Review: The Pilgrim’s Regress

April 23, 2014April 23, 2014 / rtrube54 / 1 Comment

The Pilgrim’s Regress by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Most don’t consider this one of Lewis’s best, and truthfully, neither did I. But even “inferior” Lewis is better than much that is out there.

The book is a pilgrimage narrative that reflects Lewis’s journey from early religious instruction (humorously portrayed by the Steward who presents the law both seriously behind a mask, and with a wink and a nod). John, the pilgrim in this story subsequently sights a beautiful island, and eventually strikes out in quest of the island moving successively through instances of sensuality portrayed in the southern lands, and arid science and philosophy in the northern lands. He is joined be Virtue, refusing the help of Mother Kirk until they stay in the Valley of Wisdom. What happens then and their further adventures, I will leave to the reader.

The value of the book is the chronicle of the inadequacies of the different places John (and Lewis) explored before coming to faith. Some of the figures he encounters offer pointed commentary on the thin fare of the day (Mr. Sensible and Mr. Halfways in particular). Some of the references are more obscure and assume you are as familiar with theological, literary and philosophical currents of the day as was Lewis. He later admitted in a preface to the third edition of the book that some of this was needless obscure.

The ending after his decisive encounter with Mother Kirk seemed unsatisfying. This book was written shortly after Lewis came to faith and may reflect his own lack of experience in post-conversion pilgrimage. His later works are certainly richer in this regard.

I would not recommend this as the first book of Lewis’s to read. But for those who love Lewis, you will appreciate the light this sheds on his spiritual journey that will sound familiar if you are acquainted with Surprised By Joy. You will also appreciate the survey of the other prevailing thought currents Lewis engaged in his day, and the nascent forms of many ideas that come to fuller expression in later works.

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Passages

April 17, 2014 / rtrube54 / Leave a comment

We just returned from a family vacation in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, staying in a cabin at a conference center owned by the organization for which I work. The trip itself was kind of a passage, back into winter, or the very beginnings of spring. The bay on which the cabin is located is still completely frozen and snow still covered many areas although we were told that two feet of snow had thawed in the four days before our arrival. If you think we’ve had it bad this winter, folks in the U.P. have most of us beat! And after several warm days, we had one more blast of winter, shared by much of the Midwest as 2-3 inches of new snow fell. Temperatures were at 16 degrees the morning we left!

This trip was a kind of journey into the past in some ways that reminded us of the passage of time, and the many rich memories that have filled those years. This began when we paged through the guestbook in the cabin, which we have stayed in as a family four other times. One of our entries was from June of 1985, and we remarked on this being our son’s first visit to this conference center at a month and a half old. Now, it is nearly twenty nine years later, and it was fun for his wife for whom this was a first visit, to read this entry and to realize some of the family history wrapped up in this place.

As we showed our daughter-in-law around, memories unbidden returned of programs I had led or participated in, in just about every room. Seeing a recently built lounge area named after the founder of our organization in the US, I was reminded of hearing him speak at this site in 1977 during my Orientation of New Staff. Walking into another room in the same building I remembered a crazy and delightful time of suddenly assuming the direction of a program I was attending for the first time when the director was ill. It was a scramble and yet God met us in wonderful ways as we improvised and stayed maybe a half-step ahead of the students.

I looked out on the frozen bay from some of the same spots where I sat enjoying the summer sun and spending personal times in prayer, reflection, and reading at a student leadership training program I was attending in July and August of 1974, my first visit to this site. I remembered a TV being brought into the meeting house so we could watch the resignation of President Nixon at the end of Watergate. And I thought, could nearly 40 years have passed so quickly?

Indeed they have, and yet as I thought of all this, my mood was not so much wistful as thankful. I mention in the “About ” page to this blog of how I live at the intersection of the love of learning and the love of God. So much of my passion for these was cultivated in this place. So much of life over the past 40 years has involved sharing with successive generations of students and faculty at a number of universities as well as at programs at this site how these two things walk hand in hand and how loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39) is not only the greatest of the commands but central to a life well-lived.

How well-lived my own life has been is ultimately a matter for God to judge. But as I look at things so far, I have to say that my own sense is one of having no regrets and great thankfulness. We’ve shared as a family in so many of these ventures. It was rich to share our memories together, as well as make new ones, like evenings in the cabin playing hearts or Scrabble and laughing at the turns of the game, usually against me–I didn’t win even once!

As we departed, both we, and our son and daughter-in-law left new entries in the guestbook. While none of us knows what the future holds, perhaps it will be that at some future date, we and/or they will mark yet further passages of time and hopefully have new and rich memories to share.

Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12, NIV)

Review: The New Pilgrim’s Progress

February 26, 2014February 26, 2014 / rtrube54 / 1 Comment

The New Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

John Bunyan acknowledged in his own day that his friends were mixed on whether he should publish this book. I encountered similar mixed feelings about this work when I mentioned that our reading group was reading this. Even though The Guardian rated this Number One on its list of 100 best novels in the English language, this admiration is not shared by all. For some, it is simply that they don’t like the writing style (Bunyan was not highly educated), the use of allegory, or the Puritan theology.

Bunyan uses the device of a “dream vision” (I’m told he may be the first to have done this) to narrate Christian’s journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Troubled by his sin, he meets Evangelist who directs him to the Wicket Gate. After adventures in the Slough of Despond and a near fatal distraction by Worldly Wise Man, he makes it to the Wicket Gate through which he is admitted to the straight and narrow King’s Highway. The remainder of the book describes his journey, distractions, trials, rescues, and comforts he experiences along the way, and his final experience of crossing the river to the Celestial City with his companion Hopeful. He also encounters various fellow “pilgrims” along the way who in one way or another turn back, or turn aside to destruction with names like Pliable, Ignorance, and Atheist. Perhaps most terrifying is his battle with Apollyon, a demonic figure who he finally vanquishes with his sword. This edition did not include Part Two, which narrates the same journey by Christian’s wife, sons, and maid Mercy.

What I found most valuable in this reading was the insight into the ways we may be tempted or even self-deceived on our journey. There is also the tremendous encouragement of the divine interventions to rescue Christian when he realizes he has strayed. And we see portrayed the dynamics of spiritual life and spiritual warfare, things that make ever more sense the longer one has been on this journey.

We talked in our group about who would benefit from this book the most. Our sense was that it may actually be of the most benefit for those who have been on the journey for some time and recognize the temptations and spiritual wisdom Bunyan shares. Bunyan also assumes a greater knowledge of the Bible than many have in this biblically illiterate age. This edition includes helpful notes that fill in those gaps. We also recognized that in some cases younger readers may benefit, particularly if the book can be read and discussed in a family setting. Much may not make sense at the time, but may subsequently in life.

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