Because of overwhelming interest at the September 26 viewing of "The Question of God", Latino Leadership Circle will be showing part II of this outstanding film. Participants please feel free to post your comments on the below post regarding your reflections on the movie. We’d love to have an on going conversation.
The
Question of God, explores in accessible and dramatic style issues that
preoccupy all thinking people today: What is happiness? How do we find
meaning and purpose in our lives? How do we reconcile conflicting
claims of love and sexuality? How do we cope with the problem of
suffering and the inevitability of death? Based on a popular Harvard
course taught by Dr. Armand Nicholi, author of The Question of God, the
movie illustrates the lives and insights of Sigmund Freud, a life-long
critic of religious belief, and C.S. Lewis, a celebrated Oxford don,
literary critic, and perhaps this century’s most influential and
popular proponent of faith based on reason.
Date: |
Wednesday, October 10, 2007 |
Location: |
The American Bible Society, 1865 Broadway, New York, NY 10023 |
Registration is now closed for this event. Please check back to the blog for future events.
I was not present at the viewing of the movie, but I would like to share my findings.
Jumping around and reading some other works by C.S. Lewis have lead me to several conclusions. The first being he is definitely very excentric. He can not get away from his true nature, a literary critic. And although I like the title he has been given, Apostle to the Skeptics, I am no longer impressed by him.
The fact that he has received some enlightenment, (John 14:6) is believable. There is no question in my mind that he was a very accomplished and brilliant man, which explains the continued admiration toward his person still today, marking him one of the most celebrated Christians of intellectual greatness.
But this is just me reflecting….just my opinion….. He was just a man! A man with a temper, a man marked with flaws like any other, a man that had, although a very profound manner of thinking, because of his extraordinary capacity to think beyond… as he put it..You have to sneak past the watchful dragons of self conscienceness… he thought too much for his own good. And this to me marks his flaws. Is this not what we are actually taught against by the teachings of Jesus? You miss the point sometimes when you try to be too crafty.
The Bible says…The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just.(Psalm 37:30) In his book, Reflections on the Psalms…his argument that the Psalmist thought himself to be perfect is incorrect. His view that the Psalmist was speaking out his hatred for his enemies and that that could not have been the words of a god who represents compassion and goodness beyond meassure, is totally a reflection of the difference between Godly wisdom and worldly wisdom. Yes he was brilliant, and at the same time foolish. King David spoke as a prophet. He spoke through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Paul makes many refs. to the fact that Jesus is the righteousness of God, yet spoke of His Wrath also. It does not make too much sense to say, I accept what you have here, just not in it’s form. C.S. Lewis said of the book of Psalms… Though hideously distorted by the human instrument, something of the Divine voice can be heard in these passages. That sounds to me like he is denying they are in fact inpired and prophetic in form.
Again, his reasoning was his stumbling block. Faith. It’s what we build our hopes on, our visions. He stayed too much on the theory of I have fact therefore I believe. He seems to defend well the point for Christianity, but something is off with him. He read the Bible as it were an account of historical events, which in fact they were, yet failed to receive from them what they can do to a man that truly seeks out wisdom as if it were a treasure…he got it somewhat twisted. There is no mystical experience greater than just accepting, accepting at a word. Because you were not just being impressed upon by a knowledgeable teacher, with a broader instruction than the law offered. But the son of a carpenter, who was indeed the Son of God, because He actually Taught that! How could you miss that? How could you trying to be so smart, seeking depth, miss the point, that Jesus was in every point, from beginning to end? And Nothing that is in the scriptures was Not for our benefits! And the Son does have the authority to judge.
I hope this does not turn people away in anger or fustration, but rather open the door for future reflection and bold questioning of individuals before they are used as role models. But also the fact that God does not require of us to be intellectual giants. But that as we seek to draw closer to Him, not for the sake of being right, but for the cause of the cross and the glorious cost thereof… He will give us the wisdom we need to represent Him, …and represent Him well.
G_revelation,
You make some great points and the film is designed for engagement. C.S. Lewis was a definitely “just a man.” What makes his case so fascinating is that he starts his life as an atheist, who then becomes a Christian, who later becomes a defender of the faith. Was his mind a stumbling block? Absolutely! With Lewis, he wears his struggle on his sleeve and this is a gift to us because in his struggle, in his doubt, in his anger at God, in his agonizing wrestling with reason and faith, we capture a glimpse of our possible struggles with faith, reason, frustration, grace, acceptance and transformation. Surely there are aspects of his life that can be questioned and evaluated from different perspectives. As you point out, we would be amiss if we were to reify C.S. Lewis; however, there is a lot of we can learn from this luminary, both from his life trajectory as well as his literary contribution. Thank you for your thoughts.
Rev. Ramos,
…and this is why you are a pastor. Your insightful thinking. Your perspective to see one mans torment is another mans gift. You have made me rethink my position.
I will continue my readings by this author. Thank you.
Enjoy your series!
Thank you G_revelation for your kind words. If you are interested in C.S. Lewis, there is presently a play called “The Screwtape Letters” based upon his landmark book with the same title.
Many blessings.
Pastor Ramos,
Yes, I am interested in C. S. Lewis. I really enjoy his writing style. And yes, I have heard about this book. An upper level demon that gives advice via these letters to his nephew, on how to be as effective as possible with the Christian he has been given.
When I was much younger (no hint on my age by the way) I believe a senior in High School, I read a book along the lines of this same book. C. S. Lewis has a more sophisticated writing technique. Which is why I enjoy his writing. However the book was very good. I believe it was This Present Darkness, by Frank Peretti. It’s a fiction novel, about the spiritual warfare Christians experience. I enjoyed the story line so much, especially the descriptions of the angels, and how the dialogue and fights between them and the demons unfolded. The description and image of demons sitting in church because of that book, have never left me. I believe I enjoyed it so much I past it on, my copy. I also bought and gave it as a gift to my moms pastor. He enjoyed it also and recommended it to the church. It is very light reading and very much motivates one to pray. That was the message from the book… I recall now…thinking back. God can’t move, until God’s people pray! It was very impacting to read the angels say this.
Anyway, with respects to the play…I thank you for the recommendation. Not a very big fan of plays. As a female, yes, I bet that ones a shock!
Actually I am looking forward to purchasing a book by C.S. Lewis, I thought of The Great Divorce, but if not The Screwtape Letters sounds fine also. Reading is a passion of mine. And the story is better savored when it is read as opposed to seen on stage. None the less, thank you pastor for your suggestion, it was greatly appreciated.
G_revelation,
Thank you for your comments.
Pastor Ramos,
You will forgive my insistence in my continued dialogue with you. However I just had a thought and would like to share it with you.
This is a portion of scripture that is very interesting to me. Ecclesiastes 9 beginning with verse 1 says..So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him. All share a common destiny-the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean,….Verse 3, This is the evil in everything under the sun.: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and then they join the dead.
I love this passage because it reminds me to never think highly of myself. But also that I should not trust in the goodness of men but the goodness of God! As I look around there is so much darkness in the world around me. Downtown yesterday, in a very popular and influential part of Manhattan, I saw homeless people lying on the side walks, their clothes torn and dirty, smelly and unconcerned by the busyness of life around them. My heart ached for them. Was it my pressing appointment to meet with a friend for lunch that kept me from turning back? I felt the tears like a small river begin to rise in my eyes, and I blinked hard to stop them. They didn’t need my pity, they needed a savior! Someone to rescue them from that life of darkness they seemed destined to die in. Every step to the office building where I was heading, my thoughts were on those people. My heart felt so heavy and guilty for not having the courage to stop and tell them there was hope. I pushed away my own conscience telling me they would not want to hear that. How many people probably have they turned away in scorn accepting their lowly state out of sheer defiance, deflecting the compassion of others and even more sorry, hating their intrusion.
I couldn’t help think, what gets people there? What’s keeping me from there? By God’s grace of course a man can stand. How often did His grace extend it’s self to them, I thought, and in what form that they refused it?
This is why my fascination with books…they seem to take you away. The brain and the heart like the two powerful organs they are often oppose each other. It is our fight with the flesh. And so not to feed the desire of our wicked natures, man can look to the higher power of God’s goodness and escape….by using his mind wisely.
Jesus told the disciples that if they believed, they too would do greater things than those that He had done. This is where you come into thought pastor Ramos. Pastor Luis Alvarez is always saying that life is a journey. This is true. And on that journey as Christians we often fail to see the impact we have on others or could, for whatever reason. I enjoy the way you write. I can only imagine you must be great to your flock. The Holy Spirit gives testimony of who we are, and you are a man that truly loves the Lord. It comes out in your passion of words!
Ever think about writing a book pastor? Think not on the journey…but the impact of that journey. You know better than most the capability of the awesome God we serve, to take us beyond our dreams. He specializes in dreaming bigger dreams for us than we could ever hope for. He guarantees His glory, by using men that serve with humble hearts.
You might be thinking, thanks for the sentiment, but why on earth would I write a book? (or have you already and I don’t know about it?)…because you can pastor! And it is my personal opinion you should!….As a pastor you touch so many, even on this forum. People you will never know about. Multiply that by thousands. Jesus walked on foot to get His message across. You have the power of His gifts, modern technology, and media, and publications. You have the credentials, and the ability. The ideas will come from God. Will you at the very least, put it some where in the back of your mind, and don’t say no….say perhaps!
God bless you pastor,
With much love!
g_revelation,
Thank you for your words of encouragement. I actually would like to write a book and my wife lately has encouraged to so as well. I have to be more deliberate about this, that is, I must truly determine to do so, and hone in what I would like to address. It is a blessing to hear that you have enjoyed what I have written. Thank you once again. Please keep me in your prayers so that I can actualize this goal.
Grace and Peace,
David
Pastor Ramos,
How Wonderful!
I had a teacher once take me off guard and ask me personally to define the meaning of success as seen through my eyes. I thought for a minute before I answered in the calmest voice, I later realized could have only been the peace and grace of God ministering to me directly.
Success should never be measured in terms of the approval of men, nor their praises. Success is the ability to keep going, and never stop, until you reach your goal. And when you reach it, then you dream another dream, another goal, and pursue that too till it is achieved, or not,… but Never give up!
As I wrote from a quote on Pastor Alvarez’s blog, the Great Spirit gives us messages through visions, because He believes in us, and knows us better than we know ourselves. He wants to take us through awesome journeys, that on our own could never be realized.
I think it’s great that your wife shares this same vision for you, and supports you. May God use her to minister to you through your journeys as you serve the Lord together. May your combined wisdom generate and cultivate an abundance of blessings for your flock. May the enemy always have much to worry, when he draws near to your camp. This is my prayer for you and yours pastor.
I give you God’s word, in the book of Proverbs, chpt. 8 begining with verse 27. I was there when He set the heavens in place, when He marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when He established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when He gave the sea it’s boundary so the waters would not overstep His command, and when He marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at His side.
No need to ask for aid in continued prayer for your future aim, and that of you all at LLC. It’s a done deal!
God Bless!
Mil gracias G_revelation,
You’re an exhorter! :o)
Adelante,
David