Well, today is the 50th anniversary of the death of C.S. Lewis, one of my favourite authors. To commemorate the man and his body of work, here is an essay I have written about him – part of a larger book I am writing on the role of emotional suffering in the lives of significantContinue reading “The Case Against the Gods: C.S. Lewis’ Grief and Complaint”
Tag Archives: faith
Apologetic
You’ve heard, of course, how Blaise Pascal played dice – An arbitrary way to find the truth, As though the logic, weighed up in a trice (A coin tossed in the air), could render proof Redundant. Can eternity be found In such impulsive propositions? We Feel that faith should demand much surer ground. All theContinue reading “Apologetic”
Faith and Sight
I. “Am I okay?” the question asks itself. The mind retreats within to make reply And eyes forever dart towards the shelf (The cupboard open, fruit left out to dry). Unsettled souls put back the oil of joy And rifle through supplies to find the seed. The memory bank’s a plastic, moulding joy, Responsive toContinue reading “Faith and Sight”
The Fig-Tree and the Worm
When complaint has its basis in the nature of the divine, appealing to justice and mercy and truth, waiting for signs which tarry now yet will come without delay, when complaining stands atContinue reading “The Fig-Tree and the Worm”
Empirical
Doubt erodes, and reason feeds on the brain that needs it, but eyes can trust what they see and lives the truth they know and hearts can feel the hope stretched out on the living tree and breath gives life to lungs that will open and receive it.
George MacDonald and the Regenerated Imagination
Well, our month of looking at George MacDonald is now finished, and to conclude it here is an essay I have written on MacDonald’s work. We have been focusing here through August on MacDonald’s poetry, but his work was far broader than that, so this essay considers not only his poetry but also his manyContinue reading “George MacDonald and the Regenerated Imagination”
Fragments of a Prayer (After George MacDonald’s “A Broken Prayer”)
I’ve been slipping behind a bit in my poetry project this month. There’s been a lot going on in my life! But it’s time to start catching up. So today I’m looking at one of George MacDonald’s most complex but also compelling poems, “A Broken Prayer”, a poem written in a hybrid of free andContinue reading “Fragments of a Prayer (After George MacDonald’s “A Broken Prayer”)”
The Fledgling (After George MacDonald’s “Diary of an Old Soul”)
One of the most powerful and touching works that George MacDonald wrote, although also one of his least known, is his sequence of poems entitled, a little awkwardly, “A Book of Strife in the Form of the Diary of an Old Soul”. The book includes a poem for each day of the year, each oneContinue reading “The Fledgling (After George MacDonald’s “Diary of an Old Soul”)”
The Crowd Is Unbelief
For up they looked and on they walked, straight to Horizons which the world, too blind to see, All mocked and doubted; yet the endless view Of cities yet to come, lives yet to be Still drove them on, amidst the scornful crowd. The leap of faith, the movement and the dance, The downwards stabContinue reading “The Crowd Is Unbelief”
Alive (After Christina Rossetti’s “Sleeping At Last”)
One of the last poems that Christina Rossetti wrote (possibly her last; her brother, William Michael, is unclear about this) was the touchingly simple “Sleeping At Last”. Taking the subject of death, which has fascinated many poets from Donne to Dickinson, Rossetti presents death as sleep, a peaceful rest ending pain and beyond which liesContinue reading “Alive (After Christina Rossetti’s “Sleeping At Last”)”
The Consolations of Writing 