The following is in part responding to C.S. Lewis' "Man or Rabbit?" If you are a random passerby, take a minute, and whether or not you read the short essay, feel free to comment, question, discuss, and/or debate.
This was one of C.S. Lewis' most blunt works that we have studied in this class. Out of all of the pieces so far, this one was the most straight to the point, and if his words do not say it in themselves, the concise 5 1/2 pages shows it in a physical amount. It surprises me that he combines being concise with such strong opinions, because Lewis' main method of argument has been to completely crush the opponent by exhausting all forms of attacks against his logic. In this essay though, he makes a short statement as fact, solidifying certain parts of it to stone, and leaving other parts open, in order to make it infallible.
His attacks are very harsh (note that I actually call them attacks, because I believe he is attacking the character of those who he sees as condemned). However, he is also quite interestingly placed in his logic, which makes me agree with him even more. He is right in saying that those who do not look for a greater meaning in life are missing a large part of life, but I do not believe that he should condemn them, seemingly calling them useless individuals. As if they are empty shells for avoiding one of the most important aspects of life. Yes, they are missing the "big picture." That does not mean that they miss all of the little ones. They are still individuals that I have compassion for.
The one largest stumbling block in my faith is the seemingly contradictory love of God. He created all of us individually and loves us all. Yet even still he gives us free will, leaving it open for us to choose the way of evil, and be condemned to an eternity of suffering in hell. One of my strongest issues with this is that I have a couple of friends who I honestly believe have eliminated the idea that Christianity has any ability to be true. In each of their cases, it is based on different lead ups that helped them come to their conclusion. Whether it was being raised in a strongly secular home that was avid in seeing Christianity as false, or something that they fought with while growing up and came to disbelieve through scientific research. These people biblically are going to be condemned to an ETERNITY in hell. That includes great people that have done a lot for others. The extreme, and easiest example, is Ghandi, who biblically should be headed to hell.
C.S. Lewis mentions that he hopes God will have mercy on these sorts of people, as do I, but if there were to be one thing that really confused me as a Christian, it would be that.
2 comments:
I agree with you completely. This was a tough reading, because a lot of what Lewis said was very harsh and straight to the point without any cushion at all. I really do struggle with believing that many of my friends, who are good people, will go to hell for eternity. The concept of eternity is so mind-blowing to begin with, and then to consider it in an eternity of suffering is so grim, it is almost too horrible to think about. I appreciated that Lewis said that he hoped that God would find mercy with people. I have to hope that he will. There are many people who have situations outside their control, and I pray that God redeems us all.
@chris, That's exactly where my issues with predestination lie. As our mutual friend said tonight (paraphrasing) "predestination is like we're all treading water, waiting to drown in sin, and God chooses some people to help out of the water." Choosing some... that is a scary thought
Post a Comment