Devin and I recently finished reading The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis in anticipation of the upcoming movie that opens May 16th. Based on the trailer below it appears that the movie makers have held the story line true to the book, much like The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. It looks like I will be sharing a real adventure with my boy! I am definitely looking forward to this time together.
"There are, no doubt, passages in the New Testament which may seem at first sight to promise an invariable granting of our prayers. But that cannot be what they really mean. For in the very heart of the story we meet a glaring instance to the contrary. In Gethsemane the holiest of all petitioners prayed three times that a certain cup might pass from Him. It did not. After that the idea that prayer is recommended to us as a sort of infallible gimmick may be dismissed."
C.S. Lewis, The World's Last Night and Other Essays, "The Efficacy of Prayer"
I may not be right in all my thoughts, however....I'm pretty sure that I am!
And how would you or I know any different? After all isn't our perception of truth constantly shifting? Aren't our views or opinions shaped by our experiences? Could it be possible that our perceptions of truth, while initially appear to be vastly different, are actually more similar than we realize? If there is definitive truth, then how can any one person arrive at a lucid understanding of that truth since we each look at it through the lens of our own experiences and beliefs. If this is the case then can we ever find hope of actually landing on perfect truth? Aren't we actually projecting our tainted reflection of the truth to others? A lot of questions I know.....
I am not suggesting that it doesn't matter if a person arrives at the absolute truth. I am suggesting that in the process to discover the truth, it doesn't matter if ones thoughts are right or wrong, subjectively, during that process. After all discovering the truth does require that you error from time to time. Otherwise where is the joy in the discovery? Life would be pretty bland to have the confidence to believe that you are always right. Otherswise, what's the point of any discussion if you're having it with mere mortals who are wrong? So the real question may be....is there even such a thing as "absolute truth?"
C.S. Lewis explores the discovery of truth in a letter he wrote in May of 1939….
"The process of living seems to consist in coming to realize truths so ancient and simple that, if stated, they sound like barren platitudes. They cannot sound otherwise to those who have not had the relevant experience: that is why there is no real teaching of such truths possible and every generation starts from scratch."
The accuracy of his comment is notable since one is not born into the world with the knowledge of truth, but rather with a sinful nature that can only be counted on to distort the truth. I think this is one reality we can all agree on.
The understanding of truth is learned and it is learned through the individual's relevant experiences. So the question that is begged to be asked is....who is to say that one culture or one experience (or collection of experiences) is more relevant than another? In other words, how can one person be so damn sure they are more accurate in the expository of their truth than the other? If my experiences lead me down a difference path of discovery that ultimately shapes my truth into what it is, and your experiences give you a different view of the same truth, who is right?
So to this end I will give you a truth that you cannot debate. My experiences, thoughts, fears, hopes, and the reality of simply getting older, are actually shifting my views, beliefs and perceptions of truth. I only hope and pray that these shifts are bringing me closer to my discovery of an understandable truth, verses a more tainted one. Again, I may not be right in all my thoughts, however....I'm pretty sure that I am.
"On the one hand Death is the triumph of Satan, the punishment of the Fall, and the last enemy. Christ shed tears at the grave of Lazarus and sweated blood in Gethsemane: the Life of Lives that was in Him detested this penal obscenity not less than we do, but more. On the other hand, only he who loses his life will save it. We are baptized into the death of [Jesus] Christ, and it is the remedy for the Fall. Death is, in fact, what some modern people call "ambivalent." It is Satan's great weapon and also God's great weapon: it is holy and unholy; our supreme disgrace and our only hope; the thing Christ came to conquer and the means by which He conquered."
- C.S. Lewis, Miracles
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