Another part of a video series from Wordonfire.org. Bishop Barron will be commenting on subjects from modern day culture. For more visit www.wordonfire.org
@@animationfan957 shut up your mouth if you don't have something smart to say you idiot He was catholic long time but changed his religion that's reason why his friendship with tolkien became colder
@@marcusappelberg369 that’s ok neither was Lewis his friend Tolkien however was catholic and he’s responsible for Lewis returning to his childhood faith ( church of Ireland ) - this is part of what’s known as the Anglican communion and takes in Church of Scotland and of wales and England and also the Episcopalian church in the USA
I have been intrigued by C.S. Lewis for years and I finally read Mere Christianity about 9 months ago. Just yesterday I bought 2 more copies for family members...he has indeed changed my life. His writings have stayed with me. I've been reading pieces of the book to my children. They are under 10 years and love it! They call it the "mind-blowing book". Excellent commentary as always Bishop.
You might like a podcast I'm doing with my friend Matt called "The Eagle and Child" where each episode we're discussing a chapter of "Mere Christianity". You should be able to find it on iTunes, Google Play and Podbean.
I am a catholic and eventhough i was not practicing my religion faith for a long time, i have returned home. I am so happy. I have forgotten how much i enjoy the love and company of Jesus and Virgin Mary and Padre Pio who i feel was my guide back to my faith. I don't feel alone.. i only have a high school education and vocational school. But i very much enjoy listening to you father and wish my oldest son would listen to you. You see, he is a non believer. A good son and kind person who knows it all.. 🙂 He asked me once why do i believe in God and i told i just do. Many things has happened in my life and i always felt he was there with me eventhough i was not true to him and practicing my faith. I grew up in a nun's school so i told him that i always felt his love and protection. I told my son to believe is to see... he got upset with me because i didnt make sense. I guess he wants fisical proof and my God is more than that. I just told him i refuse to argue with him. I told him i will keep praying for him and that i knew one day he will find himself on his praying to God. I enjoy very much listening to you. God Bless. Pls pray for my family so we all can find our way to serve our Lord.
Father Barron, I love the line "evangelization of the imagination." And your description of how Lewis' and Tolkien's stories worked out in a pub in Oxford have become the world's most popular movies of our time send an electric thrill through my heart. Praise the Lord! God bless you and your work, Father.
Well yes they did critique each other’s work during inkling meetings . And Tolkien is actually responsible for Lewis’s return to Christ and the Christian imagery and references in both their works are evidence of their faith .
kennedy had no impact on my life , c.s. lewis changed it, he is one of my mentors, i would not be a follower of christ without his help, thank you lord for making c.s , i look forward to meeting him one day.
Britt McLean CS Lewis had an impact but Kennedy did too to downplay JFK impact is disrespectful. Anything bad about the Kennedy brothers usually written by their enemies . The Kennedys for all their faults were strong Catholics
As a Christian who was in part pulled into the faith by cross-referencing my love for the Lord of the Rings narrative with the Biblical story, Father Barron's mention of 'surreptitious evangelisation' here is so beautiful. Praise the Lord for the ways he works in the world!
Actually I think Lewis's greatest work is _A Grief Observed,_ his meditation on the premature death of his wife. When I was bereaved it was more consoling than any other written work in existence, including the Gospels.
I like the "rats in the cellar" analogy in C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity's Let's Pretend chapter. "...surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly..."
Very good point. Rats in the cellar. What an insightful analogy by CS Lewis. I just discovered Mere Christianity recently and this is one of the more powerful analogies to me. Thanks.
That’s not my name - Lewis was as well he was church of Ireland the main Protestant faith in Ireland this is part of the Anglican communion along with Church of England , Church of Scotland and church of wales .
@@michelleflood7225 The Church of Scotland is not Anglican. It is Presbyterian in government and (now rather diluted) Calvinist in theology. Anglicanism in Scotland is represented by the Episcopal Church of Scotland, a separate denomination.
I'm nearly 7 years late in viewing this video, but it has helped me to understand something I've been dealing with. Sort of the very definition of "better late than never."
The story of Yeshua is indeed the greatest of stories. Many apologists such as C.S. Lewis changed my viewpoint through their writings several times. Thank you for this video. I have subscribed to see what else you have to say.
Wonderful! I'm reading Thos. Martin's "Reading the Classics with C.S. Lewis" and am awestruck by Lewis' breadth of expertise - he had most of Dante memorised, and was the authority in Mediaeval and Renaissance literature. He read (and re-read over and over), almost everything from the Ancients to the Victorians. It's hard to comprehend his level of genius. It's Kennedy 24/7 in the media today, and nary a word about Lewis, who will have a far greater eternal impact for the good.
Jonathan Quist History yes, but literature, not even close. Dawson has come under thoughtful criticism re.some of his interpretive narrative and sweeping generalizations. It's his style; he's certainly one of my favourite historians.
President Kennedy is probably more significant re world political history, but CS Lewis is a major character in popular culture, although not so much as Tolkien. The Tolkien movies have had a huge impact, the Narnia movies not so much. The movie _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_ was good, but the next 2 films were badly made
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien inspired me to study English literature in my youth. I earned my Master's Degree from Middlebury College, with summer studies at Lincoln College, Oxford. I even met Tolkien's biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, when I was there. I think Oxford is my favorite place on earth.
Excellent commentary Fr. Barron. I remember reading the book Between Heaven and Hell by Peter Kreeft where Lewis had a debate with President Kennedy and Aldous Huxley, who also died on the same day, in purgatory. Really helped me renew my faith.
Nice! And if I could encourage... If you haven't read anymore Peter Kreeft books since then, please consider it. He's renewed my faith time and time again with his work. He, like Fr. Barron, has been a huge blessing for both my intellectual and spiritual life.
tolkien and cs lewis were both profoundly influenced by and admired a writer named george macdonald , if you are unfamiliar with him i encourage you to track him down and read some of his books
@@jammerbammer1 Lewis wrote a work that extracted three hundred and fifty of MacDonald's writings, named "George MacDonald: An Anthology 365 Readings". It is available in paperback at Amazon. I've read some of MacDonald's fantisies, and I strongly recommend starting with Lewis' anthology. The preface is superb.
Father Barron is often delightful to hear from - the importance, as he says, of the narrative above the argument is probably something he himself as well as Lewis understands very well.
C.S Lewis’s mere christianity is the ultimate book for a new christian, it certainly helped me and enlightened me so much! God bless you bishop barron ❤️
I dearly love C. S. Lewis so much. And I wish I was the scholar to fully appreciate him. But I am so terribly grateful for his life and work. And thank you so much for this commentary.
Me too. BB is now one of my favorites. God bless him with a long and fruitful ministry. I would love to take a road trip and meet him. He has blessed my sister and her husband as well.
I'm always surprised when The Great Divorce is not mentioned. That book was a gateway for me into Dante, Blake, Milton, and all manner of theological ideas both medieval and modern.
I have come to love C S Lewis too. He has a way of instructing his readers that appeals to so many people. I reread his work on a regular basis and suggest it to my friends.
I was struck in my youth by a passage he wrote of acceptance of good people of any faith, and when facing God in death and how people, regardless of their religion, could be accepted by God. It made a huge impression on me that a Catholic was accepting of others. I was raised in many cultures and a Catholic, and that passage always felt right to me
I just finished teaching my 8th graders about Lewis' "Lord, Liar, or Lunatic" (trilemma) argument and then found this video in my e-mail inbox. How awesome! Thanks for such wonderful commentary and for evangelizing all of us with The Story as well, Fr. Barron!
Bishop Barron videos have such awesome art interspersed throughout. Many I would love to have hanging in my home. Does anyone know the name of the painting at 3 minutes into this video?
Father. I apologise to send you this extra comment, however it is worth mentioning I am now studying theology as an A-Level. I am learning about 'New Testament Criticism' (which includes things like the 'Synoptic Problem') and 'Religion and the Media' (focusing on how religion uses fiction and art). While I personally choose to research the philosophy of religion in my own time, so forgive me if I lack some knowledge regarding the philosophy of religion. As you may know, I have read all of the 'New Atheist' (Dawkins et Al). This summer I plan to read 'A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years' by Diarmaid MacDulloch to broaden my knowledge regarding the history of Christianity. This book was reviewed positively by Rowan Williams (Ex Arch-Bishop of Canterbury)
I live in Oxford England and the Eagle and child pub where the inklings met is still there unchanged. In fact they do good Pub grub!! ( good food) love CS Lewis generations of children have read the Narnia books. 🇬🇧🙋🙏♥️
I don't agree with all of your views, Father, but I do like some of them and more important, I'm learning more things about God and that's ALWAYS something good. I saw your video on "The Tree Of Life" and was glad to see that you and I thought similarly about what it was about. Did you cry at the end, during the scene on the beach where Sean Penn's character finds forgiveness? I thought I would die from crying so much! Anyway, bless you and I will listen to more of your videos. Thank you.
Aldous Huxley also died on the same day as the two 'Jacks'. Peter Kreeft has an excellent book of them engaging in philosophical dispute in a, sort-of, purgatorial next world!
Mere Christianity and Pilgrim's Regress were instrumental in a personal conversion to Christianity. Mired in a secular agnosticism/scepticism, I found the reasoning in Mere Christianity persuasive - perhaps Christianity was not as irrational or "illogical" as I had imagined. Pilgrim's Regress was a bit more difficult read, but it gave me a 'fly on the wall' look at a first hand account of, as Father describes, his difficult, halting personal conversion, and, I suppose, let me know, that that was all right.
I'd love to get your feedback on my podcast "The Eagle and Child" where we're going through "Mere Christianity" chapter by chapter. It's available on iTunes, Google Play and Podbean.
J.R.R Tolkien, a Catholic colleague of Lewis, took issue with a lot of what C.S Lewis did, including his famous Screwtape Letters. As Tolkien saw it, no man should think too much about the fallen angels, let alone the strategies employed by them. Ironically, Lewis dedicated the book to Tolkien (which disturbed Tolkien a great deal). To Tolkien, the reality of the things above and below were so potent to him, likely through his ability of imagination, that talking about such things was a very precious and specific ordeal reserved for the personal modes of thought alone, hence his creation of terms to describe what he was talking about (like 'enemy' for the devil). Tolkien strongly disliked the combination of familiarity and directness, which he equated eventually to contempt, in either story and conversation, especially when about the fallen creatures that pose such a threat to fallen man.
Fr. Barron, have you by chance read Tolkien's "The Silmarillion" and Lewis' Space Trilogy? The Silmarillion is the much larger story of Middle-Earth (and more than Middle Earth) from prior to creation through the time of "The Lord of the Rings". It makes many of the comparisons between the characters in the story and their biblical counterparts clearer, and might make you change your mind on who is who in the Lord of the Rings. The Space Trilogy is rumored to be a sort of counterpart to the Silmarillion, that explores vast amounts of space set at the time of Lewis and Tolkien. Both tell the story of the conflict between Heaven and Hell over creation.
LOve your Catholicism series Fr, Barron! Love you talking about Lewis too. Also, another person died as well on that dat,,,,Aldous Huxley. Peter Kreeft wrote a book on ot :)
Yes, C.S. Lewis was not a Catholic, but Lewis converted to Christianity largely through debates with Tolkien, so Lewis' theology is largely influenced by Tolkien's catholicism. Lewis' most Catholic book is I believe, Perelandra where he shows the story of the Adam and Eve of an alien planet. Incidentallythe main character of that one is based on Tolkien
Rodney Burton Incidentally Lewis's biographer thought he would have converted to Roman Catholicism had he lived to see the present wateriness of the Church of England.
MagnificentFiend Highly advanced Marian theology in Perelandra, but Jack didn't seem to realize it (though he did dedicate the book to a convent of nuns; "To Some Ladies at Watage"). Perelandra chapter 17: "Oh, my Father and my Mother, my Lord and my Lady [The 'New Adam' and 'New Eve'], do not move, do not answer me yet. My own father and mother I have never seen. Take me for your son. We have been alone in my world for a great time." Here is where the Catholic looks up from the book and smiles.
Yes, he obviously had Catholic influences, but he remained a staunch Anglican all his life. I don't think C.S. Lewis is the kind of man who would've been sitting on the fence concerning Catholicism, especially considering his friendships.
He already knew the wateriness of the Anglican Church in his day. If you're interested, read his lecture "Fern Seed and Elephants". Here's an excerpt: "A theology which denies the historicity of nearly everything in the Gospels to which Christian life and affections and thought have been fastened for nearly two millennia - which either denies the miraculous altogether or, more strangely, after swallowing the camel of the Resurrection strains at such gnats as the feeding of the multitudes - if offered to the uneducated man can produce only one or other of two effects. It will make him a Roman Catholic or an atheist.What you offer him he will not recognize as Christianity. If he holds to what he calls Christianity he will leave a Church in which it is no longer taught and look for one where it is. If he agrees with your version he will no longer call himself a Christian and no longer come to church. In his crude, coarse way, he would respect you much more if you did the same." And another: "Once the layman was anxious to hide the fact that he believed so much less than the vicar; now he tends to hide the fact that he believes so much more. Missionary to the priests of one's own church is an embarrassing role; though I have a horrid feeling that if such mission work is not soon undertaken the future history of the Church of England is likely to be short." However, he also wrote an essay entitled, “Christian Reunion: An Anglican Speaks to Roman Catholics,”: "the real reason why I cannot be in communion with you is not my disagreement with this or that Roman doctrine, but that to accept your Church means, not to accept a given body of doctrine, but to accept in advance any doctrine your Church hereafter produces. It is like being asked to agree not only to what a man has said but to what he’s going to say…To us the terrible thing about Rome is the recklessness (as we hold) with which she has added to the depositum fidei [deposit of faith]…the proliferation of credenda [what must be believed]."
I think Sam from LOTR is also a jesus representative. When Frodo felt alone, was hurting, or needed saving... Sam was with him every step of the way, and even carried Him. I argue the reader is more Frodo, and that Sam is more in line with that of Christ.
Annihilationism scares and terrifies me even more than eternal torment does. I don't want to die forever. I want to live forever wherever I end up. I hope that universal reconciliation will turn out to be true.
The greatest story ever told that hardly ever told, God Talking about a concept so cold, it's the reason we stay bold and it's how God breathed into man and he became a living soul.
Excellent critique by a Roman Catholic speaking to a Christian of the Presbyterian Faith . Thank you. In man the search that was fulfilled in the Soul of Lewis was that the reasoning mind had to come to terms with the Faith we long for in our Souls. He and his Inking Club nailed that factor & it is the reason why new Souls are seeking Aslan on a grander scale. .
How do you reconcile C.S. Lewis who was a member of the Anglican tradition, with Roman Catholicism? Was C.S. Lewis a man of his times/circumstances (in being an Englishman?)
I think now that Robert Barron comes across as quite unassuming that it is easy to underestimate his value. His value to the Catholic Church and Christianity in general.
I thought when Bishop Barron said that Lewis wanted to evangelise the imagination that he would mention George MacDonald as Lewis said of reading his Phantastes that it baptised his imagination,
I'm not sure the nature of Christianity-as-story was something Lewis intuited so much as absorbed from Tolkien, who also thought of Christianity in those terms and who was instrumental (along with Charles Williams) in moving Lewis toward faith.
Just a technical note: You said that Lewis "had to battle his way through" to Christianity. Lewis wrote in his essay "on reaching (of God) I am a far less reliable guide, that is because I had never had the experience of searching for God, it was the other way around. He was the hunter, or so it seemed to me, and I was the prey. He stalked me like a redskin, took an airing aim and fired and I am very thankful that that is how the first conscious meeting occured." ..and Mr. Fr. Robert Barron? Could you please say something about G. K. Chesterton? Thanks
+Karol Pavlovkin That's his view, I think, after his conversion, looking back and seeing it was God who sought him. Lewis explicitly states he entered the Kingdom "kicking and struggling" and was "the most dejected convert in all of England." I'm paraphrasing from memory, it's in his book "Surprised by Joy"
I have thought that C S Lewis' staying power is due to the US being around 30 to 70 years behind Europe. He wrote concerning Europe's situation which later became the US's situation.
To honor Brother Lewis "reactionary-revisionst" historical viewpoint Cambridge created a special position just for Lewis: Chair of Medieval and renaissance Literature.
Nice catch, William. My eyes are always drawn to the copy of HABIT OF BEING, as well. Father Barron has written and spoken of O'Connor for many years now, so I look forward to a fitting tribute to her and her work next summer (she passed in August 1964).
I think he means that argument as a form is at a point currently of being widely misused and manipulated for personal means rather than towards a genuine striving for truth.
So true about arguing! Protestants love to argue with Catholics and atheists. But their answers are very simple, read the Bible. They think that reading the Bible will solve everything. If they only knew. If I tell them there would be no Jesus without the goodness of Mary, they ignore me and move forward.
Three famous people died that day. Aldous Huxley RIP. A fateful day... Grant writing from Headington, Oxford, home of Lewis, Tolkien and Isaiah Berlin.
I have often thought of these two men's appointments on the same date (give or take) and the inverse attention given their passings. Indeed Lewis has proven to be the real vintage which outlives the fame of the faddish politician.
this is a fun fact , all the ''christian'' religious underlying context in the books and movies and nobody seems to know that ''Aslan'' means lion in Turkish language which is an Islamic term for a leader , a strong man
C. S. Lewis was not a Catholic, whereas J R R Tolkien was. Maybe that's the reason they didn't always get along. Do we know much about Lewis's attitude to the Catholic Church?
Lewis was Catholic in every essential way, he subscribed to all necessary doctrines(Apostolic succession, the seven sacraments, the creeds...). My impression, based on reading his works, is that he disapproved of the Roman church’s, shall I call it, dogmatic tunnel vision, whereas he had more broad church ideals(provided you have the essential views, and were guided towards right doctrine, everything else(Marianism, purgatory...) was comparably trivial. As the Anglican Church was doctrinally and sacramentally correct, I speculate he found it appropriate, being the church of his fellows. Besides, the Anglican Church at the time, before it tragically fell to “progressivism”, was differed from the the RCC really only in regards to Papal Authority, married clergy, and saying mass in the vernacular. Yes, it was a fact that JRR wasn’t pleased about...
fwiw, aldous huxley died that day as well. his last words, i believe, were scribbled on a scrap of paper and were "try mescaline," which i believe he thought would make death more interesting. no matter how it turned out for huxley, lewis had more to give to the rest of us. if he had written nothing more than "a grief observed, his professional life would have carried its weight.
Several quotes from Tolkiens Foreword to The Lord Of The Rings second edition: "As for any inner meaning or 'message', it has in the intention of the author none. It is neither allegorical nor topical. As the story grew it put down roots (into the past) and threw out unexpected branches: but its main theme was settled from the outset by the inevitable choice of the Ring as the link between it and The Hobbit." Second quote: "Other Arrangements could be devised according to the tastes or views of those who like allegory or topical reference. But I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence." Third quote: "An author cannot of course remain wholly unaffected by his experience, but the ways in which a story-germ uses the soil of experience are extremely complex, and attempts to define the process are at best guesses from evidence that is inadequate and ambiguous."
This is the first I'm hearing about The Lord of the Rings being having Chris archetypes... was Tolkien christian? This is the first I'm hearing about that! I'm completely surprised! Pleasantly surprised. I love the idea of out narrating. I knew there was a greater benefit in story telling rather then pointing out logical.fallacies." U see it everywhere. How ppl r more moved to hear about Disney's frozen 2 rather then hearing about the abortion clinics.
Father. I have read 'Mere Christianity' and I personally found it lacking. I felt C. S. Lewis was trying to make two main arguments. The Moral Law, which I can simply counter by telling you to read 'The Better Angels of Our Nature' (by Steven Pinker) or 'Righteous Minds' (by Jonathan Haidt). The second argument being the 'Mad, Bad or Lord' Argument, which I find false for two main reasons. The first being the lack of consensus regarding the historical Jesus. Second being he could have been honestly mistaken, and even if he did have supernatural powers it is still an extra assumption that he was the actual son of God. I hope you can help me in my honest humble search for knowledge! :) Thanks, Bernard.
I can only help on one point: The historicity of Jesus is functionally confirmed, even among scholars. The man lived and was crucified for what He taught. Obviously, the question of miracles is another matter.
