Book Discussion:“Beginnings, Endings, and the Purpose of Life in the Work of C.S. Lewis”
Focus: The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis, 1946.
When: Thursday, April 23rd, 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: Books at Sow’s Ear Antiques
Discussion will be led by John Turner and Eddie Keever.
Rev. John Turner and his wife Rev. Judy Turner are ordained ministers of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), co-founders of Christview Ministries, and the ministerial leaders of First Christian Church, Berryville. Mr. Turner has a B.A. degree from the University of Chicago (major, political science), and an M.Div. degree from Vanderbilt University Divinity School (major: church history). Mr. Turner’s interest in C. S. Lewis was deepened by reading to his daughter when she was a child; she is now a professor of English literature at Charleston Southern University and still a fan of the writings of Lewis and Tolkien.
Eddie Keever is known in Carroll County for his work on KTHS radio. Mr. Keever credits the writings of C. S. Lewis with greatly influencing his life and thought. Mr. Turner asked Mr. Keever to assist him in leading this discussion after hearing Mr. Keever quote verbatim a passage from Lewis to which Mr. Turner had made vague reference.
The Great Divorce is a short and easy-to-read book. It will be helpful if some of the participants in the discussion read the book prior to the discussion and if those who own the book bring their own copies.
Focus: The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis, 1946.
When: Thursday, April 23rd, 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: Books at Sow’s Ear Antiques
Discussion will be led by John Turner and Eddie Keever.
Rev. John Turner and his wife Rev. Judy Turner are ordained ministers of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), co-founders of Christview Ministries, and the ministerial leaders of First Christian Church, Berryville. Mr. Turner has a B.A. degree from the University of Chicago (major, political science), and an M.Div. degree from Vanderbilt University Divinity School (major: church history). Mr. Turner’s interest in C. S. Lewis was deepened by reading to his daughter when she was a child; she is now a professor of English literature at Charleston Southern University and still a fan of the writings of Lewis and Tolkien.
Eddie Keever is known in Carroll County for his work on KTHS radio. Mr. Keever credits the writings of C. S. Lewis with greatly influencing his life and thought. Mr. Turner asked Mr. Keever to assist him in leading this discussion after hearing Mr. Keever quote verbatim a passage from Lewis to which Mr. Turner had made vague reference.
The Great Divorce is a short and easy-to-read book. It will be helpful if some of the participants in the discussion read the book prior to the discussion and if those who own the book bring their own copies.
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Discussion Guide:
Premise to be considered: Much of what C. S. Lewis has to say about the purpose of human life can be seen in his accounts of beginnings (creation) and especially endings (hell and heaven, new creation).
Primary text for discussion: The Great Divorce, 1946. This short adult spiritual fantasy is easy to read, but may require thoughtful meditation over time to be fully grasped.
Plan for Discussion: I understand that there may be people who have not read the book, but I trust that there will be enough who have read the book to carry on a discussion of it.
1. Chapters 1-7 describe a departure from hell, a bus trip, an arrival in heaven, and first reactions to heaven. What most stands out to you from these chapters? What do you see as the significance of what most stands out to you?
2. Chapter 8 has a scene of a woman too ashamed of being transparent to enter into joy. Lewis does not tell us how this woman’s story ends. How do you think it ends?
3. Beginning in Chapter 9 and continuing until near the end of Chapter 14, the writer George Macdonald, who had greatly influenced Lewis, serves as the narrator’s guide. In Chapter 9, Macdonald offers numerous insights about heaven and hell. Which of his insights most caught your attention, and why?
4. We meet a string of characters who have different hang-ups about heaven: the ghost woman who wants to attract the saints to herself, ghosts who wanted to lecture (and even show slides) about hell in heaven, the ghost painter who is more concerned about the triumph of his school of art than about learning to see true beauty, the woman who had tried to make something of her husband on earth and who will agree to meet him in heaven only if she is at last given a free hand with him, the woman who would prefer having her son in hell than having to love God more than her son in heaven (Lewis’ book The Four Loves explains her hang-up).
5. The clearest transformation story is of man who must give permission for the saint to kill his demonic lust; the transformation of the ghost and the demon is astounding. The point is found near the end of Chapter 11 in the paragraph that begins, “Nothing, not even the best and noblest….” How does the transformation compare and contrast to the woman in the previous story and her love for her son?
6. Perhaps the grandest saint we meet had once been the rather ordinary Sarah Smith. She came to meet the ghost of her earthly husband Frank, split into two closely chained self-pitying personalities. What do you think of Macdonald’s assessment of the situation?
7. What is the significance of Macdonald’s assertion that hell is tiny?
8. What do you make of Macdonald’s refusal to get into questions of predestination versus free will (Chapter 9) or universalism (which Macdonald had toyed with in real life, Chapter 13)?
9. What does Macdonald mean by saying that God has forbidden claiming knowledge that has been given to no mortal? What do you suppose Lewis includes under that category?
10. What do we learn from Lewis’ dream of things eternal? How does it correspond with other things that Lewis wrote?
Supplemental reading for those who want to understand Lewis more fully, especially on the subject of beginnings, endings, and the purpose of life:
The Pilgrim’s Regress, 1933. Lewis’ first Christian work—not yet mature in artistry--contains glimmers of what will be.
*The Problem of Pain, 1940, Chapter 8, “Hell,” and Chapter 10, “Heaven.” These are Lewis’ most straightforward treatments of these subjects and taken together illumine the nature of love, of our highest purpose, and of our biggest obstacle, as Lewis sees them.
The Screwtape Letters, 1942, 1963. This popular fantasy treatment of temptation addresses in passing the natures of hell and heaven.
*Miracles, 1947. Chapter 16, “Miracles of the New Creation.” Lewis sharply distinguishes resurrection (which he sees as the Christian promise) from immortality of the soul (which he allows as possible, but of much less significance than resurrection) because the end goal of a perfect new heaven and new earth is not an escape from material creation, but a transformation and fulfillment of it.
Mere Christianity, 1940, 1945, 1952. Book Three, Chapter 10, “Hope.” The most basic book for understanding Lewis’ overall thought has a helpful chapter on our desire for our true country.
The Space (or Ransom) Trilogy, Three Volumes, 1938, 1943, 1945. This trilogy explores the implications of the fall into sin in three different worlds respectively, one an imaginary Mars, the second an imaginary Venus, and the third a dark, imaginary, but closer to realistic Earth. The middle volume, Perelandra, 1943, displays a New Eden faced with new dangers.
The Chronicles of Narnia, Seven Volumes, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1952, 1954, 1954, 1956. The Chronicles are best read as a whole, either in writing order (with The Magician’s Nephew sixth, my preference) or in narrative order (with The Magician’s Nephew first, current publishing trend). Large portions of Lewis’ views show up in these so-called children’s stories. The Magician’s Nephew, 1954, Chapters 8 and 9, tells the story of Narnia’s Creation and Fall.
Premise to be considered: Much of what C. S. Lewis has to say about the purpose of human life can be seen in his accounts of beginnings (creation) and especially endings (hell and heaven, new creation).
Primary text for discussion: The Great Divorce, 1946. This short adult spiritual fantasy is easy to read, but may require thoughtful meditation over time to be fully grasped.
Plan for Discussion: I understand that there may be people who have not read the book, but I trust that there will be enough who have read the book to carry on a discussion of it.
1. Chapters 1-7 describe a departure from hell, a bus trip, an arrival in heaven, and first reactions to heaven. What most stands out to you from these chapters? What do you see as the significance of what most stands out to you?
2. Chapter 8 has a scene of a woman too ashamed of being transparent to enter into joy. Lewis does not tell us how this woman’s story ends. How do you think it ends?
3. Beginning in Chapter 9 and continuing until near the end of Chapter 14, the writer George Macdonald, who had greatly influenced Lewis, serves as the narrator’s guide. In Chapter 9, Macdonald offers numerous insights about heaven and hell. Which of his insights most caught your attention, and why?
4. We meet a string of characters who have different hang-ups about heaven: the ghost woman who wants to attract the saints to herself, ghosts who wanted to lecture (and even show slides) about hell in heaven, the ghost painter who is more concerned about the triumph of his school of art than about learning to see true beauty, the woman who had tried to make something of her husband on earth and who will agree to meet him in heaven only if she is at last given a free hand with him, the woman who would prefer having her son in hell than having to love God more than her son in heaven (Lewis’ book The Four Loves explains her hang-up).
5. The clearest transformation story is of man who must give permission for the saint to kill his demonic lust; the transformation of the ghost and the demon is astounding. The point is found near the end of Chapter 11 in the paragraph that begins, “Nothing, not even the best and noblest….” How does the transformation compare and contrast to the woman in the previous story and her love for her son?
6. Perhaps the grandest saint we meet had once been the rather ordinary Sarah Smith. She came to meet the ghost of her earthly husband Frank, split into two closely chained self-pitying personalities. What do you think of Macdonald’s assessment of the situation?
7. What is the significance of Macdonald’s assertion that hell is tiny?
8. What do you make of Macdonald’s refusal to get into questions of predestination versus free will (Chapter 9) or universalism (which Macdonald had toyed with in real life, Chapter 13)?
9. What does Macdonald mean by saying that God has forbidden claiming knowledge that has been given to no mortal? What do you suppose Lewis includes under that category?
10. What do we learn from Lewis’ dream of things eternal? How does it correspond with other things that Lewis wrote?
Supplemental reading for those who want to understand Lewis more fully, especially on the subject of beginnings, endings, and the purpose of life:
The Pilgrim’s Regress, 1933. Lewis’ first Christian work—not yet mature in artistry--contains glimmers of what will be.
*The Problem of Pain, 1940, Chapter 8, “Hell,” and Chapter 10, “Heaven.” These are Lewis’ most straightforward treatments of these subjects and taken together illumine the nature of love, of our highest purpose, and of our biggest obstacle, as Lewis sees them.
The Screwtape Letters, 1942, 1963. This popular fantasy treatment of temptation addresses in passing the natures of hell and heaven.
*Miracles, 1947. Chapter 16, “Miracles of the New Creation.” Lewis sharply distinguishes resurrection (which he sees as the Christian promise) from immortality of the soul (which he allows as possible, but of much less significance than resurrection) because the end goal of a perfect new heaven and new earth is not an escape from material creation, but a transformation and fulfillment of it.
Mere Christianity, 1940, 1945, 1952. Book Three, Chapter 10, “Hope.” The most basic book for understanding Lewis’ overall thought has a helpful chapter on our desire for our true country.
The Space (or Ransom) Trilogy, Three Volumes, 1938, 1943, 1945. This trilogy explores the implications of the fall into sin in three different worlds respectively, one an imaginary Mars, the second an imaginary Venus, and the third a dark, imaginary, but closer to realistic Earth. The middle volume, Perelandra, 1943, displays a New Eden faced with new dangers.
The Chronicles of Narnia, Seven Volumes, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1952, 1954, 1954, 1956. The Chronicles are best read as a whole, either in writing order (with The Magician’s Nephew sixth, my preference) or in narrative order (with The Magician’s Nephew first, current publishing trend). Large portions of Lewis’ views show up in these so-called children’s stories. The Magician’s Nephew, 1954, Chapters 8 and 9, tells the story of Narnia’s Creation and Fall.
The Last Battle, 1956, Chapters 12—16, tells the story of Narnia’s Last Judgment and the New Creation.
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Everyone welcome!
Previous programs have been structured so that everyone, whether they have read the book or not, can participate in the discussion. So, even if you are not 'well versed' in C. S. Lewis's work, please plan to attend and have fun. Susan Krotz
ReplyDeleteYes, by all means, come whether you have read the book or not. John Turner
ReplyDelete