Jack, Aldous and Jack

Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. — John F. Kennedy*  

There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self. — Aldous Huxley  

Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. — C. S. Lewis*  

Kennedy, Huxley and Lewis all died on the same day, November 22, 1963. This interesting factoid prompted a great book by Peter Kreeft, Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialog Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C. S. Lewis & Aldous Huxley.  Kreeft says in the foreword: 

"It would be part of “The Great Conversation” that has been going on for millennia. For these three men represented the three most influential philosophies of life in our human history: ancient Western theism (Lewis), modern Western humanism (Kennedy) and ancient Eastern pantheism (Huxley).

These three men also represented the three most influential versions of Christianity in our present culture: traditional, mainline or orthodox Christianity (what Lewis called “mere Christianity”), modernist or humanistic Christianity (Kennedy), and Orientalized or mystical Christianity (Huxley)."

*Both Kennedy and Lewis were called Jack by family and friends.

Labels

It has long been my belief that "Christ plus anything cheapens Christ." Does that mean that the truest thing about me is Christ in me? I think it does. And if I carry the unsullied Christ in me, it seems to follow that He will be most useful to others through me when there is the least of me. 



I also believe that "Anything plus Christ redeems anything." That means me first, my family, my friends and neighbors, even my country. 



The trouble is, I am pressed, from within and without, to adopt other labels. People don't often understand what a Christian is, but are quick to define a conservative, or Republican. Many, usually unbelievers, conflate the two. Past actions by many (including me) make that easy. 



I have come to think over the years that these labels cheapen Christ in me, and I find myself sloughing them off, and speaking (when asked, mostly) about the issues, not the labels. I find myself more and more entering into conversations, situations, even confrontations that I would not have approached before, and having real dialogue, exhibiting real love. I come as a lover of Christ and His world, not a representative of any ideology. I want to hear a name that is not mentioned much in political discourse: Jesus.

On the need for redemption

I accepted my need for a Savior on an evening in September 1969. The fact that a nation could put men on the moon, but a 15-year-old could not control his life enough to please his parents and himself--much less God--gave me perspective about just how serious the issue was. --W.S.

Sent to me from a friend who knows

We do not first get all the answers and then live in the light of our understanding. We must rather plunge into life--meeting what we have to meet and experiencing what we have to experience--and in the light of living try to understand. If insight comes at all, it will not be before, but only through and after experience.
—John Claypool, Tracks of a Fellow Struggler

On learning truth

I once thought that when you understood something, it was with you forever. I know now that this isn't so, that most truths are inherently unretainable, that we have to work hard all of our lives to remember the most basic things.
-Lucy Grealy