Clive Staples : The Intellectual Writings

One of Lewis’ earliest turning points in his life was when his uncle gave him his first bible. Lewis recalls, “Growing up, what I really wanted to be was a preacher. An uncle gave me a bible for Christmas when I was four. (Lewis 26) Even before he received the bible, Lewis had strong religious views and the bible gave him that extra encouragement. Lewis said, “So I preached to my chickens about every night.” (Lewis 27) This showed Lewis’ dedication to his bible and even though the chickens couldn’t quite understand, it was a beginning for him. He stated, “I imagined they (chickens) were my congregation, and me—I was a preacher.” (Lewis 28) Even as a child, Lewis imagined him preaching to a larger crowd beyond the rural chicken farm of Alabama. The bible directed him toward his religious path, and eventually the teachings on nonviolence.

According to Lewis, human suffering in today's society is related to God's creation of nature with free will and human beings with free will. Lewis explains that when God created us free, He also created a free

John Lewis, even from a very young age wanted to become a preacher. “I’ll never forget my mother reading aloud to me the first words in that book…

One of Lewis’ earliest turning points in his life was when his uncle gave him his first bible. Lewis recalls, “Growing up, what I really wanted to be was a

At some point in time we have all wondered what it means to human, and what we are supposed to do with our lives. Throughout the centuries, there have been gradual changes in what it means to be human. Through Pico della Mirandola we will how man became the measure and took the place of God, through Charles Darwin we will see how nature and science began to take the place of man, and through the art of Friedrich we can visually see all of these changes.

While growing up, these major turning points reveal who John Lewis really is. Towards the beginning, one of the main points is receiving the Bible, and involving it in his life. In Pike County, Alabama, John grows up on his father’s farm. John states, “Growing up, what I really wanted to be was a preacher. An uncle gave me a Bible for Christmas when I was four,” (Lewis and Aydin 26). So at a very young age, John already had a hold a bible, but it was later in his years when he started to study it. Lewis states, “By the time I was five I could read it myself and one phrase struck me strongly,

Book 3 of Mere Christianity contains 12 separate chapters, which has far too great a scope to address properly here, so a glimpse will have to suffice. In the first, Lewis examines three components of morality; the relations between men, the interior moral mechanics of a man, and the relationship between a man and the God who made him. Lewis makes the case that, since we are destined to live forever in one state or another, it is desperately important that we pay attention to the sort of Being we are becoming. Lewis points out that most of humanity can agree that keeping relations between men running smoothly are important, but varying world views and religions-or lack of religion, have produced some disagreements on the necessity of keeping one’s own ship in order, as it were, and it completely breaks down when the relationship between a man and his Maker are addressed, as there is virtually no agreement there.

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey is a coming of age story that filled with suspense and mystery keeping us captivated till the end. Set in the 1960’s in an old mining town if Corrigan, where everyone knows one another. I certainly agree with weartholdcoat’s opinions on the novel, it’s a great thrilling read that keeps you completely hooked. Silvey uses various techniques like narrative and language conventions, theme and Australian context to achieve such a captivating finish.

     Perhaps this idea could be better applied when applying it to the observations that are common to most every man. Making the assumption that Lewis is referring to the “void” as the absence of all qualities defining man, it is simple to compare this idea to the world around us. To borrow a metaphor from the author himself, the reader should imagine a tree. Most would agree upon the most basic components of this object; a trunk, roots, limbs, and leaves. What would happen to the tree if the branches, thereby including the leaves, decided to exist and function separate from the trunk? As most know, this would lead to the destruction of the isolated branches. In essence, to separate this fundamental pair is to cause the destruction of one of its parts. This is the argument that Lewis is making about

Clive Staples Lewis was born on November 29, 1898, to his parents, Albert and Florentine Lewis. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Clive had one older brother, Warren, and became best friends as they grew older. Clive was four years old when he told everyone to call him Jackie. Following suit to his younger brother, Warren also changed his name, and chose Warnie. Jackie and his family moved to a house called Little Lea in the countryside. Jackie’s many activities included riding his bike, exploring Little Lea, and reading and writing stories. Jackie wrote his first book when he was seven years old, and titled it Boxen. His favorite books to read were about Viking legends, medieval knights, and myths. When Lewis was nine years old, Flora,

Both Leviathan and Utopia contain faults in logic that work to undermine the very possibility for these new social structures. In the following I will show how each of their views for a new society give insight into what their beliefs of human nature are, while showing some

David Livingstone Smith’s essay “Less Than Human” explores the topic of dehumanization and allows us to understand how it has changed the society in the past and continues to do so. The essay talks about how humans are able to belittle each other and hurt one another as it is a norm in this world now. To better understand his essay and his meaning behind it we must first analyze his purpose, audience, evidence, arrangement, implications and his word choice.

Lewis talked about how he came to write the books of Narnia, saying that they

S. Lewis’ controversial book, The Great Divorce, can be taken many different ways depending on the reader. When researching this book, people will find writers and others who hate the works of C. S. Lewis calling him a heretic. These attacks at Lewis, however harsh and bold, are easily disarmed with the preface of these books, stating this writing is not to be taken as fact. Numerus readers find the true goal of these writings as a story with morals rather than a book of doctrines. The unique way Lewis writes these stories emphasizes the important points he wants to get across. With all this in mind, if the reader knows the downfalls and the purpose of the book as asking questions the reader has to answer their self. Nevertheless, this book with the criticism and possible confusion is still worth reading, as it provides amazing insight and prompts the readers to think for

Blaise Pascal, a 17th century philosopher known for his work Pensées, or The Thoughts, serves as a voice of human limitation. Throughout his aphorisms, he clearly expresses the limitations of man as he refers to man’s “inconstancy, boredom, [and] anxiety” and claims that man should “know [his] nothingness” (Pascal 33, 28) Pascal holds a pessimistic view towards man’s position in the world and ultimately deems man to be “utter(ly) worthless” (Pascal vii). Pascal’s disappointment towards the limitations of mankind ultimately causes him to contradict the beliefs of Descartes who strives to find “just one thing, however slight, that is certain and unshaken” in order to distinguish true from false with absolute certainty by identifying a firm,