LISTENING TO LEWIS

I need to tell you at the beginning of this series of blogs that none of these are more than indirectly related to writing prayerfully, or even prayer. I will be writing a series of perspectives given by C.S. Lewis. And I need to warn you that his views go as strongly against the current cultural trends as they did in his day. If indeed you do not like or appreciate these entries, I would like you to tell me. I welcome discussion on this. I really do want to know what you think, even if what you have to say is so profound or so harsh that I have no answer. I much prefer such comments to your expressing your thoughts by vowing never to read this blog again.

The nearest Christian bookstore to our home is in a city a half hour away.  We went sometime before Christmas looking for a particular classic (I think it was George Mueller of Bristol.) for a Christmas present. They didn’t have it. And the manager of the store said thoughtfully, “I need to stock more classics.” I pointed out that they had a nice selection, even though they didn’t have the particular book We wanted. But she repeated, “We need to carry more Christian classics.” And I realized she was not simply referring to our need. This was clearly something she had been thinking for some time.

Sure enough, when we dropped in a few months later, they had among other things a display with 6 or 8 C.S. Lewis books, some I had never seen. I purchased 2; POEMS and ON STORIES. I want to talk with you a little about both of these books.

I did not get to ON STORIES until a short vacation this summer. It was a wonderful blessing! First, I enjoyed it simply because it was Lewis. I thought I had read his entire canon. I also enjoyed it because it is to some extent, written for writers. However, I am glad I did not discover these essays in the 70s when I was hungrily consuming everything I could find by Lewis. I have been writing or trying to write for publication since I was 19. But I don’t think I would have enjoyed them on the same level.

I hope I have whet your appetite for these entries simply by this introduction. And even at this preliminary stage, I welcome criticism and other remarks whether you have read the book or not.

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/