Validation

I believe that people who truly did not believe in the Lord in the past hid this because of social pressure. Before the rise of the internet, people lived in small towns. The majority of these people believed in the same faith. Therefore, the outliers felt alone in their differing views as thus kept quiet.
Now, however, the internet allows everyone from all around the world to voice opinions. The "outliers" can talk with thousands of others who share the same views. This, I believe, has given agnostics, atheists, and such the validation they needed to have the courage to speak their minds truthfully.

C. S. Lewis

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

C. S. Lewis was a inspirational Christian. He believed that the every human desire stemmed from something real. We want pancakes because pancakes do exist. We wish to sleep in and skip school because it is a possibility. In the winter, we long for hot summer days. 

All of those satisfactions exist. As such, all humans long for a god, deep down. Lewis believed that this longing proved that there is a god to satisfy this desire. He also believed that the fact that every civilization created "deities" to worship was proof that the Lord did exist, they were just not worshiping the true God.

"Please Hold"

As society begins to emphasize the individual more and more, man has started viewing himself as an individual dependent on himself rather than on God. Individualism emphasizes being independent of others, and others now includes God. Some consider it a weakness to depend on someone greater than themselves, and this has somewhat eliminated God from many lives today. Society itself has become more accepting of people's opinions or beliefs, as it has pushed for this individualism. This has made rejecting religion easier as man knows he will most likely not be criticized among his peers. In the past, society was heavily based on God, and if you had a differing opinion religiously or otherwise, you were taken out for heresy or shunned among your peers. Because for so long society squashed individualism, man is now running around getting a feel for it, much like the prodigal son. He may eventually return to God, but for now, God is apparently "on hold" for many in the world.

Casting off the Disguise of Religion

I would so much rather people be honest and open about their religious standing. It is generally upsetting to me when people lie in the first place. In this case, people are being fake, and I hate that. Besides, it's no secret that us Christ followers are just as messed up as others are so saying "they will act worse" is kinda not a fair point. They will probably be a little more open about it though just because some things are socially acceptable but are considered sins so Christians might try to hide it. I don't know, maybe I'm in the minority but pretending to be a Christ follower falls into the "Lukewarm Christian" category and as Jesus said, those are the worst kind.

Hypocrits and PC

It isn't always easy being an involved Christian. It is extremely easy however, to act as if we are not Christians at all. This is because in today's society Christians are being discriminated against by Muslims, atheists, agnostics, and many other religious affiliations. How is this happening you may ask? This is happening because of political correctness and Christians not being able to properly express themselves in many situations because our society does not want to offend the minorities. The simple fact is that in today's society we are all too afraid to offend someone so we just act "normal". This is horrible because it causes us to be someone we are not and anyone's god would not want that.

Be true to your heart

I personally believe that no matter what faith base you are, you need to be true to who you are. If you aren't, there are a bunch of problems. Lack of trust is the main one. Think of it this way, if I go tell my mom that I'm going to my friend's house for a tea party, but we actually go to a club and my mom finds out, where does that leave her trust? How does she know that next time I ask to go to my friend's house that I'm actually going there? This same concept relates to people trying to bring other people to Christ... If I am praising Jesus and declaring my love for Him at church, but I'm also drinking, partying, and doing drugs all other six days, then how are people to believe that I'm who I say I am? Which goes back to the trust thing, if I have no credibility because of my hypocritical actions, then who will give any thought to what I have to say?

Hypocritical People

I believe the people in today's society are very hypocritical to those outside of a church. My previous small group was very hypocritical because at church they would praise God, but at school they would be the people that were having sex and doing drugs. These people judged people who did what they did but they never came out and said "I did that too". These people were fooling themselves and everyone around them. I think why people have stopped going to church is because they have this picture of what Christians are (my small group who judged people but said they were Christians). The picture I think of when I hear someone is a Christian is someone who loves me for me, doesn't judge me, and someone I can feel comfortable telling my darkest secrets to. If someone who is not a Christian is talking to a Christian and finds out that they aren't this picture then they are going to assume that all Christians are like this. 

Gods of Convenience

I think the rise in secularism has to do with a change in world view. People only want to think about how what they do affects them now, not how it might affect them later.  They don’t really want to take the time to go to church, or read the bible because these things don’t immediately change anything. Instead of taking the time to build a loving relationship with God, more people want instant gratification and imminently beneficial results.

The Rise of the Left

The lower church attendance of today is not a result of rational thought. Atheism today is a joke. Atheists are not made by rational thought and a reasoning that results in there being no God, its just sheep falling for the liberal agenda. Atheist is "hip", so therefore its popular. These people don't know what dedication and hard work is. "True" atheists, A.K.A. the ones that actually came to the conclusion of atheism on their own, are a dying breed.

My answer to the questions

To me, I feel that there are alot of explanations to the rise of secularism in America. One of the main reasons i feel for teenagers is that many kids are purepressered to not go to church or made fun of because they do go.  I think kids feel like it is not cool to go to church or have a relationship with Christ because of how other people are treated around them for having this relationship.  This leads to people not wanting to put in the time or even go experience the church because  of what they see around them or what they hear on the news. In turn people dont care about turning away from church or not going because they want people to like them.  I also feel like many kids have become more rebellious against their parents and are standing up to then and not wanting to go to church anyway so this causes more parents and kids to grow away from Christ. And i think in the past the church was very acceptable, but as people got more lazy or less accepted by culture they stopped going. 

genie in a bottle

With many of the unbelievers, or religiously unaffiliated for the sake of this blog, I've come into contact with in the United States, they mostly have labeled themselves agnostics. An agnostic is defined by dictionary.com as, "a person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable, or that human knowledge is limited to experience." I've found it very interesting because these people are ok with knowing that there is a god out there. They find peace in the knowledge that there is something out there bigger than themselves. BUT, they really do not have any sense of curiosity or ambition to find out more about this god that is out there or who he/she is. I feel like these younger generations have slowly strayed away or even rebelled from what their parents or ancestors have believed, out of not wanting to follow rules or be free to live the life they want to live. Unfortunately, this leads to a lot of reckless living. With all the modern advances and new ideas being forced down our throats by the media, it is hard for a young person to figure out what they truly believe in and how to discern right from wrong. I have actually been talking to a friend of mine who I grew up with in Florida. We grew up pretty much the same way: our parents both took us to church, we played sports, etc. I recently reconnected with her after not being in contact for years. She told me that she really isn't into the whole "religion" crowd anymore. She said she didn't know what god was out there, but she felt like one does exist. It made me so sad, and it was hard for me to swallow at first. We grew up and were taught pretty much the same things... so why doesn't she believe in Jesus anymore? Why does she resort to boys and alcohol as her sense of fulfilment?  It made me so sad, because the God I know and follow is always with me and has been there and walked with me through so much. I really cannot wrap my head around not having that constant companion and person to look to for guidance. Long story short, I'm gonna keep praying for her. Its hard to really pinpoint why people stray from God or their beliefs, but I know it isn't the end for them. God has a plan for everyone. 

Hypocrisy

I personally would rather have people act honestly, even if that means they act worse. It's hard to address a problem if you can't tell that its there. I think it's one of the problems that children growing up in the church, who have been surrounded by Christianity their whole lives, struggle with. They act like good Christians because they equate that to being a good kid, while the whole time, they haven't actually accepted Christ as their savior. No one in their life can deliberately tell if there is something wrong with their faith because they say the right things at the right time and meld in with the background. So many parents are distraught when their college student strays away from the church after they leave the house, but if their faith can't stand out on its own, then it wasn't their faith in the first place. They were just using their parent's faith and never made it their own.

The music director in my theater program at church always asks, if we are going to make a mistake, to make a big one. That way she can hear it, and help us fix it. Sometimes I think that hypocritical Christians need to make big mistakes, almost as a cry for help to the rest of the church. If the church never knows that there is something wrong with you, then how are they going to know you need help?

The Substance of Things Hoped For

The fastest-growing religious category in America is the "religiously unaffiliated" - atheists, agnostics, and people who don't associate themselves with any religion. This fact is perhaps unsurprising in our secular age. One of my favorite college professors, Alan Jacobs, posts that perhaps people haven't changed - they just feel more comfortable eschewing faith. In fact, decades ago C.S. Lewis noted that once chapel attendance at Oxford and Cambridge was not compulsory, chapel attendance dropped. He said that students had "left" chapel years before they were allowed to skip it - now appearances were conforming with reality.

Dr. Jacobs says maybe it's not a bad thing for people to throw off the illusion of religious belief if they really don't believe. On the other hand, I've always agreed that "[h]ypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue." Would you rather people act hypocritically if that means they act better, or would you rather they be true to their ideas and feelings if that means they act worse?

For your reply, consider these questions. To what do you attribute the rise in secularism in our culture? Do you think people are more comfortable rejecting religion now? What stopped them in the past? What about hypocrisy - can you defend it? You can use examples unrelated to religion if you like.

Some metaphors actually make since

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
This quote really made me think about the way I see God. It seems that whenever a testimony is given, it involves a revival of their life from God entering their lives. The time period in which this revival takes place is irrelevant. The sun rising can explain the different stages of peoples walk with Christ as well. From being in the dark on a cloudy night with a new moon to a bright summer afternoon, everyone has their own time frame. Personally, as I am sure many of you can relate, I am not yet in broad daylight. We are so young and in the midst of making life changing choices. If God is behind these choices, it may make them light up or, on the other hand, they may be blind choices. Life can be seen through this lens; decisions made with or for Christ will be clear and allow you to reap your reward. Choices made outside of Christ may seem of good intention, but they will not give the deeper prosperity that God alone can provide.  

Aslan of Narnia

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “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.” 

This isn't really a quote spoken from C.S. Lewis' perspective (a character he created is saying it), but it is one of my favorite lines from any book (most of my favorite book quotes are from the Chronicles of Narnia, most of them from Prince Caspian). It takes an interesting perspective on the nature of Jesus. Most of the time we think that Jesus is more of a teddybear that's just there to love us and care for us. He never gets mad, never raises His voice, and is barely more than a calm voice whispering from the background. Here though we realize that He is more than a kind pacifist. It harkens back to Jesus flipping tables at the temple because it was being used for profit not worship, or the time He called Peter "Satan" because Peter tried to convince Him that He wasn't going to die. Jesus is so much more than a good idea or a safe bet. He is good, but he's not safe. 

Journey through the jungle?

Imagine you are embarking on a long journey in the Amazon, and you just hop off the truck to enter the steamy jungle. As you push through the dense brush, you feel a rush of excitement when you see a toucan squawking in the canopy above. Two days in, and you begin to lose the excitement you first experienced when you started the journey. You are cold, hungry, and alone, so you begin to have doubts on the thought of continuing this journey. You double back to your reasoning behind going on this trip... and no reason is found. The chances of you completing this journey are next to none, because you have no purpose. Now imagine an old friend appears right in front of you, with fresh supplies and a positive mind. He says to you, "Get up buddy, it's time to keep movin' on". So you get up, spirit restored, and you head off in to the jungle. Real friends will always give you a reason to keep going, no matter what. C.S. Lewis said it perfectly when he said, "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.". This is all reminiscent of the greatest friend to man, Jesus Christ. His love for us is the best example of a great friend, and when humans strive to replicate his love, purpose is derived by the life long bonds created by love. After all this talk about friends, it makes me think of the song "You've got a Friend in Me" by Randy Newman. You know, the nostalgic song from Toy Story.

All About Point of View

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
-C. S. Lewis


This quote has always been impactful to me. It was revealed to me at a young age by my dad who is an avid C. S. Lewis fan. This specific quote never fails to make me think about the lens I view the world under. It can be so easy to look at the world and take it at face value. Christianity allows us to do so much more than that. As the quote describes, when God is the basis for which you view the world, it becomes a sight to behold.

He is Our Headlamp

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

Every essence of our being came from Christ; our form, our loves, our prayers. We needed Him to form us for His purpose, but we also need Him to see. God does not simply create us and leave us. We need Him to stay and guide us through life's dark caverns, some filled with jewels, some filled with pits. He is our headlamp that best conforms to our heads, because He knows every curve and hair upon us. Christianity is the light of Christ, and we need it to see and live the rest of our lives if we do not want to live in darkness.
This quote is special to me. Sometimes, I don't know where I'm going. I think I have it all figured out. But my problem is that sometimes I try to use my own headlamp in the caverns, and I find the batteries soon wear out and I am left just as before in the darkness and even more lost. God can provide the light we need to see our paths just ahead. 
A headlamp will shine into the dark just before you, but not fill up the cavern. We need only to see what is just in front of us; not behind, and not too far ahead. Do not be concerned about the past or future, but rather what is right in front of us. We all know that the sun will rise in the morning until the day of Christ, and God being our sun will rise with us every morning too. Let both light your physical and spiritual way, for without the Sun, we can see nothing.

Suffering

"The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not." The truth could never be stated more. It's obvious we cannot rid this world of suffering, but why are there some that don't, even bad people that don't suffer? There are many things a person can do and get away with simply because of who they are. Some of these people even run for president and almost win.

Subs for Joy

I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy.

I thought this quote was very interesting because it makes me consider C. S. Lewis's point and how the only true joy can come from God. I think that there is partial joy in this life but I think that it is only complete joy if it is completely devoid of selfishness, pride, and lust. As I sit writing this now I cannot think of one single thing that brings me joy without any selfish pleasure, pride, or adds some kind of longing to our lives. There might be one true exception to this, but I would not know and this would be parenthood. I do think parents can at times, receive true unselfish, prideless joy from their children.

Instamodel (late)

Huxley proposed the idea that the "ultimate revolution" is becoming gradually more real. Though I'm sure he did not envision people as slaves to their cell phones, this is what comes to my mind when I think of society influencing, or controlling, individuals. Social media is a mega-powerful influence and seems to control the minds of people much like hypnopedia in Huxley's "Brave New World." We scroll through Instagram and are constantly bombarded with thoughts ("this is what happiness looks like...", "Everyone wears that brand", "Wow, I'm getting a lot of likes. I'm finally someone worth noticing!") until they become our truth. I truly believe that whatever we fill our hearts and minds with, we will hold as our ultimate truth. It becomes the standard with which everything should be judged as right, wrong, good, bad. If our hearts and minds are filled with images of people fitter than us, lives more exciting than ours, and so on, our truth will be extremely distorted and will revolve around (yep...) social media. Not around what is actually true or what is happening in the real world right in front of us. Not that what we see online is always a lie, it just never gives us the full truth. We can not possibly understand the full story of someone's life by checking out their story on Snapchat. That's just not how it works!

Okay, so why are we so stuck on this social media thing? How can we grab our iPhone and not put it down for an entire hour? I think it's the convenience factor that draws us in and keeps us there. The idea that we can change our status, connect with people, discover ideas, and create things in the parameter of our own two hands is incredible. Why should we deal with the risks and worries of real life when we can so easily control our image on social media? We can so easily please ourselves at any time of day or night. I mean... Netflix. It's seriously too good to be true.

But what if it is too good to be true. Like I said, when this world of "likes" and memes becomes our central focus, it becomes our ultimate truth. I think that when it is our truth (or at least contributes to what we know as true) it becomes so much easier to believe what we see and hear on that forum. Thus, society (culture, the government, whomever) can convince us of pretty much whatever they want. We are being conditioned to believe things, such as that people won't like us if we post an ugly picture... And I'm not talking snapchat filter ugly. I mean like a picture of you on your worst day. The day you woke up with a huge pimple on your nose and felt like you couldn't look nice if a professional stylist were there to help you. We just don't post those. We were taught that that's not cool, not impressive, and not worth giving the time of day for. We want to post what puts our life in the most pleasant light. If there were a filter that could make all of pictures look perfect, we would most likely use it. It's just straight up easier (and safer) to make it seem like our lives are all put together because there seems to be some sort of formula for it. This is so similar to Huxley's world in Brave New World. Pleasant feelings and images and emotions are capitalized... Negativity is minimized at all costs. People become slaves to society and lose what makes them an individual. But it is so much easier for the Controllers to control their people when they are created according to a predictable standard. They are taught what to think and believe so that there is very little opportunity or need even for resistance or disagreement among anyone. But these people became simply models of people. Not actual people. Just like our profiles on social media are models of us, not, in a literal sense, us.


For the record, I'm not a snapchat user, so this may be more relevant to the 2013 version of you. And I'm talking primarily about the pictures, videos, etc. that we put out in the open for all of our [followers] to see.

It always takes courage to do the right thing!

Courage is not simply one of the virtues,
but the form of every virtue at the testing point. ~ C.S Lewis

Virtue is behavior showing high moral standards. A couple of examples of virtues are acceptance,honesty, caring, hope and so many others. As stated by C.S Lewis courage is not only one of the virtues but in order for you to fulfill each virtue, you need courage. It takes courage to be honest even if you know you are going to get into trouble. You have to choose to do the right thing or the wrong thing. Doing good, and pursuing Christ-like character, is not easy but worth it. What really counts is when you continue being merciful or generous even when it is risky, dangerous, and possibly to your own disadvantage. To be merciful, loving or generous for example, takes courage in the world we live in today because the world's standards are so much lower than God's standards for us. Here is a little of my story and how I had the courage with multiple virtues:

A few years ago I had hoped to have a family one day with both of my sisters living with me. Once I got separated from my youngest sister I lost that hope. My middle sister and I moved around together for a while, and the last house that we lived together wanted to adopt both of us. I had this feeling inside me saying that I want a family but this isn't them. I found the courage to be honest with my social worker and told her I didn't want to be adopted by this family. I eventually moved in with my family now, but at the time they were just another foster family. I found acceptance in not having both my siblings living with me, but that took a lot of courage to admit to myself. After about six months living with my family I told them that I wanted them to adopt me. I had the courage to tell them that knowing that I will never live with my sisters again. After moving around so much I eventually lost that hope of wanting to have a family with my two sisters, but my parents gave me my hope back. so, in this case the courage to be honest got me the family I have today.

The Bird's Song is a LIGHT (late!)

I Will Try by Mary Oliver is a poem about holding on... Being patient when troubles come, and looking for beauty in the darkness. The symbol of beauty and determination in this poem is the red bird. The bird sings, and all the while the narrator feels pain. She listens and hopes for a new joy. Despite her lost love, she knows she will find this light... She knows that God uses the hard times to draw her into peace and rest. The bird's soft singing represents her hope. She begins to realize that this hope is stirring up something inside of her–a joy that she now possesses which makes her similar to the bird in that she is a source of light, beauty, and hope.

A God of Pain

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

God speaks to us in many different ways, but the way we always hear him the best is through our trials in life. God does not want us to feel pain, that's why he created heaven so that we wouldn't always have to live in a painful world. The problem though is that we take that promise for granted and often times ignore what God has to say to us. That's why he allows terrible things to happen in our lives because that's when we hear him best. It's also how we grow stronger in our relationship with God. God has to get our attention somehow and sadly that somehow is through our suffering because we like to ignore him when things are going great in life. 

Lately I have been having to remind not just myself but several of my friends who have come to me with things going on in their lives of this. The only way for things to get better is to trust in God and listen when he shouts at us through our pain. All we have to do is listen, so long as we listen and trust in God he will protect us. However, there are times when bad things happen despite how good we've done when it came to listening to God. You just have to trust that those things happen for a reason and their sole purpose is to bring you closer to God. 

Quote s

"The last quote on this page never fails to give me chills."

As I was looking and reading through all the quotes this one above really stood out to me.  I feel like this quote grabbed my attention because it is so random.  Like all the other quotes had a meaning a deep meaning and i guess i just didn't find a deep meaning behind this quote at first. I feel like I was called to this quote because it was so random just like me i feel.  Never know whats going on inside this brain and just like what ever "the last quote on this page" means, my brain gives me chills too. I just felt like this had some meaning as i kept thinking about it and then the meaning of this quote clicked. It's not a quote by C.S. Lewis, but its a life style for him.  How the stuff he says makes so much sense and people still remember and talk about his life and quotes now that it has to give someone chills.  So I like it its random and stuff and things. 

Then I realized this is something Mrs. Carnes said which makes so much more sense.  Well hope i don't fail from this it was pretty cool i thought. true story. 

Yours Truly, 
Rigg Milner

P.S. I think your cool (thumbs Up)

Guard your heart

      "To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable." 
     Honestly, this quote blows my mind because it's so true. In order to love, you must be vulnerable. You must be open and willing. But no matter what you do, you're going to be hurt. That's just how it goes. If you want to stay safe, guard your heart so that it can't be broken. CS Lewis wants you to keep your heart hidden and keep it locked up. Even if you keep it hidden, you'll be harmed. Because if it isn't broken in that box, its hardened and unable to be reached. Which is worse: a broken heart or a frozen heart?

Suffering is (not) better than love

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.”-C.S Lewis

What I like about this quote is that it’s impact-full, but also true. Friendship, music, books, art… almost everything humans enjoy has no survival use. A good book will not protect you, a beautiful painting can’t feed you or heal physical wounds, but we’ve still attracted to these things. Even though they can’t help us survive, they bring us happiness and joy. I think that’s what life is really about. Being able to enjoy life and being surrounded by people you love… that living. If you try to avoid anything that doesn’t have a “use” then you’ll only end up miserable. Of course, that’s not to say you should focus solely on things that make you happy. But being able to enjoy things both big and small in life is what makes the difference between surviving and living.

No new friends

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival

This quotes instantly caught my eye. One because philosophy is really one of the most unnecessary things in the world but mainly because of how true it is.  Friendship is something that we don't need in life to survive but it something that almost all humans enjoy.  I mean just think about it we have all friends come and go in are life's right and it didn't kill any of us.  Now at the end of the quote he does say that its gives "value to survival" and this is probable one of the trustiest things you will ever here.  Friendship isn't something that can just be taught its a bond between and having those people in your life makes it a thousand times easier because you know no matter what, they are going to be there for you.  Also having other people that care about you makes survival easier, more fun, and all around better giving it value.






Forget fake friends, where your real friends at    

protect that heart

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable." ~C. S. Lewis

Wow. Let me try to gather myself as I try to explain this quote and what it means to me. (Sorry if this is super emotional and deep) 
When you love someone or something, you're putting all your trust and belief in that person/object. C.S. Lewis really couldn't have said it in any simpler way... "To love at all is to be vulnerable." Thats exactly how it is. Whether loving a family member or significant other, the reality is is that people fail. We are sinful beings that will always disappoint. Loving really IS putting yourself at risk. You're opening your heart. Lewis recommends to completely guard your heart. He suggests spending your time, effort, and love into things you enjoy and care about. To be quite honest, I am quite in love with volleyball and chipotle. Putting that aside, I really think that what Lewis is trying to get at is that you really have to learn to love yourself before you love other people. You have to find yourself. Know what you're good at and what you enjoy. Try different things. Be content with where you're at. Really explore yourself and broaden your horizons. Once you're sure of yourself and love who you really are, you're able to approach loving other people with more understanding and caution. Don't be naive. Dont be vulnerable. Treat yo'self. Love you for who you are. 

The Quotable C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis was a prolific writer and a brilliant thinker. For today's blog post, I've listed some of my favorite quotes from his writings. Some you may recognize from The Screwtape Letters. I would like you to choose one that speaks to you and respond to it. If you have another quote of his that you would like to write about, feel free.

The last quote on this page never fails to give me chills.

I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy.

The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the devil.

The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.

We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.

If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth: only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.

Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith but they are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the passion of Christ.

Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.

We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.