C.S. Lewis shows two ways of looking at something or a particular situation: either along it, which means experiencing it, or at it, from an outside, objective point of view. His main point is to use both views without starting with a prejudice that one view is better than the other because it differs according to the situation. Sometimes they may both be right or both be wrong. He uses a beam of light shining into a toolshed to illustrate the two views.
I found the essay to be fairly straightforward but found many more layers of thinking as we discussed in class. An application of the two views that I did not think about specifically until class discussion was our relationship with God. When we are communing with God and worshiping Him, we are going along the beam. When we learn more about theology and examine why we are Christ-followers, we are looking at the beam. Both are necessary to develop a closer walk with God, and we need to balance them.
It seemed to me that the best way to look at any situation was to use both views, as C.S. Lewis says, sometimes one is better than the other. We cannot use both views in all situations. In class, an instance we cannot use the method of looking along the beam is when it concerns sinful experiences because that is against what God commands us. We cannot go sin just so we can look along the beam.
One of the biggest conclusions for me from discussion was the fact that we can see only because there is a sun, which is above what we experience. God is like the beam of light, or the view of the green leaves of a tree and the sun; He is above all things and beyond what we can comprehend. We are ignorant, as Dr. Ribeiro says. All we can do is learn together. Faith is necessary as we delve deeper into life and face problems. Another conclusion that struck me from discussion was the realization that we should have our own "Ark of the Covenant": reminders of times God has been faithful. There will be times when we do not see things clearly and truthfully, and they can remind us that God is still there.
Hebr. 11:1
1 Cor. 13:12
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I like your endpoint here a lot, and Lewis touches on it toward the end of his essay. We can think that we are only looking at a situation, but in reality, we are just looking among a different one. We can never really leave and see the whole picture as only God can. This definitely shows that we have to rely on each other to get an overall view of something. Faith and Christianity is a community action, and we must study the world together to get the most complete viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteErica, I loved reading what you had to say. I especially enjoyed your last paragraph. How humbling is it that we serve an amazing God? When you talked about balancing both, it reminded me about the story of the Good Samaritan. He felt compassion for the dying man and looked "along" with the man but yet also he looked at him and analyzed his problem. He needed to use both for God to use him though there are times when for sure both can not be used.
ReplyDeleteI think your thoughts on our class discussions did a great job of summarizing some of the most important aspects of our talk today. As you pointed out, we need to look both at and along in order to help our understanding and relationship with God. I think that realization is crucial to the continuing development of each Christian's faith. I also enjoyed your idea of our "learning together." I think that's what this class is all about. Through the writings of C.S. Lewis, I think each member of the class can come away with a better understanding and richer experience of God by way of discussions and blogging in our own little community.
ReplyDeleteErica, I really enjoyed reading your thoughtful and well-written post. Your concluding paragraph highlighted some interesting points from class. It's very humbling to hear you say, "He is above all things and beyond what we can comprehend. We are ignorant, as Dr. Ribiero says." It's a good reminder to hear those words!And you're right, all we can do it work together to learn more. And as Cathy says above, that is just what we're doing!
ReplyDeleteKarlene
Great post, Erica! I really enjoy what your concluding paragraph says about God being the beam of light. We need to look at and along to understand him and have a healthy relationship with him! I also enjoyed how you stated that its important to sometimes discern wether its okay to always use both perspectives of looking at and along or not. I know I find myself doing the wrong thing when I knew I shouldn't have. It isn't always good to use both.
ReplyDeleteErica, I really like how your last paragraph touched on our inability to see without the light of the sun. Without the illumination of the Holy Spirit, it is impossible for us to look either along or at the light; if the Light is not present, then we cannot examine it. In spite of our failures, the Light remains constant--visible for us to examine in a myriad of ways.
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts on "looking at" God being the theological aspect of our faith were really clear. It clarified the class discussion for me. This empasizes the importance of having both forms of observation in our lives. Without looking along the beam our faith does not seem real to us, but if we do not look at the beam we may have a twisted view of God.
ReplyDeleteAfter I finish reading your post, I like your conclusion a lot. I haven't thought of Christ being like the beam of light; which I think it is a very good metathor.
ReplyDeleteI also agree your point about we cannot "look along" as to look at sinful experiences. However, this also brought us a conclusion: we should not criticize those people who did sinful experiences; instead we should try to understand why they did it.