Five decades beyond C. S. Lewis’s death on that fateful November 22, 1963, the fashion in some precincts is to describe the man as “quirky,” as though the folds, edges and concealments of his character and of his mind are…
The “Rending of the Heavens:” The Markan Critique of Modernity as a Basis for Hope
The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the…
Unbroken Beauty and Hope
Many are the voices suggesting there has been a failure of vision by the intellectual class, that there is currently a lack of vision to guide culture forward, out of this period of intellectual and cultural chaos. Towards what might…
Reclaiming the Hope of Faith: Medical Ethics and the Transformation of Culture
Much of our culture has been shaped by, or at least greatly influenced by, centuries of religious belief. Our Western culture has largely been shaped by Christian belief. However, the present-day multicultural matrix has resulted in the secularization of contemporary…
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…
Self, Meaning, and the World
The search for a philosophically satisfying account of the self and meaning is partly the search for knowledge and understanding: knowledge of what there is and how those things are related, as well as understanding the significance of things. When…
The Human Search For the ‘Good Life’
I should start by saying that, although this philosophy symposium is about the search for meaning, discussions which rely on the term “meaning” in talking about the human search for a meaningful life seem to me to be largely modern…
The Image of God, Religion, and the Meaning of Life: Toward a Christian Philosophical Anthropology
Prospectus: This paper notes the challenge of scientific naturalism to religion and Christianity and briefly denies that naturalism is supported by science. It then outlines an alternative perspective in two stages. The first is an account of the biblical doctrine…
Physicalism, Dualism, Death, and Resurrection
In his essay “The Resurrection of the Body and the Life Everlasting,”[1] Trenton Merricks argues that the attitudes expressed by the writers of Scripture about both death and resurrection make more sense from a materialist perspective than from a dualist…
Psychological Development & Meaningful Faith: When Faith Works
Faith plays an important role in establishing a sense of meaning necessary for coping with life’s stressors and traumas. This is especially true for those events that lie beyond our expected and normal experiences. This paper asserts that the context of psychological and emotional development, which forms in concert with our faith, is necessary in understanding how faith develops as a coping strategy. Cited writings include those of C.S. Lewis, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and James Marcia.
C.S. Lewis and the Information Society: A Dialogue
What advice would C S Lewis offer us in today’s world? The 21st Century is the setting wherein powerful forces are set to meet and perhaps to clash. Self and the search for meaning are at the heart of these putative clashes. They include, but are not limited to, (a) the emerging of so called intelligent information technology, (b) the impact of psychological theories on everyday life and (c) the continuing thirst by people for a spiritual dimension to their lives, including the search for some meaning in life and for satisfaction with life. Take each in turn. This is a dialogue between a cognitive scientist (RA) and an arts scholar (MG) who both share the same communion at St Edward’s King & Martyr, Cambridge, England.
Hope in Teaching and Teaching in Hope
Along with content knowledge and pedagogical skill, teachers’ personal qualities impact their classrooms and their work with depth and significance. The moral qualities that teachers bring with them into the classroom inform decisions, direct practice, and guide the culture of the learning community. Hope is an important virtue and motivation for teachers in every teaching situation and context, for hope pervades every aspect of the experience of teaching.