The Theory of Natural Law

It was a wonderful group that came together at Trinity this past Sunday to study once again CS Lewis and his book Mere Christianity. I had many people ask me for the video links and I am only able to offer two. The first is the quotes link that I began the talk with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvJfk5mIi08 and the second is the single surviving talk of the BBC CS Lewis radio series found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHxs3gdtV8A  I am sorry to say that the discussion from session II is not available online.

I wanted to talk tonight about the theory of Natural Law that Lewis proposed as a central theme in the first five chapters of Mere Christianity. As a layperson with a specialty in science, I am not as well versed as I should be in matters of philosophy and theology; however, Reverend Jim Hammond spoke to me on Sunday about the reality of this theory, and I therefore became curious as to its origins. For those of you that missed the Sunday session, Natural Law is the idea that man, independent of culture or learned behavior, has a sense universally of right and wrong. Lewis maintains that the universe has a creator that allows all humans to sense the Natural Law (a moral authority), but that unlike other laws of nature, the humans also have an ability to go against or reject Natural Law.

I think that maybe all of this makes sense to those of us who are products of western culture. But I was thinking about this yesterday and today in terms of an eastern viewpoint. Is that sense of right and wrong the same, or is it different based on human cultural experience? Certainly, there are many times when I look at the human condition, and I myself wonder.

My only personal encounter with this question was a trip to China that I was privileged to take several years ago. I was a guest of educators in the Shandong Province and specifically spent time in Qufu, the home of Confucius. I think what really struck me about this life changing trip was the fact that I laughed and enjoyed the Chinese from Beijing to Qufu as much as any other cultural people that I have ever encountered in all of my travels around the world. Secondly, the beauty of China is simply unbelievable, the art simply breathtaking, and the sense of culture unsurpassed. Finally. I was completely enamored with Confucius; the school that he built, his home and his family, and the incredibly gorgeous woods that housed his family burial grounds. I could not get over that as a 'westerner' my knowledge of him was limited to an American Chinese fortune cookie mentality. I was humbled by his life work, and I was so honored to have visited his home and the campus of his school. I was honored to visit modern day Qufu, and to visit the schools and children and teachers that reside in that area of our world. They were so gracious and kind. Their good nature was spontaneous and self-evident. To me personally, forever, Natural Law is alive and well in Shandong.

I guess I want to end this blog tonight with uncertainty. The Westerner in me believes in fairy tales, and yet I understand that human culture in both the west and the east is riddled with anything but the Natural Law. I hear and read of not only historical accounts of human atrocities, but of current event accounts of unbelievable cruelties (sometimes in the name of God). Perhaps this is why I go to church and pray.  I have no answers...except for God.

"Surprised by Joy"

My niece Joy is visiting me this week as she embarks on a well earned fall break from Lenore Rhyne where she is studying to become a minister of youth in the Lutheran faith. Joy's visit caused me this morning to think about the term "joy." It was used often by CS Lewis, and was even the title of his partial autobiography, not to mention the name of his wife. He talks about experiencing joy for the first time when his uncle brought to him a 'nature' box full of magical things from the woods when he was but a boy in the nursery.

I think we all know what joy is, but my thoughts this morning turn to the ability of God to bring us to joy as a state of being. I am a lover of music, and having been raised in a home that listened daily to the great composers  of the classical tradition, I have acquired a huge affection over the years for Ludwig van Beethoven. As a matter of fact, one of my favorite pieces of music is Beethoven's ninth symphony. When I am driving late at night I will play this symphony completely and it always causes me to experience joy and hope. Here is one of the best recordings for those who want to listen :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRZaX6-dsn8

I also looked up the Schiller poem that Beethoven used as a theme for his masterpiece:
ODE TO JOY (Friedrich Schiller)  
   
                       BARITONE, QUARTET, AND CHORUS  
Freude, Scho"ner Go"tterfunken,   Joy, fair spark of the gods,
Tochter aus Elysium,             Daughter of Elysium,
Wir betreten feuer-trunken,         Drunk with fiery rapture, Goddess,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!         We approach thy shrine!
   
Deine Zauber binden wieder,         Thy magic reunites those
Was die Mode streng geteilt;         Whom stern custom has parted;
Alle Menschen werden Bru"der,   All men will become brothers
Wo dein sanfter Flu"gel weilt.   Under thy gentle wing.
   
Wem der grosse Wurf gelungen,   May he who has had the fortune
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein,   To gain a true friend
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,   And he who has won a noble wife
Mische seinen Jubel ein!                 Join in our jubilation!
   
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele         Yes, even if he calls but one soul
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!   His own in all the world.
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle   But he who has failed in this
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!   Must steal away alone and in tears.
   
Freude trinken alle Wesen       All the world's creatures
An den Bru"sten der Natur;       Draw joy from nature's breast;
Alle Guten, alle Bo"sen         Both the good and the evil
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.         Follow her rose-strewn path.
   
Ku"sse gab sie uns und Reben,   She gave us kisses and wine
Einen Freund, gepru"ft im Tod;   And a friend loyal unto death;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,   She gave lust for life to the lowliest,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.   And the Cherub stands before God.
   
                          TENOR SOLO AND CHORUS  
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen   Joyously, as his suns speed
Durch des Himmels Pra"cht'gen   Plan, Through Heaven's glorious order,
Laufet, Bru"der, eure Bahn,     Hasten, Brothers, on your way,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen. Exulting as a knight in victory.

                                CHORUS  
Freude, scho"ner Go"tterfunken,   Joy, fair spark of the gods,
          ...                              ...
   
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!     Be embraced, Millions!
Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!     Take this kiss for all the world!
Bru"der u"ber'm Sternenzelt     Brothers, surely a loving Father
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.   Dwells above the canopy of stars.
   
Ihr stu"rzt nieder, Millionen?   Do you sink before him, Millions?
Ahnest du den Scho"pfer, Welt?   World, do you sense your Creator?
Such'ihn u"ber'm Sternenzelt!   Seek him then beyond the stars!
U"ber Sternen muss er wohnen.     He must dwell beyond the stars.

Galations 5:22 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,(and) faithfulness. May we all be surprised by such joy today!

The Apologist's Evening Prayer

I am disciplined this week and committed to the study of C.S. Lewis and his apologetics works each evening and morning as I go about the daily business of life. Tonight I finished a podcast that I came upon two weeks ago. I have been listening to it in parts (it is over an hour long) and I highly recommend your listening to it, albeit perhaps in parts. It is a panel discussion by scholars who are experts on Lewis's writings and works, and it is from his dedication at the Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey in London who have gathered to discuss his life's works and influences. The website is  https://audioboom.com/boos/1770252-c-s-lewis-symposium-panel-discussion-what-can-21st-century-apologetics-learn-from-cs-lewis  .

Now for those of you that do not know me, I adore Westminster Abbey; end of blog!!!!! I love to go there and pray, and to listen to Evensong, and to attend lectures whenever I have been in London. Sometimes I just go there and literally sit. It is one of my favourite things in the world because it is one of those places that I feel close to God.
Lewis was all about disciplining his life to focus on God and the absolute Truth, and he made that he allowed for time not only to write and to study about Christ, but to also soak in the beauty of church, art, literature and nature as a means to come closer to the Truth. It struck me as I listened to this podcast end tonight that CS Lewis might not have appreciated the lack of humility in his dedication service, but he would have been overwhelmed that his name would be carved in the beauty of the Abbey next to the great poets and philosophers of his world.
"Jack" always dreamed of being a poet, and at the end of his dedication into "the" Poet's Corner this poem was read:

High School Students and the Sense of Right and Wrong

I got one of those emails today. For those of you that are unaware of emails in today's world of high school educational settings; teachers receive these blazing letters of complaint and reprimand from parents about a variety of topics involving their student(s). It really is annoying for the most part, and over the years has caused me to have an intense dislike (is there a button for that?) of emails in general as mode of communication. This year however, the gripes have been sparse, and to be truthful, I was glad to finally have a parent complaint that I could dissect and respond to as an annual ritual of teacher hood!

The funny thing is that after preparing and teaching the Mere Christianity discussion last Sunday, I suddenly became aware of the quarrel that the parent was having. Oddly enough, it struck me that the sense of right and wrong was not occurring between myself and the parent, or even between myself and the student. That sense of right and wrong was self evident in the correspondence as a quarrel or conflict between the parent and child. So here is what struck me today as I conferred with the child and responded to the parent. The young adult knew the moral authority, and they knew that sense of fairness, and I knew this immediately with one joking smile that I gave them about the nature of the conflict with their parent. It was just a look they gave me, and a sheepish grin. And then I felt sorry for the parent at that moment and forgave them for lashing out at what they perceived to be injustice for the child. This moment of realization caused me to have compassion for the parent, and to seek to solve their conflicting emotions with definite resolution for the side of the right and good and fair things involving the child.

"It is only our bad temper that we put down to being tired or worried or hungry; we put our good temper down to ourselves." says CS Lewis. But in this instance I put my good temper to a conscious study of Christian principals and an awareness that acknowledging the right and wrong in our workplace and our home causes us to discern between the two and make a choice. Will we side on the Right or cave in to the Wrong side of our nature? It is my belief today that the discipline of studying and praying about such matters yields a feeling of satisfaction at the end of a long day. Perhaps this is "mere" Christianity?

Introduction to CS Lewis and Mere Christianity: A Discussion about Right and Wrong Ch's 1-5

This Sunday I had the opportunity to present the forum hour session, introducing the biography of "Jack" Lewis and his BBC radio talk series that he eventually published as Mere Christianity. It was a wonderful crowd in the fellowship hall of Trinity Episcopal of Upperville, VA as we all gathered to talk and learn  about the apologetics writings of one of the most familiar and beloved Anglicans, C.S. Lewis. I am so glad for all that attended, and for those that had to leave early, or missed our session I encourage you to view the following video clips. The first is an accounting of CS Lewis by his stepson Douglas Gresham, focusing on the layman that he was found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVw2_QKtgpE 
The second video short is the content from our first session, introducing Lewis and his radio talk series, as well as his ideals from his first two chapters of Mere Christianity found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcQ70cPYcB8. If you missed the sessions I encourage you to follow these links and listen to the body of our content. I also encourage you to read the first five chapters of Mere Christianity and answer the following questions either as a comment on this blog or to yourselves.

*In the video Alister McGrath states the Lewis rationale that right is not something that humans invent or arbitrate---it is already there. Can you think of more examples which illustrate the differences between moral absolutes and social conventions? Why do you think that some Christians are reluctant to use their minds when it comes to faith?

*Briefly describe someone who believes right and wrong are personal preferences. How do they compare in their lives to someone who, like Lewis, claims that there is a real standard for right and wrong. Is this contradictory? How do we as a church and Christians address this difference? Is there a contradiction?

*What does Lewis mean when he says that the hallway is not a place Christians should live? When do Christians live in the hallway? What is different about entering the room? 

*What do you think is behind our sense of right and wrong? Have you ever felt God’s hand in this regard?