fa~ c~Cl1ey ju~y 'ifltW .@.;tt~t1ide ~_f 8Up,p!?rlilYl the war~'
;ajl
O,lJe~tiiJrr 2r.
~0,s.ing, a F.let,q:nr'· ~~'p~era;s~d· .]l0U; "H~~., 1 find
B@w wauICI }rOll. replyQ ..
liewi8::
l 'He~ea: 'Ul.:tifheI: ,ad,:;~ee, on ~hatqiwsn~n~ ~df th~u, ied1aps I C;l!l) a~wer Jt~ c.-an tJijre.~ues~ooe.( ~~y ,.ybkll SiuJ'cl1 fie ,lias in niindl~ , "
Q;uesliOM &..
. N!later~atists 'tina S£)~ a~tf(!)noIj]ers',sug1gesr ~a:t the 'S,OUID :ef~~ s~stem, and[jfe as we'ktru~.it was-broGglU ~ut'B!f a1:~M~Jltai SIi€U!at' eQ"ll1S!iQT:J. Wh;t't ~s the C:lini~~, V1e\\i ~f '~.i$' ,th~lIl~ 'l
The mel'€, eye.toct O'f ~..£8I1'D4;i.'l'gi ~ftIl~:tal ,~~~ t ·eil'i1&r 'rig;ht or
IlU!)iliPW-ml.& iiiL., .1;'2:. ~r;tft-",
, ,
a;pprove 'of those who- heLp spbitualJy; 0i;beis w: ho are' ")0 ttl!! road to :pet'rlitiQn, by scie:ntiiitaeUy,remomKtlil,e ~nvil\onmentaI
'Causes of the trouble'?" .'
Lewis:
Ye~. In the abstract it is cenairrly sa. Pl., a particular momen.t. if most hnman beings are cO(lcenQ"ating only' on ma~ria.1 ialprovements in the envif,otunent.Jl may be the,duty of Christians to point out (and pret~ loudly) that Uiis isn't the on'y thing that mattefs. But asa g;E~nera1 rule it iS1.fl favor of qH knowledge and all that will help the human race in any way.
Quc:r.·(iofl to. .
The Bible was written thousands of )tears ago for people in 3! lower state of meutal.deve.lopment Ihan tq~ay . Many portions seems preposterous in the light of modern 'knowledge, fit. view of this, should not the Bible· be rewrittem with the object of discardillg the fabulous and r1e;lllte:qn"etiJ,lg the, remainder?
Lewis:
. First of all' as to the people in a lower state, (;rfme~tal d~veJ:opment_ I am net so SUB3 what lurks bebind that. If it means ilia people t,en t.housand years ago didn't; kuow a, good many,things that we .know now, of; course, I agree. But if it means that there has bee ,~n:y advance in intelligence 111 that time. I believe there is no evidence for an), such 'thing. 'The Bible can be divided into two parts-fJ)e Old and the New Testaments. The Old Testament contains ;fabulous'el~meots. The New Tesrament consi5t~ .r.nOst:Jry of teach:,m,g, 'fiG! of nartativ:e at all: nut wihere it is natrati:v,e, it is. in my o'PinioiI., historical. Mto'·the fabulous element in the Old Testament, ] very much doubt if you would. be wise t@c]:mck It ClUL What you get is .. semething coming gradually In(o loewy. First you get, scattered through Ithe heathen religions aU over the woddbut still quite vague and mythical-" the idea of at god who is IW.led and broken and then comes tQ life.again, NQ one, knows where he is supposed to have lived and died; 'h.e~s nor historical, Then you get the Old l'estaplenf. ReUgiQus ideas, get a bit more focused. Ev~rytbing Is now connected with a parsicular nation. Audit comes. still more into focus as it goes on, Jonah and the Whale! 4 Noah and his Ark, s are fabulous; but the court history
"The Book of 10'1)' . iGenes:iJs, cbapteFS vi-e-viii.
Il
Quesr.io~ 11.
Wbich of the reli~<iHIS of the wedd gives to its followers the greatest lJappin:ess'?
Le'1(~: '. '
Whic.b of the. reU;girons of'the world gives to itis foUuwers me greatest happiness? While it fasts, the religion of'worshiping
oneself is the best, ",
I have aa elderly acqu,aint3noo 'of about eigliUi', Wi'lO :l\tii's. lived a life of ullbroken 'S,elfishne:ss and self-admiration if OcTO. the -eartiest yea:I"S. .. and is,' more er le.ss" l"regtet t'O say, one of tbe happiest men .! know, From the moral poii1lt of:" l,li~w it is very difficult! I am no~approachiJJ,g, th€; q:u.estioll f(1@w that angle. A:& you~rhaps kThO'W ~ I ha.ven't always been a,,chri'StiaR~ 1 didn't go to' "religiJ@D to make me' happy. 1 always knew a boule of port would dQ tbat.· If )lOll wanta r-e1jgion to ID$e' YOIl feel mally comOf:table, 1 ce:r:t~ittl1( den: t rf£o111mend Christianlcy. I am 'ce,rtain the£e: musr be a pateat J\meritcati article on the market whieh will suit yell far b~ter ~ bne I 'can "1 g~ve
any ~dvice on it.' .
Qlrestion 12.
Are there any unmisfa:lt::able outwaFd sign~ in a perseo surrend.ered. to Gol1l? Would he be eantankerous? Woul,d be. smoke"!
J.,ewts: ..
ltbink ·(i)f the advertisements for "While, Srmles"toQthpaste;: ~ sayitlg that .it;, is the best- OB the H,lprkiet. If :they, are true, it
would fanow that: , .
(I) Anyone who sta:rts Using It will ba've better teeth;
(2) Anyo~.e' u:sil1.g,it has better teeth tban he would nave if
Re, wererd using it.. . ,
But you can't te-st it in the ease 'of one who haa naturally
6n Samuel" CR. ti -1 Ki,l1gS, ch, it ..
34
THE GRAND MIRACLE'
bad teeth and uses it. and compare him wi.th a .beahhy Negro who has never used roothpasre at aJL
Take I.b.e case of a sour old maid, who is a Christian. but eantankerous. On {he other hand take ome pleasant and popular fellow, but who, has never been to church. 'Who knows how much more cantankerous dte old maid might be if she were /WI a Christian. and how much more likable the nice fellow migbt be it he llflere a Christian? You ean't judge Christianity simply. by eompanng the product ln those two people; you would need eo know what kind of raw material Christ was working on in both cases.
As an illustration I let us take a case of industrialism. Let us 'take two factories:
Factory A with poor and i~adequate plant, and Fac(ory B with first-chlsS modem plant
You can't judge by The outside. You must consider 'the plant and_ methods by wltich they are run and consIdering the plant at Factory A f it may be a wonder it does a_nytrung at all: aad considering the new machinery at Fac'tory B. i'~, ma.y be a wonder it doesn't do better.
QueJfion 13.
- What is your opinion about ~a:ffles within the plant-no matter how good the cause-which. net infrnql1cntly is given less prominence than the allurimg list of prizes?
Lewis:
Gambling ought never to be an important: part 'of" a mail's life. If it is ,8 way in which Jarge sums of money are tnmsfeE:red from, person ~o person without doing any geod (e.g .• producing employment, goodwiU ~ eee.) then lt is a bad tbmg. If it hi, 'Carried out on a small scale, I am not sure that it is bad. 1 d'om'·r know much. aboutit~ because it is about the only vice to which I have n,o temptation at 311. and I tbink it is a risk to talk about things ~'bjch are nor in my o~n makeup. because I don "1 understand them. If anyone comes 10 me ,asking to play bridge for money. J just say: "How much do you hope 10 win?' Take it and go away."
Questior~ 14.
Many peopte are quite unable to understand the theologicel differences which have caused divisiollS in the Christian ChUldl.
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON CHRISTIANiTY 35 00 you consider '(bar.l, these diffenmces OR! fundame~nal. and is the time DOW ripe for reunion?
Lewis:
The time is always ripe for rellnioD. Divisions between
Christians are a sin and a SCWlIda1, and ChriSl1mtS ought at all times to be making c~ntrib1Jtioms(oward reunion. if it is only by their praye;rs. I am 01l11y a layman. and 3. ~en:t Cbris~iao. and 1 do not know mucb aboutlhese things. but m all the thlogs which I have written and [bought I have alwa:ys stuck 'EO traditional, dO,gma:tic positions. The resui'l is tba:t.letters 0,' agreemen1 rea.ch me from wbBlt are ordinarily regarded. as Ibe most dil'fereBt kinds of Christians- for instance, I get letters fran) Jesuits. monks. nuns and also from Quakers, and W,elsn Dissenters, and so IOn. So it seems to me tbat the ~ex.tremist" elemenrs in ,every churc,b ,are nearest one another and. the liberal and "broad-mmded' ,people in each body co1!1l.d never be united at alL The world of dogmatic ChrisEianity is a place in which thousands IOf people IOf quite different types keep on saying the samethimg amd!he world of "broad-mindedness' and watereddown "religion" is II. wor'ld where a small Du'mber of people (all of the same type) say totally different things and cha~e their minds every few minntes. We shall never get reumon from [hem.
Question /5..
m the past. the church used various. kinds of compulsiolll in attempts '10 force a 'parti,cu]ar brand of Christianity on the community. Given sufficienl power. is 'lhere not 3 danger Gf this sort of thing hap'peni,ng again?
Lewis:
Yes, I hear nasty rumo(:S coming from Spain. Persecution is a temptation to which all men are exposed. ] had a poolcard sianed "M. D.~' saying that anyone who expressed 8'nd published his beUef in th.e Virgin Birth sbould be stripped and flogged. That shows you how easllyperseeudon of Chrisuans by the DOn-CbriSnams might come back.. Of course" they wollldn't caU it perseeutioa: d'tey~ d call lt ··compu.lso~ reeducation of the ideologicaUy unfit:' or somethingli!ke t11:&I:. But. of course, I have to admit that Cbristilans themselves have been persecutors in the past. It was worse of them,. because lhey ought to have
to ~I1a mn§, hlJ~ 0lllll. T "t9~f:~ m,,-;s@ ~mHOO C)lltlU,gn ito eaabJs ~,s~B tg mad Him~.
THOMAS WINGFOLD, CURATE + PAUL FABER, SURGEON + THERE AND BACK - The Complete Series: The Curate's Awakening, The Lady's Confession & The Baron's Apprenticeship
MacDonalds’ Fairy-Tale Treasure Chest: The Princess and the Goblin; The Princess and Curdie; The Light Princess; Phantastes; The Giant’s Heart; The Golden Key
THOMAS WINGFOLD, CURATE + PAUL FABER, SURGEON + THERE AND BACK - The Complete Series: The Curate's Awakening, The Lady's Confession & The Baron's Apprenticeship
MacDonalds’ Fairy-Tale Treasure Chest: The Princess and the Goblin; The Princess and Curdie; The Light Princess; Phantastes; The Giant’s Heart; The Golden Key
