PWJ: S1E13 – MC B3C1 – “The Three Parts of Morality”

Convoy

Today in Mere Christianity, we begin Book III! This new book is entitled “Christian Behaviour”. In this chapter, in addition to learning about the qualities of my ideal woman(!), we discover what C.S. Lewis regarded as “the three parts of morality”. To illustrate these different parts, Jack uses the analogy of a convoy of ships.

If you enjoy this episode, you can subscribe manually, or any place where good podcasts can be found (iTunesGoogle PlayPodbeanStitcher and TuneIn). Please send any objections, comments or questions, either via email through my website or tweet us @pintswithjack.

Episode 13: “The Three Parts of Morality” (Download)

Read more

C.S. Lewis on Masturbation

Writing

In the New Year, Matt and I will be discussing the chapter in “Mere Christianity” on the subject of sexual morality. In that episode, I intend to speak briefly about masturbation. C.S. Lewis doesn’t explicitly address the subject of masturbation in that work, but he does in a letter he wrote to the young American named Keith Masson:

“For me the real evil of masturbation would be that it takes an appetite which, in lawful use, leads the individual out of himself to complete (and correct) his own personality in that of another (and finally in children and even grandchildren) and turns it back; sends the man back into the prison of himself, there to keep a harem of imaginary brides. And this harem, once admitted, works against his ever getting out and really uniting with a real woman.

For the harem is always accessible, always subservient, calls for no sacrifices or adjustments, and can be endowed with erotic and psychological attractions which no woman can rival. Among those shadowy brides he is always adored, always the perfect lover; no demand is made on his unselfishness, no mortification ever imposed on his vanity.

In the end, they become merely the medium through which he increasingly adores himself. . . . After all, almost the main work of life is to come out of our selves, out of the little dark prison we are all born in. Masturbation is to be avoided as all things are to be avoided which retard this process. The danger is that of coming to love the prison.”

– Personal Letter From Lewis to Keith Masson (1956)
The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3

Sounds almost exactly like something Jason Evert or Matt Fradd would write today!

Patristic Poems

Well, this is rather lovely! Today I came across a website by Billy Kangas which includes poems by Deacon Nate Harburg concerning the Early Church Fathers.  Each father gets a separate poem. For example, this is the one he wrote for St. Ignatius of Antioch:

Brought to Rome’s arena, he was all bound up in fetters,
On the way he zealously preached Christ in seven letters,
Known for calling Euch’rist medicine for immortality,
He became “pure bread of Christ” for lions, his fatality!

If you’d like to read the rest, please just click on the image below:

Poems

Matt Fradd vs. Santa

MattSantapunch

I’ve listened to Pints With Aquinas since about the beginning of 2017. It was part of my initiative to finally stop being afraid of St. Thomas Aquinas and his magnum opus, the Summa. This morning, as I was getting ready for work, I was listening to the latest episode of the podcast. Oh boy… This week Matt tackled so many topics which are sure to irritate many!

Should I lie to my kids about Santa Claus? 

Would it have been allowable to lie to the Nazis?

Should we be allowed to take Communion in the hand?

Is swearing okay?

How does Matt (and St. Thomas) answer these questions? Click here to find out. For what it’s worth, I don’t necessarily agree 100% with all the points made here, but that’s another post for another time…

After finishing the episode, I did tweet Matt, pointing out that he missed an obvious fund-raising gimmick with this episode…

Fradd1

Matt recently quit his job and will be devoting himself to the podcast full-time. If you’re an awesome person and want to prove it, you could even donate a few dollars each month to the apostolate via Patreon.

Music Monday: Bleed the same

Today’s music selection was recommended by Matt, my co-host of The Eagle & Child. This is “Bleed the same” by Mandisa:

We all bleed the same
We’re more beautiful when we come together
We all bleed the same
So tell me why, tell me why we’re divided

Woke up today
Another headline, another innocent life is taken
In the name of hatred
So hard to take
And if we think that it’s all good
Then we’re mistaken
‘Cause my heart is breakin’

Are you left, are you right
Pointing fingers, taking sides
When are we gonna realize

If we’re gonna fight, let’s fight for each other
If we’re gonna shout, let love be the cry
We all bleed the same
So tell me why, tell me why we’re divided

Tell me who are we
To judge someone by the kind of clothes they’re wearin’
Or the color of their skin
Are you black, are you white
Aren’t we all the same inside
Father, open our eyes to see

Only love can drive out all the darkness
What are we fightin’ for
We were made to carry one another
We were made for more

We all bleed the same
We’re more beautiful when we come together
We all bleed the same
So tell me why, tell me why we’re divided
If we’re gonna fight, let’s fight for each other
If we’re gonna shout, let love be the cry
We all bleed the same
Let’s stand united, let’s stand united

1 2 3 4 5