“He that is proud eats up himself: pride is his own glass, his own trumpet, his own chronicle.”
- Troilus and Cressida 2.3.152-4, Agamemnon to Ajax
What killed Desdemona on her wedding night? What drove Menelaus to battle Troy for Helen? What shame made Oedipus to smote his eyes, or Clytemnestra kill her husband? Sin has always framed the drama great stories are made of. The Greeks formed a list of the sins of man, which Pope Gregory I revised to the seven deadly sins. His list has been used as the basis of literature (such as Dante’s The Divine Comedy), movies, and philosophical writing. Fascination with sin is something which humans, especially Christians, immerse ourselves in. As summed up by Pope Gregory, the seven deadly sins are extravagance, gluttony, greed, apathy, envy, wrath, and pride. Modern lists add sins such as lust and sloth to these seven. Though focus should be spread over the entirety of this list I feel, for the sake of clarity, that focusing on just one of these sins is more prudent.
During the past month I was enrolled in the “Developing a Christian Mind: C.S. Lewis” course at Calvin College.The purpose of this course was, as can be inferred from the title, to develop a Christian perspective of the world.This was to be done by combining “Engaging God’s World” - a book written for the course by Cornelius Plantinga JR - with a topic of the professor’s choosing; in this case various essays, speeches, and excerpt of C.S Lewis’s works.During the course of this class I was reaffirmed in many beliefs I had already held, chiefly on pride and its place in the church.
While we as Christians often shy away from “pride” in any form, it cannot be denied that God calls us to have some pride in ourselves as human beings and followers of Him. As Plantinga puts it in chapter two of “Engaging God’s World”, “We are not God, but only images of God.”[1]As creatures created in God’s image [2], we are called to have some self-respect, and even take some pride in ourselves as images, or reflections of God in this world such as taking care of our bodies[3] and respecting others as images of God.That is pride that is within the Natural Law, as C.S. Lewis called the over arching moral law God has written on every human heart.
The pride that I’m talking about is the misplaced sense of entitlement that comes with using God and Christianity as some moral high-ground that raises your pedestal above that of the non-believer’s or your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.That following Christ somehow minimizes the amount of sin that has tainted you, and that you somehow shine brighter to God than the person next to you.As Plantinga states, “Worldly people are often better than we expect, and church people are often worse.”[4] Christians are just as guilty of sin as non-believers are.The only difference between a Christian and a non-believer is faith and God’s promise of redemption.In fact, church going people are far more dangerous to a Christian than non-believers. Satan goes to Church more often than anyone else[5], because he knows that that human pride can be bent to serve him, and where better to play with pride than holy ground?
While Plantinga does not spend much time on the consuming subject of pride, C.S. Lewis does.Pride and the Devil walk hand in hand.In The Screwtape Letters, Lewis shows sin from the perspective of Screwtape, an old devil, who is teaching his nephew how to control his patient (human man) in the proper fashion.Screwtape explains to his nephew, and to us, that the way of the devil is not quick, or even noticeable.It is an easy, safe, slow decent into Hell.“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”[6]Pride acts in much the same way.A compliment here, an accomplishment there, and soon we are riding high on an ego formed by things we think we are the authors of.
Pride is a confusing, wicked vice.C.S Lewis put it best in “Mere Christianity” when he said, “Pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.”[7]It is too easy to say, “I am better than my neighbor”, especially in academia.Credentials create an egotistical fog that blocks common sense.The need to be the best takes over and drives away contentment in the gifts God has provided in order to pursue the illusive prize of perfection.And such pride is to be expected the more specialized a field becomes.
But within the church, there is no judge but God, and none is more important than his brother.There are no ordinary people[8], and as brothers and sisters in Christ it is far more important to love one another than it is to be the best.C.S Lewis, writing on pride within the church in “Mere Christianity” in regards to those Christians obviously eaten up with pride, had this to say:
I am afraid it means they are worshiping an imaginary God. They theoretically admit themselves to be nothing in the presence of this phantom God, but are really all the time imagining how He approves of them and thinks them far better than ordinary people: that is, they pay a pennyworth of imaginary humility to Him and get out of it a pound's worth of Pride towards their fellow-men.[9]
I believe it is more important for us to focus on our own prideful nature as humans than it is to focus on the pride of others, or even the nature of sin among unbelievers, for this reason.Doing God’s work for yourself is doing the work of the Devil.We should strive for true humility ourselves instead of evaluating our brothers and sisters to find them lacking.Taking pleasure in criticizing fellow Christians is allowing the Devil to revel in your own folly.
It is the unfortunate nature of humanity to wrap ourselves in pride and shut out what is good in God.Our egos are ever whispering for us to allow the bubble to grow larger.But C.S. Lewis also shows us what true humility looks like.
Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call 'humble' nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.[10]
When true humility wins out, you will not be thinking of yourself.Is not true selflessness the absence of selfishness? The absence of pride is not an absence of self-respect, but rather the absence of an illusion, one that dictates that you are the author of your accomplishment instead of placing God as the author of all.
The only way I can liken C.S. Lewis’s “not thinking about yourself at all” is to selflessness.You are never interested in what could happen to you when you act on behalf of another.The true hero never thinks about how it would serve to push the child out of the way of a speeding car.So too would our actions be in the absence of pride.“How could writing a paper glorify me?” would turn into, “How can writing a paper glorify God and help those who read it?”While most of these thoughts were already present in me before undergoing DCM, I would like to think that being given the time to read C.S. Lewis primarily was a great blessing in furthering my understanding of human nature vs. God’s directive.While no one can boast to know what God’s will for the world truly is, and no one can surpass Him, I would like to think that consciously changing my mindset from “me” to “He” could further His kingdom in our world.
[1] Plantinga, Engaging God’s World (Wm. B. Ergmans Publishing Co., 2002), 41.
[2]“…Since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Col. 3:9-10, NIV.
[3]“19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;” 1 Cor. 6:19, NIV.
[4]Plantinga, Engaging God’s World (Wm. B. Ergmans Publishing Co., 2002), 60.
[5]Plantinga, Engaging God’s World (Wm. B. Ergmans Publishing Co., 2002), 61.
“I am only trying to show that the old Christian doctrine of being made 'perfect through suffering'" is not incredible.”- The Problem Of Pain: C.S. Lewis
The old saying goes “ What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” I think that that is true. Pain is something that shows our mortality. Though annoying sometimes, it reminds us of our frailty. Pain is what keeps us in check. No one can escape it.
In the Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis tries to make the concept of pain compatible with God’s character. I don’t think that pain is a problem. Saying that it is a “problem” implies that it can be solved. But as mortal humans, and pain being a natural reminder of that mortality, it would be impossible to “solve” the pain of losing a loved one, or of being burned by a hot pan, or of a paper cut, on our own. We need an outside force, be it aloe or God, to come in and heal the pain.
It really isn’t that large of a mystery “why” our lives are filled with pain. It is part of the natural order of this world, a fallen world, in which the rule of opposites applies. In order for us to know pleasure, we must first know pain. But more than that, I think that without living in pain, we could never know the gift God has given us in redemption. In order to understand, perhaps not comprehend, the glory of heaven, we must first know what hell is like, or at least sample it through our mortality. How could we possibly understand “grace” if we have not known the difference in “suffering”?
What we all would like to believe is that there can be heaven on this Earth. But I think the truth is that that heaven sailed away long ago. God does not call us to make this fallen world into our own version of paradise, and we should not try to. Accepting “pain”, as strange as it sounds, is ultimately accepting God’s grace (for a Christian). I means that we understand not only our mortality, and the mortality of the things around us, but that He is the one who offers us a world truly free of that pain.
“But to evade the Son of Man, to look the other way, to pretend you haven't noticed, to become suddenly absorbed in something on the other side of the street, to leave the receiver off the telephone because it might be He who was ringing up, to leave unopened certain letters in a strange hand- writing because they might be from Him - this is a different matter. You may not be certain yet whether you ought to be a Christian; but you do know you ought to be a Man, not an ostrich, hiding its head in the sand.” – Man Or Rabbit: C.S. Lewis
I used to think that going to church every Sunday with my family was all I needed to do…when I was a child. Then my Grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. Every Sunday I went to church I prayed and prayed that she would get well. I thought that the building of the church was where God lived, and that I could only pray there. She died when I was nine, and I didn’t understand why God didn’t make her well again. I prayed in his house, why didn’t he answer?
Now that I’m older I realize that it is not my will, but God’s that matters most in this world. At that age, however, I decided to act out. I told my parents that I no longer wanted to go to church. I did not want to go to the place where I felt I had been betrayed. Fortunately, my parents made a deal with me. I needed to go to church, but I did not have to stay for Sunday school.
Now, I know this is unconventional, but I am grateful that my parents allowed me some leeway as far as church was concerned. I was at a point in my faith journey where I needed to take ownership of my faith and truly understand it. I couldn’t rely on my church family to shelter my faith for me any longer, now that I had realized that life was more than sunshine, and that faith was something that needed to be a personal project.
I’m still on that journey. I know that my faith journey is not a conventional one, and I am still growing, though that growth is at my own pace. I originally started by rebuilding my faith from the bottom up. I argued for the existence of God, which came hand in hand with morality. How could I have a sense of what is right or wrong if there was nothing to show me and hold me accountable for the wrong? Philosophically, I guess you could say that I became a strong moralist.
When reading Man or Rabbit, I was struck by this quote, as it was something I hadn’t thought about before. “Morality is indispensable: but the Divine Life, which gives itself to us and which calls us to be gods, intends for us something in which morality will be swallowed up.” I’m still coming to grips with the amount of work I have before me. I had never made the connection that morality, or at least an over attention to morality for morality’s sake could hinder the journey to “divine life.”
I think that more than anything I am grateful for the experiences I have had building faith from almost zero. Things like Man or Rabbit awaken in me thoughts I would never have had if I had not needed to grab hold of my beliefs so early on. I hope to continue to learn more, and fully intend to read more C.S. Lewis in order to see how he came to believe as strongly what he dedicated his life to.
Can revenge become a God? In Greek Mythology, Nemesis was the goddess of revenge, exacting punishment on those who committed hubris (extreme arrogance). She was unforgiving, punishing everyone equally. The Egyptians worshiped the God Petbe, who also represented and unforgiving vengeance.
The movie “Paradise Now”, revenge and God play an integral role as we follow to suicide bombers, Said and Khaled. Khaled wants to exact revenge on the Israelis for their hubris, the arrogance they show by flaunting their riches and pretending to be “victims” as he puts it. Said wants to prove that, though his father was a weak "collaborator”, he is not, and feels that he must do this in order to bring honor back to his family.
Sadly, the audience also witnesses how used they are. The cell that sends them on this “important mission” to bomb a wedding merely treats them as a means to an end. They show them no support or care, and nothing but what they can do for the “ideal” matters. This is shown through the bumbling manner in which all situations outside of ritual are handled. Before they undergo the cleansing, which involves the cutting of hair and cleaning of the body, they film their martyr tape. What is to be a courageous speech by Khaled on the injustice of Israel and His holy quest is stalled when the camera turns out to be broken and he must repeat himself over and over, while obviously looking unnerved about what he is about to do. Later, he finds out his tape is being sold for next to nothing in the photo shop around the corner, and that he is one of hundreds that have never been seen or sold.
The twist of this movie is when the two, Said and Khaled, are separated at the beginning of their mission after crossing the Israeli boarder. They are spooked when a patrol car passes by and return running back to Pakistan, separating in the process. Unfortunately, this gives them time to really think about what they are doing, having the reminder of plastic explosives tied around their waists wherever they go. Said, unable to find Khaled, returns to Israel, looking to complete the mission. Khaled returns to Pakistan with the cell leader, awaiting Said’s return. During this time, the two make discoveries that later seal their fates at the end of the movie.
But what I find most intriguing is the title. “Paradise Now” sounds like it is a quest to bring paradise to Earth. The quest for paradise, for escape, is brought up in the movie many times. Khaled, when driving with the daughter of a famous martyr in search of Said, says “I’d rather have paradise in heaven than live in this hell.” To which she replied, “So you would turn this into your personal war?” I think that this sums up the heart of the movie’s argument. As the audience watches the actions of these characters, we see that their reasons are not holy at all, but rather selfish. And in the end, a bus full of people does get blown up (I will not give away who goes through with the “mission” as it was only one of them), and the director gives a clear message through the final scene. There is a white light, brightness, and then nothing. Completely black. No paradise. Just darkness.
I believe that this message is something that is made stronger having seen the lives of the two characters. They were not heroes, or courageous. Just men who having been embittered by poverty, grasped at any prospect of hope they could find, even a false one, and in the end, were used and discarded. There was no “paradise now”. They worshiped their revenge, not God, and in doing so, paid a price so high for a reward too small. The one who died is now nothing more than a video, lying dusty on the shelf of a rundown Photoshop, and no one outside of his family will know what he did or who he was.
I definitely recommend this movie to everyone. It is a realistic showing of what vengeance can do to our hearts if we let it.
We all have our own inner ring. Our families, friends, classmates, all comprise the ring of people we associate ourselves with. As C.S. Lewis says in his lecture The Inner Ring, “You discover gradually, in almost indefinable ways, that it exists and that you are outside it; and then later, perhaps, that you are inside it”. Sometimes you don’t ask to be admitted into a ring, but just happen to become apart of one.
I agree with Lewis when he says, “Of all the passions, the passion for the Inner Ring is most skillful in making a man who is not yet a very bad man do very bad things.” Who hasn’t, for want of being a part of that one group of kids, gone along with making fun of someone, or playing pranks? We have all succumbed to “wanting” the Inner Ring, and those who say they have not are succumbing to the need to be liked by the ring of people who have.
But I also believe that it should be remembered that it is not the Rings themselves that are evil. It’s easy to think, “Well, I don’t have to be responsible when the Ring that seduced me turned out to be evil, thus tainting my actions to be apart of it.” Being seduced by fame and money, or even the prospect of acceptance does not excuse sin, nor is it a good reason for any personal action. You do not say, “The devil made me brush my teeth” or “The devil made me go to school”. The devil does not control you, nor does he have any sway over your actions unless you let him.
So it is with the Rings. They are good, but like most good things they can also breed Evil in regards to the lengths people will go to be apart of them. They see the ring as their final destination. That being apart of that Ring will bring them everything they ever wanted. They no long see the forest for the trees, focused on that one objective and willing to do anything to complete it. I believe that it is important, as Ring membership is unavoidable, to evaluate your actions by this statement. “Am I joining this Ring as a ‘means’ or as an ‘end’.”
Note: I’m writing this as one who has never been “in love”. Most certainly I have had infatuations, but never “love”
I feel that in today’s society, where casual dating, mating, and marrying are the fades, it is truly difficult to find the type of relationship that is God centered. We are all running forward to the next new thing. Growing up I had a generic view of how events in life were to unfold. 1-18: Grow up and go through grade school. 19-24: College and dating. 25-35: Get married. And after 35? Well, if not married then never married. Now, of course, I realize nothing is generic, especially life. And I’ve also realized that love is not generic either.
While dating is an entity unto itself, I feel that it is a good pre-curser to what it would be like to build a relationship. Like no two people are the same, no two relationships are the same. C.S. Lewis talked about what things need to be present in a workable relationship, and for the most part I am forced to agree. But I also feel that in combining filial, stroge, and eros together, you cannot do them all at once. I think there is a method to there formation.
For me I am someone who does not like taking risks where relationships are concerned. I like to form a friendship first. There is a certainty in a solid friendship that is always present in married couples that have been together for a long, long, time. I really feel that this certainty is more important than any of the other components in a marriage. This is not to say that the other things are not necessary. A triangle is not a triangle without three points. But I do think that for marriage, and relationships in general, there must be a commradery, a friendship, that will last beyond the romantic and glue the people together no matter what life throws there way.
This past year I was offered an opportunity for this coming May to return to Japan.Last summer I was in Japan as a teacher, but now I was being offered the chance to be a student.My first instinct was to cry out, “YES!” but rational won out and I asked my professor the burning questions. “How much will it cost.” and “What will this trip do for me?”As I had every intention of going to Japan, regardless of the cost, I still was compelled to ask, for the sake of logic.Too often I think we are like this when it comes to God.
C.S Lewis brushes over purpose in his speech “Learning in War-time”.He states “ A man’s upbringing, his talent, his circumstances, are usually a tolerable index of his vocation.”Too often when we are presented with an opportunity to better ourselves, as I was with Japan, we focus too much on the minor details.Like Jona, we search for a reason not to go.We search for what we think could be a better vocation than the one God is leading us too.
While we may not realize now the path vocation God has chosen for us, it is still important to grab at any opportunity to discover the answer…even if it means trying something you never thought you would or traveling halfway around the world.
I'm a Japanese and English major who might love coffee too much. I hail from Packer country and frequent G.R.O.S.S meetings in downtown G.R. When I'm not in Michigan (IE: At college), I live in Green Bay WI, with my parents and dog Clover.
