Joy: Poet, Seeker, and the Woman Who Captivated C.S. Lewis

SEE HERE  The first full biography of Joy Davidman brings her out from C. S. Lewis’s shadow, where she has long been hidden, to reveal a powerful writer and thinker.

Joy Davidman is known, if she is known at all, as the wife of C. S. Lewis. Their marriage was immortalized in the film Shadowlands and Lewis’s memoir, A Grief Observed.

August 13th Our Theme is C.S. Lewis And Free Will

 This is a little video about Lewis and Free Will.

August 13: Theme: C.S. Lewis on Free Will (any Lewis source: share 5-10 minutes)

I thought this might be a challenging theme until I looked into my Quotable C.S. Lewis and found scads of quotes relative to free will.  So don't be too daunted by the task.  Some ideas would be to check the Quotable Lewis volume, google "C.S. Lewis and free will" and there are numerous quotes and even a youtube video https://youtu.be/rH2DEOxvaWk  is interesting.  I also posted the theme on SpareOom to see what the Lewisians there might say about it.  I'll bring some of their comments to the meeting.

Our future schedule look like:

September 10: Stephen will be our discussion leader for Surprised by Joy

October 8: Theme: C.S. Lewis on Education (any Lewis source: share 5-10 minutes)

November 12: Theme: the essay On the Reading of Old Books the introduction C.S. Lewis wrote to Sr. Penelope's translation of Athanasius: On the Incarnation available on the internet in its entirety at http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm  The introduction is five pages long.  Come and share on either the introduction or Sr. Penelope's translation (5-10 min. or so)

December TBD: Christmas Planning Party: Stephen has volunteered to host again. How wonderful is that?  I don't see how he can outdo himself, but I'm up to see him try.

July 9th We Return To Narnia

July 9th is a theme meeting and our theme: "What is your favorite book from the Chronicles of Narnia (share for 5-10 minutes)"  The reasons for a selection might be many including the story, your favorite characters, and no doubt we'll find time to debate what order the Chronicles should be read in.  For those who have never heard about it there are: Publication Order, Chronological Order In Narnia Time, Order In Which They Were Actually Written.  Our schedule for the rest of the year is below. 

August 13: Theme: C.S. Lewis on Free Will (any Lewis source: share 5-10 minutes)

September 10: Stephen will be our discussion leader for Surprised by Joy

October 8: Theme: C.S. Lewis on Education (any Lewis source: share 5-10 minutes)

November 12: Theme: the essay On the Reading of Old Books the introduction C.S. Lewis wrote to Sr. Penelope's translation of Athanasius: On the Incarnation available on the internet in its entirety at http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm  The introduction is five pages long.  Come and share on either the introduction or Sr. Penelope's translation (5-10 min. or so)

December TBD: Christmas Planning Party: Stephen has volunteered to host again. How wonderful is that?  I don't see how he can outdo himself, but I'm up to see him try.

June 11th Will Soon Be Upon Us: How Did You Discover C.S. Lewis?

As the week begins you might reflect on how you first became interested in C.S. Lewis?  Come share your adventure with us on Thursday June 11th as we meet to discuss the appeal of C.S. Lewis.  Each of our stories is a unique experience.  Some of us are Narnians first, while others are Thulcandrians.  Still others may be Mere Christians, or discovered Greytown or Wormwood.  Speaking of Greytown I stumbled upon https://www.cslewis.com/blog/the-grey-town-community/ which might interest some of you.

Come join us.  The meeting begins at 7:30 P.M. and ends fairly promptly at 9:00 P.M.   Bring a friend and we can all enjoy the conviviality of sharing our enthusiasm for C.S. Lewis

What Drew You To C.S. Lewis? Theme for June 11th

We had a great theme meeting last evening on our favorite essay's from "God In The Dock". Our turnout was low but that meant everyone had lots of time to contribute discussion and observations about their favorite essays. I read a brief paragraph from a post by Lois Westerlund on SpareOom, a Yahoo Group I moderate. I had shared that we were having a theme meeting on this topic and lots of SpareOomians offered their favorite essays. Lois went a bit further sending a post to the group about two of hers. I read what she said about "The Trouble With X" --- see below

The trouble with "X". "X" is the person in our lives who makes our life so much harder than it would have to be. It is no use trying to talk to such a person--it won't do any good. Their pride or envy or greed or indifference or laziness is a constant irritation to us. All this God sees. But God's picture is bigger--he sees us in the picture, and we are somebody else's "X"--we, too, have a fatal flaw which we are blind to. He says more in this essay but that is the vivid image that took hold of me and has never let go. --- Lois

Great meeting. Next time our meeting will be a theme meeting as well and the theme will be:

What drew you to C.S. Lewis? (share for 5-10 minutes) See you then! sunglasses emoticon

May 14th Our Theme Is: Share Your Favorite Essay From "God In The Dock"

There are almost forty essays in God In The Dock and they're all first rate. So it might be an adventure just picking the one you'd like to share on. Our meeting is a theme meeting so we don't really have a discussion leader. Just come planning to chat for five or ten minutes about your favorite essay from this great collection. A little discussion might reasonably follow. What made you pick that particular essay? What did you really like about it? Is there anything you wish Lewis had handled a little differently?  Below is our schedule for the rest of the year.

SCHEDULE

May 14: Theme: Your favorite essay from God In The Dock (pick one and give us 5-10 minutes on why it is your favorite)

June 11: Theme:  What drew you to C.S. Lewis? (share for 5-10 minutes)

July 9: Theme:  What is your favorite book from the Chronicles of Narnia (share for 5-10 minutes)

August 13: Theme: C.S. Lewis on Free Will (any Lewis source: share 5-10 minutes)

September 10: Stephen will be our discussion leader for Surprised by Joy

October 8: Theme: C.S. Lewis on Education (any Lewis source: share 5-10 minutes)

November 12: Theme: the essay On the Reading of Old Books the introduction C.S. Lewis wrote to Sr. Penelope's translation of Athanasius: On the Incarnation available on the internet in its entirety at http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm  The introduction is five pages long.  Come and share on either the introduction or Sr. Penelope's translation (5-10 min. or so)

December TBD: Christmas Planning Party: Stephen has volunteered to host again. How wonderful is that?  I don't see how he can outdo himself, but I'm up to see him try.

April 9th "When I Was A Child I Read Books" Led By Peggy

CS Lewis Society meeting, April 9, 2015    Leader Peggy Printz

Discussion on When I Was a Child I Read Books  by Marilynne Robinson

Intro:  This book was first mentioned last year in the context of discussing one of Lewis’ essays.  An attendee was reading this book of essays and commented that they seemed as if they could have been written by Lewis.  Having read and loved her fiction, I was happy to suggest this book for our group. My assumption that she had been influenced by Lewis has not been confirmed, but it is clear that both have been deeply influenced by the same sources (classical literature and the Bible) and they have had many similar passions and interests.

Marilynne Robinson grew up in Idaho, where she “looked to Galilee for meaning and to Spokane for orthodonture.”  She now lives in Iowa and teaches as the renowned Iowa writer’s workshop.  She has been writer-in-residence, visiting professor, and/or speaker at numerous schools including the University of Kent, Yale, Amherst and Oxford.  She has received many awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Gilead and the Orange Prize for Fiction (a British award) for Home.  

In these essays, Robinson champions Christianity, the Old Testament, Moses, old American hymns, Charles Finney, Jonathan Edwards, John Calvin, liberal education, and real science (that which keeps an open mind, a sense of wonder and a sense of mystery.)  She takes on Richard Dawkins and other of the “new atheists” , the current polarized and charged political and social climate in America, “tight-fisted Christians”, the continued dumbing-down of American education that focuses on preparing drones for the work force at the expense of the kind of liberal education that helped guide our founding fathers.

Questions:

1.      Obviously, Marilynne Robinson has many strongly held opinions.  Which of her arguments are most  persuasive?  least persuasive?  Are some you  thought-provoking but not persuasive?

2.      Do you have a favorite essay in this collection?  A favorite quote?  Least favorite essay?

3.      Can you imagine a conversation between Robinson and Lewis and/or any of the other Inklings?

4.      Robinson has said that Christianity’s noisiest critics have not done their homework.  What do you think she means by this?

5.      If you also read any of Robinson’s fiction, how do they compare?  (stylistically, thematically, etc.)

Note:  if you have not yet acquired the book, the second chapter can be read on-line at www.billmoyers.com/2014/10/19/child-read-books/  also an interview at that link.