The Crowd and Originality

Society always moves as a unit. Each generation views itself as original and well thought.

Each generation is original but it has no understanding of itself. C.S. Lewis spoke of the need of reading old books.

It is not that there are no errors in old books, but the errors of that day are different than our day.

The church almost always has a simplistic critic of its age. There are the hot button issues which occur in society which the church faces but only touch the surface.

But the reality of today is the most important issues the church should face are those in the church. Where is the concern for the poor in the church and were the concern for the oppressed?

Many people fled from conservative churches to find the teachings of social justice that Jesus expounds in the liberal church. But here the gospel of life and death which is of even greater importance is lost.

Error in the church is always like this it is a simplification of scripture. Scripture is always more complex then error.

All the early heresies were oversimplifications of the reality. Almost all errors are either a conscious or unconscious redaction of the truth.

The reality is the truth is more complex, more deep, more real, and more satisfying that the error.

The bible starts with in the beginning “God.” God is here and he has a word for us.

It ends with a warning to add nothing or take nothing away. In the midst of the two bookmarks is a richness which is deeper than any of us can understand.

The truth is beautiful and error in the church almost always an oversimplification of the truth.

The church isn’t impoverished because we have too much to say. We have not too much to say but too little.

If we said all that could be said we would not have the issues we have.

Post on Lewis and Human Progress

C.S. Lewis Quote on Devotional Reading

"For my own part I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await many others. I believe that many who find that 'nothing happens' when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand."

—C.S. Lewis

Thomas Watson Quote About Books

"Get books into your houses, when you have not the spring near you, then get water into your cisterns; so when you have not that wholesome preaching that you desire, good books are cisterns that hold the water of life in them to refresh you.... So when you find a chillness upon your souls, and that your former heat begins to abate, ply yourselves with warm clothes, get those good books that may acquaint you with such truths as may warm and affect your hearts." (Thomas Watson - 1662)