tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post8263270388519912532..comments2024-03-24T03:21:55.744-06:00Comments on Life On Gold Plates: C. S. Lewis: Crypto-Mormon? Part II: Lewis on Latter-day SaintsBHodgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01751807169882645742noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-11374539456574847152010-04-28T07:58:56.133-06:002010-04-28T07:58:56.133-06:00*add the part in The Great Divorce on Salt Lake Ci...*add the part in <i>The Great Divorce</i> on Salt Lake City.BHodgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01751807169882645742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-72697867292178452072009-05-29T16:57:35.160-06:002009-05-29T16:57:35.160-06:00The title is C S Lewis:The Boy who Chronicled Narn...The title is C S Lewis:The Boy who Chronicled Narnia - A biography. Published by Abacus.The author gave a lecture during Writers Week here in Brisbane, Australia. I was glad to get his signature in the book.Noel Hauslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14364772728709150450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-62603236339652634122009-05-29T16:50:39.244-06:002009-05-29T16:50:39.244-06:00What is the title of Wise's book?What is the title of Wise's book?BHodgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01751807169882645742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-57458952186860562072009-05-29T16:41:42.070-06:002009-05-29T16:41:42.070-06:00Hello, I have both the DVD and the book by Dr Nich...Hello, I have both the DVD and the book by Dr Nicholi. I regularly reread the book and always gain more insights into this remarkable man's life. Wilson in his biography of Lewis argues that Lewis has a sexual relationship with Mrs Moore. However in Surprised by Joy he makes the comment that when he married Joy, he experienced (sexual pleasure) in his 60s which he did not in his 20s. I like Michael Wise's bio of Lewis which is more balanced than Wilson's book and not so adoring as some efforts by evangelical writers.Noel Hauslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14364772728709150450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-60730478251151896172009-05-29T16:29:25.524-06:002009-05-29T16:29:25.524-06:00Not all the way through, no. Here's the site with ...Not all the way through, no. Here's the site with more info:<br /><br />http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/questionofgod/BHodgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01751807169882645742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-1421686377120844602009-05-29T16:28:17.126-06:002009-05-29T16:28:17.126-06:00Hello, have you seen the doc on PBS The Question o...Hello, have you seen the doc on PBS The Question of God concerning C S Lewis and Freeud's views on God, sex, suffering etc?Noel Hauslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14364772728709150450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-23834798235717863202009-05-27T02:59:42.646-06:002009-05-27T02:59:42.646-06:00This is Trav!!This is Trav!!Travis and Daniellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13295921200995449918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-50618021919427140212009-05-26T09:50:38.148-06:002009-05-26T09:50:38.148-06:00But are you Trav or Danielle?But are you Trav or Danielle?BHodgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01751807169882645742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-74917488085011185762009-05-25T21:58:46.577-06:002009-05-25T21:58:46.577-06:00This was my first piece of yours that i have read....This was my first piece of yours that i have read. Although i should read often as i enjoy it. Especially when i learn about something as true as what you have written. This piece was a wonderful insight to one of our cherished authors. Thank you for spending the undoubtedly extraneous time on your research to write!Travis and Daniellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13295921200995449918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-60768223021594480032009-05-09T17:30:00.000-06:002009-05-09T17:30:00.000-06:00Nice post.Nice post.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15827614085758865632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-15478104191715671012009-05-07T11:38:00.000-06:002009-05-07T11:38:00.000-06:00Jacob, I remembered something small but rather fun...Jacob, I remembered something small but rather funny in one of the letters. In 1946 he was writing to Jill Flewett, a girl who had stayed with Lewis and Warnie to help around the house:<br /><br />"All send their love. Doesn't Warnie type nicely? - with great feeling and restraint?" (CL 2:739).BHodgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01751807169882645742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-18819453798456931202009-05-06T15:42:00.000-06:002009-05-06T15:42:00.000-06:00Thanks for reading it.Thanks for reading it.BHodgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01751807169882645742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-5477839591229294452009-05-06T15:23:00.000-06:002009-05-06T15:23:00.000-06:00this is a fabulous piece.this is a fabulous piece.Jetsamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05034247312427201331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-24394122512466913462009-05-06T09:07:00.000-06:002009-05-06T09:07:00.000-06:00BGC, thank you for the very interesting thoughts o...BGC, thank you for the very interesting thoughts on the underclothes issue. I think you are correct in that regard.<br /><br />He noted that he included "small stylistic disguisements all the way along" (CL 3:1320) so that people wouldn't know who wrote it. He published it under a different name and a completely different publisher as well. He sent a copy to a teacher in 1963, a Sister Madelva, and said "it may shock your pupils. It is 'A Grief <I>observed</I>' from day to day in all its rawness and sinful reactions and follies. It ends with faith but raises the blackest doubts <I>en route</I>" (CL 3:1460). The emphasis is Lewis's. From what I have seen so far I believe the book should be taken as a pretty straightforward revealing of his own experiences. <br /><br />You might be thinking of Lewis's earlier <I>Pilgrims Regress</I>, which was written as something of a fictional psuedo-bio of sorts as you describe, in the style of Bunyan.BHodgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01751807169882645742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-19462230587641898142009-05-06T04:07:00.000-06:002009-05-06T04:07:00.000-06:00Excellent piece.
I caanot remember where I read ...Excellent piece. <br /><br />I caanot remember where I read it, probably somewhere in the Collected Letters, but I recall that Lewis stated that A Grief Observed was not a personal confession, but was written by a fictional (or semi-fictional) 'persona'. Certainly, it should not be taken as straightforwardly revealing his own biographical thoughts and experiences. <br /><br />I would also endorse that there were many British 'fads' concerning underwear. String vests and underpants were one (they were very common during my 1960s childhood but have now disappeared) - but I think what Lewis may have been getting at was the late 19th-Early 20th century belief that one should wear wool next to the skin. <br /><br />George Bernard Shaw was an advocate of this. In 1885, Shaw used insurance money from his father's death to buy a one piece, buttoned to the neck 'hygienic' Jaeger undergarment. 'Jaegerism' was indeed part of a fashion for 'rational' dress advocated by radicals and reformers such as Edward Carpenter. <br /><br />I am almost sure that it would have been this kind of wool undergarment-wearing socialist (who was also likely to be vegetarian, wear sandals, and be interested in experimental education - such as the school in the Silver Chair) that Lewis parodies in the Narnia books.Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-6567806667713549752009-05-05T15:30:00.000-06:002009-05-05T15:30:00.000-06:00Ha, thanks Ardis, I am glad you read the footnotes...Ha, thanks Ardis, I am glad you read the footnotes as well. My upcoming Lewis paper, since it will be an oral presentation, will miss a lot of the "pop" as I have used the footnotes to keep the narrative shorter. Hopefully people will read the paper itself because it really requires the fn's to get the full effect. <br /><br />Jacob:<br /><br />The miraculous thing is that the 3 volume collected letters (thousands of pages) don't even contain all he actually wrote. And like you said, pre-word processing. He took time each morning, sometimes several hours, trying to get to as much correspondence as he could. Warnie was employed as his typist much of the time, however, and Lewis hated typing himself. (I am not sure he ever typed a full letter). When W would go off and get wasted on holiday the length of CSL's letters dramatically dropped, and most of them contain an apology for his poor handwriting.<br /><br /><I>It seems likely to me that he never took enough interest to have an informed opinion. </I>I think you've hit the nail on the head, and so concisely, geez! Lewis would have been disinterested, especially given his distaste for interdenominational distinctions that divide. We can get a good idea of some LDS ideas he would have disliked, but much of that is also predicated on the Bible being the measuring stick (as well as the creeds and some of the writings of the ECF's).BHodgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01751807169882645742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-10409080429466279932009-05-05T14:42:00.000-06:002009-05-05T14:42:00.000-06:00Blair,
Excellent work once again. Very interesti...Blair,<br /><br />Excellent work once again. Very interesting. As to letters ruining Christmas time for him: whenever I look at the sheer volume of what he (and others) wrote back before there was word processing I am simply blown away. I remember reading that he set aside time every morning for writing letters, which is enough to make me happy I am not famous nor revered. On Lewis' reaction to Mormonism, I think you are right to urge caution in drawing definite conclusions. It seems likely to me that he never took enough interest to have an informed opinion. Given his training under Kirkpatrick I expect that Lewis would be the first to tell us to take his views on Mormonism with a grain of salt.Jacob Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17593414463239223580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-48371226526809792252009-05-05T14:34:00.000-06:002009-05-05T14:34:00.000-06:00Hmm -- that comment was small return for such a wo...Hmm -- that comment was small return for such a wonderful post. If you read between the lines, you'll know I appreciated your entire post, or I wouldn't have spent so much time with the footnotes.Ardis E. Parshallhttp://www.keepapitchinin.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960447.post-30405060944769231092009-05-05T14:33:00.000-06:002009-05-05T14:33:00.000-06:00I like the reasoning you display in some of your f...I like the reasoning you display in some of your footnotes about who proves what part of which claims. So many times scholarship (not just Sunday School discussion) is based on proof-texting, and I wish all scholars paid as much attention as you do to context, not zeroing in on one line that only appears on the surface to say what the scholar needs it to say. I might not be so irritated so often if all writers followed your lead! :)Ardis E. Parshallhttp://www.keepapitchinin.orgnoreply@blogger.com