A few years ago we all heard about Hillary Clinton's 'It Takes a Village' ad nauseam, but I do believe that in some respects it takes a community to fully appreciate the Triune God. Cultivating an on-line community where Christians could come together and discuss the points of Christianity they held in common as well as points of debate is what I hope to achieve here. I hope to be able to cultivate a community of debate, but with love. I hope that everyone who visits our little neck of the internet will go away with a greater love and knowledge of the Triune God. This is somewhat of an experiment. I am biblically conservative and have been intolerant of others' viewpoints in the past. I hope to grow in my ability to discuss difficult topics without being obnoxious. One of the driving forces behind the birth of this particular blog was a quote I read.
I recently read a great C.S. Lewis quote in Tim Keller’s book The Prodigal God . You will find the quote in the chapter entitled the “The Feast of the Father.” In this chapter Keller is making the point that salvation is experiential, material, individual, and communal. The quote is used in the section of the chapter dealing with the communal aspects of salvation and is worth the price of the book alone. The quote can be found in Lewis’ book The Four Loves in an essay entitled “Friendship.”
In the lead up to the quote Keller states, “You can’t live the Christian life without a band of Christian friends, without a family of believers in which you find a place.”
Keller further sets up the quote by describing the situation underlying the quote:
“C.S. Lewis was part of a famous circle of friends called the Inklings, which included J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, and also the author Charles Williams, who died unexpectedly.”
C.S. Lewis’ quote is a reflection on the results of the loss of his friend Charles Williams.
“In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets. Now that Charles is dead, I shall never again see Ronald’s [Tolkien’s] reaction to a specifically Charles joke. Far from having more of Ronald, having him “to myself” now that Charles is away, I have less of Ronald…In this, Friendship exhibits a glorious “nearness by resemblance” to heaven itself where the very multitude of the blessed (which no man can number) increases the fruition which each of us has of God. For every soul, seeing Him in her own way, doubtless communicates that unique vision to all the rest. That, says an old author, is why the Seraphim in Isaiah’s vision are crying “Holy, Holy, Holy” to one another (Isaiah 6:3). The more we thus share the Heavenly Bread between us, the more we shall have.”
Keller sums it up:
“Lewis is saying that it took a community to know an individual. How much more would this be true of Jesus Christ?”
It is my prayer that God will use this community to help each of us to grow in the areas that we need spiritual growth the most.
RC
RC I couldn't agree more. I'm reminded of Peter's dream, in which he is shown all the animals that, by Jewish law, he was forbidden to eat and yet God says to him, "What god has made clean you have no right to call profane." (Acts 11:9) We are to be the purveyors of Jesus' message, but as Peter points out, "Who are we to stand in God's way?" (verse 17)
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