Last week I read “Surprised by Joy” by C. S. Lewis. On Monday I posted a synopsis of his conversion from atheism to Christianity. I wanted to follow this up with some of my favorite quotes from the book which are relative to his conversion, and some of which are philosophically interesting.
C. S. Lewis traces his conversion story through his autobiography “Surprised by Joy” from his early childhood through to his conversion to Christ as an adult. As the story unfolds, he traces the “aesthetic experience” of “joy” as an experience that “was valuable only as a pointer to something other and outer.”
Early in his life, he speaks of a “religious experience”, which is followed by his becoming an “effective believer”, by which he means he “heard the doctrines of Christianity…” and “had no skepticism”. This resulted in a fear for his soul to the effect that he “began seriously to pray and read [his] bible and to attempt to obey [his] conscience.” At this stage, Lewis’s faith is a simple faith, which does not understand how to comprehend and consider the world. Furthermore, it seems it bore a fear of God, but not an explicit understanding of his own sin and in this sense, he did not feel a sense of personal responsibility before God, which comes much later.
I’ve started reading a book about Rees Howells (who I’d never heard of before this book), and while I have some reservations about elements recounted in it, it is nonetheless a challenging book with some great quotes in it.
“You may live in a crowd but you meet God and face eternity alone” (page 24).
Last year I read through this little book and really enjoyed it. I noticed it is available on Monergism books in kindle format for US$2.45 which is chump change.
This is a very practical book that does a great job of pulling together the writings and practices of some of the great Christians throughout history including Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, David Brainerd, Martin Luther, George Whitfield and George Muller.
The book is organized as you’d approach prayer: beginning with composing our mind, then dealing with worship, confession, requests and finishing with how we can expect God to answer.
If you are looking for some encouragement in prayer, this is a great book for that purpose, and it’s short and easy to read.
If you don’t have a Kindle, you can either buy one (support this site by buying through this link) or purchase the paperback version instead.
In John 4:46-54 we have the account of an official who asked the Lord to heal his son “for he was at the point of death”. Jesus said to him “Go, your son will live.”
The man believed what Jesus said and lived this out by going home. If he hadn’t believed, he could have stayed and continued to plead, but yet he didn’t. He believed Jesus’ words and obeyed and went home. Read more »
In Eph 4:25-30 records the sort of people we are to become when we put off the old nature.
In this passage there is verse 28 which deals specifically with the one who steals and the transformation that a thief that follows Christ should go through. Read more »
Some time ago, I was struck by the content of the following poem that David Brainerd wrote in his journal regarding his lack of attachment that he felt to this world. In the modern age, it is often difficult to lose the attachment to the world and the things of it, so I long to be able to echo these words with a full heart. Read more »
I came across this comment on this thread. I’ve come across it a bit recently, so I thought I’d post on it here. Read more »
Below is how George Muller recorded he determined the will of the Lord:
Our reading group is currently reading Henry Scougals “The life of God in the soul of man”. This is a remarkable book, which I recommend every follower of Jesus Christ read. Read more »
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