A Word of Grace – October 25, 2011

Posted on October 25, 2011 by KentHansen

Monday Grace

Dear Friends:

The waning crescent moon hangs low over the peaks when Kerry and I reach the trailhead.  The headlamps of early hikers spiral up the mountain above us.

The earth rotating into the dawn pulls a gentle breeze across the desert from the west. The wind is a good thing because it is already warm as we start up the trail.

Kerry is my close friend and colleague of many years. We are in Phoenix at a business conference. Yesterday, I went to the hotel gym and he took a long walk along a canal bank.

He told me he would like to hike up the mountain. I said I had been there before and would like to join him. It’s a popular trail. Even in the pre-dawn darkness, we have a hard time finding a parking place. Read more »

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Special Edition of In Pursuit of Truth Journal Released

Posted on October 19, 2011 by cslewisfoundation

A special Philosophy Edition of  In Pursuit of Truth: A Journal of Christian Scholarship has just been released.

Special Issue: Philosophical Perspectives on the Self and the Search for Meaning

This special issue of In Pursuit of Truth contains four philosophical papers delivered at the Philosophy Symposium of the C.S. Lewis Summer Institute, Oxbridge 2008: The Self and the Search for Meaning. Oxbridge 2008 was the 7th meeting of this Summer Institute, a triennial event produced and convened by the C.S. Lewis Foundation. The conference was held in the cities and universities of Oxford and Cambridge, England, July 28-August 8, 2008.

The theme of the Oxbridge 2008 Philosophy Symposium was Self, Soul, and the Imago Dei: Philosophical Perspectives on the

Search for Meaning. The symposiasts who attended this event discussed theological and philosophical issues of the sort that C.S. Lewis addressed: What does it mean to say that human beings are created in the image of God? Can naturalistic philosophies do justice to the religious dimension of human nature? Does a meaningful life require self-sacrificial love? Does atheism allow for meaningful lives? If so, could existence in a Godless world be as meaningful as life in a world created by God? Is morality relative to human conventions or does it require a transcendent divine reality? What account of the soul and its relation to the body allows for the continuation of life after death?

The four essays published here are representative of the larger collection of papers presented and discussed at the Symposium. The authors of these four articles are each Christian philosophers who teach at a university, college, or seminary in the United States or the United Kingdom. Their papers address different aspects of the Oxbridge 2008 Philosophy Symposium theme.

Readers of this journal acquainted with C.S. Lewis’s work will recognize some of his primary philosophical and theological concerns in these four essays. Collectively, they involve both a critique of viewpoints antithetical to the Christian worldview – primarily naturalism and relativism – and an affirmation of central Christian values – especially self-giving love and eternal life. Clearly, the pursuit of truth in which Lewis was engaged continues to inspire others to follow his lead.

Read more »

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Preparing for the C.S. Lewis Writers Workshop

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Nan Rinella



For those of you attending the Southwest Regional Writers Workshop, we would like to mention a few ways that you can maximize your experience at this unique event. We look forward to seeing you next week at Camp Allen!

The 6 P’s for the Workshop (well, there are actually 9 P’s, but you get the idea)


PREPARATION – You don’t have to plan to fail; all you have to do is fail to plan.

PLAN – What do you hope to accomplish?

PRESENTATION – Make a good impression.

PREPARING & PRACTICING your PITCH – Plan your time with our team of experts.

PARTICIPATION – Are you looking forward to networking with other writers?

PARTICULARS & PRACTICALITIES – Details.

 

PREPARATION

VISIT THE PRESENTERS’ WEBSITES

  • Do your homework. Visit their websites and read their blogs. Learn about them. Study what the agency sells and what the publishing house publishes. What authors do they represent? Are you a fit for them?
  • Make the most of every opportunity. You’ll have a chance to visit with the presenters at meals, around camp, and at Bag End Café—our after hours get-togethers—and the Friday night reception. Those times are excellent chances to get to know our editor and agent before you pitch your book or idea in a consultation. Read more »
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A Word of Grace – October 17, 2011

Posted on October 17, 2011 by KentHansen

Monday Grace

Dear Friends:

Things are a mess. The very earth is changing. There are earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes. Nations are in an uproar of violence, political upheaval, economic crisis, and old regimes are falling.

This isn’t CNN. It is Psalm 46.

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Read more »

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A Word of Grace – October 10, 2011

Posted on October 10, 2011 by KentHansen

Monday Grace

Dear Friends:

There is a rare place on a Southern California sky island where the black oak, locusts, willows and cottonwood trees change color in October. One has to hike in several miles to a secluded valley to find the gold tinged with orange.

I have retreated there several fall seasons to deal with personal and professional challenges.

My son accompanied me on one of these trips when he was ten-years-old. A father-son hike was a special treat, but I was also lugging a heavy heart over a difficult legal problem with personal and professional implications.

Going to the mountain wasn’t a diversion. I needed space and quiet to wrestle with God over the issues. I believed I needed to do the right thing by taking forceful action. That’s what the circumstances called for and what the persons involved deserved. I was sure of this based on the facts and the law.

Or was I so certain?  The course I was contemplating would surprise and embarrass my adversaries who didn’t even know that they were my adversaries yet. It was possible that my strategy would cost them their jobs and reputations. Necessary and justified as this result might be, it would cause pain and was not something that I could approach lightly. Was I in the right? Did the problem require a “scorched-earth” approach? Were there other options? Read more »

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