Advent Study 2006: Philosophy and Narnia

Welcome to the 2007 Advent Study Forum

admin — 2006-11-29T13:55:47Z

This year's topic is Philosophy and Narnia. We will be studying from the book, 'The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy', subtitled 'The Lion, The Witch, and the Worldview', and edited by Gregory Bassham and Jerry L. White. Copies are available for those who wish to join the study. Meetings are each Thursday at 7:00 PM, starting on the 30th of November, and running through the 21st of December. Location of the meetings is in Meeker Hall at the Church of the Transfiguration. The purpose of this forum is to provide an on-line continuation and expansion of the class, both for those who are not able to make it to the meetings, and for those who wish to participate in the conversation as an on-going concern. Membership is open, but not automatic, in order to manage the forum, and to mitigate the risk of mischief and vandalism to which open public forums on-line can be subject. To apply for membership to the forum, including the right to publish and reply to posts, simply follow this link to '/tabid/64/ctl/Register/RoleID/5/Default.aspx'>Subscribe to the Advent Study Group, and the moderator will review the request and register you to the group as soon as possible.

Striking the bell...

rcagle — 2006-12-31T17:50:36Z

'Strike the bell and bide the danger, Or wonder, till it drives you mad, What would have followed if you had.' In many conversations I've had, with believers in Christ, believers in something else, and even believers in nothing at all, there is a surprising consensus; that everyone wants to witness an undeniable miracle. I sometimes riposte with the following challenge: would your life be easier if you, and only you, had one-time, prima fascia evidence of the supernatural? If say, on a given day you personally witnessed a burning bush, or a parted sea, or had a clear vision of Christ with a message meant for you to deliver to your fellow man, would it become the watershed event you always dreamed of and prayed for? What would be the experience of the very next person who encountered you? Likely as not, they'd remark on your profound enthusiasm. You would surely persuade them that you believed what you related. It is possible that you could convince many from that day onward of the sincerity of your experience. How would you feel about your experience following a fierce debate with a clever or at least determined skeptic and detractor? Generally speaking, memory fades and becomes less reliable with each passing day. Could your faith in your own eyes, ears, and mind remain unshaken as you weathered the simple passage of time, or criticism and withering examination of your recollection and interpretation of what seemed so clear at first? Was the bush really on fire? Couldn't you explain the purely physical phenomena by an undersea earthquake, and the sloshing of water between two distant shores? My point is simply this: if you say to yourself, 'Lord, if you would only speak to me, I would listen, and would give myself whole-heartedly to your work and message', but are waiting for that miraculous appearance of the 50-foot Jesus to begin your ministry or witness, are you sure that it would be better to go ahead and 'ring that bell'? Allowing room for doubt also leaves room for excuse and distraction, so that even deeply-rooted believers may pursue their own worldly agendas from time to time. Or to put it another way, using another quote, 'To whom much is given, much is expected.' Most of the soulds in the world grope through personal darknesses as best as we can, and will in all likelihood be judged in the context of our culture, how we were raised, and what we may have to do to survive. Circumstances are almost entirely out of our control, and belief is something to which we appeal to withstand the onslaught of the world. Faith generally consists of reason and choice, but rarely includes any true proof. If God does grant your prayer and you witness a miracle that wipes away all illusion about what is real and what is important, what would be reasonable for God to expect from you then?

Part II The Tao in Narnia: Morality and the Good Life

ewbank@gis.net — 2006-12-10T23:50:50Z

I especially regret missing the discussion of this section of the book Thu., Dec. 7, 2006, since I read all the essays, and think they really captured much of what C.S Lewis was about in writing these stories. I happened across an interesting description of the Eastern idea of Tao in Michael Sullivan's 'The Art of China' which I found on the dollar shelf at Brattle Books (West street near downtown crossing in Boston). He tells a Chinese creation legend of Pan Gu, where man's ancestors were merely fleas on Pan Gu, where '... by comparison with the beauty and splendor of the world itself, the mountains and valleys, the clouds and waterfalls, the trees and flowers, which are the visible manifestations of the workings of the dao, he (man) count's for very little...' He talks about there being a 'sense of 'attunement' in Chinese culture where ... the highest ideal was always to discover the order of things and to act in accordance with it.' Fortunately you can read about Pan Gu, and the eloquent description online at amazon.com - click on 'excerpt' after going to this link, Pan Gu legend starts at 3rd paragraph: 'http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0520218779/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-0779636-6701560#reader-link'>http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0520218779/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-0779636-6701560#reader-link Ray

Farewell to Shadowlands: Believing, Doubting, and Knowing

rcagle — 2006-11-29T15:06:26Z

One of the more profound aspects of the first chapter was the emphasis placed on sound over sight. God is so often represented as a voice, such as 'in the beginning was the Word', or the many times people in the old and new testaments can hear the voice of the Lord, but can not see him, or at least can not see him clearly. I was struck by the way the first chapter mentioned that we can easily and even reflexively close our eyes to keep out images, but have far more difficulty keeping sounds out of our ears. Anatomically, we seem designed to hear without modulation, but can choose what we see, or indeed if we see anything at all. It gave me new perspective on the tradition of closing one's eyes during prayer, and praying aloud. Closing your eyes immediately places you at a disadvantage: being deprived of your primary sense causes a marked change in your awareness of what you are hearing. Perhaps that is the point of the tradition?