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 "THE HERETIC (who is also the fanatic) is not a man who loves truth too much; no man can love truth too much. The heretic is a man who loves his truth more than truth itself. He prefers the half-truth that he has found to the whole truth which humanity has found. He does not like to see his own precious little paradox merely bound up with twenty truisms into the bundle of the wisdom of the world."
~G.K. Chesterton: The Common Man.
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 Every seventh year you shall grant a remission of debts. And this is the manner of the remission: every creditor shall remit the claim that is held against a neighbor, not exacting it of a neighbor who is a member of the community, because the Lord’s remission has been proclaimed. Of a foreigner you may exact it, but you must remit your claim on whatever any member of your community owes you. There will, however, be no one in need among you, because the Lord is sure to bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession to occupy, if only you will obey the Lord your God by diligently observing this entire commandment that I command you today. When the Lord your God has blessed you, as he promised you, you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.
If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be. Be careful that you do not entertain a mean thought, thinking, “The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,” and therefore view your needy neighbor with hostility and give nothing; your neighbor might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt. Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.” Deuteronomy 15:1-11 Observation: Sometimes God’s principles seem so simple, and yet, so difficult. God’s people were to celebrate a sabbath rest. This was for the entire nation, God’s chosen people. In this year, all debts between Israelites were to be forgiven. As God’s people they were supposed to make sure that they took care of one another, and this meant that a time would come when debts were cleared. The attitude toward the poor was vitally important. Generosity was to flow from the heart, never thinking about holding back funds when the year of the sabbath was near! By giving liberally and ungrudgingly, there would be no poor among the people of God. Of course, there would be circumstances that would create need so therefore, a spirit of generosity was always to be a mark of the Jews. Hands open, giving what they had to help the other. In doing so, God would care for them all. Application: Today the family of God, or the church, takes upon her shoulders the responsibility of caring for the poor. It means that we have to ask ourselves some really serious questions. When we discover people who are in need among us, we have a responsibility to respond. Often, we may become critical of those who who are living in poorer circumstances, blaming them for a poor work ethic, or simply not trying hard enough. I think that God knew that there would always be reasons why some might have more than others, and often beyond the control of the individual. I remember hearing Dr. Stan Toler tell the story about his family. His father, a coal miner died when Stan was just entering his teen years. He had two younger brothers at home and his mother wasn’t well. If it hadn’t been for the church, he’s not sure how they all would have survived. It was the living care of the family of God that changed the trajectory of the lives of those three boys. The church has been enriched by the lives of the Toler boys, but it took those who were willing to open their hands and give generously to make a difference. Christians are not supposed to become wealthy at the hands of the poor. I was shocked to learn that there are businesses in which it becomes easy to make money off of the poor. Payday lending and check cashing services are predatory and take advantage of the poor and yet, I hear of believers who have found this to be a way in which to make money. How in the world does this reflect generosity toward the poor? Serving in ministry in Indiana, I suddenly learned the cost of being poor. Try paying utilities on a trailer home in the dead of winter! Even when some would catch a break, it seemed as if the door would slam closed in another area. When a father walks out on a family and provides no support for his wife and children, those left behind can be instantly thrown into poverty. The children become immediately disadvantaged compared to those living with two parents. Within the church family it becomes the responsibility of those who may not have had to face this kind of difficulty to come alongside and share out of a generous heart. Adopting a posture of open handedness reflects the character of Christ. We should give with a spirit of generosity, hoping that others would do the same for us if the tables were turned. Now, imagine adopting this posture locally, within your Jerusalem and Judaea and to the ends of the earth. We are a global Christian family and we have responsibilities to care for those around the world as well. Interconnected as the family of God, we are to be generous toward the poor. May God help us to have our hands open, willing to share what God has graciously provided for us so that we can help others. Prayer: Lord, may your spirit of generous and overflowing love pour through my life so that I can touch the lives of others with the resources you have allowed me to steward. Amen. This post was written by Rev Carla Sunberg. You can find her original post here: reflectingtheimage.blogspot.com/2018/11/generosity-to-poor-open-your-hand.html  Every time a young man watched pornography over two years, he experienced a headache so severe he had to stop watching, according to a report of his case.
The headache would develop gradually, beginning within the first five minutes of the video, and would reach its most severe point within eight to 10 minutes, according to the neurologists who treated the man, a 24-year-old bachelor in India. There are two types of "primary headache associated with sexual activity," as the condition is properly called, and it sounds as if this man had the less common type, which progresses slowly along with heightening sexual arousal, Dr. Amy Gelfand, a neurologist at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, said after hearing about the case. "The more common type is a sudden and severe headache that occurs at orgasm," Gelfand said. The seeming commonness of that headache may simply be due to the fact that people are more likely to bring them to medical attention, frightened by their timing, she added. Regardless of the type, primary sex headaches are a mystery, Gelfand said — no one really knows what causes them. Some have speculated that muscle contractions in the neck and jaw during sex may somehow trigger the headaches, while others have suggested they occur because blood vessels in the head are abnormally reactive to sexual activity. The researchers who treated the man in India suggested his case was caused by changes in the pain-sensing nerves in the face and jaw, along with increased pain sensitivity due to "a heightened emotional state associated with viewing pornography." Primary sex headaches strike 1 percent of the population at some point in life, and are more common in men, Gelfand said. About half of people who have them also have migraines, but it's not known whether having migraines raises the likelihood of having sex headaches, or vice versa – or whether other untold factors are behind both. The patient in India — an otherwise healthy man who worked as a software professional — had no history of migraines or tension headaches in general, and he reported no previous headaches linked with sexual activity, including masturbation. He'd had no head injuries or meningitis infections, the researchers said. Previous studies have not suggested any link between the headaches and specific sexual behaviors, the researchers said. The results of the man's physical and neurological exams were reportedly normal. Gelfand said that is often with the case in people with primary sex headaches. (In fact, if an exam revealed a physical cause of the headaches, then by definition, the person would be instead diagnosed with a "secondary sex headache," she said.) The man was advised to take a combination of ibuprofen and acetaminophen half an hour before watching porn, and he reported the drugs significantly relieved his pain. In most people, the headaches occur over a period of a few months, rather than years, Gelfand said. Patients are often treated with a drug called indomethacin, which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug available by prescription in the U.S., and is also used to treat other types of headaches. The case report was published online June 14, 2012 in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior. The original post can be found at: http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/2778-porn-sex-headache.html  An Internet tech expert is warning that the browsing history of anyone, including their porn-viewing habits, will become public knowledge.
The warning comes after hackers accessed and then leaked the personal information of millions of users of the adulterous dating website AshleyMadison.com, leading to multiple suicides among alleged users of the site. Now, Brett Thomas, a software engineer in San Francisco, wrote on his blog that hackers could cross-reference information passed from computer to computer and find out the identities, and browsing histories, of ordinary Internet porn users. Thomas warns, "You should expect that at some point your porn viewing history will be publicly released and attached to your name." And surfing porn in "private" or "incognito" modes is no protection. Thomas's blog post advises companies to proactively protect internet users' privacy. "All that's needed are two nominal data breaches and an enterprising teenager that wants to create havoc," Scott writes. Browser footprints, global identifiers and user tracking make all internet users vulnerable to being identified. Web browsers leave a unique, identifying "footprint" every time you visit a web page, whether in "private" mode or not. Browsers give lots of information about your computer to websites every time you visit, he said. Global identifiers link your browser footprint on one website to your footprint on another website. And every website you visit utilizes "user tracking," which saves data to link your user account to your browser footprint. "If a malicious party obtained identifiable access logs for just one of the websites that know your name, and view logs for just one of the adult websites you’ve visited, it could infer with very high probability - beyond plausible deniability - a list of porn you've viewed," said Thomas. Some of the most popular porn sites in the world have already been hacked. The degree to which hackers can access the private histories of Internet users was exposed in 2014, when nude photos of celebrities, taken on their own private mobile devices, were accessed and then leaked. At any time, warned Thomas, somebody could post a website that allows you to search anybody by email or Facebook username and view that person's porn browsing history. This post was written by Mark Hodges. For the original post, go to: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/expect-your-porn-history-to-become-public-computer-expert-warns  A generation of young men is choosing fantasy over reality. At least that’s what Dr. Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University and psychologist Nikita Duncan argue in their new book, The Demise of Guys: Why Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It.
The message of the book is simple: Research is demonstrating that young men are becoming addicted to video games and online pornography on a scale unparalleled by any addiction that we’ve ever seen in history. But unlike with drugs, alcohol or gambling, these addictions aren’t for ever-increasing quantity. Instead, they drive boys and young men to seek novelty — the next big thrill. According to Zimbardo and Duncan, it’s the same phenomenon observed in laboratory rats which, when given the opportunity, abandoned food in order to electrically stimulate the part of the brain responsible for pleasure. In effect, the rats gladly “short-circuit” their natural means of enjoyment to get a thrill that felt new every time. “Young men…who play video games and use porn the most,” say the authors, “are being digitally rewired in a totally new way that demands constant stimulation.” Not only does this kind of addiction rob guys of the time, money and health they need to do other things, but it also diminishes their ability to enjoy real life, which can never offer stimulation as frequently, easily or in as much variety. As a result, say Zimbardo and Duncan, young men addicted to digital sex and digital soldiering are less able or willing to participate in those acts for real. A recent study in “Psychology Today,” which I talked about last year on “The Point,” reinforces this prognosis. The study found that men who regularly viewed internet pornography actually lost their ability to perform in real-life sexual relationships. As a consequence of this over-stimulation, boys are now growing up with “new brains.” Not only are they poorly wired for traditional learning, they lack the capacity for strong romantic relationships. Why? Because they tend to be largely unable to delay gratification or set long-term goals. They have to live for now. And as any junkie knows, this ultimately makes us miserable. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that “regular porn users,” despite constant stimulation and excitement, are more likely to report depression…poor physical health,” and “isolation.” And we all probably know young men who could use a little more playtime with real people and a lot less PlayStation. I’m reminded of a chapter from C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, in which the distinguished old devil, Screwtape, tells his apprentice nephew how to destroy humans with pleasure: “…we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure,” he writes, “to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula.” But simply cursing the darkness here won’t solve anything. We need to recognize that, as Screwtape himself admits, all pleasures — even destructive ones — are originally based on God’s good design. Young men are supposed to desire sex — within marriage. And, while all right in moderation, video games aren’t the true outlet for the male desire to be heroic and to fight for worthy causes. We need to learn how to replace counterfeit pleasure with legitimate pleasure, encouraging young men to set aside cheap imitations and prepare themselves spiritually, morally, and emotionally to pursue the real thing. This is a place where the church can lead culture — by leading the rescue effort for this generation of young men. This post was written by John Stonestreet. For the original post, go to: https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/screwtapes-formula-boys-video-games-porn  The armor of righteousness can not keep us from being shot at, but it can keep us from being wounded. Job's friends, sincere but mistaken, endeavored to convict him of secret wickedness, but in due time God appeared for his vindication.
Men may injure our reputation for a season, but they can not injure our character. What we are depends only upon ourselves and God; what is said about us depends upon the disposition of others. Over the latter we have no control; over the former our control, under God, is absolute. It is ours to be right and to do right; it is God's to take care of the results. Sensitiveness is a symptom both of pride and unbelief. He who is conscious of integrity, confident of divine protection, has nothing to fear. "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday" (Ps. 37:5, 6). Roberts, B.T. Pungent Truths (Kindle Locations 1711-1718). Unknown. Kindle Edition.  One of my objections to evolution is that if you want anything done you have to put in your order anywhere from five to ten million years before you want the goods delivered. And then the question naturally arises, “Where will you be when Master Evolution delivers the goods?” Well, that really depends on how you lived while the goods were being manufactured.
I have seen the beautiful pullet in the barnyard sly and so timid that she would make you think of the blushing maid. But one day she laid her first egg and went to cackling. And strange to say she laid one egg each day for seventeen days and cackled every time she laid, for a cackling hen is a laying hen, and a laying hen is a cackling hen. But on the eighteenth day she went to setting and began to cluck, for a setting hen is a clucking hen, and a clucking hen is a setting hen. I would like to know how long it took Master Evolution to teach that pullet to turn her eggs over each day for twenty days and then hatch off her brood and go to clucking and scratching to provide food for her little ones. After the chicks are hatched, the hen then shelters them under her wings and lets them nestle in her feathers. If an evolutionist were to have just one good thought, he would have a fit, for he came from nothing and he is nothing, and he is going to nothing. Therefore he can’t evolve one good idea. He thinks that we don’t know anything, and we know that he doesn’t. So the man with a divine Creator, and he himself a divine creation, is a million miles ahead of the gentlemen who have been millions of years coming from the lower order of animals to the higher order of animals. Just how a bald-headed man can look at a monkey with a fine suit of hair on his little head and make himself believe that there is blood relationship between him and the monkey is a mystery to Old Bud. The elephant walked about in the pasture and said, “Gentlemen, if you want to see the biggest thing in the nation, please look this direction.” The billy goat walked about in the pasture, he gave his head a toss and said, “Gentlemen, if you want to see the fellow who has the stiffest neck of any other animal, please look here.” The polecat walked out and waved his beautiful bushy tail over his back and said, “Brethren, if you want to smell something, just walk this way.” The evolutionist walked down the sidewalk with a cigar in the corner of his mouth and said, “Gentlemen, if you desire to see an animal that has been ten million years evolving and hasn’t made a success of it yet, please look at me.” Some time ago Reverend U. E. Harding told some of us boys a good story he had just heard. It is good enough to pass on to you. There was in a certain community a very gifted doctor. He got interested in trying to prolong life. He began studying how to make a medicine that would make a man young again. After many long, weary years of study, he finally got up his remedy, and it was a great success. One drop of this wonderful medicine would make a man five years younger than he was before he took the drop, and so two drops made him ten years younger. Just a few drops would take a man back to childhood. An old gentleman heard of the wonderful discovery and went to see the great doctor. The doctor confirmed the reports of the medicine and told him that just a few drops would make him a young man again. The old man, being very anxious for this, asked the doctor the price of the medicine. When told it was five hundred dollars a drop, he was heartbroken, because he could not buy any at all. While he talked with the doctor, the phone rang, and the doctor stepped out to answer the call. The old man grabbing the bottle drank every drop of the medicine. When the doctor returned, the old man was gone and to the doctor’s surprise, he saw an old pair of shoes and some old clothes. Behold, as he looked up, a monkey was swinging on the chandelier by the tail. This wonderful medicine had taken him back to prehistoric days, which all goes to prove to us that the evolutionist is correct! A “genius” is a gentleman who can take a jawtooth that was discovered in Egypt and a jawbone that was discovered in England, a shinbone that was discovered in Italy, a shoulder blade found in western Canada, the joint out of a backbone seen down in Brazil, and with some clay and putty so arrange these bones as to build a jointed man, who lived ten million years ago. This same gentleman can then trace his blood relationship back to this made animal. Gentlemen, I tell you, the man who performs that miracle is a genius of the first magnitude! Robinson, Reuben A. (Bud). The Collected Works of 'Uncle Bud' Robinson (Kindle Locations 4464-4496). Jawbone Digital. Kindle Edition.  “Selfish people are, by definition, those whose activities are devoted to bringing themselves happiness. Yet, at least as judged by others, these selfish people are far less likely to be happy than those whose efforts are devoted to making others happy.” – Dr. Bernard Rimland, Ph.D.
What does it mean to be self-giving? I (Les) like to think of it as selfishness in reverse. It’s a quality we must have if we want to love like Jesus did. Selflessness gives without the expectation of repayment or appreciation. It’s something we extend out of kindness and compassion. It’s easy to get wrapped up in self-interest. If we’re honest, most of us struggle with being selfish. But self-giving can bring us tremendous joy–more than we ever thought possible. The key is learning how to break our habit of putting our interests first and shed the fear of missing out on our own wants. How can we learn to put others’ needs first and practice self-giving in our everyday lives? CULTIVATE EMPATHY When we practice empathy, we put ourselves in another person’s shoes in order to imagine how they feel and think. If we’re not used to relating to people this way, it can take a little time to develop empathy into a habit. As we begin to pay closer attention to the people around us, empathizing with them tends to have a snowball effect:
DO SMALL THINGS WITH GREAT LOVE Self-giving isn’t necessarily about doing a complete 180 and giving up ourselves entirely. It’s not about self-denial or giving up our own goals, rights, and dreams. Instead, it’s all about being willing to put others first–even in small ways. We might think every act of self-giving should be earth-shaking. But it can be as simple as:
GO THE EXTRA MILE In Jesus’s time, Roman law required young boys to help carry the packs of Roman soldiers one mile from where they lived. This gave soldiers a rest from carrying their gear, but it was hard work for the boys who helped them. In order to only fulfill the law’s minimum requirements, boys would often place a stake one mile from their house so that they’d know when to stop carrying the pack. But Jesus referenced this mile in one of His sermons, encouraging followers to go an extra mile if they were forced to carry a soldier’s pack (Matthew 5:41). In other words, do more than is expected of you. This is a guaranteed way to give of yourself every day. DON’T KEEP SCORE We’re not truly selfless if we keep a tally of all the things we’ve done for people–and the things we expect from them in return for said favors. Keeping score is a surefire way to ruin a relationship. It means you’re keeping your self-interest front-and-center, while acting in ways that suggest otherwise. If you really want to be self-giving, don’t pay attention to how much you’ve done. Don’t keep track. And don’t expect anything in return. WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO LOVE LIKE JESUS? In my new book, Love Like That, we take a deep dive into 5 ways Jesus loved, and how to love like Him in our own lives. To get free access to chapter 1, a 30-day devotional study, a copy of the Deep Love assessment, and more, pre-order your copy today. If you’d like to join the Love Like That launch team, sign up here. When we stop fighting to get our own way all the time, and when we learn to reverse our selfishness, we find our life. How have you found yours? Share your examples of self-giving (or the people in your lives who have made an impression through giving) in the comments section. This post was written by Dr Les Parrott. For his original post, go to: www.symbis.com/blog/selfishness-in-reverse-how-to-lovingly-give-more-of-yourself/  Today is Thanksgiving! For the United States, it is a national holiday. What began with Pilgrim and native Americans in the 1600’s, then progressed to a Presidential Proclamation (Lincoln) to congressional action declaring it a national day of thanksgiving. Today it is mostly a secular holiday. Parades, turkey dinners, football, Christmas shopping, family, pumpkin pie, and napping. Many homes will not even offer a prayer of grace at the beginning of the feast. Whereas family, food, shopping and, football are indeed worthwhile ways to pass the time at a holiday gathering. Yet, the name of the holiday has the word “thanks” in it. If not God to whom do we offer our thanks? Grandma or mom or the caterer for creating a delicious feast? To the NFL for making the players and teams play rather than spending the day with their families? To the shopkeepers of America, who again eat a rushed turkey dinner and leave their families to assist us with the real American pastime ‘shopping.’ What started out with a strong sense of the Divine helping us, has now become a secularized conglomerate of football, food, family and fun. I am not against football, food, family or fun. I am just suggesting we make an attempt to return to the essence of the Thanksgiving holiday, namely remembering we would not be here without the help of God!
Allow me to offer some words of thanks and thanksgiving as we enter into Thanksgiving week: 1 Chronicles 16:34 “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever”. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”. Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”. James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows”. Psalm 100:4 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name”. Psalm 107:1 “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever”. Hebrews 12:28 “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever”. I could go on and include hundreds of Bible verses that remind the Christian that giving thanks to God is the joyful obligation for the believer. So am I recommending that we become the joyless Thanksgiving police? Absolutely not! The world has seen too much of dreary, sour believers trying to stomp on all fun. Instead, let us remember a few things: 1 Offering thanks reminds us that we are not in charge! No matter how hard you work, or how early your rise or how late you stay at work, we are not self-made. We all have received help, and we all need grace daily. God has helped us, and we need to acknowledge this fact. 2 Offering thanks reminds us how blessed we are and how much we have. Since I just returned from an overseas trip, this fact seems to have been burned in my mind and heart. We have so much! This should overwhelm us with gratitude! How about taking some time on Thanksgiving to thank the One from whom all blessings flow! 3 Offering thanks changes our focus. Because we have so much, we tend to focus on what we don’t have, which is why Black Friday is such a big deal in the developed world. Only where we have so much, can we build a holiday on acquiring more! More of what we want and likely do not need. Taking time to offer thanks take the focus off of covetousness and puts the emphasis on God’s love and kindness and grace. The result may be a focus on those less fortunate and how we might make a difference in their lives. 4 Offering thanks reminds us that even though we may not be thankful for particular circumstances in our lives, there is a God who is worthy of praise and we are grateful for His work in our lives. Giving Thanks to God keeps our hearts sensitive and prevents them from becoming hardened by life. Just another reminder: give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:18) Take time as you gather with your family and friends on Thursday, to remember the goodness of God! Regardless of what has transpired this year, pause before the meal and thank God. Have everyone share what they are thankful for and then either quote a Scripture and pray. Thanksgiving is a beautiful tradition in our country. May we this Thursday pause and remember we are indeed debtors to the God of the universe. From the youngest to the oldest we have much for which to be thankful. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Happy Thanksgiving This post was written by Dr Ron Blake. You can find his original post here: wesleyshorse.com/thanksgiving-a-holiday-of-thanks/  Many fans are aware that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were close friends who had a great deal in common. Tolkien helped return Lewis to the Christianity of his youth, whereas Lewis encouraged Tolkien to expand his fictional writing; both taught at Oxford and were members of the same literary group, both were interested in literature, myth, and language, and both wrote fictional books which propagated basic Christian themes and principles.
At the same time, though, they also had serious disagreements--in particular, over the quality of Lewis' Narnia books--especially where the religious elements were concerned. Christianity, Narnia, and Theology Although Lewis was very proud of his first Narnia book, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and it would spawn a massively successful series of children's books, Tolkien didn't think very highly of it. First, he thought that the Christian themes and messages were far too strong--he didn't approve of the way Lewis seemed to beat the reader over the head with such obvious symbols referring to and Jesus. There was certainly no missing the fact that Aslan, a lion, was a symbol for Christ who sacrificed his life and was resurrected for a final battle against evil. Tolkien's own books are deeply imbued with Christian themes, but he worked hard to bury them deeply so that they would enhance rather than detract from the stories. Furthermore, Tolkien thought that there were too many conflicting elements that ultimately clashed, detracting from the whole. There were talking animals, children, witches, and more. Thus, in addition to being pushy, the book was overloaded with elements that threatened to confuse and overwhelm the children for whom it was designed. In general, it appears that Tolkien didn't think very much about Lewis' efforts to write popular theology. Tolkien seemed to believe that theology should be left to the professionals; popularizations ran the risk of either misrepresenting Christian truths or leaving people with an incomplete picture of those truths which would, in turn, do more to encourage heresy rather than orthodoxy. Tolkien didn't even always think that Lewis' apologetics were very good. John Beversluis writes: "[T]he Broadcast Talks prompted some of Lewis's closest friends to make embarrassed apologies for him. Charles Williams ruefully observed that when he realized how many crucial issues Lewis had sidestepped, he lost interest in the talks. Tolkien also confessed that he was not "entirely enthusiastic" about them and that he thought Lewis was attracting more attention than the contents of the talks warranted or than was good for him." It probably didn't help that Lewis was far more prolific than Tolkien. While Tolkien agonized over The Hobbit for seventeen years, Lewis churned out all seven volumes of the Narnia series in just seven years, and that doesn't include several works of Christian apologetics which he wrote at the same time! Protestantism vs. Catholicism Another source of conflict between the two was the fact that when Lewis converted to Anglicanism, he adopted the Protestant Anglicanism instead of Tolkien's own Catholicism. This by itself need not have been a problem, but for some reason, Lewis further adopted an anti-Catholic tone in some of his writings which upset and offended Tolkien. In his very important book English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, for example, he referred to Catholics as "papists" and unreservedly praised 16th-century Protestant theologian John Calvin. Tolkien also believed that Lewis' romance with American widow Joy Gresham came between Lewis and all his friends. For decades Lewis spent most of his time in the company of other men who shared his interests, Tolkien being one of them. The two were members of an informal Oxford group of writers and teachers known as the Inklings. After he met and married Gresham, however, Lewis grew apart from his old friends and Tolkien took it personally. The fact that she was divorced only served to highlight their religious differences since such a marriage was illicit in Tolkien's church. In the end, they agreed on far more than they disagreed, but those differences--largely religious in nature--still served to pull them apart. Cline, Austin. "C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien Argued Over Christian Theology." ThoughtCo, Jul. 2, 2018, thoughtco.com/c-s-lewis-and-j-r-r-tolkien-christian-theology-249783. |
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