Block Day, March 28 ~ Mere Christianity, Book 4

Image result for till we have facesGood luck today Thespians!

Finish discussing Mere Christianity.
 Discuss Final Project: Independent Reading
Over the break, make sure you pick up a copy of Till We Have Faces. If you want to work on the very last project, you could also begin the independent reading, but keep in mind that we will have three weeks at the end of school to complete that one.

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Independent Reading...now or later?

Key Details:
  • This essay will count as your final grade.
  • You will have the last three weeks of this semester to work on it (but you can start early if you like)
 How?
  • Choose an independent reading novel from the list below (or get another cleared with me), read and be prepared to discuss it weekly with your class mates, and finally write a one page summary followed by a well developed, 3-5 page essay (MLA format) exploring the meaning gained you’ve gained in this text by applying intertextuality. 
What is Intertextuality?
  • Intertextuality is one mode of literary criticism. It is a way of drawing meaning from a text by comparing it to other texts. Our interpretations are naturally shaped by our shared experiences and the literary allusions we pick up while noting how a text compares, influences or reflects another. As you read, use your knowledge our Lewis text data bank as a way to draw greater meaning from your independent novel.  
  • Here are a few videos to learn more about intertextuality:


Novel Suggestions:
*If it is not linked, that means I own a copy that you may borrow.

On Fantasy and Fiction
  • On Stories (Lewis)
  • The Great Divorce  (Lewis)
  • The Dark Tower and Other Stories (Lewis)
  • Of Other Worlds (Lewis)
  • Phantastes (George MacDonald)
  • Descent into Hell (Charles Williams)
  • Any work of Tolkien.
Influencing Literature and His Literary Critique
Knowing Lewis (Life and Letters)
On Theology
  • Letter to Malcolm (Lewis)
  • A Mind Awake (Essays by Lewis, edited by Clyde S. Kilby)
  • Preparing for Easter (Readings from Lewis)
  • Confessions (St. Augustine)
  • Miracles (Lewis)
  • Reflections on the Psalms (Lewis)
On Philosophy and Psychology
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Week of March 26 ~ Mere Christianity, Book IV

Journal 19
  • Forget the questions. As you read, highlight key quotes and be ready to discuss in class.

Mere Christianity Final Assessment
  • Due Monday upon return (April 9). Hard copy please.

This text is heavy and detailed. Lewis goes to great trouble describing the definitions and implications of various Christian beliefs, values, virtues and their implications. Based on your own reading and notes, decide on six main points or mini-chapters that you deem to be most important in relation to the way you believe one should live a meaningful life (three must be from Book III; three from Book IV).

Handle each thought with a two-fold approach.

  • a)     Explain what you understand to be the crux of Lewis’ thought and why you deem it significant as one of your six. Make sure you include two to three quotes from the book as you explain the text. (Your grade for this portion will be based on how thorough and spot on your understanding is.)
  • b)     Then write a meaningful reflection of your own belief on this topic. If it is application, explain how you personally pursue it. If your belief varies in some way, explain your own thought process and application. You may use any evidence you like to explain your own values. This may include quotes from other texts, logical explanations, personal stories, etc… (Your grade for this portion will be based on how thoroughly you explain your point of view. Make sure you give multiple lines of evidence to explain your reasoning.)



My Example: Key Concept: “Hope” from III.10

a)  Although it seems lofty, the presence of hope does affect so much of our behavior, politics, time management, and attitude in general. As a Christian and a practical person, thinking about heaven has not registered too much on my radar. I want to spend my time experiencing and enacting God’s goodness on earth, not hiding out waiting for heaven in a sheltered life. However, Lewis corrects this polarized perspective with a rich balance. He mentions that realistically, because we are crafted for a divine kingdom, we will long for pure, beautiful, all-consuming divine experiences AND will most likely be let down. He mentions that our most common responses could lean in one of three ways: (1) The fools' way...in which we are constantly seeking pleasure, never being satisfied. We will find ourselves on an endless hunt for the next high, the next partner, the next accomplishment. (2) The Way of the Disillusioned...in which we become so cynical that we simply don't get burned anymore due to our lack of expectation. We will buffer our hurts by isolating ourselves until we are only surprised by good, but it doesn't leave us with much reason to fight for beauty. If that expectation is so unrealistic, why would we fight for it? (3) The Christian Way...in which we solidly lay our trust that the desires of our hearts are hints of the fulfillment which is not only possible but destined by design. Lewis captures what I would call nothing short of magic in that we keep having these experiences that hint at our desires fulfilled, for example the idea that heaven is symbolically references as musical because music is a part of life that make us feel the "ecstasy and infinity" which our hearts are programed to desire (121). 

b) I dig the way Lewis demystifies the symbols of heaven that seem so silly until they are simple representations of what we all want (life that feels sublime, eternal, powerful, precious and full of joy). This chapter leaves a sweet permission to be a hopeless optimist, knowing that it isn't just a pipe dream to enact the kingdom of God, a place where love is enduring and tangible. Though I may get burned, I can rest my hope in enacting heaven, knowing that the Spirit is a co-laborer and that my investments in other people are eternal. I can also enjoy those sublime or transcending experiences not as counterfeits, but as hints of something greater, knowing that those are the places where God's presence is more evident and that they will come again. The hope of heaven is not a displacement of focus away from reality, but rather key that unlocks a fuller life right now in this moment. Perhaps the hope of heaven is the progression toward it.





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