Of Inappropriate Portals to Narnia, old books, and new projects

There is an old chiffarobe that has been in our family for several decades. It was my uncle's and mine and now my oldest child uses it. And yes, I definitely checked inside the wardrobe door more than once as a child to see if I could get to Narnia. Anyone who wouldn't is a commie.

At one time I mentioned to my son that he could pass it on to another family member one day. His response was "No way, when I die it is going to be my coffin." It was a response that was meant to be funny and it prompted in me a question as to the ramifications of using an obvious means for travel to Narnia in such a way. What if the passage to Narnia finally opened up and bodies rained from the sky?  No. Don't ever use a wardrobe to build your coffin. The risks far outweigh any potential benefits.

I use this dark humor as an odd segue to discuss my favorite books I have read this year. It was really a bad opening but when I tell that story I can hear my children's laughter in my head and that makes me smile, so I'm leaving it.

It has been a good reading year for me. I started off strong and will probably finish a good 20 books by the end of the year. I normally make time to read four or five books and spend the rest of my time wishing I were reading more while re-watching The Office for the fiftieth time. So while my goal is to raise my average reading to even greater heights, the fact that I have poured through 16 so far in 2019 is a pretty big deal.

Also there is a saying "Show me a writer and I will show you a reader"  and my writing is taking off since reading more! I am working on a fantasy novel right now, the progress of which I will update here as time goes by. All I will say is that right now I am about 40% of the way through the first draft. Of course writing takes time and editing takes time and publishing is a painstaking process of hurry-up-and-wait but once it is done I will publish it and we can celebrate!

More on that book later. The books I want to talk about are C.S. Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength. These are often referred to as the Cosmic Trilogy or the Space Trilogy. The short version of the review is simply this: these books are amazing go read them right now!  

Lewis crafts a science fiction story that builds less upon fantasy of interstellar travel for personal glory and more on the fear of the unknown, grappling with spiritual struggles in a physical way, and Christian philosophy in the face of unfathomable evil. 

I don’t want to spoil anything. But the basic premise of the first book is that Professor Ransom finds himself kidnapped away to Mars to be used as human sacrifice to the unsettling creatures there. Ransom’s adventure on Mars causes him to question his assumptions and biases as well as confirming the proper realization of what it means to have a Christian faith in the face of any circumstance. 

Briefly, book two takes us with Ransom to Venus as he assists in the infancy of a planet’s spiritual life, attempting to help avoid the mistakes of Earth. 

That Hideous Strength sees Ransom as a major force, but one mostly behind the scenes. The ideas of submission to pure evil in pursuit of power versus standing for reason and truth are prevalent. There is also the story of a married couple who only spend moments together during the book but come to the same conclusion separately that marriage means something and that they not only owe something to one another but need something they can only get from that relationship as well. I’ve heard some criticize this as presenting the woman as weak and helpless but I wholeheartedly disagree. She is a great character who acts bravely outside of the norms of her society. If either of them is weak it is the husband, but in the end both must find humility and submit to their love for one another.

The mythology built in these books is a fictionalization of Christianity but one that emphasizes Christian truth. As a Christian I found arguments made by Lewis' characters to strengthen my own larger philosophical understanding of the faith, even though this is not the primary purpose of the book. For the unbeliever, there is something appealing in the narrative alone, but those matters of a biblical worldview may help a to understand where Christians are coming from. In this age of simply throwing out anything we don't immediately agree with, I think this could be very beneficial. And at the core of it all is simply an amazing story, well told. 

Since reading these books, I find myself accidentally referring to things with the language of these books. Recently I have been reading about new age and spiritual warfare and I struggle to refrain from calling demons “Eldil”. Another example of this is that the other night my kids were watching a TV program about the planets and when they got to Mars I instantly thought "Oh look! Malacandra!"

One important note--while these are not graphic in any great detail, these are NOT Narnia. Recommended for teens or older. For a younger child these books will either go over the head, cause great confusion, or give a nightmare or two! 

If you want three excellent reads go pick up the Cosmic Trilogy. None of them are huge time investments either. Lewis can be dense even in a few short paragraphs when he gets to philosophical matters, so that can at times cause me to slow down and think about what I am reading, but for the most part I would say that none of these took me more than a week to read. And I want to say that the first two books were only day or two each.

I will hopefully have more to say about more books in the future. But these are my favorites this year. Nothing has topped them yet.

Happy reading! I hope it is fall where you are, the leaves aren't changing much in the Black Hills, but today the air is crisp and clean!

It bears repeating...

Sometimes I think I am simply over being “nice”. It has become synonymous with “weak” and “masked” and “false”. Thus, the compulsion to “be nice” whether internal or external results in an inability to say anything of real value in my writing.

This is not to conflate “nice” with “loving” which is something completely different and also very necessary. We are commanded in 1 Peter 3:15 not only to be prepared to give reason for the hope that is in us as believers but to do so with gentleness and respect. That attitude of love behind our words is of immense importance but take a look at Peter’s words and actions throughout the book of Acts and you will find the man knew how to call sinners to repentance and when “nice” wasn’t going to cut it.

I often find myself trying so hard to clarify and protect against being misunderstood that I never actually get to say anything. Or I think through all the nasty things people might say and I clam up. That is part of why you don’t see me blogging anymore. That is part of why I have been off of social media for the better part of the last year. Who can dare to raise their voice for truth in a culture that insists that we tailor our speech to avoid any form of offense?

Well as I said, I’m over it. I am so far from perfection and certain that some of my thinking is flawed but God has seen fit to give me a world of experience and education so who am I to sit on that and stand by inactive for fear of exposure?

I have traveled the world, spent three years living in Europe, taken a mission to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and served for a full year in Afghanistan. I have years of experience as a non-commissioned officer in the United States Navy. I have two master’s degrees and I am generally well read. I have created art on stage and have served as CEO of a $5M/year non-profit ministry. I am a published and produced playwright and most importantly a husband and father. I have sinned and received grace and I have been sinned against and learned to forgive.

I’m just saying, I have some things to say.

Foremost is this and I hope I can express this every time I sit down to write: None of my experience, accomplishments, or goals mean anything apart from my identity as a child of God.

I believe the words I read in the Bible and in God’s Word I learn that I am a sinner. That there is a standard of holiness to which I have never matched up, not even from the moment of my birth. My sin disqualifies me from existence in God’s presence for how can what is impure withstand before the Holy?

God is sovereign and omniscient. He knows all that was or ever will be. He knew man’s heart would continually turn to rebellion to His commands and yet he still proclaimed it “good” to make man in His own image. God’s “good” clearly transcends man’s common understanding of the concept.

What is overwhelming to me each time I consider it is that God, in His divine decree provided a way of atonement for sinful man from the outset. Genesis 3, moments after the fall of man, God gives the first messianic prophecy. The first chapters of Leviticus, a book often criticized as legalistic when quoted, are God explaining the way of atonement for the inevitable times when His people will mess up. It brings God glory to bring man into communion with Himself. He does not leave us to our sin.

And when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, his own self—Jesus to be the ultimate fulfillment of the law. The ultimate atonement for the sins of man. The fulfillment of Old testament prophecy. He bore the consequence of our sin on the cross and became the final sacrifice for our sin. Having no sin of his own, death could not hold Him, and he rose victorious over the grave and reigns over heaven and earth.

Two thousand years before I was born, Jesus bore my sin on the cross. That through the salvation of sinners like me, undeserving of grace, glory would be brought to the Father. I have value only because the Creator of the Universe loved a wretched sinner like me and offered redemption when damnation was my due.

And this is not good news for me alone, it is good news for humanity! Man’s search for meaning is culminated in finding our identity in Jesus Christ. Only in Him do we find true love, true joy, true hope and true peace.

If we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord, God has promised to save us, to wash our sins away and redeem us. With such a confession we are called to turn away from all that separates us from God and walk in the light of truth.

Life on earth is still hard. There is still illness and injustice. It is a world marred by sin. But as followers of Jesus our joy rests in the knowledge that our reward is in heaven and that we can endure all things through Christ who strengthens us.

The hardness, the “not nice” of this message, is that if we take Jesus at His word, and we must, then there is only one truth, one way to salvation. We can’t work it out on our own or get there by another path. And in placing our trust and faith in Him, we must die to ourselves. Put off the old man as it were. Yes Christ paid the ultimate price for our sin, but to follow him still requires us to walk away from our own desires and take up our cross and follow Him. People don’t like hearing that, but it is a vital matter we must work through to let go of control in order to truly know Him.

I invite you to seek the truth of Jesus Christ for yourself through the scriptures and to place your trust in Him. Connect with other Christians and join me on this narrow path as we die to self in order to be alive in Christ.