Final Thoughts - The Great Divorce

I've been meaning to read this for awhile, but had not actually got around to purchasing it myself. However on Monday night, while over for dinner at Alex and Dana's house, I noted that they had a copy and asked to borrow it. I've got a ton of stuff I want to read, so I was not expecting to get through it anytime soon but I started flipping through it yesterday and ended up reading the whole thing last night. It helps that the book is relatively short, the font is fairly large and it is C.S. Lewis with his typically engaging fiction.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and it provides some interesting food for thought regarding heaven and hell. The basic plot follows the narrator as he and several others take a bus from a dreary town (hell) to a vibrant new landscape (heaven). The majority of the book is spent with the narrator observing the conversations between his fellow Ghosts and the Spirits who try to convince them to stay in this new land. Many of the Ghosts end up returning to the bus to go back to the town instead of continuing on.

I found the book to be convicting as I read the different reasons that the Ghosts gave up on pursuing the newfound beauty and embracing the joy that was set before them. There were those that turned back because the journey was hard and they did not believe even when the Spirits told them that help would be provided. One rejects heaven based upon his view that he merited being there and some of those who were already there did not. Another left because he would not submit ultimately to accepting one real truth. In another case, an obsessive mother is resistant because she demands that she see her son immediately and is unwilling to see that her ultimate treasure should not be her son, but God.

One thing that really stuck out from this reading of the book is the opportunity we have to prepare ourselves in this life for the next life. I understand that Lewis is using an allegory to provoke thought, so obviously, as he admits, heaven will not be exactly like he describes. However, we do know that in heaven, our ultimate joy will be in God himself. We can live our lives now in anticipation of that and seeking the joy in fellowship with God that Christ restored when he died on the cross for our sins. By God’s grace, we can seek to avoid the idols that trapped so many of these Ghosts.

Overall, I recommend this fairly quick and thought provoking read. There are definitely many more aspects that I didn’t take the time to dig into.

Final Thoughts - Realms of Gold

I recently finished the book Realms of Gold by Leland Ryken. My interest in the title came out of recent desires to expand my reading from being centered solely on theology and practical application to recreation in exploring some of the classics of literature. Not necessarily to diminish my current reading time and topics, but to replace some areas of recreation (like watching videos or playing video games) with what I deemed might be a more profitable and ultimately more enjoyable use of my time.

In each chapter of Realms of Gold, Leland Ryken examines some of the benefits of different aspects of literature from a Christian perspective. To add to the weight of his arguments and to incite a taste for the classics, he picks a specific literary work as his example in each chapter. In the chapter on literature as recreation, he chooses Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Other works used as examples include Macbeth, The Stranger, Paradise Lost and The Scarlet Letter.

Ryken does a brilliant job of both identifying the redemptive purposes of reading classic literature as well as inspiring a hunger to read the classics by his examples and his own passion that comes through in his writing. So far, I have yet to read another piece that does such a thorough job of addressing the Christian perspective towards literature. While pointing out what can be gained from the classics, he addresses common Christian concerns about literature and also provides guidance in areas where we should take caution.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in diving into some of the classics of literature with purpose and passion. I'm currently trying to fit in The Idiot by Dostoevsky, but my reading schedule is getting a bit tight because of my grad class getting into swing. Also, I'd love to dig into the complete works of Shakespeare that I acquired not too long ago. I started reading Hamlet again but haven't gotten very far yet. Another case of too many things at one time.