

Christians need to become “film literate”—we need to be able to recognize, understand and speak to the filmmaker’s message. The challenge is the subtlety of the message. Filmmakers aren’t literally standing behind a pulpit or on a soapbox preaching their values or their version of the world, but they are saying something, and they are saying it with millions of dollars, heaps of glitz and pizazz, and great soundtracks. Not all films present non-Christian worldviews; arguably, some great films are very consistent with the moral laws of God’s created universe. There are, however, many films that directly or indirectly oppose God’s creation. Sometimes the movies desensitize us to sin, making evil tolerable or even palatable. Sometimes films uphold a right belief, but teach wrong applications of that belief. We need to be able to identify what these films are impressing upon us as viewers. This means, when choosing movies to watch for yourself or your family, you need to do more than count how many expletives or explosions there are. It is not the violence, per se, but the values presented that make the largest impact on viewers. Movies labelled as “family”, for example, may not have a single swear word or a single act of violence, but they may teach a lesson that children who disobey their parents are doing the right thing, or that the end justifies the means, or that romance is the key to happiness in life… Be prepared to discuss with your family the values presented in the films, and contrast them to the true values of God’s way.

If you are in doubt about whether a movie is OK to watch, then just don’t bother watching it. If you are viewing a movie and feel your “tents are pitched too close to Sodom,” leave the theatre or turn off the DVD. The Apostle Paul writes to the Philippians, “Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell of these things.” (Philippians 4:8). Where are you pitching your tents?

Useful aids for movie viewers: Roger’s Video website provides an online parent guide, and Plugged In (Focus on the Family) provides an excellent Christian guide, with reviews and commentary on new released DVDs and movies still at the theatres. Use these resources to make wise decisions and to be aware of the message being conveyed through this powerful medium.

A Circumcised Army: Joshua 5:1-9

2010-05-31T09:04:00.002-04:00

Christian Movie-making… an oxymoron?

2010-05-27T15:53:00.001-04:00

The Apostle Paul went to Mars Hill, the philosophical and religious centre of Athens and he spoke to the people gathered there in the manner of the day; he referenced their gods, their poetry, and their way of thinking. The Apostles also spoke in marketplaces and at religious centres—the places where people gathered. If we are going to continue the missionary work of proclaiming the gospel to the culture we live in, we ought to go where they are gathering and speak to them in a manner they understand. Since we live in a visual culture, Christians need to speak to the world in a voice they can see and hear. This means that gifted and talented Christians need to enter the world of movie-making.

According to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), over one billion movie tickets were sold in Canada/US during 2009. MPAA also reports that 67% of the population of Canada/US are movie-goers. Movie theatres are where the people are gathering; movies are the media they are listening to and watching. Given the fact that our culture is being powerfully shaped by false worldviews presented in films, Christians need to provide a counter worldview, a worldview grounded in the truth of God’s created universe.

Since film is a very realistic medium, it lends itself very well to the Christian gospel message. Christianity is no abstract, pie-in-the-sky, philosophical religion. It is a real, gritty, dirt-under-the-finger-nails faith. It impacts the lives of real people living in a real world. Film can clearly and powerfully show how the gospel transforms people’s lives where they are—in a real, gritty, dirt-under-the-finger-nails world. Because of this realism, visual media can be a scary realm for Christians. It pulls us out of our Christian comfort-zone of “stained glass windows” and “polished-wood pews.” But Christianity speaks to the whole world, to its beauty and its ugliness. So Christians need to use the advantage God has given them as film-makers to visually and accurately depict the world as it really is. This includes human suffering, but also human value and meaning; the influence of evil is part of our world, but so are the power of providence and the role of grace. Hollywood rarely portrays the world as it actually is; this is because Hollywood isn’t interested in beauty, goodness or truth—it is interested in box office receipts and the bottom line.

God has blessed many Christians with the gifts, talents and technical skills to make good movies. Lately, some very interesting Christian-themed and Christian-made movies have appeared—albeit briefly—in theatres around the world. Granted, there have also been some embarrassing and poorly made films as well. Like all things done in the name of Christ, it should be done with excellence. This excellence should be seen in both the message and medium; in other words, Christians should not only present a right message, but also preserve and perfect the “art” of film-making, which includes subtlety, beauty, goodness and truth. Some would argue that we should not compete with the world on their turf; but the truth is it’s not their turf. The entire world is under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This world is His turf. If God is calling you to make movies in His name, then go and make a great movie.

Piper on C.S. Lewis

2010-05-07T15:00:00.001-04:00

In John Piper's signature style of speaking honestly, humbly and personally, Piper delivers a power message on learning from the heart and mind of C.S. Lewis.

John Piper is open about some of Lewis's theological errors; but, Piper is equally open about the contributions and richness offered by C.S. Lewis and his writings. There has been so much vehement criticism from certain quarters of the evangelical church focused on C.S. Lewis. A couple of years ago, I made a humble defense of Jack, but it must be acknowledged that some of the beliefs he held were simply wrong. Piper addresses this, explaining the right reasons we should come to Lewis, and the wrong reasons we shouldn't. Coming to Lewis for the right reasons is right. He has much to offer Christendom and the world, especially in the 21st century. Click for Piper's lecture: "Lessons from an Inconsolable Soul".

Thanks to my brother from Bradford Academy for drawing this lecture to my attention!

Marshall McLuhan on the Global Village

2010-05-06T10:56:00.005-04:00

In the days before Twitter, email, Facebook, MySpace, texting, blogging, Google, the Internet... Marshall McLuhan describes the new world "created by instant electronic information"---a "global village".

"Today, the instantaneous world of electric information media involves all of us, all at once. Ours is a brand new world of all-at-onceness. Time, in a sense, has ceased and space has vanished. Like primitives, we now live in a global village of our own making, a simultaneous happening. The global village is not created by the motor car or even by the airplane. It is created by instant electronic information movement. The global village is at once as wide as the planet and as small as the little town where everybody is maliciously engaged in poking his nose into everybody else’s business. The global village is a world in which you don’t necessarily have harmony; you have extreme concern with every else’s business and much involvement in everybody else’s life. It’s a sort of Ann Landers column written larger. And it doesn’t necessarily mean harmony and peace and quiet, but it does mean huge involvement in everybody else’s affairs. And so, the global village is as big as a planet and as small as the village post office.

"We now share too much about each other to be strangers to each other. For example, in the age of the information explosion, all the walls go out between age-groups, between family groups, national groups, between economies. The walls all go out. People suddenly have to adjust themselves to this new proximity, this new interrelationship, and merely to tell them that this has happened isn’t very helpful. What they need to know is, if it is happening, what does it mean to me?"

“McLuhan on McLuhanism,” WNDT Educational Broadcasting Network, 1966

Memorial Stones from the Jordan: Joshua 4

2010-04-25T20:07:00.001-04:00

Opera and "Symbolic Pleasures"

2010-04-15T17:06:00.002-04:00

Opera isn’t realistic. Mortally wounded people “die” while singing a ten minute aria and gesturing dramatically over the entire stage. Huge, portly women are considered dainty and fair by many (often equally portly) love-struck suitors. Villains “sneak up” on victims while dramatically belting out songs and making all kinds of racket… noticed by no one except the audience. The “phoney” style of opera has no equal in any other theatrical medium. But, the point is good opera isn’t supposed to be realistic. It is symbolic. The renowned musicologist, Aaron Copland, writes, “One must be willing to allow that symbolic things mirror realities and sometimes provide greater esthetic pleasure than the merely realistic. The opera house is a good place in which to find these symbolic pleasures.” Not all opera is good opera or truly symbolic. As one opera aficionado recently pointed out to me, some opera is merely vehicles for narcissistic soloists seeking self-glorification. What I am interested in is good opera, symbolic opera, opera that offers the audience “symbolic pleasures”.

So good opera, then, is “real” but not realistic---real in that it attempts to mirror the full essence of “reality” by means of symbolism. In truth, no art is ever fully realistic; all art is symbolic on some level. Good opera---as an art form---simply embraces symbolism wholeheartedly. So the key to enjoying good opera is to realize that it attempts to function as “total art” surrounded by symbolism. Opera is “total art” because it capitalizes on all of its resources as an art form; at its disposal, opera has music, vocals, lyrics, costumes, sets, dance, acting, gestures and props to convey meaning. But “total” also in the way that it does not strive for realism nor does it expend much of its resources on believability; rather, nearly all aspects of the performance can be used in expounding meaning.

This recent epiphany came to me a couple of weeks ago when I attended the opera. Not an actual opera, per se, but a digital broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera to a Famous Players movie theatre. The broadcast was from a live performance---happening in real time---of Hamlet by the French composer Thomas.

Watching opera, especially in the 21st century, seems like an odd way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Even with the 21st century technological innovations such as HD broadcasting and surround sound, reclining seats and lightly buttered popcorn, watching opera in a movie theatre seems even more unusual. But, in fact, it was an incredibly enjoyable experience. Admittedly, I probably wouldn’t have found myself there if it wasn’t for a former student and friend who invited me. He has been my musical mentor over the past two years as I slowly make a serious foray into the marvellous world of music. What he is helping me discover is that opera is not odd at all; rather, opera is, in many ways, the pinnacle of art.

Effective symbolism requires conventions, and opera is an art form that is thoroughly immersed in conventions. To fully enjoy opera, then, I need to become literate in operatic conventions. In other words, to fully imbibe the pleasures of “total art” and “symbolism,” I will need to learn how to listen, to see and to think---operatically. As I continue to learn from my former-student-now-teacher and friend, I look forward to greater “symbolic pleasures.”

Why we educate...

2010-03-23T19:42:00.003-04:00

"They [universities] are not intended to teach the knowledge required to fit men for some special mode of gaining a livelihood. Their object is not to make skilful lawyers or physicians, but capable and cultivated human beings… Education makes a man a more intelligent shoemaker, but not by teaching him how to make shoes."

– John Stuart Mills discussing the purpose of universities when becoming the rector of St. Andrews University in 1867

(Quote liftted from New Saint Andrews College)

Joshua 3: Holy God, Faithful God

2010-03-19T12:42:00.004-04:00

Holiness matters... God's holiness, and our holiness. In Joshua 3, I examine the Holiness of God as represented by the "Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth" (Jos 3:13). Because He is a Holy God, He can be wholly trusted. Because He is a Holy God, we need to be a holy people. And, because He is a merciful and good God, we can become a holy people---not by the imperfect process of blood sprinkled on the Mercy Seat of the Ark, but by the perfect process of Christ's blood shed for us.

Joshua 2: Faith in the City

2010-03-13T11:51:00.005-05:00

Last Sunday, I preached the second message of a series on the book of Joshua. Rahab, the prostitute from Jericho, is perhaps one of the most remarkable Old Testament persons of faith. She is noted for her faith in the famous Hebrews "chapter of faith" and she is compared to Abraham in the book of James. She is also prominent in the genealogies of both King David and Jesus Christ.

In a pagan city opposed to God, while embroiled in a licentious lifestyle, it is truly remarkable that she acted so courageously on her faith in a relatively "unknown" and "foriegn" God. She heard about God, who He is, what He has done and what He promises to do. Consequently, she became not only a "hearer of God's word", but also an "effectual doer". What made her a woman of faith? Why did she choose to be on the Lord's side?

What can we learn from Rahab to teach us how to live out our faith here and now; how can we, like Rahab, not only believe what God says, but also act on what God says?

Stewardship: Money Matters

2010-02-24T09:44:00.003-05:00

During adult Christian Education at my church, I am running a four-part series on Stewardship. The term is often used in reference to managing our monetary resources. The series, however, will not directly address financial stewardship, but rather focuses on stewardship of our gifts and talents, the environment, the church, and the family. My hope is to encourage a broader application of the concept of stewardship; everything is the Lord’s, not just our pocket books.

In spite of the fact that this series I am teaching doesn’t address financial stewardship, I still believe managing our money is an important issue. The New Testament has a great deal to say about money and how we handle it, so it is an area that deserves attention.

Recently I read a book by Dave Ramsey---the well-known American financial guru---and I was encouraged to pay closer attention to my own financial stewardship. In his book, Ramsey addresses the area of financial literacy. Most Canadians are told how to manage their money by banks, businesses and credit card companies… Ironically, these institutions profit most from their patrons’s financial ignorance. The unified message from all these businesses is that credit, mortgages, car loans, student loans, buy-now-pay-latter schemes are all par for the course. Ramsey questions this assumed wisdom. It is not wisdom; rather, it is money-makers doing profitable business.

As a Christian, I thought I was being pious by disregarding financial issues, believing that spiritual matters are more important. Ramsey helped me realise that I have an obligation to manage properly the financial resources God provides.

Dave Ramsey's book is called The Total Money Makeover. This book was highly recommended by my brother and now I highly recommend it to you. Ramsey’s style is accessible, humorous, Christian, and highly practical. This is no hokey, pyramid-scheme, make-the-author-rich-by-duping-the-reader kind of book. It is a not-so-common sense book that makes a lot of sense!

Check it out if you would like to learn how to manage your money for your profit not the bank’s!

On a somewhat related note (and for a laugh), watch Steve Martin’s SNL mock infomercial, “Don’t buy stuff you cannot afford”

Joshua 1: Fighting Our Fears

2010-02-22T14:31:00.003-05:00

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 (NASB)

So political...

2010-02-02T10:15:00.006-05:00

I recently gave my Classical civilization students a test on Greek philosophy; one of the questions asked, “What does Aristotle mean by the statement, ‘Man by nature is a political animal’”? Answers varied from humans are “aggressive,” “animalistic,” and “survival of the fittest,” to humans are “conniving” and “deceptive”… Thanks to Darwin, democracy, and Spirit of the West, words like “animal” and “political” have far-reaching connotations these days!

What Aristotle really meant is that humans are communal in nature; we are inter-dependent. Personal isolation, according to Aristotle, cannot lead to happiness or fulfilment. This social dimension to our existence necessitates an ordered and governed society. For Aristotle, “good government” should make possible and enable its citizens to pursue lives well-lived, both as individuals and as a collective society.

Now, everything is so political.

How democracy is killing education

2010-01-27T11:00:00.007-05:00

We are post-Cold War, so it is safe to criticise the impact democratic principles have had on various aspects of our culture. I am not a Marxist, nor am I a proponent of any other form of government. To quote Winston Churchill, "democracy is the worst form of government... except all the others..." Democracy is good, but it is not a cure-all.

A few months ago, I read an essay by George Parkin Grant, where he criticized the impact of John Dewey on education. Dewey mandated a homogenization of democracy and education. His ideas laid the foundation for educational philosophy and pedagogy, ideas that have dominated public schools across the continent. George Grant, however, notes that democracy and education are incongruous. In order to provide “education for all” you must operate on a common ground, a common denominator…So, he argues, you end up with the “lowest common denominator”.

Education, however, is about challenging students to higher understanding and garnering the best results from the collective human intellect. One outcome of education is that some individuals will rise above their peers. Not everyone who makes it to “base camp” reaches the summit of Mount Everest. But such a view can be construed as educational elitism, which is not very democratic at all. On a colloquial level, teachers, students, universities and colleges, and employers, all complain about “lowered standards” and the “dumbing down” of curriculum. Articles circulate about our general lack of knowledge, our decreasing vocabulary and limited grammar knowledge, our collective stupidity, and our hubristic stubbornness in rejecting any remedy for these problems. We have “successfully” regressed to the lowest common denominator. We have brought the summit of Everest to base camp. By lowering standards and by removing obstacles, we bolster up some students while we “handicap” others… So long as everyone is either “raised” or “lowered” to the same point, then democracy and equality have prevailed.

Like the boys from Golding’s Lord of the Flies, we assume that democracy “vincit omnia”. In truth, democracy doesn’t conquer all; democracy is only as good as the people who are voting. Admittedly, democracy does work, albeit imperfectly, in the North American political landscape. Does it work in Iraq? Does is work in Afghanistan? Eventually it might. If the people rule, then the people need to know how to rule… hence, the natural pairing of democracy and education. But what has happened in North America has gone beyond “pairing”; democracy and education have been blended and education has been diluted.

The Classical Greek city-state, Athens, was the birthplace of democracy, a democracy that inevitably failed. Democracy failed for a number of reasons, many of which had nothing to do with democratic principles. For example, the experimental and innovative climate of Athens, the intellectual climate that produced democracy, was also a very unstable one. Democracy without “checks and balances” is also very unstable. Nevertheless, the “invention” of political democracy---even in its most rudimentary form in the 5th century BC---is an incredible contribution to Western civilization; but, the failure of that democracy should also be weighed. The politicking and spin-doctoring that plague our current political culture were also plaguing Athens’ political climate. At times, Athens degenerated into legalized mob rule; they democratically sentenced Socrates to death! Socrates! They voted for the foolish and flawed Sicilian campaign during the Peloponnesian war. Politically, they were unified. Naysayers were ostracised or sentenced to death. The lofty ideals that gave birth to democracy were displaced by the lowest common denominator, what they all could agree on.

To unite education and democracy on a philosophical level means the death of one or both. If Socrates---the paragon of teachers, the one who debated, asked pressing questions, challenged the status quo and sought for greater understanding---was rejected by democracy, then why would we think a democratized education could survive?

Reading Tolkien, Reading Reality...

2010-01-12T15:28:00.004-05:00

It had been a number of weeks since I was able to read Fellowship of the Ring to my boys. When we picked it up again last night, I was afraid we wouldn’t be able to get into the story… But by the second sentence, all three of us were engrossed. We last left Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin in Tom Bombadil’s cottage… which is an unusual and seemingly digressive part in the plot and we were even mid-chapter (which is an awful place to resume a book that has collected some dust)… Nothing, however, deterred our immediate reengagement with the story.

Needless to say, I am amazed by the power of Tolkien’s writing. The story resonates with so much realism and truth. Tolkien writes like someone who has not only lived, but also as one who has thought about life and who understands it. Lord of the Rings is truly a remarkable book, probably one of the best books of all time. On my own, I am reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which is an incredibly enthralling story, but it falls far short of the depth and profundity of Tolkien’s tale of hobbits and wizards.

At the heart of Tolkien’s insightfulness is undoubtedly the fact that he is writing from a Christian perspective. He understands the world the way it actually is. Last year I also read Albert Camus’s existentialist novel L’Etrange: in many ways, Camus is attempting to capture the world authentically, dispensing with romantic ideals and unfounded optimism; however, I was unable to relate to the protagonist. Camus’s story, despite being incredibly captivating, fails to depict the real world; rather, it depicts his philosophical beliefs. Lord of the Rings, it could be said, does the same; the only difference is that Tolkien’s philosophical outlook is more consistent with reality.

In the chapters we read together last night, Frodo humbly aspires to be courageous and to lead his merry band of Shire-folk; he does this out of necessity and he often falls short… So, he still needs help, sometimes help from his friends and always help from the Divine, who although remains unnamed, is present in the story. At one point in the story, while in the Barrow-downs, Frodo musters courage to protect his friends from a Barrow-Wight. He resists the temptation to use the ring to disappear and run away, saving himself; instead, he stays and risks his life to save others. He also has the humility to cry out for Tom’s help; miraculously, Tom answers the call and rescues the hobbits from the Barrow-Wight. Frodo’s courage is growing, but he hasn’t arrived yet; before he has the courage to battle his foes, he must first have the courage to overcome his own fears and temptations. How true for us all! All the events of these two chapters paint a beautiful picture of life in this world, albeit not a perfect picture. Frodo’s actions were like a keyhole of light in a dark room; minuscule yes, but in a dark room, a key hole of light is a very beautiful thing indeed. This is the world I live in. This is reality.

Christianity and the Classics

2010-01-11T12:08:00.003-05:00

For a few years I have been teaching a course that examines Classical civilization, from the Mycenaeans to the Romans. The course explores the Greco-Roman world from a number of interconnected perspectives: Mythology, Literature, Philosophy, Religion, Art, Architecture, Archaeology, History, and Geography. I am by trade, a teacher of English literature; taking on a course like “Classical civilization” has required me to do a considerable amount of research. I am still learning new things, even after four years of studying the subject for instructional purposes. They say that a student can learn more by teaching; so, as a teacher of Classical civilization, I have indeed learned a great deal. The most surprising thing I have learned is that studying Greco-Roman world has given fresh insight to my understanding of New Testament Christianity. Tertullian once postulated, “What has Jerusalem to do with Athens?” In other words, what does Christianity have to do with Classical thinking? The rhetorical answer is "nothing". But such an austere view ignores the big picture: Jesus came to the Greco-Roman world, the New Testament is written in the language of the Greco-Roman world, the Apostle Paul ministered to the Greco-Roman world, and the church sprung up in the Greco-Roman world. These are significant factors to consider. In his book, 5 Cities that Ruled the World, Douglas Wilson suggests that---by God’s design---“a certain amount of cross-pollination” occurred between Hebrew thinking and Classical thinking in the forming of Christianity in the first century (81). He qualifies this notion, of course, stating that New Testament Christianity is no syncretism between the God of Abraham and the gods of the Greeks… Citing Romans 11, however, he compares the Kingdom to an olive tree: God grafted Greek gentiles into the Hebraic trunk; the result is a “new kind of olive” (80). The more I study the Classics, the more I realise how much Greco-Roman flavouring has been added to the hearty stew of Christianity. Whatever ingredients God uses for His recipe does not diminish the fact that He is still the chef par excellence!

Reference
Wilson, Douglas. 5 Cities That Ruled the World Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009.

A Messy Reader...

2010-01-06T19:10:00.003-05:00

It is now 2010, and I am reviewing my reading list from 2009. My plan was to read Schaeffer from March 2009 to March 2010... Alas, I have fallen short of my plan to learn at the feet of this spiritual giant.

Here is my list of Schaeffer readings:

- True Spirituality
- Mark of the Christian
- Escape from Reason
- Art and the Bible
- (Biography) Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life (by Colin Duriez)

What else have I been reading?

- This Momentary Marriage by John Piper

- Mindset by Carol Dweck

- L'Etrange by Albert Camus

- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

- The Iliad by Homer (finally finished!)

- Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor

- Jack's Life by Douglas Greshem

What have I started but haven't finished (yet)...?

- The Aeneid by Virgil

- Art for God's Sake by Philip Ryken

- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

- Christian Lover by Michael Haykin

- Five Cities that Ruled the World by Douglas Wilson

- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (with Laurie)

- Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (with the boys)

This last bit, the bit about "books I have started but not finished"... that's the "Messy Reader" bit. I think I have a sickness. This morning I starting reading Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Perhaps the eighth habit might be, read one book at a time and finish it! For the record, I am enjoying all the books I am currently reading.

Should We Celebrate Christmas?

2009-12-20T20:51:00.006-05:00

Tonight I spoke on the question "Should We Celebrate Christmas?" In short, the answer is "yes". There are plenty of good reasons for Christians to celebrate Christmas, and, looking at the shepherds in Luke 2, plenty of good ways to celebrate Christmas.

Jonah: Reluctant Prophet, Persistent Rebel

2009-11-15T12:56:00.004-05:00

This morning I preached a sermon on Jonah 1: Reluctant Prophet, Persistent Rebel. The key questions I focused on are, do you love your enemies? and do you love your neighbours? Jonah refused to love his enemies (Nineveh) and he overlooked his neighbour (sailors), and so he missed out on the blessings of miraculously successful evangelism (Nineveh) and reaping a full harvest while the field was ripe (sailors).

Harry Chapin on ballad music

2009-11-06T15:31:00.006-05:00

A student recently reintroduced me to the music of Harry Chapin. So I have been listening to several of his songs lately, many of which I had never heard before. To him, life is a story that needs to be told. One of the best ways to tell a story is with a tune. He once said, "Because a song don't have much meaning... when it don't have nothing to say." As an English teacher, I frown on the double negative, but in his colloquial way, he makes a great point. In a meaning-starved world, it is refreshing to listen to a modern musician that still had something to say. Chapin was a remnant of the true minstrels from days long since past. Anyway, below is his live performance of one his his most famous songs, "Cat's in the Cradle". His style is folksy, his poetry is vernacular, yet his stories are enthralling.

Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor

2009-10-13T13:59:00.008-04:00

This weekend I read Flannery O’Connor’s novella Wise Blood. I hadn’t read O’Connor for a few years, and I felt like I needed a break from Virgil and Schaeffer, my two staples as of late. Picking up O’Connor again, reminded me of the perceptivity of her writing. Her style is accessible and engaging and her characters are palpable albeit grotesque; yet most compelling is her insightful portrayal of reality, which is both comical and accurate.

In Wise Blood, the main character—Hazel Motes—is attempting to deal with the problem of sin and redemption by denying the existence of sin and the soul altogether. In his spiritual quest to deny spiritual needs, he ends up preaching a “new” gospel: the Church without Christ. His effort to find freedom from sin by denying “sin” results in a false conception of the real world, a world which is rank with sin.

In the novella, a small demonstration of this impractical relativism can be seen in O’Connor’s symbolic use of Haze’s automobile. The “rat-colored car” is an unreliable lemon he purchased for $50 at a shady used-car-dealership. Haze refuses to believe the truth about his car: i.e., it is a pile a junk. Below is a comical demonstration of ridiculous relativism. (Excerpt from Wise Blood, by Flannery O’Connor)

Haze had driven his car immediately to the nearest garage where a man with black bangs and a short expressionless face had come out to wait on him. He told the man he wanted the horn made to blow and the leaks taken out of the gas tank, the starter made to work smoother and the windshield wipers tightened. The man lifted the hood and glanced inside and then shut it again. Then he walked around the car, stopping to lean on it here and there, and thumping it in one place and another. Haze asked him how long it would take to put it in the best order.

“It can’t be done,” the man said.

“This is a good car,” Haze said. “I knew it when I first saw it that this car was for me, and since I’ve had it, I’ve had a place to be that I can always get away in.”

“Was you going some place in this?” the man asked.

“To another garage,” Haze said, and he got into his Essex and drove off. At the other garage he went to, there was a man who said he could put the car in the best shape overnight, because it was such a good car to begin with, so well put together and with such good materials in it, and because, he added, he was the best mechanic in town, working in the best-equipped shop. Haze left it with him, certain that it was in honest hands.

After the car is “fixed” it continues to be an unreliable clunker. Like Haze, the car was in need of a radical redemption, a recreation, a rebirth. Haze’s refusal to believe in spiritual redemption translated into his refusal to believe the automobile needed “redemption”, a “salvation”. He kept searching for a “truth” he could believe in, a “truth” that corroborated his fixed mindset. The real truth of the first mechanic’s appraisal remained constant throughout the story, despite the contrary opinion of the rip-off artist at the second garage.

Wise Blood, although at times grim and gritty, is a weighty and philosophical book. All of O’Connor’s stories are chalk full of humorous yet profound anecdotal and symbolic vignettes, which illustrate the powerful role of redemptive grace in the real world. More Christians ought to read her work. Her short stories, in particular, are the best I have ever read. As one Christian writer states, allusions to O’Connor’s writing should be a common currency among Christians. Next time I allude to Haze’s “high rat-colored car”, you will know what I mean.

Autumn in Algonquin

2009-10-05T21:11:00.008-04:00

I spent the weekend canoe tripping in Algonquin with students from my school. It was cold and rainy, but the autumn colours were glorious.

Little Women... Big Musical

2009-09-29T19:16:00.003-04:00

Rehearsals are now underway for my school's holiday musical extravaganza, Little Women, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). I am directing a stellar cast of talented young women and young men, and I am working with a very gifted director of music. This is my second foray into the world of directing musicals (my first experience was in 2008 directing The Sound of Music). I use the word "foray" because I feel like I am entering someone else's territory and taking spoils. When I was a high school student, I was never involved with the theatre productions at my school. Of course, they used to put on plays like Oedipus Rex and Flowers for Algernon... 'Nuff said.

Little Women The Musical is a fairly new Broadway production, premiering in 2005. The musical, however, is solidly rooted in the classic story by Alcott. The script also appropriately balances drama and humour and the musical numbers are surprisingly delightful. I am surprised because "21st century" and "delightful" rarely go together. Yet, every time I get fed up with the tidal wave of ugly art and post-modern doggerel flooding the creative world, I am pleasantly startled by something beautiful and good. Unfortunately, I find these occasional "roses among thorns" almost exclusively in popular media... e.g., musicals and Hollywood films. Perhaps there is hope in the masses, people made in the image of God, who still prefer truth, beauty and goodness.

This musical is by no means deep or profound; no musical ever is deep or profound. But it is not shallow and meaningless either, which is often the case with the high art one might see at the Toronto Film Festival. So, what is it? It IS delightful.

The Great Conversation blogspot

2009-09-23T13:37:00.007-04:00

I have launched a "commonplace blog" for one of the courses I teach. The blog is called The Great Conversation. The course I teach is Classical Civilization, a senior course focusing on the literature, philosophy, culture and history of the Greco-Roman world.

A commonplace blog and a Well Educated Mind

My students are collecting from their readings any interesting, pithy, thought-provoking quotations/excerpts and posting them to the blog. Some posts are simple quotations; some posts will include commentary, analysis and reflection. My hope is that my students will do more than "read" the assigned texts; my hope is that they will take in, interact with and learn from the texts we are studying.

The idea to create a "commonplace blog" came from reading The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer (2003). In the book, Bauer writes about commonplace books, books where readers would gather and collect quotations from what they were reading. It serves as a record of some one's intellectual journey through collected passages from his readings. Below is an explanation of the origin and methods of keeping commonplace books:

“Time was when readers kept commonplace books. Whenever they came across a pithy passage, they copied it into a notebook under an appropriate heading, adding observations made in the course of daily life. Erasmus instructed them how to do it… The practice spread everywhere in early modern England, among ordinary readers as well as famous writers like Francis Bacon, Ben Jonson, John Milton, and John Locke. It involved a special way of taking in the printed word. Unlike modern readers, who follow the flow of a narrative from beginning to end, early modern Englishmen read in fits and starts and jumped from book to book. They broke texts into fragments and assembled them into new patterns by transcribing them in different sections of their notebooks. Then they reread the copies and rearranged the patterns while adding more excerpts. Reading and writing were therefore inseparable activities. They belonged to a continuous effort to make sense of things, for the world was full of signs: you could read your way through it; and by keeping an account of your readings, you made a book of your own, one stamped with your personality. . . . The era of the commonplace book reached its peak in the late Renaissance, although commonplacing as a practice probably began in the twelfth century and remained widespread among the Victorians. It disappeared long before the advent of the sound bite.”

—Robert Darnton, “Extraordinary Commonplaces,”
The New York Review of Books, December 21, 2000

The Great Conversation

My plan is for the creation of a class set of collected quotations and commentary, posted in the blogsphere. Students will listen in and contribute to the Great Conversation---that is, three millenia of writing, discussion and thinking about the ideas and values that have shaped Classical and Western civilizations. Collectively, we can chart our intellectual growth and changing perspectives as a class.

Why Blog?

Blogging adds a public and communal aspect to the commonplace book; students can read and comment on each other's thoughts, positions and opinions. Students are exposed to varying perspectives on the same texts they have also read. Blogging also adds a "published" aspect to writing. Students need to organize their thoughts in a way that can be understood. They are writing for an audience. They must adhere to the conventions of grammar, spelling and vocabulary. This is not always done perfectly... but the students are no longer writing for a mark. They are writing to communicate to other people, in their class and in cyberspace.

At L’Abri: A Personal God

2009-09-19T12:59:00.006-04:00

Several months ago, I began a series of blogs entitled, At L’Abri: Learning from Francis Schaeffer. My plan was (and is) to read as much of Schaeffer’s writings as possible in one year. My hope was to read Schaeffer exclusively, but alas, that has not been the case entirely. A few other books have crept in... However, of (or on) Schaeffer, I have read the following:

Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life by Duriez (biography)
True Spirituality
Mark of a Christian
Art and the Bible

I am currently reading Escape from Reason and my church is going through Schaeffer’s How Then Shall We Live film series.

What I have been meaning to do for quite some time is blogpost about some of the nuggets of wisdom I have been mining from the mind of Schaeffer; and, there have been plenty of precious nuggets along the way so far.

Let me offer one nugget Schaeffer repeatedly stresses: our God is a personal God, who knows and deals with us personally, intimately and individually.

The power of this point has become increasingly clear both from my reading of Schaeffer and from my study of other faiths. I am presently teaching an Apologetics course during our Christian Education hour at my church. The series is focused on World Religions. As I have been preparing for this course, I have been struck by the vision of god (or gods, or supreme entities, supernatural force, etc), which so many religions in the world cling to. The vision is of an impersonal, aloof “power”, which lacks personality and which has little (or no) specific interest in the affairs of individual human beings. What a contrast to the infinite, personal God---the God of the Bible---who is not only infinitely interested in human beings, but also interested in individual people. He knows me better than I know myself. He loves me; He died for me. He works in me. His dealings are not general, but specific. He deals with me personally.

“How beautiful Christianity is---first, because of the sparkling quality of its intellectual answers, but second, because of the beautiful quality of its human and personal answers. And these are to be rich and beautiful… But these human and personal answers do not come mechanically after we are Christians. They come only on the level of what God made us to be in the first place, and that is personal. There is no other way to have beautiful answers.” True Spirituality

Imagining Reality: Hamlet

2009-09-03T21:25:00.007-04:00

The central reason for Shakespeare’s continued appeal over the last four centuries is his ability to depict reality, to give a true portrait of the real universe we inhabit. In particular, Shakespeare gives us insight into the human condition. It is important to note that Shakespeare’s portrayal of reality is not banal like so-called “reality” TV---dull, predictable, meaningless and crass. Rather, Shakespeare's portrayal of reality is rich, textured and at times, sharply perceptive and deeply painful. This portrayal of reality is often lost by modern audiences because of the poetic depiction. Indeed, I have never met three, bearded witches in the Scottish highlands nor have I been caught in the midst of a bloody family feud in fair Verona. But poetry is often a better venue for communicating the intangible realities of life in this universe.

Such is the case for prisoners at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center. For the prisoners, the reality of Hamlet was both remarkably real in a literal sense and poetic sense. Recently, my brother sent me an article by Jill Carattini (Ravi Zacharias International Ministries) where she cites a performance of Hamlet, which was performed at this correctional facility (1):

“…For a group of prisoners at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center, Hamlet, both the man and the play, hit disruptively home. Over the course of six months, a prison performing arts program gave a handful of criminals, who are living out the consequences of their violent crimes, the chance to delve into a story about a man pondering a violent crime and its consequences. The result was a startling encounter for both the players, most of whom were new to Shakespeare, and the instructors, who long thought they knew every angle to Shakespeare’s tale, but came to see how much they had missed. One man, in order to play the character Laertes, found himself reckoning with the temptation to manipulate as a means of getting what you want, only to realize a kind of cowardice in such actions. In a moment of clarity through the life of another, he admits, ‘I can identify with that [struggle] and I can play that role very well—because I’ve been playing that role my whole life....To put a gun in somebody’s face—that’s an unfair advantage. That’s a cowardly act. And that’s what criminals are; we’re cowards.’ He then admits with striking transparency, ‘I am Laertes. I am. I am.’”

What struck me most powerfully about this story is how a “fictional character” impressed upon the convict’s heart the true nature of his actions and his crimes… All the legal statements and court proceedings, media articles, victim impact statements---even a cold, hard prison cell---failed to show him the deep, cowardly reality of his crime. It took a story, a four hundred year old story, to awaken his soul and his mind to reality.

This event reminded me of the prophet Nathan when he told a story to David. It was a parable that David took literally; David's reaction was outrage and cries for justice, until Nathan said, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12). David failed to see the wickedness of his adultery and his scheme of murder until confronted with a story. Even in Hamlet, the pensive prince uses drama to elicit the guilt of the murderous brother Claudius: “the play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” (II.ii). Claudius couldn’t help but react when confronted with the reality of his crimes through imaginative storytelling.

This is why God created humanity with an imagination---not to waste on wishful thinking or empty dreaming---but to gain a clearer picture of reality. Carattini continues in her article to comment on Jesus’ use of story. She writes, “Jesus places us beside images of a kingdom that turns things around, stories that shock and offend us, metaphors that wake us to the presence of a surprising God, to the mindsets and pieties that block us from seeing this God, and to the abundance of divine grace that beckons us to look again and again.” May you exercise your imagination when you read Shakespeare and when you read the Scriptures. Awaken your mind to the poetry, the imagery, not for art’s sake but for Christ’s. Don’t forget to imagine.

(1) As heard on This American Life with Ira Glass, 218: Act V, October 12, 2007.

This Momentary Marriage...

2009-08-26T10:38:00.006-04:00

When I was newly engaged and then newly married, I read half a dozen books on marriage. Now that I am 12 years into marriage, I assumed I had a good handle on this marriage thing. Hmmm…

Recently, a single friend of mine gave me a book called This Momentary Marriage by John Piper. Odd title, I thought. When I read the book, I realized that I still have much to learn about marriage. This book is not a “how to have a happy marriage” guide but rather, how to be married as God intended. What is the difference? The priority in marriage is on demonstrating Christ’s permanent love for His church TO the church and TO the world. Piper writes, “I pray that we will all recognize the deepest and highest meaning of marriage---not sexual intimacy, as good as that is, not friendship, or mutual helpfulness, or childbearing, or child-rearing, but flesh-and-blood display in the world of the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his church” (175). The focus is not on our happiness, but the glory of Christ. Marriage is a “parable of permanence”---that is, a temporary illustration (“until death do us part”) of the real, lasting union between Christ and His church. In glory, there will be no marriage, no husbands and wives, only THE Husband and His wife, the church.

John Piper has a tendency to turn my thinking upside down on just about every topic he writes or speaks about. Piper has been married 40 years, and yet the heart of his marital wisdom is not from his experience with his wife Noël, but rather, the truth of the gospel. So, Piper focuses my attention---rightly---on Christ. My marriage is not for my benefit, but for God’s purpose. Granted, marriage IS beneficial to husbands and wives, children and society. But, that is not why we get married and stay married.

This is a book written to the church, not to married couples. So, this is a book newlyweds and seasoned marrieds should read. This is a book that singles should read. This is a book that widows and widowers should read. This is a book that divorced people should read. This is a book that parents, grandparents and non-parents should read.

The church has much to learn on this subject, especially in a day and age where four out of ten marriages end in divorce and many weddings have become a self-indulgent and hyped-up prom. Reviewer Wayne Grudem writes, “I have taught about marriage for over thirty years, and I still found much that I could learn.” This is one of the best books on marriage I have ever read.

Piper, John. This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence. Crossway: Wheaton, 2009.

Coffee Wars

2009-08-17T09:46:00.004-04:00

Tim Horton's was the genesis of my coffee drinking. In my earliest days of imbibing of the "coffee bean" nectar, I ordered the "double double". As my palate matured, I moved to just one cream. Despite the history I have with Tim's, I have since converted to Starbuck's coffee. I realize that Tim's is a national institution, and I admire the way Tim's brings people together to talk. There is always a hum of chatter when I go into a Tim's. People always hold doors open. People are friendly and familiar. For some, Tim's is like Boston's "Cheers" or an old English pub, where "everyone knows your name."

But, I find that the coffee is too bitter. Very few people actually drink Tim's coffee "black"---it seems to need double cream, double sugar... or, I frequently hear, "triple triple".

Starbuck's coffee is, in my humble estimation, the best coffee available. It tastes authentic. Authenticity is hard to come by these days. The only problem with Starbuck's is the associated "snobby" image. I often see people sitting alone, peering into laptop screens, marking papers or reading books. No hum of chattering people, just softly playing jazz music in the background and the occasional squeak of bottoms on plush leather seats. The clientele seems elevated and superior. Not that BMWs can't be seen in Tim's drive-thrus, or that Chevys aren't seen at Starbuck's parking lots... it is just a general impression one gets. Starbuck's is for the elite; Tim's is for the common man. So, even though I prefer the common man venue of Tim's, I have a greater preference for Starbuck's coffee.

To add to the dilemma, however, is McDonald's. Here you will find very inexpensive coffee. In fact, I ordered a huge coffee and a muffin this morning for $1.93 (tax incl.). To make matters worse, the coffee is superb. I am not sure how authentic it is... (with McDonald's, no one can be certain what you are eating or drinking) ...but, it tastes almost as good as Starbuck's coffee.

In addition, the cup is well designed. It has an extra paper layer surrounding the cup, providing insulation for your hand and the coffee is hot to the last drop. My Tim's coffee is always too hot at first and then gets cold near the end. Not so with McDonald's coffee. The lid is large, like Starbuck's lids, but it has a convenient lift-tab over the hole, that actually stays open when you press it back. I find that Tim's lid tabs sometimes fail to stay open. You know what I am talking about. Most embarrassing. Everyone around you acts like an expert because everyone has had a million cups of Tim's coffee in their lifetime and have had relatively few problems. Even so, one in a hundred lids seems to malfunction. Inevitably, I tear the tab off and I am stuck with a sharp plastic bit digging into my lid. McDonald's design, on-the-other-hand, is made for the customer's supreme enjoyment. The high lid also means that your lips press against the rounded drinking hole rather then against the paper cup (a la Tim's). This is usually not a major problem, unless the Tim's employee places the lid opening over the cup-seam. You know what I am talking about. Your lip doesn't seal properly to the cup because of the seam and you dribble coffee on your shirt. Another problem with the Tim's lid is the "overfilled cup." I have spilt coffee on a number of occasions because of overfilled Tim's. This never happens at Mc'D's because of the high lid, and Starbuck's always asks "room for cream?", so they leave appropriate space.

In the end, I make coffee at home more often than not. It is cheaper and porcelain cups make the coffee tastes a whole lot better. I must add that I still go to Tim's occasionally. Canadian identity has a fragile existence, and a coffee shop founded right here in Hamilton by a hockey player is too Canadian to pass up. Besides, the doughnuts are excellent bar-none.

Canoeing in Killarney

2009-08-12T19:12:00.004-04:00

I have heard Killarney Provincial Park described as the jewel of Ontario's parks. Now that my son and I had a chance to visit Killarney last week, I have to agree. I was impressed by the rugged, natural-beauty of the the park. The first lake we canoed was Bell Lake; it was calm, glass-like and gorgeous. The portages were deserted and our campsite on Johnnie Lake felt remote and tranquil. We had a gorgeous little beach at the mouth of out site and we had a wonderful view of the setting sun.

We did not see any wild life, which gave me the authentic sense that we were truly in the wilderness. Bill Mason, the legendary Canadian outdoorsman, always said that seeing wild animals in the wild is actually very rare. He ought to know.

It was wonderful to be out with my oldest son, exploring new territory and discovering for ourselves the "jewel of Ontario Parks!"

Papa and Nate Go Canoeing

2009-07-31T15:41:00.007-04:00

Nate leading the canoe over shallow waters.

Almost a decade ago, I attended a seminar presentation on planning a father-and-son canoe trip. Led by my friend Mike and his son Ben, they gave testimonies of their experiences while canoeing together in the Canadian wilderness. I have never forgotten the impact "canoe tripping with dad" can have on a son (or daughter). So, when my oldest son turned 8, we had our first trip. It was a truly unforgettable experience. We have since been on one other trip and we are planning our third to Killarney this summer. Now that my second son, Nate, has turned 8, his turn has also come. We went to Algonquin Park this week for our first father-and-son canoe trip. We have been camping together since he was five, but this was his first wilderness expedition with me. We canoed 12 km into the interior of Algonquin Park. We camped on a small island overlooking a cove filled with loons, wood ducks and a blue heron. Despite some rain, we had a marvellous time. We also saw three moose during our trip, two of which swam to our island in the wee hours of the morning.

A moose just a stone's throw from our tent.

In addition to discovering (firsthand!) the beautiful wonders of God's creation, the greatest blessing is the opportunity to spend a lot of time with my son. I hope to learn more about who my son is, and who he is becoming. I also pray that he will witness authentic Christianity by spending every waking (and sleeping) moment with me.

So much wilderness, so little time.

Scout and Jem Go Camping

2009-07-25T21:49:00.004-04:00

I just returned from my first "father-daughter" camping trip with my 5 year old Katie. We camped at Rock Point Provincial Park. It rained nearly the entire time, the tent was leaky, and the site was covered with muck, water, and mucky water.

While trapped in our tent on the first day, my sweat-pea said, "I really like camping with Papa."

After the first wet night, I was ready to pack it in and go to McDonald's for breaky. She persevered in persuading me to stick it out; so, I cooked on the Coleman under an umbrella and we ate breakfast sheltered by the back-hatch of the van.

She even wanted to stay another day.

Best part of camping? Scout replies, "Being allowed to run through puddles." We had plenty of puddles to spare this trip.

At L’Abri: The Spirituality of Schaeffer

2009-07-06T12:29:00.007-04:00

Last night, I gave a message on the life and spirituality of Francis A. Schaeffer at Pilgrim Baptist Fellowship in Ancaster. Below is the link to the message.

“How beautiful Christianity is---first because of the sparkling quality of its intellectual answers, but secondly because of the beautiful quality of its human and personal answers.”

---Francis A. Schaeffer, True Spirituality

Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band

2009-06-11T08:28:00.004-04:00

Here is a song from one of my favourite British folk bands. This is an absolutely beautiful Christmas tune... (I know, it's only June...)

English expands to a million words today

2009-06-10T12:27:00.000-04:00

George Parkin Grant on Education: Teaching "purpose", teaching "wisdom"

2009-06-08T22:52:00.008-04:00

This evening, I briefly paused from grading examination papers, and I picked up a book I recently borrowed from the library. It is a collection of philosophical essays by George Parkin Grant. Here is an excerpt that struck me.

Reason is at first only present in us potentially and not actually. It needs to be developed, and developed by education. Education is seen as the process by which a person comes to think clearly about the proper purposes of human life. (How different this is from our modern technical education which is simply concerned with teaching people how to get on, never teaching them where they are getting to.) In the old theory of education, when a man began to see what was the ultimate purpose of human life, he was said to be wise---to have the virtue of wisdom. Wisdom was then the purpose of education. It was the condition which men reached through reason, as they came to know what were the purposes in human life truly worthy of a rational soul.

George Parkin Grant “Natural Law” Philosophy in the Mass Age, 1959

At L'Abri: Mercy for Doubters

2009-05-25T09:36:00.004-04:00

When I read Colin Duriez’s biography of Francis Schaeffer, a number of things struck me about the life of this extraordinary man: I was impressed by his intellectual devotion to orthodox and reformation theology and his sincerity in evangelism and ministry. What struck me most, however, was the impact Schaeffer had on doubters and agnostics; the impact stems from Schaeffer’s commitment to the historical reality of the Christian faith in the past, future and PRESENT. Throughout Schaeffer’s ministry, he emphasized the reality of Christianity in time and space, not merely intellectual propositions, but true, tangible reality.

He came to understand this reality during the period in Schaeffer’s life that he referred to as the crisis. In 1955, Schaeffer was serving as a missionary while living with his wife and family in Switzerland. He was struck by the incongruity between the power spoken of in the Scriptures the lack of power experienced in his own Christian life. He was also distressed by the seeming impotence of the Christian church in general. Despite the devotion to truth and doctrine, the most disturbing observation Schaeffer made about Christianity was the lack of love shown by many professing believers for each other and for the lost. It seemed to him that intellectual ascent to purity of doctrine did not—by mere default—lead to God honouring lives in practice. Something more is needed. If the Bible is true, then it must be true in reality, not just in the realm of the abstract. The Bible speaks of “power” in the lives of believers, but why was there so little power evident in real life? He spent many months hiking the roads and trails in the Swiss Alps, as well as pacing the upper floor hay loft of his chalet, pondering the reality of Christianity. He returned to a state of agnosticism. Edith was distressed by this, but she prayed fervently for her husband during his time of doubt.

Thankfully he came out of this period of doubt with a deeper understanding of Truth. After reflecting on Christianity, he concluded that it is truth; what he also discovered was the reality of this truth. Christianity is more than doctrine, intellectual suppositions, theological musings… it is reality…. Later in Schaeffer’s ministry, his own experience of honest doubt would make him well suited in addressing---with compassion and love---the doubts of hundreds of Christians and non-Christians who would visit L’Abri. In Jude, Paul writes, “Be merciful to doubters”---this verse encapsulates Schaeffer’s ministry. It calls to mind the way Christ handled Thomas’s doubt---with compassionate but unwavering truth, real truth, truth in space and time, truth in the PRESENT---“Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” This is how Schaeffer spoke to the doubts of so many people. He compels people to come to terms with the historical, future and present reality of God in the universe. Christianity is not just a philosophy, a moral compass or a collection of “good ideas” to guide us through life. God is real in space and time and His power and presence can be experienced in space and time.

When I pondered the impact Schaeffer had on doubters, I became aware of how little the evangelical church openly addresses doubt. Doubt is certainly something we must overcome, but in order to do so, doubt should not be ignored; doubt must be addressed, prayed about and preached on. It takes faith to address doubt; we need to believe that God will answer doubters. Even though Christians may question their faith, He will not remain silent. The end result is always a deeper faith.

Schaeffer’s thoughts on spirituality materialized in a series of talks centred on the Book of Romans. He shared these reflections with the many visitors who came to L’Abri. Later, he organized the talks into a taped lecture series, and eventually, a published book entitled, True Spirituality. Although this book was published later in his ministry, the ideas in it form the heart of his work and the raison d’etre for L’Abri. For those interested in discovering the writings and thought of Francis Schaeffer, this book is an excellent place to start.

Abortion is still an issue

2009-05-22T10:52:00.005-04:00

A student recently sent me this YouTube clip; it is an excerpt from a sermon by John Piper. I am reminded that Christians cannot remain silent about the millions of unborn children who have perished in Canada and the US since the decriminalization of abortion. Abortion is still an issue. Abortion is still wrong.

Teaching 21st Century Novels

2009-05-14T10:17:00.006-04:00

I just finished a novel that I was previewing as a possible text to teach next year. It is called, Water for Elephants. It is a New York Times best seller and was highly recommended by a number of avid readers. In the past, I have taught The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Old School by Tobias Wolff. I make a point to include 21st century novels on my reading list for Senior English, but alas, I am often disappointed with the trite, anachronistic, and unauthentic content of post-modern literature. Protagonists are spineless at the beginning, and they remain spineless at the end. They resolve the crisis of their "spinelessness" by simply embracing it. They lack moral fortitude when it comes to the “conventional” morality, but they are stalwart defenders of political correctness. Water for Elephants was no different. The captions on the cover say things like, “I couldn’t put it down for one minute.” I must admit, there were times I couldn’t pick it up… even for a minute. The novel is set during the Great Depression. It begins with a slighty contrived crisis in the life of a young man about to graduate from Veterinary program at Cornell. His parents are suddenly killed in a freak car accident and he is left penniless because the bank---unflinchingly---foreclosed on his entire inheritance. So, he runs off with the circus… (I know… THE CIRCUS…?). In truth, that is the most interesting part. The author researched extensively the American travelling circus in the twenties and thirties. The circus is a fresh and interesting setting, full of possibilities for examining the strange and bizarre behaviour of human beings---both those who go to the circus, and also those who run a circus. Unfortunately, the author fails to develop, with any authenticity, a single believable human being in the story.

The protagonist, Jacob, was a man ahead of his time... Way ahead. In fact, it seemed as though he just entered a Vancouver Star Buck’s and was inadvertently sucked into a trans-temporal worm hole, thrusting him into the previous century. I may have bought into the tribute to post-modern relativism and egalitarianism if I could have seen some growth in the character caused by relevant experiences. The novel begins like a Bildungsroman, but the protagonist never really comes-of-age. His character is static---other than loosing his virginity; he doesn’t really learn anything or change. Even when the novel alternatively flips from the 1920s circus to a 21st century nursing home, we see no real growth in the elderly Jacob compared to the youthful Jacob. And, as a result, the reader experiences no growth either; we are simply served up another helping of the bland post-modern, 21st century tofu and rice cakes we get from media like un-real "reality" TV.

Political correctness seems to be the backbone of the novel. The most glaring anachronism is the fact that the protagonist is innately unprejudiced toward people groups who have been historically discriminated against: women, prostitutes, Jews, short people, stout people, labourers/working class, and so on. No classicism and no prejudice. I am not upset with the values he holds; however, as a reader, I am disappointed with the unjustified presence of late 20th century values. His resolution to adhere to political correctness (while still damning the sinister bourgeois) comes without any catalyst. In contrast, Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, demonstrates the reality of how values are formed; Huck undergoes conflicts between experiences, his conscience and external pressures. Through a series of incidents and personal struggles, Huck eventually overcomes the social and societal prejudices instilled in him and he realises that Jim is truly human being… truly the best of men. In Gruen’s novel, however, the protagonist starts the novel fully acclimatised to modern values. He is an egalitarian who has more in common with the likeminded working class than he has with upper management of the circus. The irony is, of course, he comes from an upper middle class family (his father is a veterinarian) and he attended a veterinary program at Cornell. While rubbing shoulders with the elite at Cornell, in a professional program, with peers who are rich enough to be studying at a prestigious school during a depression… it is unlikely he would be sympathetic to the poor, working class. Yet, lo and behold, when he finally meets poor, working class people, it turns out they are all decent people. Even the “rough” security personnel do their job reluctantly. I also get the impression that Jacob is a feminist (who although tempted to objectify women, resolves—inexplicably in the novel—to treat women with equality and respect); in addition, he is an animal activist, engineer of social welfare and a moral relativist. Very modern indeed. I am surprised Jacob isn’t also a vegetarian who decries the amount of garbage the circus creates. That would be going too far, perhaps. In the ending of the novel, Jacob takes on a very 21st century demeanour when he refuses to grow up (even though he is now 93 years old) and he opts [spoiler] ...to run away with the circus... again.

What I did like about the novel is the vocabulary. Gruen has clearly researched the vernacular of the circus and she uses vivid precision in her diction. At times, though, it seemed she was using a thesaurus too often, when simpler words would do, in an effort to present a high-brow façade to divert the reader’s attention from the contrived storyline: an orphaned veterinarian running off with the circus, falling in love with a show girl who is already married to a mean and nasty man, and ending up adopting a pet elephant, marrying the girl and working at a zoo. I am very surprised the publishers accepted this pitch. A vet, the circus, an elephant and a happy ending… perhaps they were confusing the pitch with a James Harriot novel.

After finishing the novel, I turned back to Homer’s The Iliad to finally draw to a close my reading of this epic poem. It was like going from a lunch of instant microwavable mac ‘n cheese and no-name pizza pops to an evening dinner of steak, baked potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and red wine. Why can’t we write stories like Homer anymore?

At L'Abri: Schaeffer for Today

2009-05-06T15:51:00.002-04:00

I recently read Colin Duriez’s biography of Francis Schaeffer (Francis Schaeffer: An Authenitc Life). In the preface he states that his biography is the first comprehension survey of Schaeffer’s life. Providentially, it was published last year, just as I planned to explore the works of Schaeffer.

Many Christians I have spoken with have never heard of Schaeffer; I find this fact bewildering. Granted, I first heard of Schaeffer when I was 18 years old, but it wasn’t until years later that I heard more about Schaeffer during an Apologetics course. The appearance of Duriez’s book is timely, then, in reviving interest in the contributions and thought of Francis Schaeffer. Duriez is already well known among Tolkien and C.S. Lewis fans. Duriez’s biography of Schaeffer will no doubt segue the 21st century reader to Schaeffer’s works, especially for those readers already familiar with Duriez’s contributions on Lewis and Tolkien. There is a need to bridge the gap for many Christians who have not read or heard about Schaeffer. His insights on the state of the world at the end of the 20th century is even more relevant today, as much of his “prophesies” about the coming decline of Western civilization is a striking reality in the 21st century.

His name was first mentioned to me by a Youth Pastor, Calvin Russell, who was giving me some tips on an up-and-coming backpacking tour of Europe I was planning for the fall of 1994. Russell recommended that I stop by L’Abri in Switzerland. As it turned out, I only made it to Geneva during my three month, eleven country tour of the old country. For whatever reason, the Lord did not lead me to L’Abri that year. Now, fifteen years later, I am encountering Schaeffer. The timing couldn’t be better.

I am currently reading True Spirituality. I hope to post a little about Duriez’s biography on Schaeffer and explain why I am starting with True Spirituality.

At L'Abri: Francis Schaeffer on Education

2009-04-21T17:17:00.006-04:00

I recently read an article taken from a speech by Francis Schaeffer where he addresses education. As I read the article, I began to realize how much I have allowed secular humanism to creep through the backdoor of policy and curriculum into my teaching-practice as an educator. The heart of the matter is understanding reality, the reality of our students and the reality of the world our students need to learn about. The clarity with which we understand reality is determined by our worldview. One of the fundamental messages from the works of Schaeffer is that worldview matters. Nowhere is the clash between worldviews more evident than in education.

Christian Education recognizes fallen humanity

The secular approach to education begins with an unreal notion of the human condition of its students. This is why so many teachers at all levels of education are bewildered by student apathy, disrespect, slothfulness and dishonesty. Policy and program is mandated to remove consequence, to encourage egalitarian (and anti-authority) levelings and to molly-coddle students’ emotional whims and self-indulgent habits. I am beginning to sound like a curmudgeon, but I don’t think I am exaggerating. Anecdotal evidence corroborates my assessment. In an article by Margaret Wente from The Globe and Mail (April 18, 2009), she cites a number of professors, principals and teachers with similar observations. She writes “The teacher’s job is no longer to educate them up to a certain standard but to ‘meet their needs.’” At the heart of human sin is self-centredness. Educational policy-makers and curriculum-writers placate this human tendency of our fallen nature to be heliocentric.

The Bible is clear that pride is self-destructive, yet modern education is designed to inflate student ego and self-esteem. Wente laments, “no one has ever given them an accurate assessment of their skills.” She writes, “the biggest problem is the mismatch between students’ abilities and their aspirations.”

Christian Education should be a superior education

In Schaeffer’s speech, he articulates some of the distinct qualities of good education, particularly Christian education. Whether you homeschool or send your children to Christian schools, Schaeffer’s comments apply. He states that Christian education should be more than reactionary to the “materialist view… that rules out a Creator”. Many Christian parents withdraw their children from public education in order to shelter them or protect them from humanistic and secular indoctrination. These are good reasons to seek education for your children elsewhere, but the alternative needs to be more than an intransigent rejection of public education. Schaeffer writes, “[Christian education] should be a superior education, if you are going to really protect the Christian school. It should certainly teach the students how to read and write and how to do mathematics better than most public schools enjoy today.” The end result of Christian education should be truly intelligent, well-trained and intellectually challenged graduates. Why? For the glory of the Creator. The Head Master of Bradford Academy, a classical Christian school in North Carolina, writes “We believe the glory of God encompasses all of life and how we live it. We want our students to live and think about life in such a way that God is glorified in all things.” (Johnston)

Christian Education should address all human knowledge

Schaeffer continues, “Christian education should produce students more educated in the totality of knowledge, culture and life, than non-Christian education rooted in a false view of truth. The Christian education should end with a better educated boy and girl and man and woman, than the false could ever produce.” For Schaeffer, Christian education means that students learn to appreciate and learn about “the full scope of human learning.” This includes the arts and humanities, which has recently fallen out of favour in modern approaches to education, including Christian education. Art, music and literature doesn’t seem to have a place in Christian learning. But Schaeffer forces argues the opposite. “If the Judeo-Christian position is the truth of all reality, and-it is, then all the disciplines, and very much including a knowledge of, and I would repeat, an appreciation of, the humanities and the arts are a part of Christian education. Some Christians seem absolutely blind at this point.”

Teaching about the Christian faith should not be compartmentalized from all other aspects of student learning. I have learned this from Schaeffer as well. The Lordship of Christ covers all areas of life.

Total Truth and the Educated Person

Schaeffer gives an imperative for educators to expose our students to “the framework or total truth, rooted in the Creator's existence and in the Bible's teaching, so that in each step of the formal learning process the student will understand what is true and what is false and why it is true or false.” Education in this country will never improve until it reconciles itself to the reality of the Creator.

"Is life dull? How can it be dull? No, a true education, a Christian education, is more than the negative, though that is there. It is giving the tools in the opening the doors to all human knowledge, in the Christian framework so they will know what is truth and what is untruth, so they can keep learning as long as they live, and they can enjoy, they can really enjoy, the whole wrestling through field after field of knowledge. That is what an educated person is."

Francis A. Schaeffer

Sources:

Johnston, Jeffrey S. “For What Purpose?” Nuntias Vol. 4 Issue 1, Mebane: Bradford Academy, Winter 2009. http://bradfordacademy.org/about/newsletters.html

Schaeffer, Francis. “On Education” Excerpt from “Priorities 1982”, two speeches given at the L'Abri Mini-Seminars in 1982. http://www.gbt.org/text/f.html

Wente, Margaret. “We pretend to teach ‘em, they pretend to learn” April 18, 2009. Toronto: The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090417.wcowent18/BNStory/specialComment/home

At L’Abri: Learning from Francis A. Schaeffer

2009-04-18T21:00:00.003-04:00

Over the past year, I devoted my reading time to the writings of C.S. Lewis. Some of my moments of discovery and illumination I shared on this blog. I called the series, “At the Kilns: Learning from C.S. Lewis.” Over the course of the coming year, I am planning (D.V.) to devote my reading to the writings of Francis A. Schaeffer. The new series is called, “At L’Abri: Learning from Francis A. Schaeffer.”

“L’Abri” is the name Schaeffer and his wife Edith gave to their ministry in Switzerland. The word is French for “the shelter”. L’Abri began as a one-on-one, face-to-face, ministry to youth and university students who visited the Schaeffer family in the mid to late 50s. They used their Chalet in the Swiss Alps to host anyone who had questions about all aspects of life on earth. Schaeffer believed that the Lordship of Christ extended to all areas of life and the cosmos, and therefore no topic or question escaped his notice or attention. Before starting L’Abri, he served for many years as a pastor in the United States and then as a missionary in Europe. Inspired by a love for Christ and His truth, as well as a fervent love for the lost and needy, the Schaeffer’s opened up their home to hundreds of visitors. Through hospitality, genuine Christian living, solid answers to tough questions, and a submission to the work of the Holy Spirit, many people came to know and love Christ through this ministry.

Francis Schaeffer’s ministry expanded into an extensive “tape” ministry, which visitors (eventually called students) could listen on their own while staying at L’Abri. Schaeffer lectured on and discussed a plethora of topics, ranging from art, philosophy, politics, to truth, faith and the Bible… and everything in between. Later Schaeffer began speaking and lecturing at conferences and seminars in Europe and North America, leading to the publication of numerous books, which would sell in the millions in over twenty different languages. In the 1970s, Schaeffer expanded into film, bringing the reality of Christ’s truth and love to millions. In 1984, Schaeffer succumbed to cancer after a seven year long battle. Even in his dying days, Schaeffer was continuing to speak with people and give lectures, sometimes arriving at locations on a stretcher! Even when he was at the Mayo clinic in Rochester, undergoing chemotherapy treatment, the doctors and nurses arranged for Schaeffer to give a seminar presentation. The presentation turned into a conference at which they expected about 500 people to attend; in the end, over 1500 people attended!

Schaeffer also established several L’Abri ministries around the world, and today there are over ten L’Abri ministries, functioning much the way it did in Schaeffer’s time. People coming to stay, listen, read, talk and learn about themselves and their Creator.

Although I am not studying in the serene and majestic mountain setting of the village of Huémoz where the Swiss L’Abri is located, I will be spending the year, through his life and literature, listening and learning from this heavenly gifted and blessed man of God, Francis August Schaeffer.

Sources:
Barrs, Jerram. "Introduction" True Spirituality by Francis Schaeffer. Illinois: Tyndale, 2001

Duriez, Colin. Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008
L’Abri Fellowship Official webpage, “History of L’Abri” http://www.labri.org/history.html

Satchel, shoulder bag, man-purse?

2009-04-13T21:26:00.007-04:00

During spring break, I spent 12 days leading a small group of my students around Great Britain. Consequently, as the lead teacher, I was required to carry a considerable amount of paperwork---medical records, contact information, emergency protocol policies, etc. To facilitate this perpetual lugging of a preponderance of paperwork, I brought along a satchel. Almost immediately my fashion-conscious youth commented on my “man-purse.” To nip this in the bud, I directed their attention to the paragon of masculinity… Indiana Jones. Does Indy carry a “man-purse” or a satchel? ‘Nuff said.

Indiana Jer and the Satchel of Manhood: Stonehenge, England

Why do students hate poetry?

2009-04-07T12:04:00.005-04:00

Why do students hate poetry? One of the main reasons students dislike poetry, I suggest, is because students have been trained to look for “story” in all the literary works they encounter. Overemphasis on story is evident in the sort of literature students are asked to study.

The bulk of teacher-sanctioned classroom reading material is narrative.

Novels, movies, short stories and graphic novels provide clear, discernible plots for our students to find; poetry offers them a sublime experience that is discernible only after a concerted effort on the part of the reader.

This overexposure to narrative fiction, coupled with the fact that we live in a time when entertainment and information come in flashy, overly explicit and simplified forms, results in our students' aversion to the seemingly "dull", implicit and complicated forms of poetic expression.

Why we should emphasize POETRY instead of PROSE

Human beings have a natural affinity for story; we tell stories, we enjoying hearing and watching stories and we understand our lives in terms of story. Literary education has capitalized on this natural love of story in order to foster student interest. This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, teaching “story” has been over-emphasized. Whether in the form of comic books, graphic novels, plays, movies, short stories or novels, “story” has been the backbone of English education.

The consequence is that students now expect to find plot is almost every piece of creative writing they encounter. When poetry is taught, many teachers choose to teach ballads or narrative poetry. Even in narrative poetry, however, “plot development” is rarely the raison d'être. As a result, when a student encounters a lyric poem, or if the narrative is veiled or vague, he throws up his arms in despair: “pointless”—“I don’t get it”—“stupid”—in other words, the student is impatient for clear meaning because that is what he has been taught to look for.

Certainly great literature is more than “plot”; however, many students miss the “poetic” aspects of prose because they can easily and effortlessly understand the story. Since that is what they are used to look for, they often stop there. I have heard many English teachers complain that students provide “plot summary” instead of analysis. Understanding plot is the effortless part of reading prose fiction. A good story teller should be able to clearly convey plot! When a student is asked to find the “deeper” meaning of a novel or short story, they are really being asked to understand the poetic meaning. The symbols, extended metaphors, allusions, imagery, etc. of a novel are the poetic elements. This is, I argue, the heart of literary exploration. Reading plot summaries is not reading literature. Reading and understanding the poetry within the prose is what true literary reading is all about. Plot can be a distraction to poetic understanding. Therefore, in early years, we should begin teaching students more poetry and less prose. We should also emphasize poetry in our curriculum from K-12. Poetry is the gateway to understanding all other forms of literature.

At the Kilns: Oxford

2009-03-29T14:31:00.034-04:00

I just returned home from a 12 day whirlwind tour of Britain, beginning on the West Highland Way of Scotland and ending on the crowded streets of metropolitan London. Along the way, I had an opportunity to visit Oxford, the long-time home of my beloved C.S. Lewis.

The city has been dubbed the city of Dreaming Spires. From ground level, it is hard to see the spires, but from a higher vantage point (or on post cards), it is quite clearly a “spired” if not “dreaming” city. The first chance I had, I visited Magdalen College. Oxford University consists of 39 colleges, many of them beautifully and uniquely built and designed. One of my guide books, however, described Magdalen as the most striking of the colleges. It is situated on the edge of town along the River Cherwell. A number of picturesque walking paths run alongside the college grounds and a 300-year-old deer herd pastures around the buildings in The Grove. My interest in Magdalen College, however, was primarily a result of my great interest in the life and writing of C.S. Lewis, who taught for many years at this college.

I walked to High Street and entered Magdalen College (pronounced Maudlin). I paid the entrance fee and navigated my way to “The New Building”. The building is called “new” even though it was built in 1733; relatively speaking, it is significantly newer than the Gothic buildings that make up the rest of the college. In this building, C.S. Lewis had his “rooms” while serving as a Don and Tutor for thirty years. As a salaried teacher, he was given a suite of rooms (room 3, on staircase 3). In these rooms, Lewis wrote many of his books, essays, lectures and sermons; it is also where he made his conversion from atheism to a belief in God in 1929. The rooms are currently occupied by a professor and are inaccessible.

After enjoying the exterior of New Building, I made my way to Addison’s Walk, where C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson had their “long night talk” in 1931. The three argued and discussed religion and mythology, after which Lewis concluded that Christianity is a “true myth”. At this point, Lewis only believed in God, not in Christ. Eight days later, by the grace of God, C.S. Lewis became a Christian on route to the zoo in his brother Warnie’s motorcycle sidecar. Having read so much about Jack Lewis, I almost considered Addison’s Walk to be a mythological place, not a place where mythology was debated. I strolled down this beautiful walkway, enjoying the solitude and calmness of early spring in Oxford.

Along the wall near the beginning of Addison’s Walk, there is a plaque with a poem by C.S. Lewis inscribed on it. It was installed on the centenary of Lewis’s birth in1998. The poem is entitled, “What the bird said early in the year”. It is about the hopeful coming of Spring experienced along Addison’s Walk. I suspect the poem was written before Lewis’s conversion, but it seems to express his yearning for lasting joy and his sense of the eternal.

After enjoying the tranquil setting, with its birds chirping and bees humming, I returned to the centre of town at St. Giles street to rejoin my group of students. Later that evening, I caught a bus from my hotel to the famous watering hole of the Inklings---“The Eagle and Child”. The pub is situated on St. Giles and appeared exactly as I had seen it in numerous photographs. The pub, which is also alliteratively dubbed, “The Bird and Baby”, was founded in 1650. The name of the pub is taken from Greek mythology, with Zeus as an eagle stealing the infant child Ganymede. From 1939 to 1962, the “Inklings” met here on Tuesday for lunch and literary discussion. The Inklings consisted of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Warnie Lewis, Charles Williams, Neville Coghill and many others. The Inklings also frequented many other pubs during their time meeting together. When I went into the pub, I was aware that the “back room” used by the Inklings (called the Rabbit room), was no longer a back room. While the Inklings were meeting at the Bird, a new owner decided to add an extension into what was then a pony yard behind the pub. The Rabbit room became a room leading to the extension. With the loss of privacy, the Inklings sought another venue for reading and critiquing each other’s works in progress.

When I entered the pub, the Rabbit room was just opposite the bar counter and was occupied by seven patrons. Slightly disappointed, I retreated to the back extension and wrote in my journal. After sometime had passed, the Rabbit room opened up and I sat down where the great literary figures met. I didn’t enjoy the experience as much as I had hoped. What I needed was some good fellowship with dear friends. After enjoying my second pint, I asked the waiter to snap a picture of me in this famous corner of literary history.

The next day, we packed up our luggage, loaded the bus and drove a short four miles to Headington Quarry. We unloaded on Kiln Lane and I walked (quite anxiously) up Lewis Close at the end of which I found Lewis’s home, The Kilns. Originally, the property was nine acres and included a small orchard, greenhouse, brick kilns, a tennis court and a small pond. After Jack’s death and his brother’s death ten years later, the property was parcelled off to developers. The home itself became a residence for students. Only recently has The Kilns been restored by the C.S. Lewis Foundation to replicate the time the Lewis brothers et al lived at the home. It is not a museum and is only open for tours via appointment. The Foundation restored the home to function as a research centre for serious scholars of Lewis. I made an appointment and we had a wonderful tour of the house. The Foundation has done a marvellous job restoring the house to its former glory (in fact, Douglas Gresham, stepson of Lewis, claims that it is in better condition then when they lived there). Over a hundred volunteers from the US worked to make the Kilns functional in the style and décor of the time Jack lived there. I have never seen such care and attention to detail. If you are in Oxford, then I urge you to make an appointment and visit the Kilns.

The house is decorated with period furniture, although none of it is original to The Kilns. The advantage of this is that visitors can actually sit down and touch things. There are also pictures of Lewis and other residents of the Kilns spread around the home. Several of the photos I have never seen before, which was a splendid treat.

The only original pieces are Warnie’s typewriter, which he used to type out Jack’s manuscripts, and an original pub sign for the Bird. The latter was purchased by Walter Hooper several years ago and is on display at The Kilns.

Below are a picture from Lewis’s bedroom and a picture of me standing outside the staircase Jack used to get in and out of his room.

After visiting the Kilns, we made our way to the CS Lewis Community Nature Reserve which used to be part of the Kilns property. The small pond was created when the property actually was a working brick kilns. The operators excavated the clay from the ground and the hole they left was filled by a spring. Jack and his brother, along with Paxford the gardener, maintained this pond during their time living there. They had a punt to float about on and they used to swim there. It is now a pleasant nature reserve for a variety of flora and fauna.

Just under a mile away is the church where Jack and his brother worshipped---Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry.

In the cemetery surrounding the quaint old church, I found the burial marker of the two brothers C.S. Lewis and Major W.H. Lewis.

I cannot begin to describe the pleasure it was to visit so many sights related to C.S. Lewis, a man who I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude. It was through Lewis’s imaginary wardrobe into Narnia that I began my serious life-long love for “story”. Jack has shaped my thinking about literature, my philosophy of education, my spirituality and my life. I thank God for using this man for His glory and for the building up of His church. I am but one of millions who have been blessed by Jack’s writing and his life.

At the Kilns: Best laid plans...

2009-02-24T18:47:00.003-05:00

Perhaps the cause of my non-existent blogging as of late is because I have not fulfilled any of my “At the Kilns” goals from year end 2008.

What have I been doing? I am still reading the Iliad… My “almost finished” in the previous post was a bit hasty. I am still enjoying the masterfully written epic poem, even though it is incredibly gruesome, especially now that Achilles has entered the battle field. I am truly “almost finished” now.

Another delightful diversion from my reading goals is a UK travel book by Bill Bryson. A dear friend and colleague---also a Brit---gave me this “assigned reading” in order to prepare me for my March Break tour of Britain. The book is entitled, Notes from a Small Island. It is a hilarious and interesting read, peppered with the occasional expletive. Officially, I do NOT recommend the book.

My wife and I have also started reading Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice together. This was an idea that emerged during a particularly cozy and delightful tea time. She has read the Austen books countless times. I have watched the A&E Pride & Prejudice countless times. Now that we are reading P&P together, I can’t believe I settled this long with the mini-series. Oh, what I have been missing!

For school, I am re-reading Old School by Tobias Wolff. A student has "accidentally" picked up my clearly marked and personally annotated copy of the novel. There are no online aids or literary guides available, so I suspect a student settled for Mr. Johnston's notes... I also re-read Euripides' play The Bacchae for my Classical Civilization course. I should really blog about this play sometime. I also saw another Greek play, Medea, by Euripides at the Canon Theatre in Toronto. I should blog about that too... sometime...

My “At the Kilns” reading has been moved to “In the Loo” reading… Christian Reflections… “almost finished”… One thing I have learned from Lewis is that I still have a lot to learn from Lewis. Reading a paragraph of C.S. Lewis is like opening a trans-dimensional worm-hole to another galaxy populated by stars of illuminating insight and planets of "down-to-earth" wisdom. What a gift to Christendom he is. I am really looking forward to visiting Oxford in March; hopefully I will be able to be---literally---“At the Kilns” .

As I near March Break, I need to decide what travel reading I will bring... if I will take a Lewis book or two to wrap up my foray "At the Kilns" or if I am going to begin foraging "At L'Abri"... Perhaps I should be more concerned about what I should pack for clothes... but in the advice of Erasmus, who once wrote (loosely translated from Latin), "When I travel, I first pack my books, and if I have any room left over, I pack underwear and clothes." Wise words.

At the Kilns: Reading C.S. Lewis

2008-12-17T22:44:00.002-05:00

Back in March, I started a blog series entitled, “At the Kilns”. The mantra of this series was “Learning from C.S. Lewis”; the plan was to immerse myself in the writings of C.S. Lewis. As this year draws to a close, I would like to review what I have read and what I still need to read before my yearlong endeavour concludes in March 2009.

At the Kilns: Learning form the Writings of C.S. Lewis
Books read in 2008

Fiction:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Great Divorce

Lectures/Sermons/Apologetics:
The Weight of Glory
God in the Dock
Christian Reflections (nearly finished)

Christian Life:
The Four Loves
A Grief Observed

Letters:
selections from They Stand Together: C.S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves
Letters to an American Lady

Biography:
C.S. Lewis Remembered by H.L. Poe and R. W. Poe
Seeking the Secret Place: The Spiritual Formation of C.S. Lewis by Lyle Dorsett

Books unrelated to C.S. Lewis
Old School by Tobias Wolff
Glory and Honour: The Musical and Artistic Legacy of J.S. Bach by Gregory Wilbur
Iliad by Homer (nearly finished)

On the list for the next three months, I propose the following (based on the recommendations of a well-read Lewis fan):

That Hideous Strength (from The Cosmic Trilogy)
Till We Have Faces

This will take me to March. I may also be able to fit in The Abolition of Man. There is still a sizable corpus of Lewis’ writings I have yet to explore. Most of the books I read this year are among Lewis' shorter texts; nonetheless, I will have a lifetime, Lord willing, to read and re-read more of C.S. Lewis. After March break, however, I will leave the Kilns and begin a series on Francis Schaeffer… “At L’Abri”. The Kilns won't be left behind completely, mind you. Lewis has a way of appearing on my reading list every year.

God's answer to the Problem of Evil

2008-12-13T13:27:00.003-05:00

We live in a dark and evil world. I am stunned every time I open a newspaper and glance over the headlines. Human creativity and ingenuity seems to be equally evident in the extent of our evil endeavours as well as our good endeavours. This is not pessimism; it is reality. Consequently, one of the most common objections to Christianity is the question of evil. “If God is supposedly good,” says the non-Christian, “then why does He allow evil to exist?” The dichotomy that is presented is this: either God is not strong enough to prevent evil or he is strong, but He is not good enough to want to prevent it. This objection is often called the Achilles’ heel of Christianity because it is perceived as a major weak point. There is no easy answer to this objection. Many scholars and theologians have contorted themselves and the Scriptures, often to the destruction of sound doctrine, in order to give an answer to this challenge.

As Christians and non-Christians consider this issue, we need some perspective. Dorothy Sayers, as quoted in A Ready Defence by Josh McDowell, writes

For whatever reason God chose to make man as he is—limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—[God] had the honesty and the courage to take his own medicine. He Himself has gone through the whole human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair and death. When He was a man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worth while” (413).

It is essential to remember in our discussion of evil that God Himself endured His “own medicine” as Sayers puts it. Often times we blame God as though He was aloof from the mess of the world. He suffered the greatest evil. For some reason, He “thought it well worth while.”

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ this season, let us remember that God did not leave the problem of evil unanswered. He gave us a saviour.

The Power of Music: Bach's St. Matthew Passion & Mendelssohn

2008-12-02T07:27:00.004-05:00

Recently, I led a five-part study on the “Music and Spirituality of J.S. Bach, Handel and Mendelssohn” for Pilgrim Baptist Fellowship. Although I have a great appreciation for music, I am an amateur on the subject. So, in my preparation for this series, I listened to a number of compositions by these musical geniuses. I was struck by the fact that I rarely “listen” to music; I simply hear it. Most of us “listen” to music as background noise while we do something else. No piece made this point more clear than Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. I was profoundly and deeply astounded by the richness, beauty and power in the music. In fact, I was moved to tears at one point in the piece. Bach’s adept arrangement of music and lyrics was incredibly affecting.
Bach’s St. Matthew Passion was written in German, but I borrowed from the library a copy of the work in English. I was mesmerized by the piece. Up to this point in my foray into classical music, I underestimated the power of music. I think the greatest testimony of the power of music—particularly Bach’s Passion—can be seen in the life of Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847).

When Bach died in 1750, he was all but forgotten as a composer. He was more famous in his day as an organist and musician. Although he remained known among contemporary scholars of music, most considered his compositions far too difficult to play.

A young Jewish composer, Felix Mendelssohn, rediscovered Bach’s St. Matthew Passion about 70 years after Bach’s death. He was moved by the musical and dramatic aspects of the work; eventually, when he conducted an orchestra and choir of 400 to put on the Passion in Berlin in 1829, Mendelssohn was also deeply moved by the presentation of the gospel in the piece.

Mendelssohn’s parents had made a superficial conversion from Judaism to Christianity for economic and political reasons. Mendelssohn yearned for answers to his spiritual questions, but he only began to find direction in the music of J.S. Bach. Ultimately his conversion to Christianity is a direct result of his contact with Christ through the music of J.S. Bach. In a time where Lutheran clergy had abandoned their first love and aligned themselves with the prevailing theological fads, Mendelssohn only had the Bible and Bach. Mendelssohn was anchored firmly in his faith; his subsequent spiritual growth was also aided by studying the life of Martin Luther and by his friendship to a young seminary student named Julius Schubring.

It is encouraging to think of the impact music can have on people’s lives. About the Bible, Mendelssohn wrote that “everything there is fresh and true, and the method of expression always as good and fresh as it could possibly be.” Therefore, Mendelssohn argued, the music inspired by the Word should also be as good and fresh as it could possibly be.

Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in English: Bach Choir and Thames Chamber Orchestra conducted by Sir David Willcocks, (Decca 1979, CD 2008)

Bach and Luther: Theology in Music

2008-11-24T22:42:00.004-05:00

Johann Sebastian Bach is noted as the forefather of all Western music; without Bach, we wouldn’t have Mozart, Beethoven or Brahms. He lived in Germany from 1685-1750 during what has now become known as the Baroque period. Ironically, some musicologists suggest that without Martin Luther, the great German Reformer of the previous century, there would have been no Bach. The musical formations of Bach’s day grew out of the theological reformations of Luther’s day. It is not hard to see the connections between these two great men of God.

Bach’s family was incredibly musical; his family lineage shows seven generations of professional musicians. In some parts of Germany, the name “Bach” was synonymous with the word “musician”. But Bach’s family members were also faithful followers of Jesus Christ and they adhered to the reformed faith. Fleeing religious persecution, Bach’s family migrated to the region of Thuringia, a stronghold of reformed faith and a bastion of brilliant ecclesiastic music. This is where Bach grew up and attended school. This is also the region where Martin Luther spent his youth. Both Bach and Luther attended the same Latin School in Eisenach, albeit 200 years apart. Bach also spent his days in the shadows of Wartburg Castle, perched high above Eisenach, where in the previous century, Luther hid from his enemies and where he translated the Greek New Testament into German. These tangible reminders of Luther’s reformation must have left indelible impressions on the young Bach, but more powerful perhaps, was the influence of Luther’s view of church music.

Luther writes, “Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise… I plainly judge, and do not hesitate to affirm, that except for theology, there is no art that could be put on the same level with music…” For Luther, music was an incredibly inspiring and powerful gift from God; however, it was not simply ‘music for music’s sake’. Luther believed that music aided and enhanced the Christian’s worship of the Great and Mighty Creator. “God has cheered our heart and minds through his dear Son, whom he gave us to redeem us from sin, death and the devil. He who believes this cannot be quiet about it. But he must gladly and willingly sing and speak about it so others also may come to hear it. And whoever does not want to sing and speak of it shows that he does not believe…”

Luther sought to apply his ideas about music and worship to actual church music; as a result, he was a prolific hymn writer. Luther’s hymns proved to be a great spiritual and musical inspiration to Bach throughout his life. He perused Luther’s hymns for comfort, theological instruction and for lyrics to articulate his own devotion to God. Bach adapted many of Luther’s hymns when composing his copious cantatas---he wrote over 200 cantatas! Bach was most influenced by Luther’s determination to incorporate music into the life of the church; this is why most of Bach’s church music was designed to be “accessible” to the congregations and why he incorporated vernacular chorales and familiar hymns into his cantatas.

Most notably, the mantra of the Reformation, “Sola Deo Gloria”, served as the basis of Bach’s conception of music; Bach writes, “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.” For all the spiritual and theological benefits the Christian Church has reaped from God’s working through Martin Luther and the Reformation, we can thank God for the musical legacy of the Reformation as well. As we thank God for Luther, let us also thank God for Bach.

At the Kilns: Letters to an American Lady, grading papers and rediscovering Horatio

2008-11-18T18:39:00.003-05:00

One of the things I have learned while reading C.S. Lewis is that grading papers is always a burden, no matter how much of a genius or master teacher one is. Perhaps, it is more of a burden for those who are geniuses and master teachers…

This point became clear after reading a short little book called Letters to an American Lady. It is a collection of letters C.S. Lewis wrote to an American woman over the course of a decade. She wrote to Lewis---at times incessantly---and Lewis responded faithfully to almost every single letter she wrote to him. During the course of years, academic terms and increasing illness on both their parts, Lewis recounts the demands on his time. Most prominent is grading papers.

I was encouraged, not by the fact that Lewis felt burdened by grading, but that I was not the only one who seemed to be feeling the pangs of poorly written prose. There is no easy way out of marking. It simply has to be waded through. During each stint of examinations, Lewis faithful trudged on despite his time being far more precious and valuable than mine. The other encouraging thing for me is that since Lewis inevitably finishes grading and is able to move on to other things he enjoys, so can I.

All this being said, I recently read a student essay that brought me some delight. I am currently wading through 80 essays on Hamlet… and I have encountered the usual themes of death, revenge and death-resulting-from-revenge and death-resulting-in-revenge sort of essays… This essay stood out because it focused on Horatio. My student writes, “readers have a tendency to direct much of their energy towards the main characters. However, secondary characters in a work should never be overlooked…” True enough. He goes on to write, “In a play full of deception, betrayal, revenge and strong passion, it is very important for the audience to be able to rely on a voice of reason and truth.” Very true. He continues, “In Hamlet, Horatio is this truth teller; he is an observer of action and a commentator. Horatio is the one character in the play who can be trusted not only by Hamlet but by the audience.” I was gripped. In teaching Hamlet, I address Horatio’s importance only in relation to how he functions in advancing the plot shedding certain light on Hamlet. I had never really considered Horatio for Horatio’s sake. When all other human beings in the play betray all forms of human relationships, Horatio is the steadfast and faithful one. He is the hope that remains after Pandora’s Box is opened and a torrent of death and mayhem are unleashed in the closing scene of the play.

Anyway, it was great to read something inspiring. Although it is making the rest of my marking more challenging. Revenge and death, death and revenge. Oh, the carnage of words, paper and Shakespeare. As I tread through the battlefields of intellectual promise and academic potential, I long for a truth teller, someone who can be trusted… I need another dose of Horatio.

Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750

2008-10-18T18:19:00.003-04:00

When describing the foundations of Western music, some music scholars refer to the three B’s—Bach, Beethoven and Brahms—while others would simply say, there was Bach… and then everyone else. Bach was a prolific composer, brilliant organist and an inventive musical genius. His ability to act both as a conservator and innovator of music is what places him at the top of the list of musical giants. In his works, he excelled at traditional forms of music while expanding and transforming the forms to new heights, achieving “summa”—highest realised potential—in nearly every style of music known in Bach’s day.

When Mozart first encountered Bach’s music, he was “entranced” by it. According to Harold Schronberg, Mozart studied Bach’s compositions, “arranged some music, and was strongly influenced by Bachian counterpoint.” Beethoven and Brahms were also influenced by Bach. Brahms said, “Study Bach: there you will find everything.” Mozart said about Bach’s music, “Now there is music from which a man can learn something.” After hearing a performance of Bach’s music, Richard Wagner described it as “the most stupendous miracle in all music.” German poet, Goethe, described Bach’s music “as though eternal harmony were conversing with itself, as it may have happened in God’s bosom shortly before He created the world.” Robert Schuman writes, “Playing and studying Bach convinces us that we are all numbskulls.”

With such praise, it is surprising to discover that this musical giant was a humble and gracious man who devoted his life and talents to the glory of God. Over three quarters of his (astonishing) one thousand compositions consisted of music composed for worship in the church. Many scholars balk at the notion that Bach’s perceived Christianity had anything to do with his music; J.S. Bach, however, states plainly that “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.” Soli Deo Gloria—To God Alone be the Glory. The letters S.D.G. were inscribed on many of Bach’s compositions; he meant this Latin phrase as a testimony to those who would perform his music and to generations to come, that this music was for God’s glory, not Bach’s. He strove to live by Paul’s words: “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Even on much of Bach’s “secular” compositions, we find inscribed the letters J.J., for Jesu, Juva (Jesus, help) or I.N.J., which stands for In Nomine Jesu (In the name of Jesus).

The life, music and legacy of J.S. Bach is a reminder to all Christians to use the gifts and talents God has given us for the Glory of God and the building up of His Church. For Bach, there was no dichotomy between secular and sacred. Whatever he did, for whatever purpose, he did for his Heavenly Father. To God Alone be the Glory.

The Wandering Blogger Posts Again...

2008-10-05T17:23:00.002-04:00

As of late, I have been engaged with the start-up of the academic year. I am teaching Hamlet to my English students, The Odyssey to my Classical Civilization students and I am teaching about Roman poet Horace to my Latin students. I am delighted to say that I have a wonderful “batch” of students to work with this year.

In addition to school start-up, I am undergoing a crash course in music education. I have been busy researching and preparing a five-week study on the Spirituality and Music of J.S. Bach and George Handel for my church. Over the month of October, I will be presenting this series during the Wednesday Prayer meetings.

As a result, I have put my C.S. Lewis education on hold. My current foray into the world of music is incredibly illuminating. I am certain Lewis wouldn’t mind the short deviation from studying at the Kilns.

'blogspotting' blog of the week

2008-09-09T20:08:00.002-04:00

Caroline Gill's blog Caroline at Coastguard has listed Galumphing as its "blogspotting" blog of the week. Thanks for the nod, Caroline!

Teaching Shakespeare as Literature

2008-08-25T09:26:00.007-04:00

Shakespeare originally wrote his plays to be performed before a mostly uneducated and illiterate audience. Writing plays was Shakespeare’s “job”---he earned a modest living from writing and producing plays. He was not writing for “art’s sake” but for “food’s sake”. The old adage, “necessity is the father of invention” is particularly true in Shakespeare’s case. The point here is that Shakespeare’s plays were written to be performed on stage. Most of his plays did not appear in print until well after his death. For this reason, many gurus of education are arguing for a performance-based approach to teaching Shakespeare. If the plays were written for the stage, then they should be taught on a “stage”.

Peggy O’Brien from the Folger Library (one of the largest and most significant Shakespeare research centre in the world) writes, “Performing a Shakespearean scene or scenes is the single most important part of a student’s Shakespeare education. Period.” She may be right, but there is too much pressure on educators to use Shakespeare primarily as a drama unit rather than literature unit. The dramatic aspect of Shakespeare lends itself well to a performance-based approach. However, his plays run deep, much deeper than the average audience-goer would understand. This is the reason why Shakespeare can be, and should be, taught as literature. A student’s exposure to Shakespeare needs to be more than simply “working towards performance”.

Had Shakespeare been writing three hundred years later than his own time in history, he may have chosen to write novels as opposed to plays. His characters have a psychological complexity and depth that surpass most theatrical characters in Elizabethan drama; some of his characters are unsurpassed by present-day drama. Essentially, Shakespeare wrote his plays “deeper” than required for successful stage performance. In fact, I argue that some of Shakespeare’s plays “read” better than they are “performed”. So much of the “drama” in the play Macbeth, for example, is so internal and psychological that I have rarely watched a great on-stage performance of it (no fault to the performers or directors). It is a play, I believe, that is better read than watched. In some ways, Shakespeare is like a novelist trapped in a playwright’s body.

That being said, Shakespeare still works well on stage. The plays were as popular in Elizabethan England (for the most part) as they are now (if not more so). However, I find that my enjoyment of “Shakespeare performed” is different from “Shakespeare read”. Sometimes, my enjoyment of Shakespeare performed is, in part, due to the fact that I have read the play beforehand. As educators, it is important that we expose our students to both performance enjoyment and the enjoyment of a close reading. Why did Shakespeare include so much symbolism and metaphor in his plays, when so much of it would be lost on his audiences? Perhaps there is a bit of “art for art’s sake” in Shakespeare after all.

Three Days with the Bard

2008-08-23T22:27:00.008-04:00

This week I was in Stratford (Ontario) attending a teacher conference at the Shakespeare Festival. The Stratford Shakespeare Festival is considered by theatre aficionados as North America’s premiere classical theatre. But, as they say, familiarity breeds contempt. While I was a student at the University of Western Ontario in London (ON), I took full advantage of the student rate ($20 at the time), and I saw numerous plays at the Festival. Now as a teacher, I catch a play or two every year with my students. I began to take the theatre for granted. I live and work next door to Stratford. This attitude of ingratitude, however, has changed this week for two reasons.

The first reason was the opportunity I had to work with teachers who came from places as far as Rochester NY, North Bay and New Brunswick! These teachers were thrilled to be in Stratford. I saw Stratford through their eyes. Would I drive six or eight hours to catch a Stratford play? Would I fly from New Brunswick? A different perspective on what you “have” makes all the difference.

The second reason was the fact that I really enjoyed the shows I watched this week. Part of the Teachers’ Conference included complimentary tickets to three Shakespearean plays. I also had the opportunity to workshop with some of the actors from the plays, most notably, Adrienne Gould, who plays Ophelia in Hamlet. The plays I saw were Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Taming of the Shrew. The best of the plays was Hamlet.

I have watched Hamlet on stage a few times, once previously at Stratford (starring Paul Gross in 2000). This particular stage production of Hamlet was great. Award winning Canadian actor Ben Carlson shines as Hamlet. Gould’s Ophelia is also the best I have seen on stage. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. I was more than awake; I was engaged. Admittedly, there are odd bits in the production. One strange set piece is a gigantic pool table that miraculously appears after a blackout on stage. It is humongous. What made this especially odd is the fact that this huge table had little purpose. In the Kenneth Branagh film version of Hamlet (1996), there is also a pool table (I think?) in the identical scene. Claudius is---symbolically---a “pool shark”. He manipulates the situation, lures Laertes into his schemes and creates the ultimate set up. The symbol works well in the movie. On stage, the table is simply a colossal distraction---albeit a dazzlingly magnificent piece of furniture. The point is, the actors and the scene are lost behind the gorgeous oak pool table. Another reason making the table odd on-stage was the fact that Laertes, who just tragically lost both his father and his sister, and who almost raised a revolution in Denmark and nearly committed regicide, is in the next scene, playing snooker… In Branagh’s film it seems to work. Claudius is manipulating Laertes, distracting him from his rage. On stage, I couldn’t help but wonder how much that table cost, how did they get it on stage so fast and what are they going to do with it after the show is over?

There was also a piano on stage during the whole production. Although used cleverly throughout the performance, I found it a distraction as well. However, not enough of a distraction to cause me to miss Carlson’s Hamlet. He truly embodied Shakespeare’s most celebrated tragic hero. It was a risky manoeuvre, but Carlson’s and Gould’s performances redeem the show of all its flaws.
So, I appreciate Stratford a little more these days. I am looking forward to bringing my 90 Grade 12 English students to Stratford in order to see Hamlet. I feel confident this performance will not turn my students off the bard. It may do just the opposite. If you are in the neighbourhood, take advantage of Stratford’s Shakespeare Festival.

The Annotated Hobbit

2008-08-18T09:54:00.011-04:00

Even though I have dedicated my reading time to C.S. Lewis over the course of this year, I have indulged in the occasional, “non-Lewis” reading material this summer. One of the books is The Annotated Hobbit. It is a beautifully annotated edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. I have looked at this book on numerous occasions while perusing Chapters bookstore, but I have not purchased the book (…it costs $60!). I recently found the book at our local library.

I am a big fan of reading annotation, particularly on a book I have re-read. There is much controversy among hard-line readers as to whether one should read annotations. I feel that they are useful to provide context or background information which I do not possess. Reading annotations provides a rich experience. This is especially true when reading ancient or historic literature. In addition, I always read with a pen, and the margins of my books are littered with my own comments, questions and reactions… my own informal annotations. I would feel like a hypocrite if I complained about annotations while writing my own!

This particular edition of The Hobbit provides rich commentary and cross references on all aspects of the story. It is very interesting and illuminating reading. For example, the annotator (Douglas Anderson) cites a hypothesis that Tolkien invented the name Baggins from the Lancashire English word “bagging”, a term that the Oxford English Dictionary defines as eating food “between regular meals”. In use, the word would be pronounced “baggin”, dropping the terminal “–g”. Tolkien was a philologist, and his interest and knowledge in language is crucial to his development of his Middle Earth mythology. The hypothesis about the origins of Baggins is given further weight by the citation Anderson provides from Walter E. Haigh’s A New Glossary of the Dialect of the Huddersfield (1928), which Tolkien himself “wrote an appreciative forward”. Haigh deifnes baggin as “a meal, now usually ‘tea,’ but formerly any meal; a bagging. Probably so called because workers generally carried their meals to work in a bag of some kind”.
Such is the nature of the annotations provided on Tolkien’s The Hobbit. The book also includes illustrations from various editions over the years, as well as references to the publishing history of the book. In short, it is a delightful book. If you can afford it, then buy it. If it is in your library, then borrow it.

The opening inscription in the book cites Horace: “What we read with pleasure, we read again with pleasure.” Reading The Annotated Hobbit is very pleasurable indeed!

Narnia Illustrator Pauline Baynes (1922-2008)

2008-08-12T12:17:00.009-04:00

Pauline Baynes passed away earlier this month. She is best known for her illustrations of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. She had previously worked with J.R. R. Tolkien on Farmer Giles of Ham, and it was through Tolkien that Baynes was introduced to C.S. Lewis. Amazingly, Baynes only met Lewis twice over the course of illustrating the seven novels. Without a doubt, her artwork is a memorable part of the Narnia world. Lewis, however, was not totally satisfied with Baynes work; he noted in a letter to a friend that Baynes was unable to draw lions properly. Aslan, the principal character in the Narnia series, is, of course, a lion! I must admit that Baynes's illustration of the Lion is odd looking... Nevertheless, Lewis never made his concern public and the Baynes's lion will "forever" be part of Narnia folklore.

For an obituary on Pauline Baynes, click here.

Esther 4: "For such a time as this..."

2008-08-05T08:38:00.007-04:00

Last Sunday (July 27th), I had the opportunity to preach on Esther 4 at West London Alliance Church in London, ON. The sermon title was, “For such a time as this”. The central question that framed the message was, “How do we live as Christians in a world that is opposed to us?”

This is not an easy question to answer. What I hoped to do was draw three main truths from the text to help us answer this question on a personal level. There is no “play-by-play” handbook on how to deal with specific situations we encounter in our lives. All we know, is that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12).

Like us, Esther was an outsider—an alien—who sought to live out her faith in a culture that was hostile to her faith and her God. The people of God, the Israelites, were a displaced nation, dispersed throughout the Persian Empire. In our own “post-Christian” culture, it often feels like we are a displaced people group. By looking at Esther’s example, we can glean three central truths to help us live lives worthy of the cross of Jesus Christ.

The first point is that God made Esther “for such a time as this.” She was unique in physical appearance and in character (Esther 2:7,9). She was “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-16) for a purpose; the Lord designed her to be what he wanted her to be for his purpose and plan. Like her, we are also made for this time and place. We have been given gifts “for such a time as this.” God has a plan for each of us. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” God doesn’t call you to be who you are not, but who you are—who He made you to be, for the plan He intends for you. This is a great truth. It is easy to lose hope and despair when we feel inadequate for the challenges of living out our faith in this world. We need to remind ourselves that God has made each of us and He has placed each of us in our current situation (time and place).

The second point is that God prepared Esther and her circumstances for such a time as this. Esther was made Queen not only because of who she was and how she was made, but because God had engineered the circumstances and orchestrated details of her life. Mordecai, Esther’s cousin tells her, “who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” The “such a time as this” Mordecai was referring to was a royal edict that called for the death of all the Jews living in Persia. Esther had been placed in a perfect position to help save her people. Likewise, God has placed us—our job, school, neighbourhood, family, church—for such a time as this; we are where we are to serve the kingdom of God.

Thirdly, with these truths square in our minds, what should we do? Esther asks Mordecai and all the Jews to “fast for me”. She goes on to say, “I and my maidens also will fast in the same way” (Esther 4:16). Esther is “waiting on the Lord” and “seeking His guidance and strength”. We ought to do the same when faced with persecution and trouble: pray and ask others to pray for us. God will guide and empower us for such a time as this (Psalm 31:3; 2 Timothy 1:7; Isaiah 58:11).

What has God gifted you to do? Are you doing it?
Where has God placed you? Are you serving Him there?
What has God called you to do? Are you seeking His guidance and power?

An mp3 audio version of the sermon is available by clicking here or by browsing the West London Alliance online sermons (scroll down for Sunday, July 27, 2008).

A kid's odyssey: Homer's The Odyssey for young readers

2008-07-30T09:54:00.003-04:00

For two years, I have been teaching Homer’s The Odyssey to Grade 12 Classical Civilization students. My students (those who actually read the epic poem…), are absolutely thrilled by the story. I am thrilled myself. It is a great story. I am planning on teaching it again in the Fall.

Recently, my second son, Nate (7 yrs) also discovered the excitement and thrill of the Odyssey… dangerous voyages, meddling gods and goddesses, escaping an inhospitable Cyclops, outwitting bewitching nymphs, battling self-serving and usurping nobles…

He isn’t reading Homer (per se)… Rather, he is reading a 6-part series of chapter books retelling the famous story. The series, called Tales from The Odyssey, is written by Mary Pope Osborne (the author of the bestselling Magic Tree House series). She retains the bulk of the narrative, including the sordid moments (albeit appropriately diluted for young readers). She also uses the Greek names of gods and goddesses, heroes and monsters and she provides a pronunciation guide at the back of each book.

My son couldn’t put them down. He devoured the books as fast and as ravenously as the six-headed Scylla or the one-eyed Polyphemus devour Odysseus’s men.

Great stories truly stand the test of time. For almost three thousand years, people have been delighted by the adventures of Odysseus and his fated voyage. Thanks to Mary Pope Osborne, the next generation is able to whet their appetite for great---and ancient---storytelling. If you know any Grade 2 students who would love to go on a romping ride of a read, look up Osborne’s Tales for the Odyssey.

NB: For big people interested in The Odyssey, I highly recommend the recent award-winning translation by Robert Fagles. For a great audio version, Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf in Peter Jackson’s recent film adaptation of Lord of the Rings, reads Fagles translation (unabridged) on CD.

At the Kilns: Letters to a Friend

2008-07-28T21:42:00.004-04:00

Arthur Greeves

I recently borrowed from the library a collection of letters by C.S. Lewis called They Stand Together: The Letters of C.S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves (1914-1963). Arthur Greeves was one of C.S. Lewis oldest and most cherished of friends. Next to his brother W.H. Lewis or his wife Joy Davidman, I do not think C.S. Lewis had a closer friend in his life. The book contains the nearly all Lewis’s correspondence with Greeves during the course of his lifetime. The book, which is currently out-of-print, runs over 500 pages.

I am sporadically reading through the weighty tome, and I am utterly amazed at Lewis’s intimacy, candidacy, and his fluidity of writing. His gift for communication is clearly evident in even his earliest letters to Greeves.

One of the biographical aspects that struck me was the impression I get that Lewis liked the “look of books” almost as much as the content of the books he read. It seems that he and Arthur purchased and repurchased books in various editions based on their aesthetically pleasing binding (I must admit that I have done the same thing myself...). Most people who are familiar with Lewis are aware that he read copiously. However, it is still astonishing how much Lewis read. He frequently comments to Greeves about his reading such-and-such a book or re-reading such-and-such an author. He read classical literature, he read widely in English literature and European literature, and he read a considerable amount of contemporary literature.

In one letter to Arthur, Lewis describes his present enjoyment while reading Tolstoy’s War and Peace. He recommends that Arthur read the book himself. He writes,

I strongly advise you to try it. Its length, which deters some people, will not frighten you: you will only rejoice, when the right time comes, —say after tea some day next autumn when fires are still a novelty—at that old, delicious feeling of embarkation on a long voyage, which one seldom gets now.

After reading these words, I was struck with a longing for a cool autumn night in order to begin my own “embarkation” into the world of Tolstoy's War and Peace.

All of the letters I have read are compelling reading. It is particularly striking to read about his thoughts on Christianity as they develop from atheism to unshakable faith in Jesus Christ. In one particularly famous letter, we learn about Lewis’s late night “memorable talk” about Christianity while strolling Addison’s walk with Tolkien and Hugo Dyson. In the letter, dated October 1st, 1931, Lewis writes to Greeves,

How deep I am just now beginning to see: for I have just passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ—in Christianity. I will try to explain another time. My long night talk with Dyson and Tolkien had a good deal to do with it.

Hopefully this most fascinating and incredibly valuable collection of letters will find its way back into print. For my present copy of the book, well, it is due back to the library today.

It's a girl!

2008-07-19T13:48:00.008-04:00

I am happy to announce that the Lord blessed our family with a beautiful baby; she arrived safe and sound on July 17th, 2008. Her name is Abigail Adriaana.

Her brothers, Joseph and Nathanael, and her sister, Katherine, are very happy with the new addition. We thank God for His goodness and blessings to our family!

Katie with her new sister, Abby (less than a day old).

What's in a name?

She is named Abigail after the "intelligent and beautiful" woman in 1 Samuel 25:3, whose prudence calmed David's anger and kept him from sinning. David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand." (1 Sam 25:32-33). Abby's second name is given in honour of my Opa (her great grandfather), whose middle name was Adriaanus. Opa passed away in May of this year before Abby was born.

Children are a gift of God

"Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."
Psalm 127:3-5

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

"For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them."
Psalm 139:13-16

Screwtape: The Movie...?!

2008-07-13T07:58:00.014-04:00

In February of last year, Walden Media announced that it would be releasing a film adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters. Douglas Gresham (Lewis’s “stepson”) will be producing the film. As exciting as this sounds, I have no idea how they are planning on making this adaptation. I don’t think Walden Media really knows either! In April 2008, the website, “The High Calling”, had an interview with Walden Media President, Michael Flaherty. This is—I think—the latest news on the subject.

High Calling: Can you give any news about when Screwtape or Dawn Treader will come out?

Michael Flaherty: The first time I spoke with you, I had just received the first draft of Dawn Treader. Literally as we were speaking it was there on my desk. I hadn’t even opened it up yet. I couldn’t wait to read it, though, because Eustace is one of my favorite characters.
Dawn Treader is moving very well. Michael Apted, who directed Amazing Grace, is directing it. He also directed Coal Miner’s Daughter and a bunch of others. He’s a great director. He’s the president of the Directors Guild.

Screwtape on the other hand is just a really tricky adaptation.

HC: I think a big part of being faithful to that work is keeping it dark in a way that's probably going to bother some people. I don't know how that works with movie profitability, but Screwtape always takes the approach of the demons. They have to be the heroes—even if they're tragic heroes—for it to be faithful to what Lewis did.

MF: We're trying to find that balance between the comedy and the stakes. We’re working hard on the script. One of the questions we're asking is how do you show the real transformation that happens inside a person.

HC: Screwtape keeps encouraging the patient to go through the motions in his daily life and work.

MF: You just nailed the entire paradox of this project. The book is so clever, because Screwtape is saying things like, "Have them write the check out to Unicef." Just have him writing, saying, "Oh boy, this is going to hurt." It goes back to that great Corinthians passage, you can do all of these things, but if you do them without love, it's worthless. We're trying to figure out how to illustrate that. What I love about Screwtape, what I love about the Gospel is all this external behavioural stuff that too often people confuse as central to our faith, is just an element of it. What really matters is the outpouring of love and the reflection of love.

O Canada: Abortion and Rediscovering Authoritative Christianity

2008-07-11T12:27:00.003-04:00

This month, on July 1st, the nation celebrated Canada’s 141st birthday. As a family, we sang our national anthem, we flipped through an encyclopaedia entry on Canada and we each prayed and thanked God for this country. The boys were thankful that we live in a wealthy and peaceful land, Katie was thankful that we were free to worship God and Laurie was thankful for the wonderful and beautiful natural resources this country affords... lakes, trees, mountains, forests, wildlife.

Although we have much to be thankful for, sadly, I could not thank God for the spiritual climate in this country. On July 1st this year, I heard on the radio about the Dr. Henry Morgentaler’s nomination to the Order of Canada, the highest honour bestowed on a Canadian citizen. Morgentaler has pioneered legalized abortion in Canada. I grieve over how much we have lost and how quickly we have lost it.

Eminent Canadian philosopher and thinker George Parkin Grant (1918-1988), a professor at McMaster University and a devout Anglican, lamented what he called the “evident fall of western Christianity.” It was his hope as a philosophy and thinker “to try to understand just a small amount of what was at fault in this particular manifestation of Christianity, so that one plays a minute part in something that will take centuries—namely the rediscovery of authoritative Christianity… it has been given truth in a way no other religion has.”

As evidence of the “fall of western Christianity” and the lack of “authoritative Christianity” was the abortion issue in Canada. Grant wrote in the mid-80s, “If tyranny is to come in North America, it will come cosily and on cat’s feet. It will come with the denial of the rights of the unborn and the aged. In fact, it will come to all those who cannot defend themselves.” A proponent of the Right-to-Life Movement, George Parkin Grant wrote and spoke against the Supreme Court decision to strike down the criminal code restrictions on abortion. He stated on CBC, “The Supreme Court decision on abortion fills me with terrible sadness at what lies ahead for our country—an increase in the mass killing of the weakest members of our species.”

The American case that spurred on Canada’s “pro-choice” movement—“Roe vs. Wade”— took place on January 22, 1973. The U.S. Supreme Court granted a young mother (Jane Roe, a pseudonym) the “right of choice” to take the life of the developing child in her womb. “Roe” never aborted her baby, but the landmark case opened the door for the deaths of over 40 million unborn children. It wasn’t until the 1990s when Roe came forward and revealed her true identity in her book I am Roe (1994). In the book, Norma McCorvey—“Roe”—describes herself as a monogamous lesbian living in Dallas. Four years later, McCorvey converted to Christianity and has abandoned her homosexuality. She now advocates for the unborn.

In her new book, Won By Love, (1998) she writes, “I had to face up to the awful reality. Abortion wasn’t about ‘products of conception.’ It wasn’t about ‘missed periods.’ It was about children being killed in their mother’s wombs. All those years I was wrong. Signing that affidavit, I was wrong. Working in an abortion clinic, I was wrong. No more of this first trimester, second trimester, third trimester stuff. Abortion—at any point—was wrong. It was so clear. Painfully clear.”

After 30 years of abortions in North America, women have not gained true freedom with the decimalization of abortion and the unborn certainly hasn’t gained any freedom. Dr. James Dobson writes, “research reveals that an alarming number of women are coerced to have abortions by their husbands, boyfriends, parents and most notably, by abortion clinic ‘counselors.’” In the U.S., abortion is a multimillion dollar industry. Many women feel—ironically—that they have no choice BUT to abort an “unplanned” pregnancy. Little is explained about the dangers involved. Dobson goes on to write, “The truth is that abortion is far deadlier to women than childbirth; it is linked to a 30 to 50 percent increase in breast cancer; it is related to high rates of abuse, suicide and death; and it causes many women to suffer for the rest of their lives with the physical and emotional scars of Post Abortion Syndrome. And, most importantly, it is an affront to the great heart of the Creator.”

All is not lost. There is still hope to make change in this country. A recent online poll by the Globe and Mail showed that 92% of the participants stated that Morgentaler should not receive the honour. If only Canadians would be more vocal about the actual abortion issue! I am hoping the fervour over Morgentaler receiving the Order of Canada will cause Canadians to stop ignoring the horrible reality of “mass killing” in this country.

In this country, people have fought for the closures of residential schools, the ending of forced sterilization of mentally challenged people, the “persons case” where women earned rights as legal “persons”, and the abolishment of slavery. It took effort, determination and sacrifice. As we sing the line, “God keep our land, glorious and free”, let us ask ourselves how God wants to use US to “keep our land glorious and free”, for all Canadians, born and unborn.

How can we, in the words of George Parkin Grant, resist “tyranny” and rediscover “authoritative Christianity”? Let us wait on the Lord, pray sincerely and speak up for truth. Let us not be ambivalent to the issue.

A Teacher in July...

2008-07-10T18:22:00.003-04:00

I am sitting outside in my Muskoka chair… right now… as I write this.

So… I listen to the gentle hum of the air conditioner, as it cools the inside of my house… I am enjoying the sound of the peaceful breeze rustling the leaves of our mighty beech tree and “tinging” and “clinking” of my wife’s wind chimes. I watch as moths and butterflies flutter over my yard and I gaze at the quietly swaying tire-swing. Ah, summer. (It would be a lie to say that this was not the best time of the year to be a teacher.)

I lamented to a friend how the summer is just not long enough... how quickly it goes by...

I was met with sarcasm with a hint of disdain.

Binge Reading

2008-07-09T13:19:00.004-04:00

I recently purchased a Muskoka chair made of Eon (an indestructible wood-like product). I am able to sit in this chair for hours without incurring back pain. Consequently, I have been “binge reading” for the past two weeks… hence the lack of posts on my blog.

I love to read, and during the academic year, my love for reading is often stifled by reading “last minute” student essays, hammered out in the wee hours of the morning. Actually, “hammered out” is too strong of a phrase. It implies craftsmanship (e.g., blacksmithing or something). “Spewing on paper” is perhaps too crass, but more accurate. Anyway, now that I am free of the manacles of poorly written academic prose, I have been imbibing—heavily—of sweet literary nectar.

In the meantime, I have been thinking of writing a number of blogs. I have discovered that by reading—taking it all in—isn’t completely satisfying. I feel intellectually bloated. I have gorged my mind on too much turkey and cranberry sauce. I need to talk and write about what I am reading. I need to do some “spewing” of my own.

Here is the plan. First, I hope to blog a little about what I have read. Secondly, I also hope to start a journal for jotting, reflecting and private musings. Thirdly, I hope to connect with a reading partner for regular reflection, discussion and friendly chit-chat about a commonly read text. This third activity may also involve imbibing of more “earthly” nectar and enjoying “Hornblower Longbottom leaf”.

At the Kilns: The need to be needed

2008-06-13T10:12:00.002-04:00

The first of the “four loves” C.S. Lewis writes about in his book The Four Loves is “Affection”. Affection is the broadest and most inclusive of loves, the sort of love between parents and children, teachers and students, masters and pets, so on and so forth. In his discussion of this sort of love, he details the associated pitfalls. And, like all beautiful gifts of God, given to fallen man, there are many pitfalls.

One pitfall in particular struck me. He described the “terrible need to be needed” and he cited, as example, the over-protective mother, who labours to ensure an ever-dependent mindset in her children. Lewis describes the “ravenous need to be needed” that will “gratify itself either by keeping its objects needy or by inventing for them imaginary needs”. This abuse of affection, however, is not limited to mothers. Lewis goes on to cite a literary example from Jane Austen’s Emma. I have not read the book, but I have watched the film version. I recall Emma’s controlling affection for Harriet Smith.

What struck me in all this was not that I am an over-protective mother (or father…) nor am I the sort of sort person who interferes with the happiness of my friends. What struck me was Lewis third example—the teacher. He writes,

My own profession—that of a university teacher—is in this way dangerous. If we are any good we must always be working towards the moment at which our pupils are fit to become our critics and rivals. We should be delighted when it arrives, as a fencing master is delighted when his pupil can pink and disarm him.

I must confess that—at times—I delight too much in the reciprocated affection from my pupils. I must remind myself that educators “must aim” at making ourselves “superfluous…” It is a stern warning for all educators. C.S. Lewis writes, “The hour when we can say, ‘They need me no longer’ should be our reward”. A truly great reward indeed.

Why I should retire from teaching (at the ripe old age of 32)

2008-06-12T06:56:00.009-04:00

As the school year draws to a close, as exams are graded, marks are calculated, comments and reports are generated... as my students walk across the stage in great pomp and ceremony... I am beginning to plan for next year. What texts will I teach next year? What assignments shall I give? How can I rearrange my classroom to maximize student learning? What is WRONG with me?! I am having a baby (or my wife is having our baby) in a month's time while I... instead of building cribs and doing pre-baby stuff... I am starting to plan my courses for next year! Technically this school year hasn't even finished yet.

I was warned by a veteran teacher that this might happen. Two months vacation in the summer becoming two months of "prep" time... time devoted to the overhauling of courses and preparations for the following academic year. This veteran teacher told me it was time to retire when that happened. So, I am announcing my retirement from teaching. I think my retirement plan will offer a nickle a month until I reach 2059. Then it goes to a dime. In the meantime, I may go into educational consulting and spend my summer planning someone else's upcoming school year.

At the Kilns: On Reading Lewis and Watching Star Wars

2008-06-10T10:01:00.003-04:00

I am reading C.S. Lewis’s The Four Loves. It is an unparalleled example of Lewis’s insightful and ingenious way of writing; he makes many poignant and perceptive observations about human nature and the world. The commentary he offers is rooted in a well-considered and broad perspective of all reality. Real truth for a real world, a world that includes the physical and spiritual.

As I was considering my plan to immerse myself in the writings of C.S. Lewis this year, it has occurred to me that I should have mapped out my reading list chronologically. That is, according to the order that Lewis wrote/published his works. I have already begun to see parallels in the ideas Lewis presents as I read his works. It would have been profitable to discover Lewis’s train of thought as it surfaces through his publications. No one ever arrives at all knowledge and wisdom, and then proceeds to write it all down. There is a process of growing and gathering. By reading his works in the order that he wrote them would give me a better idea of how Lewis fostered his worldview. I am not talking about fundamental changes in his thinking; I am interested in minor advancements in his thinking, shifts in perspective, refinement, new discoveries and so on. How did he envision life as a 35 year old (say in, Pilgrim’s Regress 1933) as opposed to a 58 year old (say in, Till We Have Faces 1956)?

If I ever do this sort of thing again, then I will certainly begin at the beginning. As I look ahead to future reading, I am becoming increasingly interested in Francis Schaeffer. I may start reading his works in the order of publication.

On a related note, I also recommend that new readers coming to “Narnia” enjoy the books as they were published, not according to Narnian chronology. Lewis recommends---albeit whimsically---that people should read the Chronicles of Narnia chronologically. This is why the publishers number the books beginning with The Magician’s Nephew. This book was actually the sixth book he wrote. In spite of Lewis’s recommendation, I must disagree with him on this point. I am convinced that readers should begin with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The main reason is the fact that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a much better book than The Magician’s Nephew. It is a better story. I have heard many people confess that they started to read the Chronicles of Narnia but “never got into the series…” I proceed to ask what book they started with: the answer, The Magician’s Nephew. It is the “Genesis” of Narnia, it explains the origin of the Narnian world. However, I believe this book’s value to readers comes only after readers have fallen in love with the world Lewis created. How did the lamp post get into Narnia? We only ask that question once we come to cherish that first magical image of the lamp post on the other of the wardrobe… along with an umbrella wielding Faun carrying packages on a snowy day. I am so glad I began my own personal journey into Narnia with the snow covered lamp post. For me, this image is unforgettable. My brother, who gave me the books as a gift many years ago, recommended that order of reading. Thanks, bro.

The order Lewis actually wrote the books is as follows (the publishers numbering according to Narnian chronology is in parentheses):

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2)
Prince Caspian (4)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (5)
The Silver Chair (6)
The Horse and his boy (3)
The Magician’s Nephew (1)
The Last Battle (7)

On a (mostly) unrelated note, I also recommend that first-time viewers of the Star Wars franchise watch the films in order of production, not in order of Star Wars chronology.

Star Wars IV: A New Hope (1977)
Star Wars V: Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
Star Wars I: Phantom Menace (1999)
Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

I just hope Lucas doesn’t get any more “pre-quel” ideas with the Indiana Jones franchise…

At the Kilns: On Death

2008-06-05T18:54:00.006-04:00

I recently read C.S. Lewis’s book The Great Divorce. It tells the story of the narrator’s journey from Hell to Heaven on a magic bus. The work is entirely imaginative in that Lewis does not make any attempts to seriously speculate what Hell or Heaven is really like. What he does accomplish, though, is a powerful allegory of salvation and humanity’s determined resistance to the gift of JOY found only in Christ.

It is a strange tale, I must admit. Nevertheless, I found it powerful, especially in portraying our folly as humans. Visitors from Hell encounter--in the “foothills” of Heaven---redeemed saints who they once knew in life. These redeemed saints seek to persuade the condemned--one last time--to turn to Christ. The petty and self-centred sinful nature of humanity is revealed to be so ridiculous and so pathetic (at times) when contrasted with the setting of Heaven, which is vividly portrayed as a fantastical and imaginative landscape. In light of eternity, in light of Heaven, in light of the God of all creation, anything and everything that separates us from Christ should be immediately discarded. Lewis portrays this plainly and forcefully. Frequently during the short read, I pondered my own life and wondered how much I valued Christ and the salvation of souls over my career, my family, my life, my possessions, my “anything” and “everything.”

The book also caused me to ponder death. This became especially potent in light of my Opa’s recent passing. In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet is told by his mother that death is common.

Do not for ever with thy vailed lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust:
Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die,
Passing through nature to eternity. (Act I Scene 2)

Death afflicts us all, but it is not “common” in the colloquial sense of the word, that is, mundane or ordinary. We were not created to endure death or the separation that death brings. The fact that we do manage to endure the passing of our loved ones is due to the grace of God. Death itself is not natural, in that we were not created to die. We were created to live eternally in fellowship with God and man.

In A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis writes candidly about his own grief after the death of his wife, Joy Davidman. It is an incredibly revealing account of Lewis’s private thoughts and his pain. Lewis had experienced the death of his mother (when he was 10 years old), the death of his father, the death of fellow soldier Paddy Moore, and the death of his close friend, Charles Williams. Yet, he never seemed to fully accept the “commonness” of death. Originally, A Grief Observed was published under the pseudonym, N.W. Clerk, to hide the fact that the great apologist C.S. Lewis doubted the goodness of God while he was in mourning (N.W. Clerk is short for “I know not what scholar” in Old English). On death, C.S. Lewis writes,

It is hard to have patience with people who say ‘There is no death’ or ‘Death doesn’t matter.’ There is death. And whatever is matters. And whatever happens has consequences, and it and they are irrevocable and irreversible. You might as well say that birth doesn’t matter. I look up at the night sky. Is anything more certain than that in all those vast times and spaces, if I were allowed to search them, I should nowhere find her face, her voice, her touch? She died. She is dead. Is the word so difficult to learn?

Death IS difficult to handle and impossible to truly understand. Even though death has lost its sting, it still hurts. Coping with death does not come naturally. So much else in life does come naturally… Take for example a mother loving her wrinkly, purplish, alien-like newborn baby. She even calls it beautiful! But maternal love is natural. God made fathers and mothers to love their children. But accepting death... that is not natural nor easily done, despite the obvious and universally known fact that "all that lives must die." As Lewis puts it, one gets “over” the death of a loved one the same way a one-legged man gets “over” loosing his leg. He gets “by” not “over.”

Death is a consequence of sin. Christians have hope in death, but Christians also have hurt in death. Death has no sting for the departed in Christ, but for those left behind, death stings like any other consequence of the great fall of man.

My Opa...

2008-06-04T22:04:00.004-04:00

Hilbertus Albertus Adriaanus Vanderklok
February 24, 1923 - May 19th, 2008

A couple weeks ago, my Opa went home to be with the Lord. I was honoured with the opportunity to give the eulogy at his memorial service. As I prepared the eulogy, I discovered how difficult a task it is to publicly honour a loved one who has died. Was I speaking on behalf of myself… what Opa meant to me? Was I speaking on behalf of his children, grandchildren, friends? I was painfully aware of the mourning of others as well as myself.

In the end, I spoke about what my Opa meant to me. I wanted to speak the truth; what I knew to be true is what he meant to me personally.

He was, above all, a spiritual mentor to me. This was the most challenging aspect of the eulogy. I have many relatives who do not know the Lord. Initially, I confess that I was afraid of offending them with "religious" talk. I almost scrapped my whole eulogy the night before the service. Oh, what a foolish thing to fear! Ironically, my Opa was not squeamish about sharing his faith in Jesus Christ. In the end, I knew that I had to honour Christ if I were to truly honour my grandfather. By the grace of God, I shared his life of faith and what that faith meant to me. Here are two areas of my Opa’s Christian walk that meant a great deal to me.

He was a man of prayer. He prayed daily for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Daily. My Opa would not go to medical appointments before 9 o’clock in the morning because he was “still meeting with the Lord.” He got out of bed at 5 o’clock in the morning every day and he spent over three hours in prayer. When my father was clearing out Opa’s desk, he was amazed at the lists of people and organizations my Opa was praying for before his death.

My Opa also loved the Word. He read the Bible cover to cover hundreds of times since his conversion in 1963. At the plant where my Opa worked, he would spend every lunch break reading his Bible. On the tool box, by the machine he operated, sat his Bible. He was not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. His testimony at work resulted in the conversion of at least one of his co-workers, a man who has also become spiritual mentor to me, a man who is eternally grateful for my grandfather’s bold devotion to the Word of God.

What a legacy! What a gift my Opa was to my soul! By his example, he taught me to pray, to love the Word and to live my faith “always” and “everywhere.”

Before he died, my Opa filled out a form indicating his preferences regarding his funeral arrangements. In addition to which hymns he wanted sung and which Scripture passages he wanted read, my Opa was asked, “What message would you like to give to those left behind?” His response was this (paraphrased): “I hope to see everyone again someday, joining me kneeling at the throne of Jesus.” When the dead speak, the living listen.

Oh, that I would leave such a legacy for my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Oh that I would be so bold in my Christian walk, to pray so fervently and to drink in the Word so faithfully. May my life and my death exult Christ as did my grandfather’s life and death!

At the Kilns: Lewis on Predestination

2008-06-02T12:26:00.001-04:00

In Doug Wilson’s article, “Was C.S. Lewis Reformed?” he addresses C.S. Lewis’s understanding of the seemingly contradictory tension between “predestination” and “man’s responsibility” apparent in the Scriptures. Wilson writes that “[C.S. Lewis] refused to set one truth against another.” Wilson goes on, quoting Lewis on the subject: “Of course reality must be self-consistent; but till (if ever) we can see the consistency it is better to hold two inconsistent views than to ignore one side of the evidence . . . It is plain from Scripture that, in whatever sense the Pauline doctrine is true, it is not true in any sense which excludes its (apparent) opposite.” Although Lewis wasn't "reformed" per se, Doug Wilson comments, “It is important here to note how Lewis named the doctrine of predestination under discussion—the ‘Pauline doctrine.’ And he assumed it was true in some sense which would make people think it might exclude its apparent opposite—the genuine freedom of men and women. But of course, because God cannot lie, no truths contradict at the ultimate level. God is sovereign and the creature is free.”

It was, like, an awesome speech, actually

2008-05-20T14:36:00.003-04:00

This morning on CBC Radio 2, I heard about the commencement address given by Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough to graduates at Boston College. He said, “Please, please do what you can to cure the verbal virus that seems increasingly rampant among your generation.” He cited the “relentless, wearisome use of words,” such as “like,” “awesome” and “actually.”

As an example, McCullough said, “Just imagine if in his inaugural address John F. Kennedy had said, ‘Ask not what your country can, you know, do for you, but what you can, like, do for your country actually.’”

At the Kilns: a grief experienced

2008-05-19T22:08:00.003-04:00

Tonight, my Opa went home to be with his Lord and Saviour.

"Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord---for we walk by faith, not by sight---we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord." (2 Co 5:6-8)

My heart lept for joy.

At the Kilns: A Defense of C.S. Lewis

2008-05-16T14:45:00.004-04:00

When I was at Bible college in Alberta, a dear friend of mine saw me reading Mere Christianity. Even though C.S. Lewis was not on any of the course reading lists for that year, I was simply reading it for the edification of my soul. The effect Lewis’s writing had on me was nothing short of transforming. So, like anyone who enjoys something, I enthusiastically told my friend what I was learning. To my surprise, my friend responded that I should be cautious reading C.S. Lewis. Apparently Lewis held some strange beliefs. Well, I kept reading Lewis… for the edification of my soul. And, I later discovered, Lewis did hold to some strange beliefs, which become apparent when scrutinizing his lesser known works and the occasional private correspondence. Nevertheless, I have (and continue to be) tremendously blessed through the writings of C.S. Lewis… and so have millions of people around the world.

Without doubt, Lewis was a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Did he have all his theological ducks in a row? No. Do I? Probably not. Do you?

The fact that Lewis’s life has undergone so much scrutiny, I am surprised there is not more so called “dirt” that is discovered. On the contrary, the testimony of those who knew him is consistent with his public confession as a believer in Jesus Christ. The resounding affirmation of real and sincere Christianity lived out in his life comes from fellow believers and unbelievers alike—close friends, acquaintances, students, colleagues and correspondents (Lewis wrote over 3400 personal letters to people around the world).

Part of the alarm and concern about Lewis is the overwhelming acceptance and popularity of his writings among evangelicals and non-evangelicals, Papists and Mormons. The problem with this line of argument is that we would have to disregard the Apostle Paul's writings as well.

Some critics accuse Lewis of going too far in his orthodox convictions. When C.S. Lewis was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1947, the accompanying article records that Lewis “is one of a growing band of 'heretics' among modern intellectuals: an intellectual who believes in God… not a mild and vague belief, for he accepts ‘all the articles of the Christian faith.’” On the otherhand, some "hardliners" accuse Lewis of not going far enough is expounding Christian orthodoxy. However, I think what they really mean is, Lewis does not expound their preferrential doctrinal nuances as gospel truth. Explaining his role as an apologist, Lewis states: “We are defending Christianity; not ‘my religion.’ When we mention our personal opinions we must always make quite clear the difference between them and the Faith itself.” The proof is in the pudding. The simple fact is that Lewis's writing has pointed many to Christ, not the Church of England.

Recently when I came across harsh criticism and condemnation of Lewis, I felt a pang of hurt in my soul. Here is an excerpt of what I read: Mary Van Nattan, who, in her article, “C.S. Lewis: The Devil’s Wisest Fool,” writes, “John F. Kennedy, C.S. Lewis, and Aldous Huxley all died on the same day. They all went to the same place”—i.e., “hell.”

Reflecting on this sensation of hurt, I wondered why I would react to criticism of Lewis. The answer, in Lewis’s words, is “The Church is the Bride of Christ. We are members of one another.” We are members of one body, Christ’s body. To read a “damning” article or hearing a harshly critical report about a fellow believer in Christ should cause all of us who believe in Christ to feel a sense of pain and disappointment. We are called to “build one another up” (1 Th 5:11) and we are warned not to “judge” (cf. Mt 7:1ff, Ro 14:4-10ff).

The BBC described to Lewis “the sharp division [he produces in his] audience: they either regard [him] as the cat’s whiskers, or as beneath contempt.” C.S. Lewis’s response was simple: “The two views you report aren’t very illuminating about me perhaps. About my subject matter it is an old story, isn’t it? They love or hate.”

The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:8, “In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” I thank God for being the righteous Judge and I thank God for C.S. Lewis, who sincerely and wholeheartedly loved “His appearing.”

At the Kilns: "The Spirituality of C.S. Lewis"

2008-05-12T23:45:00.006-04:00

This past Sunday night saw the conclusion of the four part series, "The Christian and Literature." The last instalment is entitled "The Spirituality of C. S. Lewis." I disuss four areas of Lewis's life that set him as an example to the church of a sincere and effective life for Christ.

I. C.S. Lewis understood his calling and gifts and he used them imaginatively for the Glory of God.

II. C.S. Lewis understood his calling and gifts and he used them sacrificially for the Glory of God.

III. C.S. Lewis had a burden for the lost and a sincere love for fellow man.

IV. C.S. Lewis sought to glorify God sincerely in his daily life and work.

In spite of his fame during his lifetime, he remained an ordinary Christian man. He never quit his day job; he never became a full time theologian, apologist or pastor. However, he laboured for the Kingdom of Christ, building up the church and drawing the lost to Jesus.

Without a doubt, C.S. Lewis used his original and creative imagination powerfully to advance the kingdom of God and glorify Christ. The church can learn much from his example.

The last message, "The Spirituality of C.S. Lewis," is available on Sermon Audio.

At the Kilns: Still Learning from Lewis

2008-05-08T21:23:00.003-04:00

I have taken a brief hiatus from my blogging series "At the Kilns." Things are very hectic at home: my wife is pregnant, my children are finishing their home schooling year, my school year wraps up and I am finishing my speaking series “The Christian and Literature” at my home church. Nevertheless, C.S. Lewis has been a staple for me during this speaking series and he is the subject of my last message, “C.S. Lewis and the Christian Imagination.”

As for my most recent Lewis reading… my children and I are on to Prince Caspian having finished The L., W. & W.. My plan is to take the boys to see the new film (if it turns out to be suitable for my young lads). I am also reading Lewis’s The Great Divorce, which is a fascinating (albeit unusual) similitude of the after life. I also plan to read a recent spiritual biography of Lewis called Seeking the Secret Place: The Spiritual Formation of C.S. Lewis by Dr. Lyle Dorsett. Dorsett is the former director of the Marion E. Wade Centre (an archive housing the world's largest collection of “Lewisania” and the premiere C. S. Lewis research hub in the world) and he is notably one of the foremost experts on the life and writings of Lewis. I have already begun perusing the book in preparation for this Sunday’s message. Dorsett focuses on the journey of sanctification and spiritual growth of C.S. Lewis after his conversion. In the introduction, Dorsett comments on the vast amount of excellent biographies that focus on Lewis’s conversion to Christianity or his mature years with Joy Davidman. Very little addresses Lewis’s growth from early convert to the colossal giant of the faith he is known as. This book is Dorsett's attempt to rectify this gap in Lewis scholarship and, most importantly, to edify and encourage the saints in their own spiritual formation.

Also over the course of the next month, I hope to read Lewis’s The Four Loves, which was the first C. S. Lewis book I ever read (12 years ago!). I still have a lot more Lewis books I would like to read this year and I am nearly five months in! Where did the time go?

uncharted waters...

2008-05-06T12:00:00.003-04:00

This coming Sunday night I will conclude my foray into the subject of the Christians and Literature. This subject is not new to the church at large. There have been many wise and highly intelligent people who have already written and spoke on this subject: scholars like C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer and Dorothy Sayers. However, the subject is new to many 21st century Christians in the evangelical church. The subject is also new to me... as a subject to speak about from the pulpit. As a Christian student and teacher of literature, I have spent considerable time developing a Christian perspective and theory of literary study. What I have begun to realise during this series I am presenting is the need for Christians to develop their understanding of literature. The messages are available on SermonAudio.com. This is uncharted waters for both my church and for me. It is less like preaching, more like teaching. Nevertheless, the congregation has received the messages enthusiastically and positively. I am grateful for their interest and support. As we move forward in this study, I am becoming increasingly convinced by John Piper’s assertion: “imagination is not merely a device for writers, it is a duty for all Christians. We must exercise it or be disobedient.”

These four messages merely scratch the surface of the Christian Imagination. We have lost much ground over the course of the last century. This series, I hope, is a start in the right direction.

Shakespeare: The Gifted Observer

2008-05-02T07:03:00.003-04:00

This Sunday night, I will present Session 3 in the series, “The Christian and Literature.” Sunday's message is “Shakespeare: The Gifted Observer.” The value of Shakespeare for the Christian is Shakespeare’s application of a decidedly Christian worldview in his plays.

Whether he was a Christian or not is unclear. Some scholars argue that Shakespeare was a Puritan, and others suggest he was Anglican; some put forward the idea he was Catholic while others further propose he was an unbeliever. The mystery about Shakespeare’s personal spirituality remains a mystery simply because we know very little about the man behind the works.

My case this Sunday night will not be the spirituality of Shakespeare, but the spirituality of his works. George Macdonald writes, “Truth is truth, whether it's spoken by the lips of Jesus or Balaam's donkey.” It doesn’t matter---per se---if he was a Christian or not; what Shakespeare shows us is truth. He is a keen observer of God’s creation, in particular, the human being. We have much to learn from his insights into the human experience. The events in his plays unfold in a world baptised by the Christian imagination, taking place in a universe ruled by a Sovereign God.

At the core of Shakespeare’s writing is the Bible. Out of the 66 books of the Bible books, Shakespeare quoted 57. Shakespeare also presents countless Christian themes in his plays as well as biblical allusions.

Christians should pay attention to Shakespeare, not only as the greatest English-speaking writer in Western literature, but also as the Gifted Observer of God’s world.

So many poets, so little time...

2008-04-24T20:52:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday, I began a seminar series at my church called “The Christian and Literature.” I attempted to make a case for Christians fostering a poetic imagination and viewing the world as “story”—God’s story.

This Sunday, I will continue the series by looking at poetry. John Piper writes, “Imagination is like a muscle. It grows stronger when you flex it. And you must flex it… Imagination is also contagious… So I suggest that you hang out with people (mainly dead poets) who are full of imagination.”

Piper recommends Christians spend time with some dead poets. So, that is the plan. Some dead poets I hope to take a look at are Isaac Watts (who penned over 700 hymns), George Herbert (one of C.S. Lewis’s favourite poets), John Donne, John Keats, William Blake, William Wordsworth, Langston Hughes, Robert Herrick and a handful of others. We may also take a peek at Milton and an excerpt from Beowulf.

There is so much rich and rewarding poetry… where to begin?

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

2008-04-22T21:41:00.003-04:00

A new documentary is being released called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. The film tackles the one sided approach in academia to the evolution debate.

Ben Stein, who features in the film, said, "I have always assumed that scientists were free to ask any question, to pursue any line of inquiry, without fear of reprisal," Stein tells moviegoers. "But recently I have been alarmed to discover that this is not the case." He asks, "Darwin challenged the consensus view, and that's how we got Darwinism. If Darwin wanted to challenge the consensus today, how would he do it?"

To Focus on the Family, he goes on to say, "Why do we allow, even celebrate, dissent in every other area of society, but not here? I've found that people who are confident in their ideas are not afraid of criticism. So this tells me that Darwinists are afraid. ... Darwin was on to something gigantic. At the very least, he was on to changes within species. But whether there's ever been a provable observation of a new species being created, I don't think there has been. How did the whole thing start? How did the cell get so complex? Who created it all? Where did it come from?"

Check out the complete review on Plugged In.

Fostering a poetic imagination...

2008-04-22T15:37:00.008-04:00

“Golly,” said Edmund under his breath. “He's a retired star.”
“Aren't you a star any longer?” asked Lucy.
“I am a star at rest, my daughter,” answered Ramandu…
“In our world,” said Eustace, “a star is a huge ball of flaming gas.”
“Even in your world, my son, that is not what a star is but only what it is made of.”

~ C.S. Lewis, Voyage of the Dawn Treader

This past Sunday, I began a series called, "The Christian and Literature." The first installment focused on the need to foster a Christian (and poetic) imagination. Pastor and writer John Piper boldly states, “Imagination is not merely a device for writers, it is a duty for all Christians. We must exercise it or be disobedient.” We need to foster a poetic imagination for the following reasons:

(I) to widen our perspective of the world

There is more to understanding the world than mere "science"---although few would ever doubt the value and contributions of science in general, we live in a culture that believes truth can only be found in the material world. This is a narrow perspective the universe and it is certainly not Christian. The poetic worldview includes the scientific/literal, but encompasses the whole of human experience. Who can measure courage, love, friendship, beauty, leadership, sacrifice, duty? These things are as real as the leaves on the trees and the air that we breathe, yet they are nonmaterial.

The writer in Hebrews describes faith poetically: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

(II) to begin to understand an infinite and nonmaterial God

In fact, the finite mind can only begin to understand the infinite God through poetic language, through a poetic imagination, an imagination that can comprehend “metaphor”: He is described as “King,” “Father,” “Brother,” “Husband,” “Friend,” “Lover.”

But God is NOT literally any of these things. God does not have a body, yet the Scriptures describe Him as having a face, ears, eyes, nostrils, mouth, hands, arms, fingers, shoulders, back, feet. He sits, stands, marches, rides, shoots arrows; his voice is like thunder.

(III) to grasp the mysteries of the gospel

Jesus chastises His disciples when they fail to understand His poetic language, confusing the "leaven" of the Pharisees with the literal leaven of bread (Matt 16-6-12); Nicodemus cannot comprehend being "born again" (John 3:3ff) and the Jewish people mistake the spiritual kingdom Jesus came to establish with a literal kingdom (John 6). These are just three examples where the people who walked with Jesus and heard His messages failed to understand the poetry of His statements.

(IV) to live out “The Golden Rule”

We need a poetic imagination to obey the golden rule: Douglas Jones points out, “In the case of morality, many thinkers have pointed to the fact that moral judgments involve the imaginative act of placing yourself in the other person’s place, the act of sympathy. Even the simplest, yet most profound commands—‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’ (Mt. 22:39) and ‘love one another as I have loved you’ (Jn. 15:12)—require us to imagine one person as another, one situation in terms of another, Christ as us. That involves a profound and imaginative metaphorical transfer. And that has to be learned; the implications are very subtle.”

(V) to communicate God’s glory anew

Cliche kills the imagination. Cliches are stale. They lack potency. They are old expressions, old images, old ways of saying truths. When original, they were powerful. When a phrase becomes commonplace, it losses it's ability to convey a full meaning. Christians should endeavour to break away from cliche and present the glorious truth of the God of all creation in new, powerful ways, ways that are worthy of the great God we serve. Francis Schaeffer writes, “The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.”

C.S. Lewis wrote the Chronicles of Narnia in order to present the glorious truth of the gospel in a new way, without “stained glass and Sunday school associations.”

John Piper, in his essay, “God is not boring,” writes, “Imagination is the key to killing boredom. We must imagine ways to see great truths for what they really are. And they are not boring. God’s world—all of it—rings with wonders. The imagination call up new words, new images, new analogies, new metaphors, new illustrations, new connections to say old, glorious truth. Imagination is the faculty of the mind that God has given us to make the communication of His beauty beautiful… [and] helps us show the world’s horror as horrible.”

Christians must foster a poetic imagination, in order to “labor to say an old truth in awakening ways. God is worthy. ‘Oh sing to the Lord a new song”—or picture, or poem, or figure of speech.”

The Christian and Literature

2008-04-18T14:56:00.003-04:00

Starting this Sunday night, I will present a four part series on "The Christian and Literature" to my local church. The first session will deal with poetry.

At the heart of this series is my hope to adequately answer the question, "Why should Christians read literature?" In short, literature fosters "imagination"---true imagination, God honouring imagination. Pastor and author John Piper writes, "imagination is not merely a device for writers, it is a duty for all Christians. We must exercise it or be disobedient."

Over the course of the four sessions, I hope to show the truth of this statement. I also hope to post some of what I will be saying in these sessions on my blog. Stay tuned!

"...the hills are alive with the Sound of Music!"

2008-04-08T14:30:00.002-04:00

...and I am barely alive...

I am in the middle of directing my school production of The Sound of Music. Or perhaps I should say, "the muddle of directing..." The show opens this Thursday night and runs until the Saturday matinee. THIS Thursday.

It should be a great show... there is only about three or four more months worth of work to be done. I only have two days...

I fear my wife and children have forgotten I still exist. I do! I do!

Changing the world, one blog at a time

2008-03-31T12:36:00.003-04:00

I am teaching a unit on media to my Grade 12 English students. We have been looking at a number of media-related topics, including “blogging”. On Friday, I came across this article in the Hamilton Spectator about the influence one blogger had on AOL. (Click here for “Got a beef? Your blog can make a company tremble.”)

According to the article, there are 35 million blogs on the Internet; there are even more blog readers. As a blogger myself, I wonder how useful, illuminating or informative my blog actually is. In the past month and a half, my blog has been viewed over 600 times. A handful of those visitors are friends and family; the bulk of visitors are people looking for information on a range of topics posted on my blog. Most of those visitors come from Google searches; for example, type in “Why study Shakespeare” in the Google search window. Today (March 31st, 2008) , my blog, galumphing, is the sixth hit on the Google search out of 449,000 hits. I think what I have to say about Shakespeare is worth saying, and worth reading. I am a professional educator, so my ideas about literature are peer reviewed by my department as well as by my colleagues and substantiated by my formal education. However, when someone blogs, there is no guarantee that he really know what he is talking about. I also blog with distinctly Christian worldview and perspective; to some, that would undermine what I have to say.

The daunting reality is that anyone (and their dog, it seems) can create a blog. There is no peer review, there is no formal training required, and there is no overt ethical screening. The individual “blogger” is the only one who reviews, sensors and ultimately decides what appears online to the thousands of Internet surfers. The individual reader is left to discern truth from fiction, detect bias and evaluate the relevance of the posts. This is disconcerting, given the steadily declining level of analytical literacy among average university undergraduates, much less the average reader.

Twenty years ago, the hot-under-the-collar, ranting person found an audience with a handful of friends at the local Tim Horton’s. If the rant turned ugly, then the manager would probably turn you out. Today, that hot-under-the-collar rant is published worldwide.

Ultimately, people need to be extra cautious what they say: we need to think before we “write.” The irony is, this caution comes at a time when people rarely think before they do anything.

At the Kilns: Learning from C.S. Lewis

2008-03-25T20:26:00.000-04:00

This series on galumphing called “At the Kilns” is devoted to learning from the writings of C.S. Lewis. I thought it might be appropriate to explain what The Kilns actually is.

C.S. Lewis lived and worked for over thirty years at his home in Oxford called “The Kilns.” (See the photo on the sidebar). He also died there on November 22, 1963, the same day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The house was named after the brick kilns that stood nearby. A kiln is an “oven” for hardening or drying bricks (or pottery, or whatever you intend to harden and dry). The main intent of the title, “At the Kilns” is simple to describe my “experience reading Lewis”—I suppose a double meaning may be that I am “hardening” my faith, or perhaps making bricks to build my faith…? Or perhaps that is cheesy. I am not getting “baked” or “drying up”…

The Kilns has been purchased and refurbished by the C.S. Lewis Foundation to be used for sabbaticals and research, although tours can be arranged by appointment. I am planning on visiting Oxford (Lord willing) next March; the Kilns is top on the list of places to see (that, and Lewis’s favourite pub, the “Bird and Baby”).

Lewis on The Kilns
On Sunday, July 6th, 1930, C.S. Lewis and his brother Warren view The Kilns with the intention to purchase the home. Upon viewing the property, Lewis records, “The eight-acre garden is such stuff dreams are made on… The house… stands at the entrance to its own grounds at the northern foot of Shotover [Hill] at the end of a narrow lane… To the left of the house are the two brick kilns from which it takes its name—in front, a lawn and hard tennis court—then a large bathing pool, beautifully wooded, and with a delightful circular brick seat overlooking it. After that a steep wilderness broken with ravines and nooks of all kinds runs up to a little cliff topped by a thistly meadow, and then the property ends in a thick belt of fir trees, almost a wood. The view from the cliff over the dim blue distance is simply glorious.”

My Marriage and Tea

2008-03-24T18:31:00.004-04:00

Over the past few months, my wife and I have been enjoying "tea time" in our living room; it is a time where we can sit together, enjoy a pot of tea (tea always tastes better when steeped in a pot as opposed to a mug), nibble on a little sweet treat and talk... no kids, no chores, no work. In the old days, we used to call it "couch time" (from the Growing Kids God's Way parenting course). It is amazing how easy it is to forget to spend time together on a regular basis with no interruptions and no distractions. Although tea may not be good for the teeth, it is good for my marriage.

Anyway, I came across this article on the "Abondante Living" web page, which gives the scoop on tea drinking traditions.

At the Kilns: A Blessing from War

2008-03-24T13:00:00.003-04:00

Today in History

Ninety years ago today, on March 24, 1918, Edward “Paddy” Moore, Lewis’s friend and army roommate, is reported missing in action. It is later learned that Paddy had been killed three days prior resisting a German offensive at Pargny, France.

C.S. Lewis fought in one of history’s worst and costliest wars. He lost many comrades-in -arms, he won a medal for bravery and he was wounded by shrapnel from a nearby explosion that killed a soldier next to Lewis. In his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, Lewis describes his impressions from the front lines: “the horrible smashed men still moving like half crushed beetles, the sitting or standing corpses, the landscape of sheer earth without a blade of grass, the boots worn day and night until they seemed to grow to your feet.”

Being a Canadian and a Lover of Peace

As a Canadian, I have cherished our global role as peacekeepers, even though some missions ended disasterously. Growing up during the Cold War and during a time when Canada was primarily engaged in "peace-keeping" I am only now—slowly—awakening to the reality of Canada's current war in Afghanistan. The question of pacifism is floating around in both Christian and non-Christian circles. What about war? To help answer the question, I turn to my mentor, C.S. Lewis.

Lewis on War

Despite loosing a friend and enduring such horrible experiences, Lewis ardently rejected pacifism. During the Second World War, although too old for active duty, Lewis volunteered to serve on home front duties. I recently read two lectures given by Lewis on the subject of war, “Learning in War-time” and “Why I am not a Pacifist.” The latter lecture is a model of Lewis's impeccably logical mind, and offers a powerful and persuasive case against pacifism. I have been mulling over for a few weeks as to how I would blog about this lecture. In the end, I must resort to simply refer you, if you are interested, to read the essay for yourself. What I will blog about is an excerpt from the former lecture, "Learning in War-time."

In "Learning in War-time," Lewis asks what war does to death? He first explains what is does not do: war does not increase deaths, “since 100 percent of us die;” it does not increase our “chances of a painful death.” He states that on the battlefield we have a better chance of a quick, painless death; “what we call a natural death is usually preceded by suffering.” He goes on to say that war does not “decrease our chances of dying at peace with God.” What other circumstance, Lewis argues, would “better persuade a man to prepare for death”?

“Yet war does do something to death. It forces us to remember it. The only reason why the cancer at sixty or the paralysis at seventy-five do not bother us is that we forget them. War makes death real to us, and that would have been regarded as one of its blessings by most of the great Christians of the past. They thought it good for us to be always aware of our mortality. I am inclined to think they were right.”

At the Kilns: The Dangerous Lion

2008-03-21T21:56:00.004-04:00

As I continue my tutelage under the writings of C. S. Lewis, I am also reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to my children. We recently read the wonderful scene in the home of the Beavers, where the tired, cold and bedraggled Pevensie children have a hot meal of fresh trout, potatoes, creamy butter, “gloriously sticky” marmalade rolls and tea (Mr. Beaver imbibed beer, or at least one frothy pint) . After a satisfying meal, Mr. Beaver reclines with his pipe and proceeds to tell the children about Narnia and Aslan.

When asked who—or what—is Aslan, Mr. Beaver states: “Aslan is a lion—the Lion, the great Lion.” Both Susan and Lucy ask, “Is he—quite safe?”

Mr. Beaver candidly replies, “Safe? Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

“I’m longing to see him,” said Peter.

What a beautiful portrait of God; He is not safe, but He is good. How I long to see Him!

Theology in Sound of Music and Knowing the Will of God

2008-03-20T11:47:00.006-04:00

I am directing the spring musical at my school and this year we are performing the Sound of Music. At one point in the musical, Maria is asked by Mother Abbess what the most important thing in life was. Maria responds, “To find out what was the will of God and then go and do it.” I don’t think she was right, though. The most important thing in life is to glorify God.

The question of how do we know what God wants us to do is a tricky issue, one that bestsister and I have been discussing on this blog. When I ask myself what God wants me to do, there are often three reasons for asking. Two “wrong” reasons and one “right” reason.

The first wrong reason is that I already know what God wants me to do, but I am hoping for a different answer. The other day I was trying to “get out” of a commitment; I thought I would seek the advice of a friend, but then I decided not to. I already knew what my friend would say, so I wanted to find some other friend who would give me the advice I wanted to hear. Sometimes my search for God’s will is like that. What I need in these situations is a heart that loves to do what is right. This comes with daily dependence and communion with God in prayer and through His word.

The second wrong reason I seek the will of God is that I have an over inflated view of myself and I want to do something “more religious” that what I am currently doing; something big and dramatic and “über-godly.” Like Maria in the Sound of Music, she desires the overtly religious life of a Benedictine abbey. Marrying the Captain and being a mother to the seven orphaned von Trapp children seems too temporal and secular. While Maria was mulling this choice, she says, “I’ve pledged my life to God’s service. I’ve pledged my life to God.” Mother Abbess replies, “My daughter, if you love this man, it doesn’t mean you love God less.” I have often debated whether I should be a pastor or a teacher; somehow the role of a pastor seems to be a far more spiritual application of my gifts. The Abbess’s response to Maria is the same for me: just because I teach high school English doesn’t mean I am serving God less.

Another way to say this is a lack of contentment for where God has placed me NOW. I think I sometimes say, like the ear in Paul’s metaphor for the church, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body.” The idea is absurd. I need to view my “calling” within the body of Christ, manifest in the local assembly of Christians that I am a part. I can teach and preach and minister to the body of Christ whether I am a vocational or lay minister. I need to suppress my need to find “individual” fulfillment; God has called me to be part of His Church. I think many North American Christians (myself included) buy into the “cult of the individual” and view themselves as islands. We are not mavericks who need to “do something great for God.” I am not Indiana Jones, snapping my bullwhip and battling the dark forces of Nazis (or Soviets in the new instalment of the franchise) for “fortune and glory.”

The consumer-like approach to church life (cp. “church-hopping”) is epidemic in the Western church. Christians choose churches based on whether there is a hockey team or mid-morning snacks. These are Christians, not unbelievers. Unbelievers, I think, look for genuine people who live life well… ordinary life. On an individual level, Christians assess where they should “invest” their gifts for the best spiritual return. But Paul says, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Co 10:31). As C.S. Lewis writes, “All our merely natural activities will be accepted, if they are offered to God… and all of them, even the noblest, will be sinful if they are not.”

The third reason—the right reason---for seeking the will of God is if God opens a door of opportunity. It is handy when He closes another door, so you have only one option to choose from. But what if there are “two answers”, like the old Hokus Pick song of the same name.

Hmmm. Cliff hanger...

Alas, this post is getting too long already! The third reason, I need to leave for another post. In a nutshell, I think the filter for all choices and decisions needs to be, Am I doing this for His glory? Am I glorifying God by doing or not doing this or that? This includes, is it biblical, am I trusting God, am I waiting on Him, am I walking in His spirit, am I obedient to His clear commands, am I adding to His commands, am I content with where I am right now...?

At the Kilns: Digging moles, cocking crows and doing what we were meant to do

2008-03-19T13:46:00.006-04:00

A dear family friend, bestsister, posted a comment on a previous post of mine, where I cited C.S. Lewis stating that “A mole must dig to the glory of God and a cock must crow”---in other words, we must do what we were created to do. Bestsister goes on to ask, “How does one know exactly what it is they were created to do?” We know that we were “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14) and that “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10). But the question remains, “What are we supposed to do?”

On her blog, she recently took a personality test and discovered that she was an “encourager”---an apt designation, as she has been a blogging encourager, especially in light of my sometimes slack blogging habits. I took the same test, but I came up as a “person in transition.” Apparently, I am neither here nor there. Fortunately, I did not despair, and I took a personality test I participated in last year. You can take it by clicking here.

Fortunately, the test did not leave me in limbo. I am an ENFJ, which stands for Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging, also known as the Teacher Idealist. According to Joe Butt, I am among “the benevolent ‘pedagogues’ of humanity.” I was surprised by the descriptions of the Teacher Idealist, much of which I recognized as depicting my personality. On the Keirsey Temperament webpage, Teacher Idealists make up less than 2% or 3% of a population. I am a rare fellow, it seems. The top recommended job for people like me is, of course, teacher.

My wife took the same test, and she is an ISTJ, which stands for Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging, also known as Inspector Guardian (or as I like to say, affectionately, Inspector General). Fictional ISTJs are Puddleglum, the marshwiggle (from C.S. Lewis’s The Silver Chair) and Eeyore. Funny thing is, my favourite character in Winnie the Pooh is Eeyore and Puddleglum is unabashedly my favourite hero of The Silver Chair.

Whatever one may think of these sort of tests, I found it tremendously illuminating; especially illuminating is the reality that not everyone thinks the same way I do or is motivated by the same things that motivate me. This has been helpful in my marriage as well; it’s good to know I am married to Mrs. Puddleglum.

Having a better idea of who we are still doesn't completely answer the question of what we should do. In his excellent essay on “Membership”, C.S. Lewis describes the role of Christians within the body of Christ. One of the central points is the fact that we determine our role in relation to others in the church. The Apostle Paul’s metaphor of the “body” for describing Christian fellowship is powerful in that it defies both collectivism and individualism. An “eye” is distinct from the “heart” but neither the eye nor the heart is any good on its own.

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:16-20, “For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,’ it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,’ it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body.”

Who we are and what we were created for is, in part, revealed when we associate with the body of Christ. In a candid moment (or perhaps a moment of flippancy), I lamented to a friend of mine (the Interim Pastor at my church), that there was no need for my service at this church. He immediately listed off five roles in need of immediate attention, all of which were suited to my gifts and temperament.

There is no easy answer to the question “What does God want me to do?” A good place to start is to toil right where God has placed you---at work, at home and at church---and see what opportunities arise. Secondly, ask your church---friends, elders, pastor. It is powerful when the ear says to the eye, “Although I can hear the waves, I need you to see the ocean.”

On personality, C.S. Lewis writes, “True personality lies ahead… and the key to it does not lie in ourselves. It will not be attained by development from within outwards. It will come to us when we occupy those places in the structure of the eternal cosmos for which we were designed or invented. As a colour first reveals its true quality when placed by an excellent artist in its pre-elected spot between certain others, as a spice reveals its true flavour when inserted just where a good cook wishes among the other ingredients… so we shall then first be true prsons when we have suffered ourselves to be fitted into our places. We are marble waiting to be shaped, metal waiting to be run into a mould.” (from “Membership” first read in Oxford on February 10, 1945)

Happy St. Paddy’s Day

2008-03-17T14:05:00.007-04:00

Today is March the 17th, St. Patrick’s Day. The day is celebrated in honour of Saint Patrick, the 4th Century missionary who brought Christianity to the emerald isle and according to legend he expelled all the snakes from Ireland. He also explained the concept of the Trinity to the Irish using a shamrock.

Although we had no green beer or Guinness on hand, in honour of this day, we had a bowl of Lucky Charms, read some Irish folktales, drank a mug of green-coloured Kiwi-Raspberry “smoothy” and we listened to some Irish music CDs.

This is a special day in our house because Irish blood courses through our veins. In truth, I am only partially Irish; I have a great-great-grandfather---an Ulsterman---who settled in Canada from the northern part of Ireland and my great-grandmother is the grand-niece of Irish-Canadian Thomas D’Arcy McGee.

Everyone has a relative with some claim to fame, and mine is Thomas D’Arcy McGee. He was one of the Fathers of Confederation; in addition to being a politician and founding father of this nation, he was also a poet. He published over 300 poems in his lifetime. Below is an excerpt of a poem he wrote entitled, “St. Patrick’s First Converts” and tells the story of Patrick’s initial contact with Irish natives on his missionary journey:

Upon finding Saint Patrick praying on the shores of Ireland, the Irish natives ask “Where dwells your God?”

The Saint replied, “Oh, nobly born!
Haply encounter’d here this morn;
You ask the only truth to know
That Adam’s children need below;
Your quest is God, like them of old
Who found the gravestone backward roll’d
From where they left the Saviour cold.”

Mildly to tell, the holy man
The story of our faith began---
Of Eve, of Christ, of Calvary,
The baleful and the healing tree;
Of God’s omnipotence and love,
Of sons of earth, now saints above;
Of Peter and the Twelve, of Paul,
And of his own predestined call.

“Not on the sea, not on the shore,
In solemn woods or tempest roar,
Dwelleth the God that we adore.
No! wheresoe’er His cross is raised,
And wheresoe’er His name is praised;
The pure life is His present sign,
The holy heart His favourite shrine;
The old, the poor, the sorrowful,
To them He is most bountiful;
Palace or hovel, land or sea,
God with His servants still will be!”

Tolkien galumphs through the tulgey wood of Beowulf criticism

2008-03-15T08:40:00.008-04:00

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s essay on Beowulf (cited in a previous post), he lists dozens of far-reaching, varied and contradicting opinions on the Old English poem. In the midst of this forest of opinions, Tolkien writes that “a view, a decision, a conviction are imperatively needed.” Tolkien then alludes to Lewis Carroll’s nonsense poem in his effort to sort out the “nonsense” (but not necessarily bad) opinions on Beowulf:

“For it is of their nature that the jabberwocks of historical and antiquarian research burble in the tulgey wood of conjecture, flitting from one tum-tum tree to another. Noble animals, whose burbling is on occasion good to hear; but though their eyes of flame may sometimes prove searchlights, their range is short.”

I am just glad I am not the only one who borrows freely from the tulgey wood of nonsense poetry. For the original poem “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll, see the sidebar link “Why a blog called galumphing?”

At the Kilns: Learning from C.S. Lewis (I)

2008-03-13T20:35:00.010-04:00

As I mentioned earlier this week, I am investing time to learn from the teaching of C.S. Lewis for the course of this year. Over the next few months, I hope to post what I am gleaning from this intellectual and spiritual giant.

At the Kilns: Learning from C.S. Lewis

I recently read “Learning in War-Time” which was a message C.S. Lewis preached at Oxford on October 22 1939. He had been asked to speak on the question whether students should continue with their studies while Great Britain was engaged in an all-encompassing war. He argues, simply, "yes." In the process of his argument on that subject, he makes a comparison to Christians studying, or doing anything, during the ongoing spiritual war.

When thinking about the secular and sacred aspects of life, Christians always end up wrestling with the question C.S. Lewis poses: “How can you be so frivolous and selfish as to think about anything but the salvation of human souls?” There are Christians who ask this question of themselves and others. I wrestle with this question sometimes when I invest energy and time into teaching students about the writings of Shakespeare rather than the writings of the Apostle Paul. It is a worthy question to consider, given the fact that everything this side of glory will pass away. However, this sort of question, adds Lewis, “implies that our life can, and ought, to become exclusively and explicitly religious.” In one sense, our lives do become transformed and all-consumed by Christ. But Lewis distinguishes an exclusive divide between sacred and secular. He writes, “Before I became a Christian I do not think I fully realised hat one’s life, after conversion, would inevitably consist in doing most of the same things one had been doing before, one hopes, in a new spirit, but still the same things.” The reality, Lewis points out, is that we spend most of our time doing the mundane, secular things in life. The solution to this question, then, that Lewis presents is this: “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Co 10:31) Lewis goes on to say, “All our merely natural activities will be accepted, if they are offered to God, even the humblest, and all of them, even the noblest, will be sinful if they are not.” This truth can be an encouragement or a sobering rebuke.

Below are some particularly meritous excerpts from the same sermon:

We must do what we were created to do

“The work of Beethoven and the work of a charwoman become spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly ‘as the Lord.’ This does not, of course, mean that it is a mere toss-up whether he should sweep rooms or compose symphonies. A mole must dig to the glory of God and a cock must crow.”

Why we need educated Christians
“A cultural life will exist outside the Church whether it exists inside or not. To be ignorant and simple now---not to be able to meet the enemies on their own ground---would be to throw down our weapons, and to betray our uneducated brethren who have, under God, no defence but us against the intellectual attacks of the heathen.”

“Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.”

Study history
“Most of all, perhaps, we need an intimate knowledge of the past. Not that the past has anything magical about it, but we cannot study the future, and yet need something to set against the present, to remind us that the basic assumptions have been quite different in different periods and that much which seems certain to the uneducated is merely temporary fashion.”

“A man who has lived in many places is not likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village; the scholar has lived in many times, and is therefore in some degree immune from the great cataract of nonsense that pouts from the press and the microphone of his own age.”

The quotes from C.S. Lewis are taken from “Learning in War-Time” in The Weight of Glory, edited by Walter Hooper (HarperCollins, 2001)

The New Beowulf: Death of a Hero?

2008-03-13T17:21:00.015-04:00

“The time of heroes is dead, Wiglaf; the Christ-god has killed it, leaving humankind with nothing but weeping martyrs, fear and shame.”
Beowulf, 2007 (director Zemeckis)

The Old English poem, Beowulf, is one of my favourite works of English literature. Last year, in my enthusiasm and excitement for this poem, I rushed out and purchased the DVD of the newly released modern film version entitled, Beowulf and Grendel. To my disappointment, the noble culture and heroic landscape of the poem was translated into a misguided but strong culture that was being eradicated by Christian usurpers. The result of the "Christian impact" (as portrayed in the film) was a replacement of the original, pure culture by disillusionment, cynicism and weakness. The only wise and stable character in the film is a sorcery-practicing witch (where does she fit into the original poem?). Beowulf is portrayed as an arrogant charlatan, who learns (too late) that the true hero of the story is Grendel (a misunderstood cromagnum man) who is trying to avenge the prejudicial and unfounded murder of his father. Huh?

This year, I was more cautious when the Robert Zemeckis’s animated film Beowulf was released on DVD in February. I resolved not to make any rash purchases. Curiosity overwhelmed me, however, and despite the mysterious presence of Angelina Jolie in the film, I rented it.

To my delight, what I found was a dazzling animation, a visually satisfying recreation of the world of Beowulf. To my disappointment, I found another anti-Christian rendering of the poem. Focus on the Family’s movie review site Plugged In, gives a candid review of the positives and negatives of this film version from a Christian perspective. Unfortunately, there are more negatives than positives.

The real poem---the poem I admire---is the earliest major literary work in the English language. Written by an anonymous Christian poet in the 8th century, the work describes a Scandinavian-based myth/legend; the primary subject is the humble Geat hero, Beowulf, and his battling of two monsters and a dragon. Despite the pagan context, the poet infuses a Christian worldview into the story, what Douglas Wilson describes as redeemed “northernness” (Wilson 4). Literary scholar, J.R.R. Tolkien, also underscores the Christian foundation of the poem. His essay, entitled “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics,” was described by recent Beowulf translator Seamus Heaney as “epoch-making” and “brilliant literary treatment” of the poem (Heaney xi). In this essay, Tolkien rejects the theory that “[Beowulf] is a string of pagan lays edited by monks” or that “it is the work of a learned but inaccurate Christian antiquarian” (8). He also rejects the notion that the poem was written by “muddle-headed” and “beer-bemused Anglo-Saxons” (8). Tolkien argues that Beowulf “moves in a northern heroic age imagined by a Christian, and therefore has a noble and gentle quality” (45). Tolkien cites another writer who explains that Beowulf's heroic quality is more distinctly “a Christian knight” heroism than a Greco-Roman mythological heroism (20). Tolkien also compares Beowulf’s continual battle with monsters and foes to Christians battling the “enemies of the one God, ece Dryhten” (eternal Lord); like Beowulf, Christians were (and are) “hemmed in a hostile world” (22).

According to an interview on the DVD bonus content, the co-screenwriters Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary believe that they are undoing the edits made by supposed monks, monks who wrecked the poem by Christianizing it. In the film, Beowulf laments, “The time of heroes is dead, Wiglaf; the Christ-god has killed it, leaving humankind with nothing but weeping martyrs, fear and shame.”

On the contrary, Christ is the ultimate hero, the only true authentic hero in history. Literary heroes face incredible adversaries; Odysseus faces the Cyclops, Beowulf faces Grendel, St. George faces the dragon. The Christ-hero faces man’s greatest adversary---death---and he defeats it. Then Christ promises to battle our enemies in and through us. The screenwriters seemed to miss this central theme: before Christ, the world of Beowulf was an endless cycle of death and defeat. Christ brings true victory and ultimately, true heroism.

The screenwriters’ and director’s efforts to restore Beowulf to its original form by “undoing” the edits by monks is ironic. The only editing that actually occurred in this film adaptation is the edits made to remove the fundamental Christian elements. Another ironic aspect is the confessions of the screenwriters and the director that they hated Beowulf when they had to read it is high school. Who hired these guys? Question number one should have been, do you like the story? Question number two should have been, have you actually read the story?

Avoid the film and read the poem yourself. Students of the poem should be especially wary. As Paul Asay from Plugged In writes, “The film has very little to do with the book… So anyone who uses this film as a sort of CliffsNotes is bound to get all the questions wrong on the semester test.” I recently read Irish poet Seamus Heaney’s New York Times bestseller translation of Beowulf this fall and I highly recommend it.

Heaney, Seamus. “Introduction” pp. ix-xxx. Beowulf. Trans. S. Heaney. New York: Norton, 2001.

Tolkien, J.R.R. “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics”. pp. 5-48.The Monsters and the Critics and other Essays. Ed. C. Tolkien. London: Harper, 2006.

Wilson, Douglas. “North of the World” pp.4-5. Credenda Agenda. Vol. 9 No. 4 Idaho: Community Evangelical Fellowship, 1997.

Speaking of C.S. Lewis...

2008-03-10T21:40:00.002-04:00

I recently “confessed” to a friend that each year I find myself reading a couple C. S. Lewis books of one kind or another. I owned up to the fact that I needed to diversify in my reading. However, my friend said that maybe I should sit at the feet of Lewis for a time; learn all that I could from this spiritual giant. He encouraged me to allow Lewis to be my teacher.

I am a product of my culture; therefore, I feel the need to dabble in everything, master nothing. To camp out with one writer for a period of time had never occurred to me. After thinking about this advice, I agreed to take up Lewis as my mentor for this upcoming year. The plan is to immerse myself in the body of his writings. I have no delusions about “mastering” Lewis. I only hope to learn.

Right now, I am reading The Weight of Glory, which is a compilation of Lewis’s sermons and lectures. The thing about Lewis is that he begins writing about an incredibly mind-blowing topic; he then breaks off onto a tangent about another incredibly mind-blowing topic, followed by an incredibly mind-blowing topic to be used as an illustration for the first mind-blowing topic. After I scrape my brains off the ceiling, I will post a few nuggets of wisdom I am learning along the way.

I am also reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to the children. This is the second time for Joseph, and the first time for Nate and Katie. My favourite part (and perhaps one of my favourite scenes in all literature) is when Lucy first meets the Faun in the snow with the umbrella and the parcels. It’s magical and mysterious, the quintessential ingredients for good storytelling. Tonight we finished the chapter where Edmund meets the White Witch and he eats the enchanted Turkish Delight. While the three kids sat on the couch covered by a warm, cozy blanket, they ate a sliced up Big Turk chocolate bar---of the un-enchanted variety.

C. S. Lewis speaks!

2008-03-06T15:22:00.014-05:00

I have been a long time disciple of C.S. Lewis. Through the Chronicles of Narnia, I fell in love with literature. Through his scholarly writings, I have grown as a student of literature. Through his Christian writings, I have been sharpened, instructed, convicted and encouraged. Each year I read a couple Lewis books. Over the years, I have longed to hear his voice, the voice of a man I admire and revere. Finally, I have come across a couple BBC recordings of C. S. Lewis. His voice is nothing like I imagined, but, ironically, his voice is exactly the sort of voice a man like him would have!

Click on the link below to go to the BBC web page. There you will find two audio recordings of C. S. Lewis.

C.S. Lewis on BBC

Also, listen to or read the BBC interview titled "Anne Atkins on C.S. Lewis" at the bottom of the web page. In the interview, Atkins says, 'Of Mere Christianity, the BBC described to Lewis "the sharp division you produce in your audience: they either regard you as the cat's whiskers, or as beneath contempt."' Atkins then gives Lewis's response: '"The two views you report aren't very illuminating about me perhaps. About my subject matter it is an old story, isn't it? They love or hate."'