THE WISDOM OF EACH OTHER

– A Conversation between Spiritual Friends

By EUGENE H. PETERSON

                                                              

Eugene H. Peterson is no stranger to many of us. Arguably, his most famous writing is ‘The Message’, a contemporary translation of the New Testament into North American English.

But several of his other books are more endearing (to me).  

This is one of them.

Some years ago, ‘The Wisdom of Each Other’ was being sold for just RM12/- (hard copy). I bought one; it has been one of my best book buys.  Over the years, I have read my own book over and over again and lent it out to so many others. Now it is discoloured, stained (isn’t this gravy?), scribbled on, dog-eared… still precious, the love affair not over by any means.

 It also made a fantastic gift, and that Christmas many copies circulated in Calvary Church. 

Then a friend left another copy on my bookshelf ….. (surely God!) so I now have two.

But before you rush out to buy a copy, I must state that it was not every person’s cup of tea.  I overheard at least one person who did not see much value in the book, so be forewarned.  Perhaps borrow a copy?

Peterson agrees that the major forms of Christian communication by words are necessarily preaching and teaching.  He proposes that spiritual conversations between friends  are also important and quieter ways by which words help us in the actual living out of a life of faith – as questions, comments, ruminations, counsel, suggestions – conveying much in things not said as in those said. He demonstrates this wonderfully through a series of letters between him (occupation:  pastor) and an imaginary someone called Gunnar Thorkildsson (occupation: scientist) who became Christian later in life.  These letters are realistic written conversations on actual everyday life with (or without) God, that Peterson says is a gleaning from countless actual encounters with real men and women in his years as a pastor; this  is the treasure between the book covers. 
Is God a background resource that provides the ideas and energy that I take charge of and arrange as I see fit” ? (Emphases mine; Foreword -Pg 12 in my book).  Or is He the driving force?  
When life becomes  unpredictable and, well, messy, are we ready to embrace what the Spirit has in store (messiness and all), or do we try our best to restore the status quo, and reject the possible adventure He has laid before us?  In our spirit, are we in a posture of constant readiness to respond to the call of the Spirit?
Spiritual conversations, such as the ones in this book, are one of the ways believers use to stay in a constant state of readiness, to hear, and respond, to the Spirit's call, whenever it comes. 

It is a slim volume that belies the weight of its contents.  Feel it; smell it; read every word on every page, and I mean every word, including the ‘business’ bits – for example: continued on the back flap; (especially so, do not leave out the Foreword and the Introduction); but when you reach the actual letters, don’t be greedy, neither hasty.  Read only one letter a sitting.  Allow an actual time lapse between one and the next, imagining the need to receive a response, and then the penning of a fresh letter.

And while you are waiting for the next letter, think about what has passed between the two men.  And between the Spirit and you.

I speak of the unremarked

Forces that split the heart

                                                                        And make the pavement toss _

                     Forces concealed in quiet

                                                                      People and plants……….

‘Chinese Banyan’

Poem by William Meredith

Page 32 in my book

               

Dolly Chye

May 2011

Mere Christianity

I was introduced to C.S. Lewis late-ish in life (1999), when I joined the Asian Institute of Ministries (AIM) and was given a book as a gift.  This book was a devotional with only excerpts from Lewis’ writings, but it was enough to draw me to this previously unknown (to me), twentieth-century theologian who wrote with such liveliness and humour (for example: referring to people who tended to take symbols literally instead of recognizing their symbolism, that they “might as well think that when Christ told us to be like doves, He meant that we were to lay eggs.”). 

He argues with such common sense; the metaphors he uses to illustrate even the largest ideas are drawn from everyday examples, expressed in clear and simple language, and are most easily understood; and he does not incessantly scatter bible verses all over the page.

It is theology that is, to say the least, refreshing. 

Clive Staples Lewis was born in Ireland in 1898 and later became a Fellow and

Tutor at Magdalen College, Oxford.  In 1954, he became Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge.  He was for many years an atheist, and described his conversion in another book ‘Surprised by Joy’: “In the Trinity term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God ... perhaps the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.”

He well understood therefore the processes that hindered people from accepting religion and of Christianity in particular. 

C S Lewis makes Christianity reasonable.  He gave me the language and the vocabulary to again argue out my beliefs, firstly to myself, and then to friends.

He repeatedly qualifies any particular argument (one that obviously worked for him) “If any of them do not appeal to you, leave them alone and get on with the formula that does.  And, whatever you do, do not start quarelling with other people because they use a different formula from yours.” (Chapter 5)

This phrase alone generates much respect for its author.

The Problem of Pain, The Screwtape Letters, Mere  Christianity, Surprised by Joy, The Four  Loves  and the Posthumous  Prayer: Letters to Malcolm, are only a few of his best-selling works. He also wrote some delightful books for children (The Chronicles of Narnia being one of these) and some science fiction.

Mere Christianity is a theological book based on a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944 during World War II.  It is considered a classic of Christian apologetics.

The Book is divided into four ‘books’(we would probably call them ‘Sections’); within each is a series of chapters. Every section is full of literary gems.

In the first ‘book’, Lewis argues out Creation, and the case for God on the basis of a moral law, a "rule about right and wrong" commonly known to all human beings. Just as thirst reflects the fact that people naturally need water, and there is no other substance which satisfies that need; therefore human craving for ‘joy’ demonstrates that such ‘joy’ must exist, for humans cannot know to yearn for something that does not exist. And if earthly experiences cannot satisfy this need for ‘joy’, there must therefore be another source, a heavenly Source, who is God.

"If I find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy

I can only conclude that I was not made for here."

Lyrics from the ‘C S Lewis Song" by singer Brooke Fraser

The second ‘book’ covers what Christians believe and why these beliefs are logical.

In the third ‘book’, he explains the key elements and ethics of what Christian behaviour should be as a result of what we believe. Lewis describes Pride as “the Great Sin”.. …“that has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.”

The fourth ‘book’, arguably the ‘most theological’, captures my attention the most.  I have read and re-read it several times. In it, he answers the niggling questions we often harbor (often un-articulated) about parts of our Christian faith: the Doctrine of the Trinity, the nature of God, salvation, justification…….the really difficult bits of Christianity. He frames the questions and addresses them; he has obviously worked it all through for himself, to his own satisfaction, even the ‘unexplainable’ bits, for he ultimately believed.

Read Chapters 7 and 8 of this fourth ‘book’ (“Let’s Pretend” and “Is Christianity Hard or Easy?”) again and again.  They contain truths, illustrated with such humour, as to make it go down easily.

“When He (Jesus) said, ‘Be perfect,’ He meant it………It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg.  We are like eggs at present.  And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.” (Chapter 8)

This is only a sampling.

In one of his concluding chapters, Lewis cites transformation of the person as the ultimate diagnosis of a genuine Christian conversion. He writes, “If conversion to Christianity makes no improvement in a man’s outward actions……then I think we must suspect that his ‘conversion’ was largely imaginary…

Perhaps reading ‘Mere Christianity’ will become for you a rather large ‘starter’ opening up to a whole new world of the writings of C. S. Lewis.  If it does, don’t forget to also read The Chronicles of Narnia, AND The Screwtape Letters, in that order.

The thoughts contained within this book can be a catalyst for many interesting after-dinner conversations; it makes a most marvelous gift to Christians or non- alike; for both, it is excellent holiday reading. Read it again, and again.