How my brain works…
So, I was looking on Google Maps at a part of San Diego and thought “Huh, cool, a menorah!”:
The article How my brain works… first appeared on RestlessPilgrim.net
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Mere Christianity – Book III – Chapter 7 (“Forgiveness”)
Picking back up my notes for C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity”…
Notes & Quotes
1. Maybe it is forgiveness, rather than chastity, is the most unpopular thing in Christianity
(a) Because Christian forgiveness involves forgiving our enemies
…we come up against this terrible duty of forgiving our enemies. Every one says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive… And then, to mention the subject at all is to be greeted with howls of anger”
(b) People sometimes complain not that it’s not too hard, but just that it’s simply unfair!
“It is not that people think this too high and difficult a virtue: it is that they think it hateful and contemptible. ‘That sort of talk makes them sick,” they say. And half of you already want to ask me, ‘I wonder how you’d feel about forgiving the Gestapo if you were a Pole or a Jew?'”
2. But this is Christianity!
“I did not invent it. And there, right in the middle of it, I find “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those that sin against us.” There is no slightest suggestion that we are offered forgiveness on any other terms. It is made perfectly clear that if we do not forgive we shall not be forgiven. There are no two ways about it. What are we to do?”
3. In order to develop our ability to forgive, start small…
“When you start mathematics you do not begin with the calculus; you begin with simple addition. In the same way, if we really want (but all depends on really wanting) to learn how to forgive, perhaps we had better start with something easier than the Gestapo. One might start with forgiving one’s husband or wife, or parents or children, or the nearest NCO*, for something they have done or said in the last week. That will probably keep us busy for the moment”
* Non-Commissioned Officer in the army
3. There are misconceptions as to what it means to “love your neighbour as yourself”
“…how exactly do I love myself?”… I have not exactly got a feeling of fondness or affection for myself, and I do not even always enjoy my own society…. Do I think well of myself, think myself a nice chap? Well, I am afraid I sometimes do… but that is not why I love myself. In fact it, is the other way round: my self-love makes me think myself nice, but thinking myself nice is not why I love myself…. I can look at some of the things I have done with horror and loathing”
4. There is a distinction between the person and his/her actions
“I remember Christian teachers telling me long ago that I must hate a bad man’s actions, but not hate the bad man: or, as they would say, hate the sin but not the sinner.
…how could you hate what a man did and not hate the man? But years later it occurred to me that there was one man to whom I had been doing this all my life-namely myself… In fact the very reason why I hated the things was that I loved the man. Just because I loved myself, I was sorry to find that I was the sort of man who did those things. Consequently, Christianity does not want us to reduce by one atom the hatred we feel for cruelty and treachery. We ought to hate them… But it does want us to hate them in the same way in which we hate things in ourselves: being sorry that the man should have done such things, and hoping, if it is anyway possible, that somehow, sometime, somewhere, he can be cured and made human again”
5. Loving my neighbour does not mean refusing to punish him
“No, for loving myself does not mean that I ought not to subject myself to punishment-even to death. If one had committed a murder, the right Christian thing to do would be to give yourself up to the police and be hanged. It is, therefore, in my opinion, perfectly right for a Christian judge to sentence a man to death or a Christian soldier to kill an enemy”
(a) This does not contradict “Thy shalt not kill”?
“There are two Greek words: the ordinary word to kill and the word to murder. And when Christ quotes that commandment He uses the murder one… And I am told there is the same distinction in Hebrew. All killing is not murder any more than all sexual intercourse is adultery. When soldiers came to St. John the Baptist asking what to do, he never remotely suggested that they ought to leave the army: nor did Christ when He met a Roman sergeant-major-what they called a centurion”
4. If people What then, is the difference?
I imagine somebody will say, “Well, if one is allowed to condemn the enemy’s acts, and punish him, and kill him, what difference is left between Christian morality and the ordinary view?” All the difference in the world. Remember, we Christians think man lives for ever. Therefore, what really matters is those little marks or twists on the central, inside part of the soul which are going to turn it, in the long run, into a heavenly or a hellish creature. We may kill if necessary, but we must not hate and enjoy hating. We may punish if necessary, but we must not enjoy it. In other words, something inside us, the feeling of resentment, the feeling that wants to get one’s own back, must be simply killed. I do not mean that anyone can decide this moment that he will never feel it any more. That is not how things happen. I mean that every time it bobs its head up, day after day, year after year, all our lives long, we must hit it on the head. It is hard work, but the attempt is not impossible. Even while we kill and punish we must try to feel about the enemy as we feel about ourselves- to wish that he were not bad. to hope that he may, in this world or another, be cured: in fact, to wish his good. That is what is meant in the Bible by loving him: wishing his good, not feeling fond of him nor saying he is nice when he is not.
5. What’s the bottom line?
“I admit that this means loving people who have nothing lovable about them. But then, has oneself anything lovable about it? You love it simply because it is yourself, God intends us to love all selves in the same way and for the same reason: but He has given us the sum ready worked out on our own case to show us how it works. We have then to go on and apply the rule to all the other selves. Perhaps it makes it easier if we remember that that is how He loves us. Not for any nice, attractive qualities we think we have, but just because we are the things called selves. For really there is nothing else in us to love: creatures like us who actually find hatred such a pleasure that to give it up is like giving up beer or tobacco. …”
Discussion Questions
1. Why is the Christian doctrine of forgiveness so unpopular?
2. How does Jack suggest we start?
3. What does it mean to forgive your enemies and what does it not mean?
4. Does this mean we should be against capital punishment?
5. Why should we forgive others?
C.S. Lewis Doodle
No doodle!
Best of British: Part 7
In my last Best of British post I started to share some of my favourite British comedy shows which have aired more recently.
The Office
Today I’d like to talk about a show with which most residents of the United States will be familiar, “The Office”. However, not all Americans will know that this was originally a British TV show which played its final episode long before there ever was a Michael Scott or a Dwight Schrute.
I’ll admit that, when I first heard that they were making an American version of “The Office”, I became extremely indignant (“Why can’t these Americans handle British comedy?!” etc.). However, after watching the first season of the American version, I was converted. Whereas the British version limited itself to two brilliant seasons, the American version still continues when it should have been put out of its misery several seasons ago…
The original British show’s humour is far drier. You will spend far more time watching the British version through your fingers, trying to shield your eyes from the awkwardness produced by the boss from Hell, David Brent. The clip below is one of the more light-hearted moments though, where David performs the activity dreaded in every office, the performance reviews…
Extras
As I said above, the British version of “The Office” only lasted two seasons. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant then went on to write the show “Extras”, following the characters David and Maggie as they “star” as extras in movies and TV shows. I think it probably nicely captures the boredom of the job which would involve a lot of standing around.
Each week, some celebrity would make a guest appearance, such as Kate Winslet and Patrick Stewart. My favourite though was probably when Orlando Bloom made his guest appearance shortly after “Pirates Of The Caribbean” had been released:
PWJ: S2E5 – TGD 3 – “Landing in Heaven”
Today we take our first steps into Heaven! The bus in which Lewis had been travelling alights in a new country and the passengers take their first tentative steps into this strange land…
S2E6: “The bus ride in the clouds” (Download)
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Read moreClinging to anger
I was talking with someone recently about forgiveness and how, when we hold a grudge, we do damage to ourselves. I had a Scripture verse at the back of my head but I couldn’t remember where it was in the Bible. Today I found it:
“Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. The vengeful will suffer the LORD’s vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail. Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD? Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself, can he seek pardon for his own sins? If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins?
Remember your last days, set enmity aside; remember death and decay, and cease from sin! Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor; remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults” – Sirach 27:30-28:7
We cling to anger and hold it tight. We nourish it so that it can grow even greater. What are we thinking?!
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you” – L. Smede
Quick Apology: Biology 101
During my Advent hiatus from blogging, a friend of mine posted the following image on Facebook:
I rightly assumed this graphic to be an argument in favour of abortion, essentially arguing that the unborn aren’t really human. How might you respond to a graphic such as this? Well, in today’s post I would like to share a modified version of the Facebook comment which I posted in response, so that if one of your friends also posts this image you’ll have an example of how you might construct your own reply. Or, of course, if you’re short on time, you could just paste a link to this article 🙂
Giving Thanks
For those of you not living in the United States, today is Thanksgiving.
A few days ago, after making a snide remark about the upcoming national holiday, a friend suggested to me that, given that I have a lot to be thankful for, I really shouldn’t be so curmudgeonly about Thanksgiving. My friend was quite right. After all, if the central focus of Catholic worship is “Eucharist” (literally “Thanksgiving”), then perhaps I should be a bit more enthusiastic about a yearly national holiday in which people call to mind all things for which they are thankful….not forgetting, of course, that Squanto was Catholic! Mea culpa.
Pray, tell me
So, since today focuses on “thanksgiving”, I’d like to take this opportunity to find out your thoughts about “giving thanks” for your food when out in public…
Do you pray before you begin a meal at a restaurant? If so, do you pray out loud or in silence? Catholics usually begin and end their prayers with a sign of the cross – do you omit that when you’re in public or just do a very small, quick one? What about if you’re with other people, some of whom aren’t Catholic or Christian?
Religious Oppression
Our new Bishop, Bishop Flores, when speaking to all the Young Adults at the “Mega Mass”, spoke about a time when he went to dinner with a group of young adults and was rather surprised when they just began eating their food without saying grace. When he queried this, one of his dinner companions said that they didn’t do it because they didn’t want to “impose their religion” upon other people in the restaurant!
Table Manners
Growing up, we generally said grace before meals when we sat down together as a family. I grew a bit slack during my teenage years, but in my twenties I started to pray much more regularly before eating, one of the good habits which arose from dating a wonderful and extremely faith-filled lady.
However, I still didn’t generally say grace when I was out at restaurants or when I was with non-Christians. I just felt too awkward. This all changed when I once saw a small group in a restaurant saying grace. I found something extremely touching about them bowing their heads in prayer, thanking God with gratitude for their meal, unashamed of any odd looks this might draw. So, inspired by their example, I now just get over myself and pray regardless, throwing in a nice large sign of the cross at the beginning and end to boot 🙂
So what’s your opinion? Do you have any particular blessings you pray before eating? Leave your comments below!
