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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “Beautiful and thoughtful. Worth reading over and over.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Not conceived as apologetic in scope, this book nonetheless solves many difficulties about the proper way to understand scripture and divine revelation, through addressing many of the problems one comes across in reading one particular of its books, the Psalms. Lewis studies how Jewish conceptions of things like death and judgment differed from the Christian views, and how they nonetheless dovetailed into them. It explores the valuable lessons to be taken from the viscous cursings; the good and healthy aspects of Judaism that were shared with Pagan religions; the way in which monotheistic theology can lead to the best, most accurate, and most pleasurable views of nature and the created world, and, most importantly and most interestingly, the way in which God reveals Himself through Scripture. It is not, Lewis contends, how the Fundamentalists often claim, through direct and exact divine inspiration, but rather by taking up a merely human literature and pressuring it here and there so that the whole is something that cannot be studied but must be entered into: as a man enters into a relationship and not as he enters into a classroom to study. This, Lewis says, is consistent with the way in which God always does things. The mechanical is taken up into the chemical without ceasing to be mechanical, the chemical is taken up into the biological without ceasing to be chemical, and the biological taken up into humanity, ending finally (but not exhausted by -- there are many other instances of this principle) with the Incarnation not as God entering humanity, but as God taking up humanity into Himself. Lewis' philosophical training here, as usual, takes him into fine distinctions which can help those who are questioning and troubling about some subject. This book was a lot more insightful and pleasurable than I expected for a slim book of "reflections". I would recommend it, as I would almost all of Lewis' works, to the believer and nonbeliever alike. ”
Michael wrote this review 5 hours ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
1 of 1 members found this review helpful“How have the mighty fallen...I love C.S. Lewis, but in this book he rather makes a fool of himself, falling prey to the popular thought of the day--Higher Criticism. He goes so far as to undermine the inspiration of scripture. Oh, he doesn't say it isn't God's word, but it is firstly a human collection of works that contains error but also is somehow transmuted by God into something that can be used as His word. I'm sure the beloved saintly author knows better by now. There are some genuine sparks of insight and some extremely convicting passages, but if you read this, you must do so with a mind toward forgiving the fly in the ointment. ”
graymuse wrote this review Wednesday, August 27 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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