thread: 2006-09-08 : Salvation, damnation, justification, a la Sydney
On 2006-09-09, Sydney Freedberg wrote:
Thank you, Joel. Yes, indeed, you're reading my Lewis references right.
My recommended reading list:
TO BEGIN:
First, read all four Gospels—though I would read them slightly out of the traditional order: first Mark, which is the shortest and most straightforward, and then Matthew, Luke, and John. These are short "books," collectively the size of a slender paperback novel: Reading them all won't take long, and it's worthwhile to get multiple perspectives on the same truth.
Then, read C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, another short book, and the most useful work of plain-English theology I have ever read. Be tolerant of the chapter on a woman's subordinate role in marriage and remember that (a) he wrote this in the 1940s and (b) he hadn't gotten married yet.
You can also start reading C.S. Lewis's trilogy of "Planetary Romances," starting with Out of the Silent Planet, which are his theology in science-fiction form. I would not tackle most other Lewis yet: You won't be ready.
TO GO DEEPER, once you feel comfortable with the two readings above:
First read the Old Testament books of Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, and Isaiah. That will give you the creation story and the first patriarchs, the liberation from slavery in Egypt, a canon of poetry that wrestles with profound spiritual issues, and a taste of the prophetic-messianistic tradition.
Then read the New Testament "Book of Acts," also known as "the Acts of the Apostles," and as many of the letters (epistles) as you can manage. Hold off on Revelations (the Apocalypse of Saint John) for the moment.
Now you're ready for C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce, about Heaven and Hell.
ADVANCED READING:
Read the Bible. All of it. Cover to cover. Including all the "X begat Y" and including rereading everything listed above. This will take a while and might best be attempted as a daily exercise, taken in little bites day by day over about a year: That's how I did it.
Read Saint Augustine's Confessions. Go on to City of God if you feel comfortable enough with late Roman Imperial history to understand the context. (If you're not, read Peter Brown's The World of Late Antiquity first).
Read any C.S. Lewis you like. At this point you've caught up with me.
