Here are some of the best-known quotes from C.S. Lewis's book "The Problem of Pain", for each, I gave a personal view, in the hope that it will help you to add to the “little song of insight” we humans can share with each other:
·
"God whispers to us in our
pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His
megaphone to rouse a deaf world." a
o
It seems to me that, in my current synthesis of
insight I am capable of, that…
o
Humans and all of living nature are designed to
experience some kind of complex pain, but only when sanctification and an
increase or new stage of our consciousness and communion with God are intended.
§
“Modern humans” rebelled and substituted pain
with a loveless, purposeless, part of our hateful, death-worshipping struggle
for survival…
§
It is sad, scary and concerning to see even good
Christians succumbing to this spirit of the age and call God’s love… hate, and
find ways to create a self-worshipping version of love.
o
Pain and betterment/sanctification always seem
to go hand in hand.
o
Pain is always transitory/ephemeral/passing/short-lived…
Life Love and Communion with God are always the eternal intent.
·
"A man can no more diminish God's
glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by
scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.” b
o However,
someone in rebellious pain might try to do just this! I know from experience…
·
"We are not merely imperfect creatures
who must be improved: we are, as Newman said, rebels who must lay down our
arms." c
o I
– the deepest personal me – can only agree with this and be grateful for this
insight from “Uncle Jack”.
·
"Love is not affectionate feeling,
but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be
obtained." c
o Diminishing
love is certainly a destructive psychosis of our age.
o May
we open our hearts to God’s love before we are destroyed by our own hateful hands.
·
"Love may forgive all infirmities
and love still in spite of them: but Love cannot cease to will their
removal." c
o How
often do we “moderns” expect love without also expecting to remove our infirmities?
·
"To love at all is to be vulnerable.
Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken." d
o
This is the generally observed nature of
everything God created, for us to be aware of.
o
Through a process of increasing consciousness
and freely interacting and being allowed to know and be mistaken about things –
all remain vulnerable!
·
"Pain is unmasked, unmistakable evil;
every man knows that something is wrong when he is being hurt." a
o
The evil of pain is because we are wrong before
God’s ultimate mercies and a loving God, like a loving Father, will feel the
pain with his children in order to save them from that pain.
It will be dangerous to assess the complete work and
arguments C.S. Lewis made in the small book, based on these quotes… but I hope
these quotes inspire you to read the entire book!
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