"Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavely creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into the one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself.
To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal lonliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.
The right direction leads not only to peace but to knowledge. When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him."
Monday, March 21, 2011
Couldn't help myself.
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As if the only states of being were those for or against God. This presumes that every chose either leads toward something godly or not. This is well written but not true.
ReplyDeleteI understand your point- at this point in the book, C.S. Lewis is arguing from a Christian standpoint. So, in his view, there is only those for or against God. Of course, if there is no definite good vs. evil, then this argument would be invalid and changing into someone "good" would be for nothing.
ReplyDeleteSo, there is no neutral course of action?
ReplyDeleteI would say that a neutral course of action is unlikely if not impossible throughout a person's life. To make decisions that neither is a "good" or "bad" decision, but entirely neutral is difficult to do. There are certainly times when we are complacent and every day small decisions may not make a large impact on the person we are, but most people are forced to make big decisions that will, indeed, effect the type of person we are.
ReplyDeleteEven if not from a Christian view, to make a decision at all will impact the person we want to become; either good or bad. If you were to say there is no definite good or bad, that is another issue in itself. But at this point in the book, Lewis claims God is "good" and our decisions either make us more like Him or more like His opposite- Satan. But making decisions and remaining the same, or neutral, person- neither good nor bad- is extremely difficult if not impossible.
What about a decision to go to Chipotle instead of Red Robin?
ReplyDeleteHaha, that's why I said some every day small decisions will not make an impact on the big picture. I think Lewis is talking about bigger scale decisions. I don't think he deemed it necessary to include those obvious choices...
ReplyDeleteWhen an ultimate statement like the one above is made, it includes all degrees of the topic. Small or large.
ReplyDeleteI just don't think it would be necessary to include the fact that he's talking about decisions that are so insignificant as that. You're right, he did say EVERY time and ALL decisions. However, in my opinion, it would be pointless to qualify that he's not talking about those small decisions because the majority of our decisions are not those decisions- when we're talking about the kind of person we're becoming.
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to be so nit-picky, then you're right, I would agree with you. He should have qualified his argument. I would say that since he was talking about becoming a certain type of person- of course the decisions he's talking about are the ones where you have to choose what you think is better over the other in the long-run.