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1<!DOCTYPE html>
2<html lang="en">
3<head>
4<meta charset="UTF-8">
5<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
6<link rel="profile" href="http://gmpg.org/xfn/11">
7<link rel="pingback" href="https://mereinkling.net/xmlrpc.php">
8
9<title>Mere Inkling Press</title>
10<script type="text/javascript">
11  WebFontConfig = {"google":{"families":["Libre+Baskerville:b:latin,latin-ext","Libre+Baskerville:r,i,b,bi:latin,latin-ext"]},"api_url":"https:\/\/fonts-api.wp.com\/css"};
12  (function() {
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20<style id="jetpack-custom-fonts-css">.wf-active body{font-family:"Libre Baskerville",serif}.wf-active code, .wf-active kbd, .wf-active pre, .wf-active samp{font-family:"Libre Baskerville",serif}.wf-active .main-navigation ul > li + li:before{font-family:"Libre Baskerville",serif}.wf-active .entry-meta > span{font-family:"Libre Baskerville",serif}.wf-active .page-links{font-family:"Libre Baskerville",serif}.wf-active .tagcloud a, .wf-active .tags-links a{font-family:"Libre Baskerville",serif}.wf-active .post-navigation span{font-family:"Libre Baskerville",serif}.wf-active .entry-content{font-family:"Libre Baskerville",serif}.wf-active .entry-content .more-link{font-family:"Libre Baskerville",serif}.wf-active .entry-content blockquote cite{font-family:"Libre Baskerville",serif}.wf-active code, .wf-active kbd, .wf-active pre{font-family:"Libre Baskerville",serif}.wf-active .gallery-caption, .wf-active .wp-caption-text{font-family:"Libre Baskerville",serif}.wf-active .entry-content 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21<meta name='robots' content='max-image-preview:large' />
22
23<!-- Async WordPress.com Remote Login -->
24<script id="wpcom_remote_login_js">
25var wpcom_remote_login_extra_auth = '';
26function wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( element_id ) {
27	var dom_node = document.getElementById( element_id );
28	if ( dom_node ) { dom_node.parentNode.removeChild( dom_node ); }
29}
30function wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_classes( class_name ) {
31	var dom_nodes = document.querySelectorAll( '.' + class_name );
32	for ( var i = 0; i < dom_nodes.length; i++ ) {
33		dom_nodes[ i ].parentNode.removeChild( dom_nodes[ i ] );
34	}
35}
36function wpcom_remote_login_final_cleanup() {
37	wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_classes( "wpcom_remote_login_msg" );
38	wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_remote_login_key" );
39	wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_remote_login_validate" );
40	wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_remote_login_js" );
41	wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_request_access_iframe" );
42	wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_request_access_styles" );
43}
44
45// Watch for messages back from the remote login
46window.addEventListener( "message", function( e ) {
47	if ( e.origin === "https://r-login.wordpress.com" ) {
48		var data = {};
49		try {
50			data = JSON.parse( e.data );
51		} catch( e ) {
52			wpcom_remote_login_final_cleanup();
53			return;
54		}
55
56		if ( data.msg === 'LOGIN' ) {
57			// Clean up the login check iframe
58			wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_remote_login_key" );
59
60			var id_regex = new RegExp( /^[0-9]+$/ );
61			var token_regex = new RegExp( /^.*|.*|.*$/ );
62			if (
63				token_regex.test( data.token )
64				&& id_regex.test( data.wpcomid )
65			) {
66				// We have everything we need to ask for a login
67				var script = document.createElement( "script" );
68				script.setAttribute( "id", "wpcom_remote_login_validate" );
69				script.src = '/remote-login.php?wpcom_remote_login=validate'
70					+ '&wpcomid=' + data.wpcomid
71					+ '&token=' + encodeURIComponent( data.token )
72					+ '&host=' + window.location.protocol
73					+ '//' + window.location.hostname
74					+ '&postid=111870'
75					+ '&is_singular=';
76				document.body.appendChild( script );
77			}
78
79			return;
80		}
81
82		// Safari ITP, not logged in, so redirect
83		if ( data.msg === 'LOGIN-REDIRECT' ) {
84			window.location = 'https://wordpress.com/log-in?redirect_to=' + window.location.href;
85			return;
86		}
87
88		// Safari ITP, storage access failed, remove the request
89		if ( data.msg === 'LOGIN-REMOVE' ) {
90			var css_zap = 'html { -webkit-transition: margin-top 1s; transition: margin-top 1s; } /* 9001 */ html { margin-top: 0 !important; } * html body { margin-top: 0 !important; } @media screen and ( max-width: 782px ) { html { margin-top: 0 !important; } * html body { margin-top: 0 !important; } }';
91			var style_zap = document.createElement( 'style' );
92			style_zap.type = 'text/css';
93			style_zap.appendChild( document.createTextNode( css_zap ) );
94			document.body.appendChild( style_zap );
95
96			var e = document.getElementById( 'wpcom_request_access_iframe' );
97			e.parentNode.removeChild( e );
98
99			document.cookie = 'wordpress_com_login_access=denied; path=/; max-age=31536000';
100
101			return;
102		}
103
104		// Safari ITP
105		if ( data.msg === 'REQUEST_ACCESS' ) {
106			console.log( 'request access: safari' );
107
108			// Check ITP iframe enable/disable knob
109			if ( wpcom_remote_login_extra_auth !== 'safari_itp_iframe' ) {
110				return;
111			}
112
113			// If we are in a "private window" there is no ITP.
114			var private_window = false;
115			try {
116				var opendb = window.openDatabase( null, null, null, null );
117			} catch( e ) {
118				private_window = true;
119			}
120
121			if ( private_window ) {
122				console.log( 'private window' );
123				return;
124			}
125
126			var iframe = document.createElement( 'iframe' );
127			iframe.id = 'wpcom_request_access_iframe';
128			iframe.setAttribute( 'scrolling', 'no' );
129			iframe.setAttribute( 'sandbox', 'allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation' );
130			iframe.src = 'https://r-login.wordpress.com/remote-login.php?wpcom_remote_login=request_access&origin=' + encodeURIComponent( data.origin ) + '&wpcomid=' + encodeURIComponent( data.wpcomid );
131
132			var css = 'html { -webkit-transition: margin-top 1s; transition: margin-top 1s; } /* 9001 */ html { margin-top: 46px !important; } * html body { margin-top: 46px !important; } @media screen and ( max-width: 660px ) { html { margin-top: 71px !important; } * html body { margin-top: 71px !important; } #wpcom_request_access_iframe { display: block; height: 71px !important; } } #wpcom_request_access_iframe { border: 0px; height: 46px; position: fixed; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; min-width: 100%; z-index: 99999; background: #23282d; } ';
133
134			var style = document.createElement( 'style' );
135			style.type = 'text/css';
136			style.id = 'wpcom_request_access_styles';
137			style.appendChild( document.createTextNode( css ) );
138			document.body.appendChild( style );
139
140			document.body.appendChild( iframe );
141		}
142
143		if ( data.msg === 'DONE' ) {
144			wpcom_remote_login_final_cleanup();
145		}
146	}
147}, false );
148
149// Inject the remote login iframe after the page has had a chance to load
150// more critical resources
151window.addEventListener( "DOMContentLoaded", function( e ) {
152	var iframe = document.createElement( "iframe" );
153	iframe.style.display = "none";
154	iframe.setAttribute( "scrolling", "no" );
155	iframe.setAttribute( "id", "wpcom_remote_login_key" );
156	iframe.src = "https://r-login.wordpress.com/remote-login.php"
157		+ "?wpcom_remote_login=key"
158		+ "&origin=aHR0cHM6Ly9tZXJlaW5rbGluZy5uZXQ%3D"
159		+ "&wpcomid=26930382"
160		+ "&time=" + Math.floor( Date.now() / 1000 );
161	document.body.appendChild( iframe );
162}, false );
163</script>
163
164<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//s2.wp.com' />
165<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//fonts-api.wp.com' />
166<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//s0.wp.com' />
167<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Mere Inkling Press &raquo; Feed" href="https://mereinkling.net/feed/" />
168<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Mere Inkling Press &raquo; Comments Feed" href="https://mereinkling.net/comments/feed/" />
169	
169<script type="text/javascript">
170		/* <![CDATA[ */
171		function addLoadEvent(func) {
172			var oldonload = window.onload;
173			if (typeof window.onload != 'function') {
174				window.onload = func;
175			} else {
176				window.onload = function () {
177					oldonload();
178					func();
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183
184	<style id="wp-img-auto-sizes-contain-inline-css">
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190
191	img.wp-smiley, img.emoji {
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563<article id="post-111870" class="post-111870 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-animals category-c-s-lewis category-history category-j-r-r-tolkien category-latin category-literature category-modern-life category-music category-narnia category-nature category-words category-writing tag-aesop tag-ai tag-ai-writing tag-allegories tag-animals tag-apologues tag-aslan tag-c-s-lewis tag-fables tag-fiction tag-genres tag-j-r-r-tolkien tag-lions tag-literature tag-music tag-narnia tag-nonfiction tag-parables tag-writing">
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566			<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/07/22/c-s-lewis-apologues-and-allegories/" rel="bookmark">C.S. Lewis, Apologues &amp;&nbsp;Allegories</a></h1>
567						<div class="entry-meta">
568				<span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/07/22/c-s-lewis-apologues-and-allegories/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published updated" datetime="2025-07-22T08:47:48-07:00">July 22, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://mereinkling.net/author/robstroud/">robstroud</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/animals/" rel="category tag">Animals</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/c-s-lewis/" rel="category tag">C.S. Lewis</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/history/" rel="category tag">History</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/j-r-r-tolkien/" rel="category tag">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/history/latin/" rel="category tag">Latin</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/literature/" rel="category tag">Literature</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/modern-life/" rel="category tag">Modern Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/music/" rel="category tag">Music</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/narnia/" rel="category tag">Narnia</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/nature/" rel="category tag">Nature</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/writing/words/" rel="category tag">Words</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/writing/" rel="category tag">Writing</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/07/22/c-s-lewis-apologues-and-allegories/#comments">29 Comments</a></span>			</div><!-- .entry-meta -->
569					</header><!-- .entry-header -->
570
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573<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/aslan-allegory.png"><img data-attachment-id="111884" data-permalink="https://mereinkling.net/2025/07/22/c-s-lewis-apologues-and-allegories/aslan-allegory/" data-orig-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/aslan-allegory.png" data-orig-size="2359,1531" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-title="aslan allegory" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/aslan-allegory.png?w=640" width="1024" height="664" src="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/aslan-allegory.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-111884" srcset="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/aslan-allegory.png?w=1024 1024w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/aslan-allegory.png?w=2048 2048w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/aslan-allegory.png?w=150 150w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/aslan-allegory.png?w=300 300w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/aslan-allegory.png?w=768 768w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/aslan-allegory.png?w=1440 1440w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
574</div>
575
576
577<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It has been argued that C.S. Lewis wrote apologues, but I humbly disagree.</p>
578
579
580
581<p class="wp-block-paragraph">An “<a href="https://en.bab.la/dictionary/english/apologue" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">apologue</a>,” you see, is defined as “a moral fable, especially one with animals as characters.” From that c
581ore definition, it makes sense to some that works such as&nbsp;<em>The Chronicles of Narnia</em>&nbsp;might be described as apologues.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
582
583
584
585<p class="wp-block-paragraph">However, this term is usually applied to much simpler, more concise stories –  short moral fables (think Aesop) rather than an extended tales. “Apologue” is a vastly insufficient label for what J.R.R. Tolkien described as <em><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2024/10/08/only-god-can-create/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subcreation</a></em>. Narnia is not a fable, it is a <em>world</em>.</p>
586
587
588
589<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Years ago I compared Aesop’s brief “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11339/11339-h/11339-h.htm#THE_KINGDOM_OF_THE_LION" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Kingdom of the Lion</a>,” with C.S. Lewis’ brilliant vision of Aslan.</p>
590
591
592
593<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In “<a href="https://mereinkling.net/2014/02/13/the-lions-command/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Lion’s Command</a>,”&nbsp;I identified a virtuous parallel between the brief regent in the fable and the well-developed protagonist of Narnia. In the&nbsp;<em>Chronicles</em>, Narnia’s hero is nothing other than the Alpha and Omega, reigning over its <a href="https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2023/04/creation-narnia-joseph-pearce.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">creation</a> and preserving his kingdom to its <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2012/06/19/the-road-taken/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ultimate culmination</a>.</p>
594
595
596
597<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/45297226" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">C.S. Lewis and the Art of the Apologue</a>,” Samuel Joeckel argues that “<em>The Screwtape Letters </em>and <em>The Great Divorce</em> might be read as pure apologues, while Lewis&#8217;s other works of mythopoeia contain elements of the apologue.” This is an intriguing proposal, which has not gained much traction. Of course, Joeckel’s point that “elements” of apologue are present is certainly true, but that would be so when considering the work of numerous authors.</p>
598
599
600
601<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>If not an Apologue, might Narnia be an Allegory?</strong></p>
602
603
604
605<p class="wp-block-paragraph">An interesting article about <a href="https://study.com/academy/lesson/parable-in-literature-definition-examples.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">parables</a>&nbsp;contrasts parables and apologues in the following manner.</p>
606
607
608
609<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
610<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Another story style that is related to parables is the apologue. Apologues are short stories that are intended to convey a lesson, and they often use animals as characters. . . . Unlike parables, which generally have realistic scenarios, apologues allow an element of fantasy while maintaining a moral point.</p>
611</blockquote>
612
613
614
615<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The same article describes differences between parables and apologues as contrasted with allegories, such as George Orwell’s&nbsp;<em>Animal Farm</em>.</p>
616
617
618
619<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
620<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Parables are not the only type of story that present a moral lesson. Allegories are stories or poems where different elements are designed to convey abstract or spiritual meaning. . . . Allegories and parables are related in their use of symbolic language.</p>
621</blockquote>
622
623
624
625<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The difference is, in essence, one of complexity. While parables (and apologues) normally focus on a single lesson, allegories feature broader elements fleshing out a more elaborate lesson or message. </p>
626
627
628
629<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
630<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Allegories are more metaphorical and often involve characters representing abstract ideas, and the symbolism can be deeply complex. However, parables are more direct, with a simple narrative that usually involves a human character facing a moral dilemma or the consequences of a bad decision (“<a href="https://becomeawritertoday.com/allegory-vs-parable/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Allegory Vs. Parable</a>”).&nbsp;</p>
631</blockquote>
632
633
634
635<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“<a href="https://thecontentauthority.com/blog/allegory-vs-apologue" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Allegory vs Apologue</a>,” offers a similar distinction between these two literary exercises.&nbsp;</p>
636
637
638
639<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
640<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Allegory and apologue are both forms of extended metaphor that use symbolic characters and events to convey a deeper meaning. However, there are some important distinctions between the two. . . .</p>
641
642
643
644<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Apologue, on the other hand, is a more general term that refers to any story or fable that teaches a moral lesson. Unl
644ike allegory, apologue does not necessarily have a hidden meaning . . .</p>
645</blockquote>
646
647
648
649<p class="wp-block-paragraph">C.S. Lewis challenges the notion that allegories possess “hidden” themes. In his preface to&nbsp;<em>The Pilgrim’s Regress</em>, he argues that true allegories do not mask their message.&nbsp;</p>
650
651
652
653<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
654<p class="wp-block-paragraph">People .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. suppose that allegory is a disguise, a way of saying obscurely what could have been said more clearly. But in fact all good allegory exists not to hide but to reveal; to make the inner world more palpable by giving it an (imagined) concrete embodiment.</p>
655</blockquote>
656
657
658
659<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In <em><a href="https://lewisiana.nl/allegsum/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Allegory of Love: A Study of Medieval Tradition</a></em>, C.S. Lewis describes the unique goal of this literary device. </p>
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662
663<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
664<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The function of allegory is not to hide but to reveal, and it is properly used only for that which cannot be said, or so well said, in literal speech.</p>
665
666
667
668<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The inner life, and specially the life of love, religion, and spiritual adventure, has therefore always been the field of true allegory; for here there are intangibles which only allegory can fix and reticences which only allegory can overcome.&nbsp;</p>
669</blockquote>
670
671
672
673<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In an essay about the author of <em><a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Faerie_Queene/ezGJtqUVqBMC?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Faerie Queene</a></em>, “Edmund Spenser, 1552–99,” Lewis lauds the path allegories pursue to illumine readers.</p>
674
675
676
677<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
678<p class="wp-block-paragraph">We shall understand it best (though this may seem paradoxical) by not trying too hard to understand it. Many things – such as loving, going to sleep, or behaving unaffectedly – are done worst when we try hardest to do them. Allegory is not a puzzle.</p>
679</blockquote>
680
681
682
683<p class="wp-block-paragraph">With C.S. Lewis’ genuine appreciation for good allegory, it is unsurprising that some readers are tempted to label&nbsp;<em>The Chronicles of Narnia</em>&nbsp;as such. After all, too brief and far too elaborate to be a collection of mere apologues, it seems logical. Yet, Lewis himself dispelled that conclusion. His opinion is expressed clearly in the following passage from a letter written in 1958.</p>
684
685
686
687<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
688<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity in the same way in which <a href="https://kenpulsmusic.com/pilgrimsprogress93.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Giant Despair</a> represents Despair [in<em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/131" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Pilgrim’s Progress</a></em>], he would be an allegorical figure.</p>
689
690
691
692<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In reality however he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, “What might Christ become like, if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?” This is not allegory at all.</p>
693</blockquote>
694
695
696
697<p class="wp-block-paragraph">No, the <em>Chronicles</em> offer no mere allegory. Aslan and Narnia are something altogether more rare and precious . . . and uniquely inspiring.</p>
698
699
700
701<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />
702
703
704
705<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Bonus:</strong></p>
706
707
708
709<p class="wp-block-paragraph">For those inclined to see how the AI at ChatGPT might compose an analogue, consider the following examples. I offered three brief prompts and amazingly swift apologues.&nbsp;</p>
710
711
712
713<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1 wp-block-paragraph" style="color:#2516cc">⌘ <strong><em>Write an apologue in ancient roman style about why a porcupine is hard to get along with.</em></strong></p>
714
715
716
717<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Certainly! Here&#8217;s an apologue in the style of ancient Roman moral tales – think Aesop with a Roman flavor (e.g., Phaedrus) – explaining why the porcupine is hard to get along with. This style uses simple characters, a brief narrative, and a moral at the end.</p>
718
719
720
721<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Apologue: The Porcupine and the Burrowers</strong></p>
722
723
724
725<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Characters:<br>~ Porcupine (Hystrix)<br>~ Mole (Talpa)<br>~ Hedgehog (Erinaceus)<br>Moralitas&nbsp;at the end.</p>
726
727
728
729<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the time when the earth still whispered secrets to beasts, a bitter winter approached. The animals who dwelt below ground gathered to find warmth together.</p>
730
731
732
733<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The&nbsp;Mole, who dug deep and dark tunnels, said, “Let us share one chamber, and n
733one shall freeze.”</p>
734
735
736
737<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The&nbsp;Hedgehog, with bristles soft enough in the cold, agreed. “We are small and spined, but kindred in spirit.”</p>
738
739
740
741<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Then came the&nbsp;Porcupine, bristling with long, sharp quills. “I seek shelter,” he said. “Let me in.”</p>
742
743
744
745<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The others, though wary, welcomed him. “There is warmth in many bodies, if none poke too hard.”</p>
746
747
748
749<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But when the Porcupine curled to sleep, his quills pricked every side of the burrow. The Mole winced. The Hedgehog bled. They shifted, gave him space – but no space was enough.</p>
750
751
752
753<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Friend Porcupine,” said the Mole, “can you not soften your stance?”</p>
754
755
756
757<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Porcupine replied, “My quills are my nature. I mean no harm, yet I cannot change.”</p>
758
759
760
761<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, one by one, the others left, seeking colder but safer places.</p>
762
763
764
765<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Porcupine remained, alone in warmth – but with no friend near.</p>
766
767
768
769<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Moralitas:<br>He who cannot bend his nature to spare his neighbors must be content with solitude, for warmth of company is given only to those who wound not.</p>
770
771
772
773<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong><em>Having delivered the moral of the fable, the AI was so thoughtful as to ask: “Would you like a Latin version of the apologue as well?”</em></strong></p>
774
775
776
777<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
778
779
780
781<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2 wp-block-paragraph" style="color:#2516cc">⌘ <strong><em>Write an apologue in the style of C.S. Lewis about why classical music is better than rock and roll.</em></strong></p>
782
783
784
785<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Certainly! Here is an&nbsp;apologue in the style of C.S. Lewis – reminiscent of his storytelling in&nbsp;<em>The Screwtape Letters</em>,&nbsp;<em>The Chronicles of Narnia</em>, and&nbsp;<em>The Pilgrim’s Regress</em>. Lewis often used allegory and fable to convey theological or philosophical arguments through richly imagined, morally charged tales.</p>
786
787
788
789<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Apologue: The Two Gardens</strong></p>
790
791
792
793<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In an ancient land that bordered both silence and song, there lived two brothers:&nbsp;Eldarion&nbsp;and&nbsp;Ruckus.</p>
794
795
796
797<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Their father, the&nbsp;Keeper of Harmony, was a master gardener who tended to two great gardens, each grown from a different seed of music.</p>
798
799
800
801<p class="wp-block-paragraph">One garden was called&nbsp;Lyrion, and it bloomed with strange and delicate flowers. Trees sang there – not with words, but with symphonies. The air was always filled with the faint sound of strings, like something half-remembered from a dream. This was the realm of&nbsp;Classica, the music that had deep roots and slow unfolding blossoms.</p>
802
803
804
805<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The other garden,&nbsp;Thundra, was younger, wilder. Vines twisted with fire, and great drums beat like the hearts of giants. Flames leapt from the leaves when touched. This was the realm of&nbsp;Rocka, born of storm and impulse. It throbbed with noise and power.</p>
806
807
808
809<p class="wp-block-paragraph">One day, the father called his sons. “Each of you shall choose a garden to tend,” he said. “But take heed: a garden grows into the likeness of its gardener.”</p>
810
811
812
813<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Eldarion, quiet and curious, chose Lyrion. He studied the old scores carved into the bark of the elder trees. He listened for the faintest cadences hidden in the wind. His garden grew slowly, but with order and depth. Some who visited said they heard&nbsp;<strong>truth</strong>&nbsp;in its song – though they could not explain it.</p>
814
815
816
817<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Ruckus chose Thundra. He brought iron tools and thunderous machines. He shouted into the wind and danced among the fire-vines. His garden grew quickly, wildly, and it drew many visitors who loved its power. But the soil became hard, and the songs repeated themselves. At night, when the fire died, there was silence – and the silence frightened him.</p>
818
819
820
821<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Years passed.</p>
822
823
824
825<p class="wp-block-paragraph">One evening, Ruckus visited his brother’s garden. It was still and strange, yet somehow more al
825ive. The music there did not grab the ear – it waited, like a cathedral waits for a footstep.</p>
826
827
828
829<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I do not understand this,” said Ruckus.</p>
830
831
832
833<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“You’re not meant to at first,” Eldarion said gently. “But if you sit long enough, you may find it is not music you hear – but yourself.”</p>
834
835
836
837<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Moral:<br>Not all noise is music, and not all music is noise. That which is deep may not dazzle, but it endures.</p>
838
839
840
841<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
842
843
844
845<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3 wp-block-paragraph" style="color:#2516cc">⌘ <strong><em>Write an apologue in the style of C.S. Lewis showing how reading nonfiction and fiction can be equally beneficial.</em></strong></p>
846
847
848
849<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Certainly! Here’s an&nbsp;apologue in the style of C.S. Lewis, with his characteristic blend of gentle allegory, rational argument, and spiritual insight. Think of something akin to&nbsp;<em>The Great Divorce</em>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<em>The Pilgrim’s Regress</em>&nbsp;– a story that carries philosophical weight through symbolic characters and a clear moral undercurrent.</p>
850
851
852
853<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Apologue: The Library of the Lantern</strong></p>
854
855
856
857<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There was once a&nbsp;Traveller&nbsp;who came upon an ancient&nbsp;Library, tucked between the hills of two realms:&nbsp;Factland, where the roads were straight and numbered, and&nbsp;Fablemere, where the paths curled like ivy and sometimes moved when you weren’t looking.</p>
858
859
860
861<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Traveller, weary from debate and burdened with questions, was greeted by an old librarian named&nbsp;Lucidus, who wore a cloak woven from both parchment and ink.</p>
862
863
864
865<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“You may read whatever you like here,” said Lucidus. “But I warn you: some shelves are straight, others crooked – and both are true.”</p>
866
867
868
869<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Traveller began in the&nbsp;Hall of Records, where volumes bore names like&nbsp;<em>The History of the World</em>,&nbsp;<em>Natural Laws</em>,&nbsp;<em>The Mind Explained</em>, and&nbsp;<em>Economics in Twelve Systems</em>. The books were hard, clear, and bright like winter ice. Every sentence pointed like an arrow, and the Traveller felt smarter with every page. “Here,” he thought, “is what I came for: answers.”</p>
870
871
872
873<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But after a time, the light grew harsh, and the words – though sharp – offered no rest. He felt he had learned much, and yet not grown.</p>
874
875
876
877<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So he wandered next into the&nbsp;Chamber of Tales. Here were strange books that spoke of dragons and dying stars, of heroes who were cowards and cowards who became saints. The logic bent like a rainbow, and the truth came sideways.</p>
878
879
880
881<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At first he scoffed. “These things never happened!”</p>
882
883
884
885<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Lucidus appeared beside him and said quietly, “No – but they always happen.”</p>
886
887
888
889<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So the Traveller read on. And he wept when the fox died, and laughed when the king made a fool of himself. He saw his pride in the villain and his longing in the wandering knight. He saw the world as it might be – and in doing so, saw more clearly what the world was.</p>
890
891
892
893<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Time passed. The Traveller read from both wings of the library, sometimes walking the marble floors of Factland, sometimes lying on the mossy rugs of Fablemere. One sharpened his mind; the other softened his heart. One taught him how things work; the other, why they matter.</p>
894
895
896
897<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At last, he approached Lucidus.</p>
898
899
900
901<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Which was truer?” the Traveller asked. “The world I could measure, or the one I could feel?”</p>
902
903
904
905<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Lucidus smiled. “Ah. One is the lamp, the other the flame. But both are needed to see.”</p>
906
907
908
909<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Moral:<br>Fiction teaches the soul what nonfiction explains to the mind – and wisdom lives where both meet.</p>
910
911
912
913<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong><em>This proved to be a very interesting exercise, indeed.</em></strong></p>
914
915
916
917<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>
918
919			
920					</div><!-- .entry-content -->
921	</div>
922</article><!-- #post-## -->
923
924			
925				
926<article id="post-111627" class="post-111627 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-animals category-c-s-lewis category-christian-life category-family category-j-r-r-tolkien category-modern-life category-nature tag-adoption tag-animal-rescue tag-animals tag-c-s-lewis tag-cats tag-compassion tag-dogs tag-family tag-j-r-r-tolkien tag-mental-health tag-pets tag-suicide">
927			<div class="entry-wrapper">
928		<header class="entry-header">
929			<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/07/02/dog-rescues/" rel="bookmark">Dogs &amp; Rescues</a></h1>
930						<div class="entry-meta">
931				<span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/07/02/dog-rescues/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published updated" datetime="2025-07-02T14:18:06-07:00">July 2, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://mereinkling.net/author/robstroud/">robstroud</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/animals/" rel="category tag">Animals</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/c-s-lewis/" rel="category tag">C.S. Lewis</a>
931, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/christian-life/" rel="category tag">Christian Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/modern-life/family/" rel="category tag">Family</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/j-r-r-tolkien/" rel="category tag">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/modern-life/" rel="category tag">Modern Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/nature/" rel="category tag">Nature</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/07/02/dog-rescues/#comments">17 Comments</a></span>			</div><!-- .entry-meta -->
932					</header><!-- .entry-header -->
933
934		<div class="entry-content">
935			<div class="wp-block-image">
936<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/willow-stroud.png"><img data-attachment-id="111630" data-permalink="https://mereinkling.net/2025/07/02/dog-rescues/willow-stroud/" data-orig-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/willow-stroud.png" data-orig-size="3024,4032" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-title="Willow Stroud" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/willow-stroud.png?w=640" width="768" height="1024" src="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/willow-stroud.png?w=768" alt="" class="wp-image-111630" srcset="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/willow-stroud.png?w=768 768w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/willow-stroud.png?w=1536 1536w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/willow-stroud.png?w=113 113w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/willow-stroud.png?w=225 225w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/willow-stroud.png?w=1440 1440w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /></a></figure>
937</div>
938
939
940<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When we add an un-homed dog to our family, who is the true “rescuer?” In the States, we call many of our agencies placing orphaned pets “rescue centers.” But I believe most of us who have welcomed such creatures into our homes feel less pride in doing what’s noble, than we do appreciation for what these loving animals bring into our lives.</p>
941
942
943
944<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Long ago, I learned that the best way to tell about a person’s true character and compassion is to observe <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2018/06/28/worshipping-cats-dogs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">how they treat animals</a>.</p>
945
946
947
948<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&nbsp;Nothing I’ve witnessed in the past decades has caused me to question that conviction.</p>
949
950
951
952<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Recently I saw a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln which expresses the same sentiment.&nbsp;</p>
953
954
955
956<p class="has-text-align-center has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4 wp-block-paragraph" style="color:#1c23a6">“I care not for a man&#8217;s religion<br>whose dog and cat are not the better for it.”</p>
957
958
959
960<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While the attribution of these words to America’s sixteenth president may be <a href="https://drloihjournal.blogspot.com/2020/08/unfounded-quotes-attributed-to-abraham-lincoln.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">questioned</a>, they are certainly consistent with his regard for dogs . . . and, as the quotation declared, <a href="https://conservationcubclub.com/president-lincoln-and-his-cats/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cats</a> as well.</p>
961
962
963
964<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Four of our most recent six <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2014/01/13/a-song-has-ended/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dogs</a> have been rescues. All but one has been a <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2014/12/23/adopting-a-puppy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">border collie</a>.</p>
965
966
967
968<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The latest girl who joined our family, just last year, was promoted on a Border Collie Rescue page. She appeared to be a young mix with, of all things, a dalmatian.</p>
969
970
971
972<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When we traveled to meet her, we immediately suspected she lacked any border collie DNA, but we (and our older border collie) connected with her that day and she came home with us. A year later, we’re certain she’s just, as our vet assessed, a mutt – but that’s fine with us. The picture at the top of this page shows her resting on her adoptive mom’s lap. (Many of her black spots have spread since we first got her when she resembled the victims of Cruella de Vil.)</p>
973
974
975
976<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I’ve written in the past about how <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2012/11/08/c-s-lewis-beloved-dogs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">C.S. Lewis loved dogs</a>. It’s no surprise, of course, that a good-natured man of faith like Lewis would love animals.</p>
977
978
979
980<p class="wp-block-paragraph">J.R.R. Tolkien also loved dogs. They are featured in a number of his books, and a canine named Rover featured as the protagonist of his 1925 children’s story, <em>
980<a href="https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Roverandom" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Roverandom</a></em>.</p>
981
982
983
984<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>A Caution</strong></p>
985
986
987
988<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Pay attention to how people treat animals. It is a clue to their psyche and a window into their soul.&nbsp;</p>
989
990
991
992<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While some people are indifferent to animals, which is normal, there are those who treat them with cold disregard or animosity. The message of “<a href="https://aldf.org/article/the-link-between-cruelty-to-animals-and-violence-toward-humans-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Link Between Cruelty to Animals and Violence Toward Humans</a>” confirms what we all recognize intuitively.</p>
993
994
995
996<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
997<p class="wp-block-paragraph">People who hurt animals don’t stop with animals. There is an established link between cruelty to animals and violence toward humans . . .</p>
998
999
1000
1001<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This link makes it critically important that cruelty toward animals be taken seriously by law enforcement, and by society at large. This is for the sake of the animals themselves, and for people who are also at risk. . . .</p>
1002
1003
1004
1005<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Ample research backs up the finding that there is a direct link between acts of cruelty to animals and violence toward humans. This includes child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse and other violent behavior.</p>
1006</blockquote>
1007
1008
1009
1010<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There are good people, and bad people. Fortunately, in the case of the treatment of pets, the former outnumber the latter. One day, when Earth is made new and restored to its initial goodness, all life will once again be in harmony. As we hear in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%20148&amp;version=ESV" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Psalm 148</a> and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rev%205%3A13&amp;version=ESV" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Revelation 5</a>,</p>
1011
1012
1013
1014<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1015<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Praise the&nbsp;Lord&nbsp;from the earth,<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;you&nbsp;great sea creatures and all deeps,<br>fire and hail,&nbsp;snow and mist,<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;stormy wind&nbsp;fulfilling his word!<br>Mountains and all hills,<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;fruit trees and all&nbsp;cedars!<br>Beasts and all livestock,<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;creeping things and&nbsp;flying birds!</p>
1016
1017
1018
1019<p class="wp-block-paragraph">And I heard&nbsp;every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,&nbsp;“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb<br>be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”</p>
1020</blockquote>
1021
1022
1023
1024<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Until that day, let us each act with compassion toward the creatures that enrich our lives, particularly those who trust us to protect their welfare.</p>
1025
1026
1027
1028<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>A Closing Thought</strong></p>
1029
1030
1031
1032<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sometimes the word “rescue” applies literally. More than one lonely and clinically depressed person has stopped contemplating the <a href="https://servicedogssavinglives.org/transforming-suicide-prevention-through-canine-companions-for-veterans-and-first-responders/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ending of their life</a> when a gentle support animal brought light to their dark world.&nbsp;</p>
1033
1034
1035
1036<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Then there is the recent case of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/04/16/g-s1-60747/dog-finds-and-rescues-toddler-who-spent-night-lost-and-alone-in-arizona-desert" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Buford</a>, a ranch dog who found a two-year-old boy lost in a desert wilderness and remained with him overnight until he could lead him safely home.</p>
1037
1038
1039
1040<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As for who rescues whom, count me in the camp of those who believe the gift is mutual.</p>
1041
1042
1043
1044<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>
1045
1046			
1047					</div><!-- .entry-content -->
1048	</div>
1049</article><!-- #post-## -->
1050
1051			
1052				
1053<article id="post-110672" class="post-110672 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-c-s-lewis category-history category-just-war category-military-history category-modern-life category-narnia category-theological-matters tag-aslan tag-atomic-bomb tag-c-s-lewis tag-chronicles-of-narnia tag-enduring-freedom tag-iran tag-israel tag-military-operations tag-mutually-assured-destruction tag-narnia tag-nuclear-war tag-operation-narnia tag-queen-jadis tag-rising-lion tag-salvation tag-war">
1054			<div class="entry-wrapper">
1055		<header class="entry-header">
1056			<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/06/24/c-s-lewis-irans-nuclear-program/" rel="bookmark">C.S. Lewis &amp; Iran’s Nuclear&nbsp;Program</a></h1>
1057						<div class="entry-meta">
1058				<span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/06/24/c-s-lewis-irans-nuclear-program/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published updated" datetime="2025-06-24T13:38:46-07:00">June 24, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://mereinkling.net/author/robstroud/">robstroud</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/c-s-lewis/" rel="category tag">C.S. Lewis</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/history/" rel="category tag">History</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/theological-matters/just-war/" rel="category tag">Just War</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/history/military-history/" rel="category tag">Military History</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/modern-life/" rel="category tag">Modern Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/narnia/" rel="category tag">Narnia</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/theological-matters/" rel="category tag">Theological Matters</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/06/24/c-s-lewis-irans-nuclear-program/#comments">18 Comments</a></span>			</div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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1063<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/empress-jadis.png"><img data-attachment-id="110685" data-permalink="https://mereinkling.net/2025/06/24/c-s-lewis-irans-nuclear-program/empress-jadis/" data-orig-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/empress-jadis.png" data-orig-size="1855,1343" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-title="Empress Jadis" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/empress-jadis.png?w=640" width="1024" height="741" src="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/empress-jadis.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-110685" srcset="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/empress-jadis.png?w=1024 1024
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1067<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Connecting C.S. Lewis to the pursuit of nuclear weapons by Iran’s mullahs admittedly sounds like a protracted stretch. Yet the current conflict between Iran and Israel <em>does</em> have one astonishing element that does link the great Oxbridge professor with the conflict.</p>
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1071<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If you’re familiar with Lewis’ writings, you might logically assume the connection relates to his writing on <a href="https://www.acq.osd.mil/ncbdp/nm/NMHB2020rev/chapters/chapter13.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nuclear weapons</a>. After all, in 1948 he wrote an essay entitled “<a href="https://www.andybannister.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/cslewis-living-in-an-atomic-age.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">On Living in an Atomic Age</a>.” The matter is even more acute since we moved from the era of relatively minuscule A-bombs into a time when humanity’s H-bombs, employing fusion rather than mere fission, are thousands of times more deadly.</p>
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1075<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Lewis discusses some interesting philosophical (and theological) questions in his article. He begins by placing the question within the context of our inherent physical mortality. He writes, “do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation.”</p>
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1079<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1080<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. . . .</p>
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1084<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.</p>
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1089<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Don’t let the stoic beginning of his thoughts deter you from reading the essay itself, because C.S. Lewis does not leave us despairing. On the contrary, he offers <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2012/12/04/avoid-living-in-fear/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hope</a> and practical advice for maximizing the meaning of our lives.&nbsp;</p>
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1093<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Although C.S. Lewis lived into the beginning of the MAD (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/mutual-assured-destruction" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mutually Assured Destruction</a>) era, he chose not to inject himself into <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2020/09/15/c-s-lewis-and-garters/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">political subjects</a>,&nbsp;lest it detract from his advocacy for the simple Gospel.</p>
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1097<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nevertheless, the brief note “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/45347810" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">C.S. Lewis and Nuclear Weapons</a>,”penned forty years ago by a “peace activist” pastor, conjectures on what the author’s opinion may have been. It is thought-provoking, especially in mentioning a possible link between nuclear destruction and the “deplorable word” referred to in The Chronicles of Narnia.&nbsp;</p>
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1101<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In&nbsp;<em>The Magician’s Nephew</em>, Lewis’ child protagonists encounter a witch queen on the devasted world of Charn. Queen Jadis, when denied the power to rule over the planet, chose to invoke a curse that destroyed every living thing other than herself.&nbsp;
1101“Then I spoke the Deplorable Word. A moment later I was the only living thing beneath the sun.”</p>
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1105<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While Lewis does not elaborate on the nature of the destructive nature of this most deplorable of powers, Aslan does offer the following caution near the end of the novel.</p>
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1109<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1110<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It is not certain that some wicked one of your race will not find out a secret as evil as the Deplorable Word and use it to destroy all living things. And soon, very soon, before you are an old man and an old woman, great nations in your world will be ruled by tyrants who care no more for joy and justice and mercy than the Empress Jadis. Let your world beware.</p>
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1115<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>So, what does this have to do with Iran &amp; Israel?</strong></p>
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1119<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Frankly, I find the connection to be especially odd. As you may know, military entities have a propensity to apply nicknames or euphemisms to various things, such as their <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2013/09/30/powerful-names/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">weapon systems</a>.</p>
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1123<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This is true for military campaigns or discrete operations. For example, the <a href="https://libguides.fdlp.gov/military-history-american-conflicts-and-wars/military-conflicts-since-1975" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">United States</a> has employed labels like Operation Linebacker (in Vietnam) and <a href="https://www.uso.org/stories/1798-naming-military-operations-is-a-war-of-words" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Operation Crossroads</a> (for 1946 nuclear weapons tests).</p>
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1127<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sadly, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220068/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Operation Enduring Freedom</a>&nbsp;(in which I personally took part) did not live up to&nbsp;<em>its</em>&nbsp;name. Under the Taliban, Afghanistan has degenerated once again into a primitive morass which abuses its women and children.</p>
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1131<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A number of distinct operations have taken place during the current war between Iran (and its proxies) and Israel. <a href="https://www.christiantoday.com/news/operation-rising-lion-what-s-behind-the-name-of-israel-s-offensive-against-iran" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Operation Rising Lion</a> is Israel’s nomenclature for the various elements of their direct attack on Iran. One independent Jewish <a href="https://forward.com/culture/728869/meaning-of-operation-rising-lion-netanyahu-israel-iran-bible/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">news site</a> points out how Benjamin Netanyahu foreshadowed the campaign in May when he said, “the verse in the Tanach that most fits with an existential war? That’s our war – a war of existence . . . A people that rises like a lion, leaps up like the king of beasts.”</p>
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1135<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1136<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Every Israeli <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/israel-s-wars-and-operations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">military operation</a> has a name, and the Iran attack is now called&nbsp;<em>Am K’lavi</em>, or “a people like a lion” – the exact wording Netanyahu used six weeks ago. English-language publications now refer to the operation as “Rising Lion.”</p>
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1141<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While this is quite interesting, it is the name assigned to one of the subsidiary operations encompassed by Rising Lion which possesses a genuinely shocking designation.</p>
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1145<p class="wp-block-paragraph">One initial focus of Israel’s campaign was to eliminate the leading scientists leading Iran’s efforts to pursue a nuclear arsenal. They named this particular facet&nbsp;<strong>Operation Narnia</strong>.</p>
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1149<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When I first saw that, I immediately thought I must have misread the title. But no, they actually chose Narnia as the name for the assassinations. At that point I thought they might be referring to some&nbsp;<em>other</em> Narnia. Alas, it doesn’t appear they were alluding to the <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/37337/narni-italys-ins
1149piration-for-the-magical-realm-of-c-s-lewis" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">medieval Italian city</a> whose name inspired C.S. Lewis.</p>
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1153<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The reason for choosing Narnia as the operation’s title was apparently an intentional reference to the amazing world where so many of us met the awesome and compassionate Aslan. In “‘<a href="https://matzav.com/operation-narnia-how-israeli-intelligence-targeted-key-iranian-nuclear-scientists/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Operation Narnia:’ How Israeli Intelligence Targeted Key Iranian Nuclear Scientists</a>,” we read:</p>
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1157<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1158<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Israel kicked off Operation “Rising Lion” last Friday, launching a sweeping military assault that dealt a major blow to Iran’s leadership and nuclear infrastructure. . . .</p>
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1162<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a surprising detail, the&nbsp;<em>Jerusalem Post&nbsp;</em>reports, the component of the mission aimed at Iran’s nuclear scientists was codenamed “Narnia” by Israeli forces – a reference to the fantasy realm, underscoring how bold and unlikely such a strike might have seemed before it was executed.</p>
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1167<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Another intriguing rationale for entitling the Operation after C.S. Lewis’ creation is even more provocative. The Substack blog <a href="https://wardrobedoor.substack.com/p/cs-lewis-role-in-israels-attack-on" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wardrobe Door</a> proposes a supernatural consideration for the choice of “Narnia.”</p>
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1171<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1172<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The&nbsp;<em>[Jerusalem] Post</em>&nbsp;says the name “reflects the operation’s improbable nature, like something out of a fantasy tale rather than a real-world event.” One could also imagine it involved deep espionage tactics that may have had soldiers sneaking in areas as if through a magical wardrobe.</p>
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1177<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Whatever tactics may have been used in Operation Narnia, it is intriguing to consider how the power of C.S. Lewis’ vision has spread across national boundaries. May all people heed Lewis’ witness to humanity’s Savior, for surely,</p>
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1181<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1182<p class="wp-block-paragraph">God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing (<em>Mere Christianity</em>).</p>
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1196<article id="post-100388" class="post-100388 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-books category-c-s-lewis category-christian-life category-christianity category-church-history category-great-authors-writing category-history category-humor category-latin category-literature category-marriage category-modern-life category-ordained-ministry category-the-medieval-church category-theological-matters category-words tag-abelard tag-c-s-lewis tag-cannons tag-canons tag-castration tag-clergy tag-france tag-heloise tag-heresy tag-historical-fiction tag-hypocrisy tag-judgment tag-limbo tag-love tag-lust tag-lutheran tag-mark-twain tag-norway tag-paris tag-pastors tag-roman-catholic tag-romance">
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1199			<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/06/13/explosive-clergy/" rel="bookmark">Explosive Clergy</a></h1>
1200						<div class="entry-meta">
1201				<span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/06/13/explosive-clergy/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2025-06-13T14:30:41-07:00">June 13, 2025</time><time class="updated" datetime="2025-06-13T14:31:31-07:00">June 13, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://mereinkling.net/author/robstroud/">robstroud</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/writing/books/" rel="category tag">Books</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/c-s-lewis/" rel="category tag">C.S. Lewis</a>
1201, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/christian-life/" rel="category tag">Christian Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/theological-matters/christianity/" rel="category tag">Christianity</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/church-history/" rel="category tag">Church History</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/writing/great-authors-writing/" rel="category tag">Great Authors</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/history/" rel="category tag">History</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/humor/" rel="category tag">Humor</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/history/latin/" rel="category tag">Latin</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/literature/" rel="category tag">Literature</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/modern-life/marriage/" rel="category tag">Marriage</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/modern-life/" rel="category tag">Modern Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/theological-matters/ordained-ministry/" rel="category tag">Ordained Ministry</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/church-history/the-medieval-church/" rel="category tag">The Medieval Church</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/theological-matters/" rel="category tag">Theological Matters</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/writing/words/" rel="category tag">Words</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/06/13/explosive-clergy/#comments">17 Comments</a></span>			</div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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1206<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/pair-of-canons.png"><img data-attachment-id="100399" data-permalink="https://mereinkling.net/pair-of-canons/" data-orig-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/pair-of-canons.png" data-orig-size="974,941" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-title="pair-of-canons" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/pair-of-canons.png?w=640" loading="lazy" width="974" height="941" src="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/pair-of-canons.png?w=974" alt="" class="wp-image-100399" srcset="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/pair-of-canons.png 974w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/pair-of-canons.png?w=150 150w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/pair-of-canons.png?w=300 300w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/pair-of-canons.png?w=768 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 974px) 100vw, 974px" /></a></figure>
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1210<p class="wp-block-paragraph">What’s with <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://mereinkling.net/2013/09/09/unimpressive-clergy/" target="_blank">pastors</a>? As one, I probably know more than the typical person does about them – and all too often, they disappoint. </p>
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1214<p class="wp-block-paragraph">That’s a bit harsh. Most pastors are pretty selfless. That’s fairly evident in their salaries (if they even receive one). And, trust me, trying to be a faithful leader and <a href="https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-embattled-pastor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">peacemaker</a> in any group comprised of human beings, is no easy task.</p>
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1218<p class="wp-block-paragraph">My sainted grandmother, born at the end of the nineteenth century, was the daughter of <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2018/07/05/c-s-lewis-and-american-fjords/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Norwegian</a> immigrants. She was an authentic follower of Jesus, and when she was young the sermons at Fordefjord Lutheran Church* were preached in the immigrants’ tongue. We occasionally talked about how scandalized she was when one of the ministers serving the congregation pronounced “<em>helvete vil være fullt av pastorer</em>” (hell will be full of pastors).</p>
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1222<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Well, not “full” perhaps, but in principle he was right. And, sadly, his warning is not at all shocking to us today. We read regularly about clergy who are arrested for violating the trust of the most vulnerable. Likewise, we hear about the outrageous <a href="https://www.therichest.com/richest-celebrity-preachers-in-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wealth</a> of some ministers (including, it seems, nearly every televangelist). Even pastors in small enclaves with little access to the temptation offered by easily accessible cash, can too often succumb to the sirens of pride and power, twisting their pastoral authority into a weapon to abuse others. (It’s the opposite of the messianic promise found in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+2%3A4&amp;version=ESV" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Isaiah 2:4</a>.)</p>
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1226<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It’s almost enough to drive a person from the Lord’s house. But that is <em>not</em> the answer, of course. Finding a truly Christian church, with a pastor earnestly (albeit imperfectly) pursuing his holy vocation, is the best course.</p>
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1230<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Scriptures say many things about ministry, and Jesus himself provides the perfect example of willingness to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+2%3A4&amp;version=ESV" target="_blank">lay down one’s life</a> for the sheep. </p>
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1234<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The letter of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=james+3%3A1-2&amp;version=ESV" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">James</a> cautions those considering a life of “ministry” that they will face a <em>stricter judgment</em> than the laity (which comes from λαός which refers to the people at large).</p>
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1238<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Personally, I especially appreciate being reminded of God’s warning to religious leaders from the lips of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+23%3A1-4&amp;version=ESV" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jeremiah</a>. (I also appreciate the ironic tone of God’s judgment.)</p>
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1242<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1243<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and 
1243you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds,” declares the Lord.</p>
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1248<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The picture at the top of this column comes from one of <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2018/02/08/mark-twains-editorial-sketches/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mark Twain</a>’s travelogues. It illustrates the vindictive priest Fulbert, in Twain’s retelling of the story of Abelard and Héloïse, 12th century lovers. More about that momentarily. Abelard was a prominent philosopher who tangled for several years with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a significant dispute ably discussed <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/evangelicalpulpit/2018/05/learning-the-good-life-and-skin-in-the-game/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.</p>
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1252<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Abelard and the Inklings</strong></p>
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1256<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/peter-abelard-and-the-development-of-scholasticism/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Abelard</a> (c. 1079-1142) was a philosopher who, as was common during the Middle Ages, was also a theologian. Among his contributions to religion was revising the Roman Catholic doctrine of <em>limbus infantium</em> (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/limbo-Roman-Catholic-theology#ref222487" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Limbo</a> for unbaptized infants).</p>
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1260<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/abelard-and-heloise-735128" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">popular culture</a>, Abelard’s love affair with his eventual “wife” is more prominent than his religious pursuits. Although Abelard was a famous figure during the medieval period, he did not feature significantly in C.S. Lewis’ thought. He did, however, exert a prominent influence on Charles Williams’ <em><a href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.225993/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Place of the Lion</a></em>, a volume Lewis praised.</p>
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1264<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In “Friendship in <em><a href="https://pillars.taylor.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1343&amp;context=inklings_forever" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Place of the Lion</a></em>,” Dan Hamilton provides a very accessible synopsis of Williams’ book. He describes the experience of a primary character, who is writing her dissertation on “Pythagorean Influences on Abelard.” As she struggles with the appearance of supernatural phenomena, “she encounters the specter of Abelard, a major subject of her studies. But he is dead, and powerless to give her any aid, not even a meaningful word.” The “archetypes” in the story, by contrast, possess genuine power. It is a very unique book.</p>
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1268<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Returning to Mark Twain’s retelling of the popular medieval tale, we leave the realm of platonic philosophy, and enter the world of sordid human activities. Twain, you see, was not sympathetic to Abelard’s wooing of a young student and his eventual repentance. In his account, Twain desired “to show the public that they have been wasting a good deal of marketable sentiment very unnecessarily.” If you are curious as to his perspective on the events, continue reading.</p>
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1272<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Twain’s Take on Abelard and Héloïse</strong><br>(not brief, but well worth reading)</p>
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1276<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In his own words, Twain’s “faithful” version of their story – but first, he begins with a description of their shared gravesite.</p>
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1280<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But among the thousands and thousands of tombs in <a href="https://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/paris/articles/the-10-unforgettable-graves-to-see-in-pere-lachaise-cemetery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Père la Chaise</a> [cemetery] there is one that no man, no woman, no youth of either sex, ever passes by without stopping to examine. Every visitor has a sort of indistinct idea of the history of its dead, and comprehends that homage is due there, but not one in twenty thousand clearly remembers the story of that tomb and its romantic occupants. This is the grave of Abelard and Heloise – a grave which has been more revered, more widely known, more written and sung about and wept over, for seven hundred years, than any other in Christendom, save only that of the Saviour.</p>
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1284<p class="wp-block-paragraph">All visitors linger pensively about it; all young people capture and carry away keepsakes and mementoes of it; all Parisian youths and maidens who are disappointed in love come there to bail out when they are full of tears; yea, many stricken lovers make pilgrimages to this shrine from distant provinces to weep and wail and “grit” their teeth over their heavy sorrows, and to purchase the sympathies of the chastened spirits of that tomb with offerings of immortelles and budding flowers.</p>
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1288<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Go when you will, you find somebody snuffling over that tomb. Go when you will, you find it furnished with those bouquets and immortelles. Go when you will, you find a gravel-train from Marseilles arriving to supply the deficiencies caused by memento-cabbaging vandals whose affections have miscarried.</p>
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1292<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Yet who really knows the story of Abelard and Heloise? Precious few people. The names are perfectly familiar to every body, and that is about all. <em>With infinite pains I have acquired a knowledge of that history, and I propose to narrate it here</em>, [italics added] partly for the honest information of the public and partly to show that public that they have been wasting a good deal of marketable sentiment very unnecessarily.</p>
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1296<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Heloise was born seven hundred and sixty-six years ago. She may have had parents. There is no telling. She lived with her uncle Fulbert, a canon of the cathedral of Paris. I do n
1296ot know what a canon of a cathedral is, but that is what he was. He was nothing more than a sort of a mountain howitzer, likely, because they had no heavy artillery in those days. Suffice it, then, that Heloise lived with her uncle the howitzer, and was happy.</p>
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1300<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She spent the most of her childhood in the convent of Argenteuil – never heard of Argenteuil before, but suppose there was really such a place. She then returned to her uncle, the old gun, or son of a gun, as the case may be, and he taught her to write and speak Latin, which was the language of literature and polite society at that period.</p>
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1304<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Just at this time, Pierre Abelard, who had already made himself widely famous as a rhetorician, came to found a school of rhetoric in Paris. The originality of his principles, his eloquence, and his great physical strength and beauty created a profound sensation. He saw Heloise, and was captivated by her blooming youth, her beauty and her charming disposition. He wrote to her; she answered. He wrote again, she answered again. He was now in love. He longed to know her – to speak to her face to face.</p>
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1308<p class="wp-block-paragraph">His school was near Fulbert’s house. He asked Fulbert to allow him to call. The good old swivel saw here a rare opportunity: his niece, whom he so much loved, would absorb knowledge from this man, and it would not cost him a cent. Such was Fulbert – penurious . . . He asked Abelard to teach her.</p>
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1312<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Abelard was glad enough of the opportunity. He came often and staid long. A letter of his shows in its very first sentence that he came under that friendly roof like a cold-hearted villain as he was, with the deliberate intention of debauching a confiding, innocent girl. This is the letter :</p>
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1316<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I can not cease to be astonished at the simplicity of Fulbert; I was as much surprised as if he had placed a lamb in the power of a hungry wolf. Heloise and I, under pretext of study, gave ourselves up wholly to love, and the solitude that love seeks our studies procured for us. Books were open before us, but we spoke oftener of love than philosophy, and kisses came more readily from our lips than words.”</p>
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1319
1320<p class="wp-block-paragraph">And so, exulting over an honorable confidence which to his degraded instinct was a ludicrous “simplicity,” this unmanly Abelard seduced the niece of the man whose guest he was. Paris found it out. Fulbert was told of it – told often – but refused to believe it. He could not comprehend how a man could be so depraved as to use the sacred protection and security of hospitality as a means for the commission of such a crime as that. But when he heard the rowdies in the streets singing the love-songs of Abelard to Heloise, the case was too plain – love-songs come not properly within the teachings of rhetoric and philosophy.</p>
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1324<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He drove Abelard from his house. Abelard returned secretly and carried Heloise away to Palais, in Brittany, his native country. Here, shortly afterward, she bore a son, who, from his rare beauty, was surnamed Astrolabe. . . . The girl’s flight enraged Fulbert, and he longed for vengeance, but feared to strike lest retaliation visit Heloise – for he still loved her tenderly. At length Abelard offered to marry Heloise – but on a shameful condition: that the marriage should be kept secret from the world, to the end that (while her good name remained a wreck, as before) his priestly reputation might be kept untarnished. It was like that miscreant.</p>
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1328<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Fulbert saw his opportunity and consented. He would see the parties married, and then violate the confidence of the man who had taught him that trick; he would divulge the secret and so remove somewhat of the obloquy that attached to his niece’s fame. But the niece suspected his scheme. She refused the marriage, at first; she said Fulbert would betray the secret to save her, and besides, she did not wish to drag down a lover who was so gifted, so honored by the world, and who had such a splendid career before him. It was noble, self-sacrificing love, and characteristic of the pure-souled Heloise, but it was not good sense.</p>
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1332<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But she was overruled, and the private marriage took place. Now for Fulbert! The heart so wounded should be healed at last; the proud spirit so tortured should find rest again; the humbled head should be lifted up once more. He proclaimed the marriage in the high places of the city, and rejoiced that dishonor had departed from his house. But lo! Abelard de
1332nied the marriage! Heloise denied it! The people, knowing the former circumstances, might have believed Fulbert, had only Abelard denied it, but when the person chiefly interested – the girl herself – denied it, they laughed despairing Fulbert to scorn.</p>
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1336<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The poor canon of the cathedral of Paris was spiked again. The last hope of repairing the wrong that had been done his house was gone. What next? Human nature suggested revenge. He compassed it. The historian says: “Ruffians, hired by Fulbert, fell upon Abelard by night, and inflicted upon him a terrible and nameless mutilation.”</p>
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1340<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I am seeking the last resting-place of those “ruffians.” When I find it I shall shed some tears on it, and stack up some bouquets and immortelles, and cart away from it some gravel whereby to remember that howsoever blotted by crime their lives may have been, these ruffians did one just deed, at any rate, albeit it was not warranted by the strict letter of the law.</p>
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1343
1344<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Heloise entered a convent and gave good-bye to the world and its pleasures for all time. For twelve years she never heard of Abelard – never even heard his name mentioned. She had become prioress of Argenteuil, and led a life of complete seclusion. She happened one day to see a letter written by him, in which he narrated his own history. She cried over it, and wrote him. He answered, addressing her as his “sister in Christ.”</p>
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1347
1348<p class="wp-block-paragraph">They continued to correspond, she in the un-weighed language of unwavering affection, he in the chilly phraseology of the polished rhetorician. She poured out her heart in passionate, disjointed sentences; he replied with finished essays, divided deliberately into heads and sub-heads, premises and argument. She showered upon him the tenderest epithets that love could devise, he addressed her from the North Pole of his frozen heart as the “Spouse of Christ!” The abandoned villain!</p>
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1352<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On account of her too easy government of her nuns, some disreputable irregularities were discovered among them, and the Abbot of St. Denis broke up her establishment. Abelard was the official head of the monastery of St. Grildas de Ruys, at that time, and when he heard of her homeless condition a sentiment of pity was aroused in his breast (it is a wonder the unfamiliar emotion did not blow his head off), and he placed her and her troop in the little oratory of the Paraclete, a religious establishment which he had founded.</p>
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1355
1356<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She had many privations and sufferings to undergo at first, but her worth and her gentle disposition won influential friends for her, and she built up a wealthy and flourishing nunnery. She became a great favorite with the heads of the church, and also the people, though she seldom appeared in public. She rapidly advanced in esteem, in good report and in usefulness, and Abelard as rapidly lost ground. The Pope so honored her that he made her the head of her order.</p>
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1360<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Abelard, a man of splendid talents, and ranking as the first debater of his time, became timid, irresolute, and distrustful of his powers. He only needed a great misfortune to topple him from the high position he held in the world of intellectual excellence, and it came. Urged by kings and princes to meet the subtle St. Bernard in debate and crush him, he stood up in the presence of a royal and illustrious assemblage, and when his antagonist had finished he looked about him, and stammered a commencement; but his courage failed him, the cunning of his tongue was gone: with his speech unspoken, he trembled and gat down, a disgraced and vanquished champion.</p>
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1362
1363
1364<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He died a nobody, and was buried at Cluny, A.D., 1144. They removed his body to the Paraclete afterward, and when Heloise died, twenty years later, they buried her with him, in accordance with her last wish. He died at the ripe age of 64, and she at 63. After the bodies had remained entombed three hundred years, they were removed once more. They were removed again in 1800, and finally, seventeen years afterward, they were taken up and transferred to Pere la Chaise, where they will remain in peace and quiet until it comes time for them to get up and move again.</p>
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1367
1368<p class="wp-block-paragraph">
1368History is silent concerning the last acts of the mountain howitzer. Let the world say what it will about him, <em>I</em>, at least, shall always respect the memory and sorrow for the abused trust, and the broken heart, and the troubled spirit of the old smooth-bore. Rest and repose be his!</p>
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1372<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Such is the story of Abelard and Heloise. (<em><a href="https://twain.lib.virginia.edu/innocent/iahompag.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Innocents Abroad</a></em>).</p>
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1376<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity" />
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1380<p class="wp-block-paragraph">* Later Fordefjord was unimaginatively renamed “First Lutheran Church.”</p>
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1384<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A novel entitled Peter Abelard was published in 1933 by Helen Waddell. It is available at <em><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://archive.org/details/peterabelard030669mbp/" target="_blank">Internet Archive</a></em> for those who prefer their history via the medium of historical fiction. The illustration below, apparently imitating a fading fresco, comes from that volume.</p>
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1387<div class="wp-block-image is-resized">
1388<figure class="aligncenter size-medium"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/heloise.png"><img data-attachment-id="100390" data-permalink="https://mereinkling.net/heloise/" data-orig-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/heloise.png" data-orig-size="678,1108" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-title="heloise" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/heloise.png?w=627" loading="lazy" width="184" height="300" src="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/heloise.png?w=184" alt="" class="wp-image-100390" srcset="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/heloise.png?w=184 184w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/heloise.png?w=368 368w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/heloise.png?w=92 92w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 184px) 100vw, 184px" /></a></figure>
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1401<article id="post-105038" class="post-105038 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-c-s-lewis category-christian-life category-modern-life category-theological-matters tag-anxiety tag-c-s-lewis tag-christianity tag-crime tag-fear tag-insomnia tag-jesus tag-john-of-the-cross tag-light tag-mental-health tag-sleep tag-spiritual-warfare tag-worry">
1402			<div class="entry-wrapper">
1403		<header class="entry-header">
1404			<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/28/nighttime-anxiety/" rel="bookmark">Anxiety &amp; Nighttime</a></h1>
1405						<div class="entry-meta">
1406				<span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/28/nighttime-anxiety/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published updated" datetime="2025-05-28T20:02:28-07:00">May 28, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://mereinkling.net/author/robstroud/">robstroud</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/c-s-lewis/" rel="category tag">C.S. Lewis</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/christian-life/" rel="category tag">Christian Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/modern-life/" rel="category tag">Modern Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/theological-matters/" rel="category tag">Theological Matters</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/28/nighttime-anxiety/#comments">12 Comments</a></span>			</div><!-- .entry-meta -->
1407					</header><!-- .entry-header -->
1408
1409		<div class="entry-content">
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1411<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/worried-sleep.png"><img data-attachment-id="105059" data-permalink="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/28/nighttime-anxiety/worried-sleep/" data-orig-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/worried-sleep.png" data-orig-size="1943,1232" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-title="worried sleep" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/worried-sleep.png?w=640" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="649" src="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/worried-sleep.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-105059" srcset="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/worried-sleep.png?w=1024 1024
1411w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/worried-sleep.png?w=150 150w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/worried-sleep.png?w=300 300w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/worried-sleep.png?w=768 768w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/worried-sleep.png?w=1440 1440w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/worried-sleep.png 1943w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
1412</div>
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1415<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Everyone experiences some anxiety, but it is only considered a “<a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">disorder</a>” when it negatively affects one’s quality of life. Sadly, that level has been reached by nearly twenty percent of Americans.</p>
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1419<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1420<p class="wp-block-paragraph">An estimated 19.1% of U.S. adults had an anxiety disorder in the past year. Past year prevalence of any anxiety disorder was higher for females (23.4%) than for males (14.3%). An estimated 31.1% of U.S. adults experience any anxiety disorder at some time in their lives (<a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Institute of Mental Health</a>).</p>
1421</blockquote>
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1425<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As one <a href="https://www.hcf.com.au/health-agenda/body-mind/mental-health/anxiety-at-night" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">specialist</a>&nbsp;puts it, “there&#8217;s a very strong, well-documented bidirectional link between sleep and mental health issues like anxiety.” And it can become a vicious cycle: “If you have poor sleep, you’re at greater risk of a mental health issue. And if you have a mental health condition like anxiety, you’re more likely to develop a sleep disorder.”</p>
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1429<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Those “disorder” figures are only for anxiety passing a problematic threshold. Feeling some anxiety is a normal part of life, even for Christians. (Fortunately, however, we have an Intercessor who alleviates anxiety in our fallen lives.)</p>
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1432
1433<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1434<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1435<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204%3A6-7&amp;version=ESV" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Philippians 4:6-7</a>).</p>
1436</blockquote>
1437</blockquote>
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1441<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The universality of experiencing anxiety is evidenced by the etymology of the word itself. The Latin <em>anxius</em> simply means troubled or worried (i.e. anxious).&nbsp;</p>
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1445<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In his classic&nbsp;<em>Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer</em>, C.S. Lewis addresses the negativity associated with being anxious, that actually worsens the problem.</p>
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1449<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1450<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith. I don&#8217;t agree at all. They are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the Passion of Christ.</p>
1451</blockquote>
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1455<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, if most of us admit to experiencing some <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2012/12/04/avoid-living-in-fear/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">worry</a>, the question posed by a recent article in <em><a href="https://time.com/7203404/why-is-anxiety-worse-at-night/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TIME</a></em> is whether the anxiety peaks at night. While not universal, “research has long suggested that, for many people, anxiety symptoms spike and mental health otherwise suffers at night.” While the piece cited several reasons, it left out two causes I consider self-evident.</p>
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1459<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The article points to studies about how substance abuse and suicidal behavior rise “after midnight,” and how “the racing thoughts that plague many anxiety sufferers are at their worst in the evening.” While I didn’t read the linked research, these statements are simply descriptive of the problem.</p>
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1463<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As for identified causes, the studies point to our diminished ability to “regulate emotions” as we tire. The issue of isolation is noted as a second factor, since “the rest of the world is asleep.” Further, the lack of daytime distractions may set the stage for “runaway anxiety” as we ponder the “what ifs” of the future. Another logical finding is that anxiety builds as we sleep poorly because we are worrying, which makes us prone to becoming even more anxious.</p>
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1466
1467<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>So What are the Uncited Factors?</strong></p>
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1471<p class="wp-block-paragraph">First, it seems to me that the darkness of night itself is a major consideration. Since <a href="https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/31354/0000265.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">primordial times</a>, night was foreboding. Sharpened wooden or stone-tipped weapons offered little enough defense when we could see predators (beast or human). Our ability to make fires and light candles ignited trifling circles of light that barely penetrated the shadows.</p>
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1475<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The uncertainty about what lurks in those shadows remains with us today. Just consider how quickly chaos can arise when there are <a href="https://www.apu.apus.edu/area-of-study/security-and-global-studies/resources/most-law-enforcement-agencies-are-not-prepared-for-long-term-power-outages/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">power outages</a>
1475 and the “protection” offered by light instantly evaporates.</p>
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1479<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Related to this is the simple fact that bad things (like <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2015/02/17/slippery-crimes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crimes</a>), increase during darkness. While many <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2016/07/13/c-s-lewis-the-police/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unlawful acts</a> certainly occur during daylight hours, many of the most violent and heinous crimes, such as rape, occur after the sun sets. You can compare many variables at <a href="https://www.vivint.com/resources/article/when-does-crime-occur-most" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this website</a>.&nbsp;</p>
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1483<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It is simply common sense to recognize we are more vulnerable to violent attack when darkness masks attackers’ identities. The Book of Job vividly describes this lawless predilection.</p>
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1487<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1488<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There are those who rebel against the light,<br>     are not acquainted with its ways,<br>     and do not stay in its paths.<br>The murderer rises before it is light,<br>    that he may kill the poor and needy,<br>     in the night he is like a thief.<br>The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight,<br>    saying, ‘No eye will see me;’<br>     he veils his face.<br>In the dark they dig through houses;<br>    by day they shut themselves up;<br>    they do not know the light.<br>For deep darkness is morning to all of them;<br>for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2024%3A13-17&amp;version=ESV" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Job 24:13-17</a>).</p>
1489</blockquote>
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1492
1493<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While the increased criminal behavior during darkness may have been omitted due to the tacit acknowledgment that it is a factor, my second observation was quite possibly overlooked due to ignorance or prejudice.</p>
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1497<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>The Spiritual Consideration</strong></p>
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1501<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I am convinced there is a spiritual component to our wariness related to darkness. Even those secularists dismissive of this reality would likely recognize this as a common perception. After all, it is no accident that stories (ancient and modern) depict wicked gatherings and malevolent supernatural events as taking place primarily at night.</p>
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1504
1505<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Scriptures discuss this Light/Dark dichotomy extensively. One of the clearest examples comes in the explanation for why sinful people choose to reject the coming of Christ.</p>
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1509<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1510<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. . . .</p>
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1514<p class="wp-block-paragraph">[Jesus said] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned . . . the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.</p>
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1518<p class="wp-block-paragraph">For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201%3A1-5%2C%203%3A16-21&amp;version=ESV" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John 1–3</a>, selected verses).</p>
1519</blockquote>
1520
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1522
1523<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Because darkness helps mask unsavory behavior, author Dave Jenkins advises people to be vigilant regarding their own temptations. He shares his <a href="https://servantsofgrace.org/night-time-danger-time/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">personal story</a>&nbsp;attesting to his contention that “night time for many men and women is danger time.”</p>
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1527<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This certainly is not God’s desire for any of us. As “<a href="https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-godliness-of-a-good-nights-sleep" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Godliness of a Good Night’s Sleep</a>” concludes,&nbsp;“sleep, it seems, is no fallen necessity, nor merely a fleshly temptation, but a divine gift.”</p>
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1531<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In <em>The Screwtape Letters</em>, C.S. Lewis’ brilliant exploration of diabolic strategies, the senior demon advises his protégé, how to rob humanity of this blessing.</p>
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1535<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1536<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1537<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barricading a human&#8217;s mind against the Enemy. He wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them.</p>
1538</blockquote>
1539</blockquote>
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1542
1543<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But fortunately, humanity’s first <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2017/10/26/when-the-angel-is-a-demon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Enemy</a> does not have the final say in the matter.</p>
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1546
1547<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Even During the Darkest Night</strong></p>
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1551<p class="wp-block-paragraph">We need never be alone nor despair in the night. In fact, even the trials posed by anxiety can become a pathway to a more intimate reliance and relationship with God.</p>
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1554
1555<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Perhaps most famously, this concept has been associated in Christian circles with “<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/157984/the-dark-night-of-the-soul" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dark Night of the Soul</a>,” a poem written by Saint John of the Cross in the sixteenth century. In an upcoming post, we will c
1555onsider John’s life and the controversial actions which followed his death.</p>
1556
1557			
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1559	</div>
1560</article><!-- #post-## -->
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1562			
1563				
1564<article id="post-99981" class="post-99981 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-c-s-lewis category-c-s-lewis-the-inklings category-christian-life category-christianity category-history category-j-r-r-tolkien category-modern-life category-the-bible tag-c-s-lewis tag-elves tag-grief tag-healing tag-health tag-j-r-r-tolkien tag-medicine tag-mental-health tag-middle-earth tag-parousia tag-pharmaceuticals tag-psychology tag-second-coming">
1565			<div class="entry-wrapper">
1566		<header class="entry-header">
1567			<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/22/c-s-lewis-medicine/" rel="bookmark">C.S. Lewis &amp;&nbsp;Medicine</a></h1>
1568						<div class="entry-meta">
1569				<span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/22/c-s-lewis-medicine/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2025-05-22T17:33:16-07:00">May 22, 2025</time><time class="updated" datetime="2025-05-23T11:07:16-07:00">May 23, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://mereinkling.net/author/robstroud/">robstroud</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/c-s-lewis/" rel="category tag">C.S. Lewis</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/" rel="category tag">C.S. Lewis &amp; the Inklings</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/christian-life/" rel="category tag">Christian Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/theological-matters/christianity/" rel="category tag">Christianity</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/history/" rel="category tag">History</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/j-r-r-tolkien/" rel="category tag">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/modern-life/" rel="category tag">Modern Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/literature/the-bible/" rel="category tag">The Bible</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/22/c-s-lewis-medicine/#comments">6 Comments</a></span>			</div><!-- .entry-meta -->
1570					</header><!-- .entry-header -->
1571
1572		<div class="entry-content">
1573			<div class="wp-block-image">
1574<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/christian-surgeon-and-child.png"><img data-attachment-id="104978" data-permalink="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/22/c-s-lewis-medicine/christian-surgeon-and-child/" data-orig-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/christian-surgeon-and-child.png" data-orig-size="819,1229" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-title="christian surgeon and child" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/christian-surgeon-and-child.png?w=640" loading="lazy" width="682" height="1023" src="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/christian-surgeon-and-child.png?w=682" alt="" class="wp-image-104978" srcset="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/christian-surgeon-and-child.png?w=682 682w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/christian-surgeon-and-child.png?w=100 100w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/christian-surgeon-and-child.png?w=200 200w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/christian-surgeon-and-child.png?w=768 768w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/christian-surgeon-and-child.png 819w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px" /></a></figure>
1575</div>
1576
1577
1578<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><em>[I originally penned this post in 2020, but delayed its publication due to failing in my attempt to secure permission to receive <a href="https://nathangreene.com/products/chief-of-the-medical-staff-16x20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this</a> perfect illustration. Five years later, AI allowed me to create the image shown above. Since the message remains pertinent, I&#8217;m offering my thoughts on this subject today.]</em></p>
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1582<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Medicines are precious. Right now we are seeing the release of the first antiviral drugs devised to protect us from the covid plague. The trials have been positive, and now the caregivers on the frontlines are receiving these protective injections.</p>
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1585
1586<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Unfortunately, some so-called medicines are not effective. They can even be harmful. That’s the case with “
1586patent medicines” hawked by shysters lying about their results. Originally the term was positive. According to one <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.hagley.org/research/digital-exhibits/history-patent-medicine" target="_blank">museum</a>, “patent medicines originally referred to medications whose ingredients had been granted government protection for exclusivity.”</p>
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1590<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1591<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sadly, though, “the recipes of most 19th century patent medicines were not officially patented. Most producers (often small family operations) used ingredients quite similar to their competitors—vegetable extracts laced with ample doses of alcohol.</p>
1592</blockquote>
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1595
1596<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a previous post, I shared Lewis’ view of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://mereinkling.net/2019/04/08/medical-science-and-god/" target="_blank">God’s role in healing</a>.</p>
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1600<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1601<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In his essay entitled “Miracles,” C.S. Lewis described during World War II the Christian viewpoint that God is the author of healing. After discussing the natural order of creation, he argues that God is at work in restoring the health of the those who are ailing.</p>
1602</blockquote>
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1606<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In 1962, Lewis commiserated with a correspondent complaining about the number of pills she needed to take. He acknowledges the problem, and then points to a very positive corollary.</p>
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1610<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1611<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Yes, and one gets bored with the medicines too–besides always wondering ‘Did I remember to take them after breakfast?’ and then wondering whether the risk of missing a dose or the risk of an over dose is the worst!</p>
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1614
1615<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Yes, one gets sick of pills. But thank God we don’t live in the age of horrible medicines such as our grandparents had to swallow.</p>
1616</blockquote>
1617
1618
1619
1620<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In <em>A Grief Observed</em>, Lewis used an illustration of physical pain to explore the emotional pain caused by his sorrow at his <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://mereinkling.net/2016/01/11/c-s-lewis-women/" target="_blank">wife’s passing</a>.</p>
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1624<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1625<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I once read the sentence “I lay awake all night with a toothache, thinking about the toothache and about lying awake.” That’s true to life. Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery’s shadow or reflection: the fact that you don’t merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.</p>
1626</blockquote>
1627
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1629
1630<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In some ways, psychological suffering is particularly painful. The mentally ill have historically been ostracized. For all of the neurological discoveries that have been made in recent years, the human brain remains a mystery.</p>
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1633
1634<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Fortunately, medical science has experienced some success formulating medicines that are helpful in treating mental disorders. One problem, however, is that (like nearly all meds) psychological formulas occasionally produce extreme side effects.</p>
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1637
1638<p class="wp-block-paragraph">C.S. Lewis’ primary experience of psychological suffering came through grief. <em><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://tweakingo.com/world-famous-christian-authors-quotes-about-mental-illness/" target="_blank">Tweaking Optimism</a></em>, a great blog, has gathered a number of Lewis’ thoughts on mental anguish. One passage he cites from <em>The Problem of Pain</em> aptly contrasts physical and mental suffering.</p>
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1641
1642<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1643<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and frequently more difficult to bear. The common attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.”</p>
1644</blockquote>
1645
1646
1647
1648<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the same book, Lewis lifts up the truth about suffering. In cases where no cure can bring relief, he beautifully describes various ways to survive journeying through the valley.</p>
1649
1650
1651
1652<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1653<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When pain is to be born, a little courage helps more than much knowledge, a little human sympathy more than much courage, and the least tincture of the love of God more than all.</p>
1654</blockquote>
1655
1656
1657
1658<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>C.S. Lewis’ Prescription for Christians Today</strong></p>
1659
1660
1661
1662<p class="wp-block-paragraph">We live in an uncertain and turbulent time. Only God knows how long this world will last, but he has promised to deliver from death and hell those who call on his name. Thus, Jesus’ followers need not live in dread or despair.</p>
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1665
1666<p class="wp-block-paragraph">We live with hope, and look forward with enthusiasm to our Lord’s return. It is to that glorious day, the <em>Parousia</em>, that Lewis refers in his essay “The World’s Last Night.”</p>
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1670<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1671<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The doctrine of the Second Coming, then, is not to be rejected because it c
1671onflicts with our favorite modern mythology. It is, for that very reason, to be the more valued and made more frequently the subject of meditation. It is the medicine our condition especially needs.</p>
1672</blockquote>
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1675
1676<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>An Entertaining Tolkien “Game”</strong></p>
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1679
1680<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The inspiration for this revisitation of Lewis’ thoughts about medicine came from a fun website I recently encountered. Some creative soul noticed the similarity between two dissimilar matters—antidepressant medications and residents of <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2019/05/20/return-with-me-to-middle-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Middle Earth</a>.</p>
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1683
1684<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The game offers 24 words, and you are challenged to identify the group into which it falls. Is it the name of a pharmaceutical, or is it one of the characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien? One name is a giveaway, but you may find many of the others rather difficult to discern.</p>
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1687
1688<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Kudos to anyone who gets over twenty correct. (I <em>almost</em> did . . . well, if sixteen is close.) Have fun, and learn something, at the very same time!</p>
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1690
1691
1692<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph"><strong><a href="https://antidepressantsortolkien.vercel.app" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Antidepressants or Tolkien Character?</a></strong></p>
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1695
1696<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>
1697
1698			
1699					</div><!-- .entry-content -->
1700	</div>
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1702
1703			
1704				
1705<article id="post-104889" class="post-104889 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-c-s-lewis category-christian-life category-christianity category-church-history category-history category-latin category-martin-luther category-reading category-the-bible category-theological-matters tag-bible tag-bible-translation tag-c-s-lewis tag-christianity tag-great-britain tag-henry-viii tag-james-i tag-kjv tag-languages tag-martin-luther tag-translations tag-tyndale">
1706			<div class="entry-wrapper">
1707		<header class="entry-header">
1708			<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/12/do-not-read-the-bible/" rel="bookmark">Do Not Read the&nbsp;Bible</a></h1>
1709						<div class="entry-meta">
1710				<span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/12/do-not-read-the-bible/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published updated" datetime="2025-05-12T21:37:45-07:00">May 12, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://mereinkling.net/author/robstroud/">robstroud</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/c-s-lewis/" rel="category tag">C.S. Lewis</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/christian-life/" rel="category tag">Christian Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/theological-matters/christianity/" rel="category tag">Christianity</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/church-history/" rel="category tag">Church History</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/history/" rel="category tag">History</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/history/latin/" rel="category tag">Latin</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/church-history/martin-luther/" rel="category tag">Martin Luther</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/literature/reading/" rel="category tag">Reading</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/literature/the-bible/" rel="category tag">The Bible</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/theological-matters/" rel="category tag">Theological Matters</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/12/do-not-read-the-bible/#comments">9 Comments</a></span>			</div><!-- .entry-meta -->
1711					</header><!-- .entry-header -->
1712
1713		<div class="entry-content">
1714			<div class="wp-block-image">
1715<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/do-not-read-the-bible.png"><img data-attachment-id="104903" data-permalink="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/12/do-not-read-the-bible/do-not-read-the-bible/" data-orig-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/do-not-read-the-bible.png" data-orig-size="1115,12
171517" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-title="do not read the bible" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/do-not-read-the-bible.png?w=640" loading="lazy" width="938" height="1023" src="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/do-not-read-the-bible.png?w=938" alt="" class="wp-image-104903" srcset="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/do-not-read-the-bible.png?w=938 938w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/do-not-read-the-bible.png?w=137 137w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/do-not-read-the-bible.png?w=275 275w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/do-not-read-the-bible.png?w=768 768w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/do-not-read-the-bible.png 1115w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 938px) 100vw, 938px" /></a></figure>
1716</div>
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1719<p class="wp-block-paragraph">How would you respond if the government prohibited you from reading the Holy Scriptures? That was the situation in Great Britain when the Parliament passed the ironically named “<a href="https://archive.org/details/pp63095195/page/107/mode/1up" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Act for the Advancement of True Religion</a>.”</p>
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1723<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nearly five centuries ago, on May 12, 1543, Britain’s enlightened politicians and bishops determined that people of the “lower sort” needed to be protected from reading and interpreting the Bible themselves.&nbsp;</p>
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1727<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Just sixty-one years later, <a href="https://www.nms.ac.uk/discover-catalogue/a-brief-history-of-james-vi-and-i" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">King James VI/I</a> would commission the translation of the Authorized Version, making God’s Word more accessible to all who could read English. William Tyndale (c. 1494 – 1536) had actually translated a fair portion of the Scriptures a decade prior to Parliament’s restrictive law. For this, and similar “Protestant” sins, Tyndale was strangled and burned at the stake in Belgium.</p>
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1731<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Even the so-called <a href="https://www.textusreceptusbibles.com/Great/1/1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Great Bible</a> had been authorized by <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/henry-viii-the-reformation-and-the-first-authorized-bible/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Henry VIII</a> in 1539. The approval decreed “one book of the bible of the largest volume in English, and the same set up in some convenient place within the said church that ye have care of,&nbsp;<em>whereas your parishioners may</em>&nbsp;most commodiously resort to the same and&nbsp;<em>read it</em>&nbsp;[emphasis mine].”</p>
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1735<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nevertheless, not <em>all</em> of the powers that be apparently agreed with making the text of the Bible accessible to the common folk. We will consider this category of “inadequates” momentarily.</p>
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1738
1739<p class="wp-block-paragraph">First let’s consider the distaste expressed by some for any modern translation of the Scriptures. (If you’ve ever attended a Bible study group you have probably encountered at least one person who insists on using the&nbsp;<em>true</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://mereinkling.net/2018/04/18/c-s-lewis-school-of-translation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">KJV</a>, despite the archaic language.</p>
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1742
1743<p class="wp-block-paragraph">C.S. Lewis addressed this reticence for clear translations in an essay entitled “Christian Apologetics.” It was originally presented to Anglican priests and youth leaders in 1945.</p>
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1746
1747<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1748<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Do we not already possess,” [some will say] “in the Authorised Version the most beautiful rendering which any language can boast?” Some people whom I have met go even further and feel that a modern <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2013/03/12/translating-the-word/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">translation</a> is not only unnecessary but even offensive.</p>
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1752<p class="wp-block-paragraph">They cannot bear to see the time-honoured words altered; it seems to them irreverent. There are several answers to such people. In the first place the kind of objection which they feel to a new translation is very like the objection which was once felt to any English translation at all.</p>
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1755
1756<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Dozens of sincerely pious people in the sixteenth century shuddered at the idea of turning the time-honoured Latin of the <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2015/01/06/sanctified-languages/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vulgate</a>
1756 into our common and (as they thought) ‘barbarous’ English. A sacred truth seemed to them to have lost its sanctity when it was stripped of the polysyllabic Latin, long heard at Mass and at Hours, and put into . . . language steeped in all the commonplace associations of the nursery, the inn, the stable, and the street.</p>
1757</blockquote>
1758
1759
1760
1761<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>The Biblically Unworthy</strong></p>
1762
1763
1764
1765<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, who were these “lower sort” of individuals deemed unsuited for reading the Scriptures already translated into their native tongue? Well, <a href="https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=2419" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">they included</a> “women, artificers, apprentices, journeymen, serving-men of the rank of yeoman and under, husbandmen and laborers.” Women of the <a href="https://www.history.org.uk/student/module/4536/overview-of-elizabeth-i/4543/social-structure" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gentry class</a> were allowed an exception, being able to read the Scriptures, but only in private.</p>
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1769<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Fortunately, the law was short-lived. Henry’s son, Edward VI/I would have it repealed in the Treason Act of 1547.&nbsp;(Of course, this goodwill did not prevent Edward from condemning the translations of the aforementioned martyr, William Tyndale.)</p>
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1773<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Who Should Read the Bible?</strong></p>
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1776
1777<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The short answer is “everyone.” Yet the fact exists that some individuals are susceptible to <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2017/05/16/understanding-the-bible/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">confusion</a> – or even to intentional twisting of the clear meaning of God’s Word. So, while the Scriptures should be accessible to all, it is wise to guide children and the easily-confused in their studies. After all, what we all desire is honest understanding and enlightenment.</p>
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1780
1781<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This direct access is one reason Martin Luther, William Tyndale and others labored so tirelessly to translate the Bible into the <a href="https://www.kloster-bebenhausen.de/en/interesting-amusing/files/the-vernacular" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vernacular</a>. Cheerfully, “believers no longer had to read Latin [or Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic] to understand the word of God.”</p>
1782
1783
1784
1785<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As for those who would directly attempt to distort God’s inspired words, a clear example is found in the <a href="https://www.gotquestions.org/New-World-Translation.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New World version</a> paraphrase invented by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Another example, which I have discussed in the past, is the distorted abomination created by the <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2020/11/23/beijings-murderous-jesus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chinese Communist Party</a>. </p>
1786
1787
1788
1789<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There are also “abbreviated” versions of the Bible, which contain properly translated passages, but leave out passages that challenge preconceived positions. This would include <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2024/07/06/military-hymns/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Thomas Jefferson</a>’s cut and paste Bible and an edition of the Scriptures developed for teaching <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2023/06/21/a-bible-translation-for-slaves/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slaves</a> to read.</p>
1790
1791
1792
1793<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />
1794
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1797<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If you are interested in receiving daily notes about Christian history such as the one which prompted this post, visit the <a href="https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/today" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Christian History Institute</a>.</p>
1798
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1801	</div>
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1803
1804			
1805				
1806<article id="post-104464" class="post-104464 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-c-s-lewis category-c-s-lewis-the-inklings category-church-history category-history category-j-r-r-tolkien category-likely-useless-trivia category-modern-life category-theological-matters tag-c-s-lewis tag-charles-williams tag-george-macdonald tag-inklings tag-j-r-r-tolkien tag-mark-twain tag-nikola-tesla tag-rennes-le-chateau tag-serbia tag-six-degrees-of-separation tag-tesla tag-william-butler-yeats tag-winston-churchill">
1807			<div class="entry-wrapper">
1808		<header class="entry-header">
1809			<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/07/tesla-and-the-inklings/" rel="bookmark">Tesla &amp; the&nbsp;Inklings</a></h1>
1810						<div class="entry-meta">
1811				<span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/07/tesla-and-the-inklings/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published updated" datetime="2025-05-07T14:51:49-07:00">May 7, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://mereinkling.net/author/robstroud/">robstroud</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/c-s-lewis/" rel="category tag">C.S. Lewis</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/" rel="category tag">C.S. Lewis &amp; the Inklings</a>
1811, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/church-history/" rel="category tag">Church History</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/history/" rel="category tag">History</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/j-r-r-tolkien/" rel="category tag">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/trivia/likely-useless-trivia/" rel="category tag">Likely Useless Trivia</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/modern-life/" rel="category tag">Modern Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/theological-matters/" rel="category tag">Theological Matters</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/07/tesla-and-the-inklings/#comments">5 Comments</a></span>			</div><!-- .entry-meta -->
1812					</header><!-- .entry-header -->
1813
1814		<div class="entry-content">
1815			<div class="wp-block-image">
1816<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tesla-and-twain.png"><img data-attachment-id="104467" data-permalink="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/07/tesla-and-the-inklings/tesla-and-twain/" data-orig-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tesla-and-twain.png" data-orig-size="2691,1753" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-title="tesla and twain" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tesla-and-twain.png?w=640" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="667" src="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tesla-and-twain.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-104467" srcset="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tesla-and-twain.png?w=1024 1024w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tesla-and-twain.png?w=2048 2048w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tesla-and-twain.png?w=150 150w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tesla-and-twain.png?w=300 300w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tesla-and-twain.png?w=768 768w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tesla-and-twain.png?w=1440 1440w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
1817</div>
1818
1819
1820<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I recently uncovered a curious connection between C.S. Lewis and Tesla. (Not the current target of <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/25/us/fbi-task-force-tesla-attacks-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">anarchist vandalism</a>,&nbsp;the scientist.) While researching scientists living in the early twentieth century, a photograph of Tesla and his friend Mark Twain ignited my curiosity as to whether or not there might have been any connection between Lewis and Tesla.</p>
1821
1822
1823
1824<p class="wp-block-paragraph">C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963) and Nikola Tesla (1856 – 1943) never met or corresponded. And yet, they do possess a rather tenuous, speculative connection.</p>
1825
1826
1827
1828<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Their connection isn’t based on any similarities. Tesla was a radically innovative scientist. Lewis was a grounded literary master who was wisely suspicious of misplaced faith in scientism. </p>
1829
1830
1831
1832<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Despite the fact Tesla’s father and uncle were both Serbian Orthodox priests, and he maintained an interest in various religious traditions throughout his life, his adult beliefs were eclectic.</p>
1833
1834
1835
1836<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Lewis, the grandson of a Church of Ireland priest, went through a period of atheism before returning to Christianity as a devout member of the Anglican communion.</p>
1837
1838
1839
1840<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, how might the two men have been connected? Before exploring the notion that they shared a mysterious source of inspiration, consider the application of a modern theory.</p>
1841
1842
1843
1844<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Six Degrees of Separation</strong></p>
1845
1846
1847
1848<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Various experiments have supported the idea that people (in Western nations, at least) find it “truly possible to trace a social connection between any two random people within <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/six-degrees-of-separation-theory-has-been-confirmed-by-experts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">just six steps</a>” (This is far more refined than the overlapping of lifespans as discu
1848ssed <a href="https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/the-big-map-of-who-lived-when/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.)</p>
1849
1850
1851
1852<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1853<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But the pressing question remained: Why six? The answer has finally been revealed in a paper published in the journal&nbsp;<em>Physical Review X</em>. The study authors include researchers from Israel, Spain, Italy, Russia, Slovenia, and Chile.&nbsp;</p>
1854</blockquote>
1855
1856
1857
1858<p class="wp-block-paragraph">For an academic study of the phenomenon check out “<a href="https://journals.aps.org/prx/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevX.13.021032" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Why Are There Six Degrees of Separation in a Social Network?</a>”</p>
1859
1860
1861
1862<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Even without the existence of social media, which some have argued may reduce “<a href="https://www.thomasarts.com/insights/the-world-is-shrinking-6-degrees-of-separation-is-now-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">6 Degrees of Separation [to] 2</a>,” I uncovered a pair of paths connecting Tesla and Lewis.</p>
1863
1864
1865
1866<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The first example is the more “direct,” but the second includes as an intermediate link, a writer of great importance to C.S. Lewis.</p>
1867
1868
1869
1870<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Nikola Tesla&nbsp;</strong>(1856 – 1943)<br>Had as a friend who visited his laboratory, and later invited the inventor to attend his <a href="https://bigthink.com/high-culture/the-secret-to-mark-twains-friendship-with-nikola-tesla/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">daughter’s wedding</a>…</p>
1871
1872
1873
1874<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Mark Twain</strong> (1835 – 1910)<br>Who, after offering a scathing indictment of British colonialism, <a href="https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-149/cover-story-when-the-twain-met-winston-churchill-and-samuel-clemens/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">officially introduced</a> to deliver a 1900 speech in New York…</p>
1875
1876
1877
1878<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Winston Churchill</strong>&nbsp;(1874 – 1965)<br>Who offered “the honour of becoming a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (<a href="https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour-extras/his-usual-good-sense-c-s-lewis-on-winston-churchill/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CBE</a>)” to…</p>
1879
1880
1881
1882<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>C.S. Lewis</strong>&nbsp;(1898 – 1963)<br>one of the most renowned scholars to ever teach at Oxford and Cambridge.</p>
1883
1884
1885
1886<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>And an alternate path:</em></p>
1887
1888
1889
1890<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Nikola Tesla&nbsp;</strong>(1856 – 1943)<br>Had as a friend who visited his laboratory, and later invited the inventor to attend his daughter’s wedding…</p>
1891
1892
1893
1894<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Mark Twain</strong>&nbsp;(1835 – 1910)<br>Who maintained a longtime literary and <a href="https://www.george-macdonald.com/resources/mark_twain_and_george_macdonal.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">personal friendship</a> with…</p>
1895
1896
1897
1898<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>George MacDonald</strong>&nbsp;(1824 – 1905)<br>Who <a href="https://delcat.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?context=WorldCat&amp;vid=01UDEL_INST:01UDEL_INST&amp;adaptor=WorldCatLocal&amp;docid=WorldCat1162815112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">received as a gift</a>&nbsp;<em>A Speech and Two Poems&nbsp;</em>with a personal letter from Irish poet…</p>
1899
1900
1901
1902<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>William Butler Yeats&nbsp;</strong>(1865 &#8211; 1939)<br>Who, on more than one occasion, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2017/08/30/c-s-lewis-yeats-and-an-intermediary/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">entertained in his home</a>…</p>
1903
1904
1905
1906<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>C.S. Lewis&nbsp;</strong>(1898 – 1963)<br>who, coincidentally, regarded the very same <a href="https://www.1517.org/articles/the-man-from-whom-c-s-lewis-borrowed-most-of-his-ideas" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">George MacDonald</a> as one of his greatest mentors.</p>
1907
1908
1909
1910<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Tracking down these relationship paths was not that difficult. It was actually fun. If I wasn’t so busy, I would create a few more examples.</p>
1911
1912
1913
1914<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Was there Another Connection?</strong></p>
1915
1916
1917
1918<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nikola Tesla (Никола Тесла) was a Serbian-American inventor and futurist. His design of the alternating current (AC) electricity system was a breakthrough. As n
1918oted above, he was not a credal Christian. In “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/tesla/res/res_art11.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A Machine to End War</a>,” he described his beliefs in the following manner.</p>
1919
1920
1921
1922<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1923<p class="wp-block-paragraph">To me, the universe is simply a great machine which never came into being and never will end. The human being is no exception . . . Man, like the universe, is a machine. . . . what we call “soul “ or “spirit,” is nothing more than the sum of the functionings of the body. When this functioning ceases, the “soul” or the “spirit” ceases likewise.</p>
1924</blockquote>
1925
1926
1927
1928<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The possible connection between Tesla and the Inklings, postulated by a <a href="https://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/fanthorpe-lionel-5962/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sensationalist</a> Anglican priest, is offered in&nbsp;<em>Secrets of Rennes Le Chateau</em>. The author, <a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?2161" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">R. Lionel Fanthorpe</a>,&nbsp;an Anglican priest who believes “there are as many roads to the loving God of all mankind as there are individual human beings,” has written about many offbeat subjects.&nbsp;</p>
1929
1930
1931
1932<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the aforementioned work, he references passages from J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams and George MacDonald as writers whose fiction may “contain hints about the Rennes-le-Château enigma.” He immediately follows this discussion with the case of “another contemporary of theirs [who] was one of the strangest and most brilliant men” of his age, Nikola Tesla.</p>
1933
1934
1935
1936<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He ends the chapter with the question, “what if the enigma with which all our Men of Mystery seem to have been involved was some form of superior communication? But communication with what? Or with whom?”</p>
1937
1938
1939
1940<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I doubt there is any connection in the source of the inspiration experienced by the Inklings, Tesla and the church at Rennes-le-Château. That said, it is an odd place of worship, due to the renovations made by its eccentric Roman Catholic priest, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bérenger_Saunière" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">François-Bérenger Saunière</a> (1852 – 1917).</p>
1941
1942
1943
1944<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Among the alterations made was the addition of a holy water font resting on the back of a devil or demon. That certainly qualifies as a “mysterious” decision. A mystery with which the Inklings bear no connection. </p>
1945
1946
1947
1948<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Ultimately, Fanthorpe’s odd musings are illusory. Better to dismiss them and focus on the&nbsp;<em>actual</em> connection between C.S. Lewis and Nikola Tesla – one documented through the Six Degrees of Separation model.</p>
1949
1950			
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1952	</div>
1953</article><!-- #post-## -->
1954
1955			
1956				
1957<article id="post-104792" class="post-104792 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-c-s-lewis category-christian-life category-christianity category-church-history category-history category-martin-luther category-modern-life category-narnia category-numismatics category-ordained-ministry category-the-modern-church tag-c-s-lewis tag-christianity tag-coffins tag-coins tag-czechoslovakia tag-eisenach tag-funerals tag-inflation tag-john-calvin tag-lutheran tag-martin-luther tag-narnia tag-notgeld tag-numismatics tag-papal-funeral tag-pope-francis tag-pope-john-xxiii tag-switzerland tag-united-nations tag-vatican-city tag-wartburg-castle tag-zwingli">
1958			<div class="entry-wrapper">
1959		<header class="entry-header">
1960			<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/02/a-curious-papal-funerary-tradition/" rel="bookmark">A Curious Papal Funerary&nbsp;Tradition</a></h1>
1961						<div class="entry-meta">
1962				<span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/02/a-curious-papal-funerary-tradition/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published updated" datetime="2025-05-02T11:53:07-07:00">May 2, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://mereinkling.net/author/robstroud/">robstroud</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/c-s-lewis/" rel="category tag">C.S. Lewis</a>
1962, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/christian-life/" rel="category tag">Christian Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/theological-matters/christianity/" rel="category tag">Christianity</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/church-history/" rel="category tag">Church History</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/history/" rel="category tag">History</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/church-history/martin-luther/" rel="category tag">Martin Luther</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/modern-life/" rel="category tag">Modern Life</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/narnia/" rel="category tag">Narnia</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/numismatics/" rel="category tag">Numismatics</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/theological-matters/ordained-ministry/" rel="category tag">Ordained Ministry</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/church-history/the-modern-church/" rel="category tag">The Modern Church</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/02/a-curious-papal-funerary-tradition/#comments">4 Comments</a></span>			</div><!-- .entry-meta -->
1963					</header><!-- .entry-header -->
1964
1965		<div class="entry-content">
1966			<div class="wp-block-image">
1967<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/pope-francis-coinage.png"><img data-attachment-id="104811" data-permalink="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/02/a-curious-papal-funerary-tradition/pope-francis-coinage/" data-orig-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/pope-francis-coinage.png" data-orig-size="1836,1432" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-title="Pope Francis Coinage" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/pope-francis-coinage.png?w=640" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="798" src="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/pope-francis-coinage.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-104811" srcset="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/pope-francis-coinage.png?w=1024 1024w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/pope-francis-coinage.png?w=150 150w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/pope-francis-coinage.png?w=300 300w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/pope-francis-coinage.png?w=768 768w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/pope-francis-coinage.png?w=1440 1440w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/pope-francis-coinage.png 1836w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
1968</div>
1969
1970
1971<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Several unique items are buried with modern popes when they die. Most, including their vestments, point to their spiritual role as the Bishop of Rome and patriarch of the Roman Catholic Church. One, however, highlights his secular role as the leader of the world’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Vatican-City" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">smallest independent nation</a> state.</p>
1972
1973
1974
1975<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This post is not about Pope Francis’ reign, or the papacy in general. As C.S. Lewis noted in a letter to an American poet, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/197830185/mary-willis-shelburne" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mary Willis Shelburne</a>, opinions on such matters differ in sometimes unproductive ways. In response to a comment she had written about the passing of Pope John XXIII (1881 – 1963), who had convened the Second Vatican Council, Lewis astutely observed,</p>
1976
1977
1978
1979<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1980<p class="wp-block-paragraph">God’s purposes are terribly obscure. I am thinking both of your [physical] sufferings and of the removal of such a Pope at such a moment. And the horrid conclusions which some bigots on both sides will probably draw from it.</p>
1981</blockquote>
1982
1983
1984
1985<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rather than discussing the role of the Bishop of Rome, I am considering one specific aspect of the office of the Bishop of Rome – the formalities associated with the funeral and burial/interment of a deceased pope. My focus is further restricted to a single unique facet of that process. This involves the<a href="https://www.mondayvatican.com/vatican/pope-francis-rules-whereas-paul-vi-reigned-does-the-vatican-need-a-ruler-or-a-king" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> coinage of the Vatican</a> City State issued during their reign.</p>
1986
1987
1988
1989<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Despite its status as a nation, Vatican City has declined full membership in the United Nations. This is due to the admirable goal of remaining detached from the official political tentacles associated with having an official vote. Instead, through the <a href="https://holyseemission.org/contents/mission/5ac79b91753bc.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Holy See</a>, the papacy’s ecclesiastical office, the Roman Catholic Church maintains a presence and voice in the UN.</p>
1990
1991
1992
1993<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Vatican City is one of the few independent states that has not become a member of the United Nations. It does hold permanent observer status, with all the rights of a full member except for having a vote in the General Assembly.</p>
1994
1995
1996
1997<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1998<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On April 6, 1964, the Holy See became a Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations and established its Mission in New York City. This was fitting, not only because of the growing involvement of the Holy See in UN deliberations, but above all because the four pillars of the UN as enshrined in its Charter dovetail very well with four main pillars of Catholic Social Teaching . . .</p>
1999
2000
2001
2002<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Holy See enjoys by its own choice the status of Permanent Observer at the United Nations, rather than of a full Member. This is due primarily to the desire of the Holy See to maintain absolute neutrality in specific political problems.</p>
2003</blockquote>
2004
2005
2006
2007<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In accordance with tradition, “preparations are also being made for a numismatic commemoration of the&nbsp;Sede Vacante.” The Latin term&nbsp;&nbsp;means “vacant seat,” and refers to the transitional period between popes. Thus, in addition to the papal coins minted for each pope, special issues are normally released during the interims. However, due to a reorganization of the Vatican’s coinage office,&nbsp;<em>
2007<a href="https://new.coinsweekly.com/news-en/questions-and-answers-for-coin-collectors-regarding-the-death-of-pope-francis/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CoinsWeekly</a></em>&nbsp;reports it remains “uncertain whether a 2-euro commemorative coin” will be produced for this papal interregnum. </p>
2008
2009
2010
2011<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em><a href="https://www.numismaticnews.net/between-one-pope-and-the-next-the-sede-vacante-coins" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NumismaticNews</a></em>&nbsp;echoes the fact that due to their rarity, Sede Vacante issues rapidly increase in value. Fortunately due to their infrequency, they “ are seldom at the center of a collector’s radar. That’s probably a good thing, as it means we are not losing popes quickly or routinely.”</p>
2012
2013
2014
2015<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A number of items are traditionally <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pope-francis-dead-what-happens-next-rcna128745" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">included in a pope’s casket</a>. Unsurprisingly, these include a miter, crozier, and rosary. They also include coins minted during their reign, reflecting their role as ruler of the Papal State. This last fact surprised me.</p>
2016
2017
2018
2019<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, precisely what is the precedent being set with Pope Francis’ funeral? First, he was not buried in the Vatican, but in a <a href="https://www.basilicasantamariamaggiore.va/en/basilica/storia-e-arte/salus-popoli-romani.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">basilica</a> dedicated to St. Mary.</p>
2020
2021
2022
2023<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There was another, more significant symbol of the simplicity that characterized his papacy. While popes traditionally have three elaborate caskets nestled inside one another, Francis asked to have only <a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-is-buried-in-st-mary-major.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one simple wooden casket</a> with a modest zinc inner lid.</p>
2024
2025
2026
2027<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Pope Francis’ 2017 Revision of Vatican Coinage</strong></p>
2028
2029
2030
2031<p class="wp-block-paragraph">For centuries, the portrait of the current Bishop of Rome graced coins in Rome. That tradition ended with Pope Francis. In 2017, he personally requested that his visage no longer appear on coins. This is commendable, since it was presumably based on Francis’ humility.&nbsp;</p>
2032
2033
2034
2035<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This then, his image has been replaced by the papal coat of arms. Notably, every other country minting euros bears the head of its head of state. It will be interesting to see whether or not Francis’ successor follows his example.</p>
2036
2037
2038
2039<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>A Brief Note on Protestant Coinage</strong></p>
2040
2041
2042
2043<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Although there have been some historical attempts to create governmental structures led by religious leaders besides Roman Catholicism, they have been the rare exception. (The claimed leadership of the Church by sovereigns such as King Henry VIII is another case.)&nbsp;</p>
2044
2045
2046
2047<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In Zurich, Huldrych Zwingli (1484 – 1531) sought to establish a <a href="https://lutheranreformation.org/history/luther-and-zwingli/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">theocracy</a>, and actually perished on the battlefield resisting the Roman Catholic armies of several Swiss cantons. John Calvin (1509 – 1564) pursued similar goals in Geneva, and beyond. Calvin, however, never bore arms in his effort.</p>
2048
2049
2050
2051<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Fortunately, the “<a href="https://witness.lcms.org/2020/temporal-and-eternal/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two kingdoms</a>” theology of Martin Luther became dominant in primarily <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2017/02/07/timing-the-reformation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Protestant</a> realms.&nbsp;It is based on the declaration Jesus made during his trial before Pontius Pilate that “My kingdom is not of this world” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2018%3A36-37&amp;version=ESV" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John 19</a>).</p>
2052
2053
2054
2055<p class="wp-block-paragraph">For a fascinating discussion of the implications of this theological position, consider “<a href="https://davenantinstitute.org/luther+farewell+arms" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Martin Luther’s Farewell to Arms: The Two Kingdoms and the Rejection of Crusading</a>.”</p>
2056
2057
2058
2059<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Turning to numismatics, it is not rare to find religious leaders portrayed on historical coinage. However, these portrayals serve as commemorations of individuals who have made a cultural or ethical contribution to a particular society – not because they sat upon a throne.</p>
2060
2061
2062
2063<p class="wp-block-paragraph">For example, Switzerland minted a 20 franc coin with the images of <
2063a href="https://www.coinworld.com/news/world-coins/swiss-mint-issues-silver-coin-for-reformation-anniversary.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zwingli and Calvin</a> during the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.</p>
2064
2065
2066
2067<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Likewise, in 1965, the Communist government of Czechoslovakia produced a 10 korun coin in honor of the 550th anniversary of the martyrdom of <a href="https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces20200.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jan Hus</a>. This particular coin, like many similar pieces, was actually minted as a non-circulating coin, intended for collectors rather than daily commerce.</p>
2068
2069
2070
2071<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This leads us to note that most coin-like pieces of metal bearing the likeness of reformers are actually medallions, not coins. As such, the vast majority of the commemoratives have been fashioned by organizations, rather than governments.</p>
2072
2073
2074
2075<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Being an amateur <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2019/12/11/constantines-augustae-c-s-lewis-joy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">numismatist</a> and a <a href="https://mereinkling.net/mercy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lutheran</a> pastor myself, I have several related items in my personal collection (none of which were costly, of course . . . since it’s just a hobby). One of my favorite items is a genuine 1 Mark coin minted in Eisenach in Weimar Germany in 1921 (pictured below). What makes it especially unusual is that due to postwar metal shortages, it was actually struck in porcelain!</p>
2076
2077
2078
2079<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This emergency coinage and currency was called “Notgeld,” which means “necessity money” because individual cities found it necessary to provide their own money when the Reichsbank succumbed to <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2021/10/19/value-of-money/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hyperinflation</a> between the world wars.</p>
2080
2081
2082
2083<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The city of Eisenach chose the centennial of Martin Luther’s work because of his historic ties to the city. The <a href="https://www.lutherhaus-eisenach.com/start" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lutherhaus Eisenach</a> cultural center commemorates, among other events, Luther’s early schooldays there, and his stay at <a href="https://www.luther.de/en/wartburg.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wartburg Castle</a> where he translated the New Testament into German.</p>
2084
2085
2086
2087<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
2088
2089
2090
2091<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In light of Pope Francis’ funeral and the association it has with numismatics, it is a good time to consider how coinage has often carried a religious message. Although this was more frequent in past centuries, it still occurs today. It will be interesting to see just how many nations eventually mint coins in honor of Pope Francis. The Philippines, Samoa and the Cook Islands already have.</p>
2092
2093
2094
2095<p class="wp-block-paragraph">And even <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2021/02/04/inkling-patina/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Narnia</a>, the home of Aslan, minted coins in honor of its heroes, didn’t it?</p>
2096
2097
2098<div class="wp-block-image">
2099<figure class="aligncenter size-medium"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/porcelain-notgeld.png"><img data-attachment-id="104809" data-permalink="https://mereinkling.net/2025/05/02/a-curious-papal-funerary-tradition/porcelain-notgeld/" data-orig-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/porcelain-notgeld.png" data-orig-size="1826,1440" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-title="porcelain notgeld" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/porcelain-notgeld.png?w=640" loading="lazy" width="300" height="236" src="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/porcelain-notgeld.png?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-104809" srcset="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/porcelain-notgeld.png?w=300 300w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/porcelain-notgeld.png?w=600 600w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/porcelain-notgeld.png?w=150 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100v
2099w, 300px" /></a></figure>
2100</div>
2101
2102
2103<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>
2104
2105			
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2108</article><!-- #post-## -->
2109
2110			
2111				
2112<article id="post-104688" class="post-104688 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-c-s-lewis category-education category-great-authors category-literature category-modern-life tag-anglo-irish tag-c-s-lewis tag-england tag-ethnicities tag-geography tag-hiberno-english tag-ireland tag-literature tag-writers tag-writing">
2113			<div class="entry-wrapper">
2114		<header class="entry-header">
2115			<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/04/24/c-s-lewis-ethnic-ancestry/" rel="bookmark">C.S. Lewis &amp; Ethnic&nbsp;Ancestry</a></h1>
2116						<div class="entry-meta">
2117				<span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/04/24/c-s-lewis-ethnic-ancestry/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2025-04-24T20:28:18-07:00">April 24, 2025</time><time class="updated" datetime="2025-04-25T14:22:02-07:00">April 25, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://mereinkling.net/author/robstroud/">robstroud</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/c-s-lewis-the-inklings/c-s-lewis/" rel="category tag">C.S. Lewis</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/modern-life/education/" rel="category tag">Education</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/great-authors/" rel="category tag">Great Authors</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/literature/" rel="category tag">Literature</a>, <a href="https://mereinkling.net/category/modern-life/" rel="category tag">Modern Life</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2025/04/24/c-s-lewis-ethnic-ancestry/#comments">24 Comments</a></span>			</div><!-- .entry-meta -->
2118					</header><!-- .entry-header -->
2119
2120		<div class="entry-content">
2121			<div class="wp-block-image">
2122<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/baby-with-globe-1.png"><img data-attachment-id="104720" data-permalink="https://mereinkling.net/2025/04/24/c-s-lewis-ethnic-ancestry/baby-with-globe-2/" data-orig-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/baby-with-globe-1.png" data-orig-size="1823,1391" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-title="baby with globe" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/baby-with-globe-1.png?w=640" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="781" src="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/baby-with-globe-1.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-104720" srcset="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/baby-with-globe-1.png?w=1024 1024w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/baby-with-globe-1.png?w=150 150w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/baby-with-globe-1.png?w=300 300w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/baby-with-globe-1.png?w=768 768w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/baby-with-globe-1.png?w=1440 1440w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/baby-with-globe-1.png 1823w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
2123</div>
2124
2125
2126<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Most American think C.S. Lewis was English. But that’s not quite right, is it? After all, he was born in Belfast, which is in Northern Ireland. And that makes him Irish, doesn’t it? Well, yes but not <em>exactly</em>.</p>
2127
2128
2129
2130<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The most accurate description is that C.S. Lewis was Anglo-Irish, with an identity linked to both English and Irish identities. Unfortunately, even that designation is subject to potential confusion, since it holds more than one definition. It is sometimes used for persons of English descent living in Ireland, Irish folks living in England, or those of mi
2130xed Irish and English ancestry.&nbsp;</p>
2131
2132
2133
2134<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The classical definition, directly applicable to C.S. Lewis, is: “of English descent but born or resident in Ireland, or a member of such a family, and associated particularly with the Protestant Ascendancy” (<em><a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095413520?p=emailA0gR66zNHBOW.&amp;d=/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095413520" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oxford Reference</a></em>).</p>
2135
2136
2137
2138<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The <a href="https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/ireland-emerald-isle" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Emerald Isle</a> is particularly confusing to most Americans. Only a minority possess any awareness of the history which led to the division of Ireland into today’s Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. (Read to the end and discover a little known aspect about America’s dominant ethnicities.)</p>
2139
2140
2141
2142<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If Ireland is a mystery to those in the United States, so too are other identifications. The “United Kingdom” itself is perplexing to many on “<a href="https://www.oed.com/dictionary/water_n" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this side of the pond</a>” (i.e. the Atlantic).&nbsp;</p>
2143
2144
2145
2146<p class="wp-block-paragraph">People find it baffling that a nation consists of three one-time kingdoms (England, Wales and Scotland) and the northeast counties on the island of Ireland. Add to that the fact that the initial three&nbsp;<em>also</em> comprise “Great Britain,” and eyes can <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/glaze-over" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">glaze over</a>.</p>
2147
2148
2149
2150<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Why does it matter? Because a person’s background and heritage often influences many aspects of their personality and values. And the outcome of this blending is particularly manifest in the unique combination of the Irish and English cultures. The <a href="https://www.atlanticlanguage.com/what-is-hiberno-english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hiberno-English</a> dialect provides a colorful example, with words like the adjective “cats” (awful), “amn’t” (am not), plámás (flattery), and “the jacks” (bathroom), plus phrases such as “acting the maggot” (misbehaving).&nbsp;</p>
2151
2152
2153
2154<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Like all other tongues, Hiberno-English continues to <a href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/irlan_0183-973x_2006_num_31_2_1762" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evolve</a>.</p>
2155
2156
2157
2158<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Anglo-Irish Writers</strong></p>
2159
2160
2161
2162<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Irish-literature/The-Irishness-of-Anglo-Irish-l
2162iterature" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anglo-Irish literature</a> constitutes a distinct category of poetry and prose. Ironically, it is the essential <em>Irishness</em> of the style in “Anglo-Irish literature [which] registers itself [as] the most difficult . . . and the most important” element to be identified.</p>
2163
2164
2165
2166<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Few non-Europeans recognize there are many prominent Anglo-Irish writers.* Many, including C.S. Lewis who studied and taught in England, celebrated their Irish heritage. An example taken from a letter written in 1917 to his friend <a href="https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/like-raindrops-on-a-window" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arthur Greeves</a> provides an illustration of this pride.&nbsp;Describing a day spent walking with a classmate while debating the merits of various authors, he wrote:</p>
2167
2168
2169
2170<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
2171<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Like all Irish people who meet in England we ended by criticisms on the invincible flippancy and dulness of the Anglo-Saxon race. After all, there is no doubt, ami, that the Irish are the only people: with all their faults I would not gladly live or die among another folk.</p>
2172</blockquote>
2173
2174
2175
2176<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While this tongue in cheek remark reflects Lewis’ youthful humor, you can read a more brilliant study of the subject in “<a href="https://www.academia.edu/3537724/_C_S_Lewis_An_Irish_Writer_Irish_Studies_Review_18_1_February_2010_17_38" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">C.S. Lewis: An Irish Writer.</a>”</p>
2177
2178
2179
2180<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It discusses, among other matters, why “Lewis, a proud Irishman, [chose] not to promote himself as an Irish writer or write more regularly about Irish themes.”</p>
2181
2182
2183
2184<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>American Geographical Eccentricities</strong></p>
2185
2186
2187
2188<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sadly, <a href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/850:_World_According_to_Americans" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">geography</a> is quite undervalued in the American educational system. The common ignorance about the makeup of other continents is nothing less than embarrassing. Of course, Americans aren’t the only people ignorant about such matters, as <a href="https://www.geocurrents.info/blog/2014/04/30/american-geographical-illiteracy-perhaps-worlds-worst-atlas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GeoCurrents</a> notes.</p>
2189
2190
2191
2192<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
2193<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But if geographical ignorance is pronounced in the United States . . . the problem does seem to be even more extreme in some other parts of the world.</p>
2194</blockquote>
2195
2196
2197
2198<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The United States as it exists today, is the product of constant immigration. During the early years of the colonies and Republic, most arrivals were Europeans, with nearly eleven million Africans brought involuntarily to North America, most during the rule of the British (<a href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/teacher-resources/historical-context-facts-about-slave-trade-and-slavery" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History</a>).</p>
2199
2200
2201
2202<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As a result of this influx of foreigners, each state possesses its own unique identity (or, more accurately, identities). The following <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-common-ancestry-in-every-us-state-map-2019-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">map</a> shows the largest single ancestral ethnicity of the residents of each state. It contains a few surprises.</p>
2203
2204
2205
2206<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The fact that Irish descendants represent a plurality in five states raises the question of just how many talented Irish-American writer may have shared the intercultural experiences of C.S. Lewis.</p>
2207
2208
2209
2210<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/united-states-ancestry.png"><img data-attachment-id="104713" data-permalink="https://mereinkling.net/2025/04/24/c-s-lewis-ethnic-ancestry/united-states-ancestry/" data-orig-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/united-states-ancestry.png" data-orig-size="1300,975" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-title="united states ancestry" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/united-states-ancestry.png?w=640" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="768" src="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/united-states-ancestry.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-104713" srcset="https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/united-states-ancestry.png?w=1024 1024
2210w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/united-states-ancestry.png?w=150 150w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/united-states-ancestry.png?w=300 300w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/united-states-ancestry.png?w=768 768w, https://mereinkling.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/united-states-ancestry.png 1300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
2211
2212
2213
2214<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />
2215
2216
2217
2218<p class="wp-block-paragraph">* A list of noteworthy Anglo-Irish writers would include, in addition to C.S. Lewis:</p>
2219
2220
2221
2222<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2021/08/13/writing-styles-revisited/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jonathan Swift</a> (1667 – 1745)<br>Oliver Goldsmith (c. 1730 – 1774)<br>Maria Edgeworth (1768 – 1849)<br>Joseph Sheridan LeFanu (1814 – 1873)<br>Dionysius Boucicault (1820 – 1890)<br>Lady Augusta Gregory (1852 – 1932)<br>Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900)<br>George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950)<br>John Bagnell Bury (1861 – 1927)<br><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2017/08/30/c-s-lewis-yeats-and-an-intermediary/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">William Butler Yeats</a> (1865 – 1939)<br>James Owen Hannay (aka George A. Birmingham) (1865 – 1950)<br>John M. Synge (1871 – 1909)<br>Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett (aka Lord Dunsany) (1878 – 1957)<br>Lady Clodagh Beresford (1879 – 1957)<br>Emily Lorimer (1881 – 1911)<br><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2013/08/22/autistic-considerations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">James Joyce</a> (1882 – 1941)<br>Terence James Stannus Gray (aka Wei Wu Wei) (1895 – 1986)<br>Elizabeth Bowen (1899 – 1973)<br><a href="https://mereinkling.net/2020/04/28/pen-names-pseudonyms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cecil Day-Lewis</a> (1904 – 1972)<br>Samuel Beckett (1906 – 1989)<br>Louis MacNeice (1907 – 1963)<br><a href="https://mitchteemley.com/about/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mitch Teemley</a></p>
2223
2224
2225
2226<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>
2227
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2307</form></aside><aside id="wp_tag_cloud-2" class="widget wp_widget_tag_cloud"><h1 class="widget-title">Posts Sorted by Tags</h1><a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/angels/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-20817 tag-link-position-1" style="font-size: 8.2441860465116pt;" aria-label="Angels (12 items)">Angels</a>
2308<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/animals/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-490 tag-link-position-2" style="font-size: 11.5pt;" aria-label="Animals (31 items)">Animals</a>
2309<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/aslan/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-700629 tag-link-position-3" style="font-size: 10.116279069767pt;" aria-label="Aslan (21 items)">Aslan</a>
2310<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/atheism/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-8146 tag-link-position-4" style="font-size: 9.2209302325581pt;" aria-label="Atheism (16 items)">Atheism</a>
2311<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/bible/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-10051 tag-link-position-5" style="font-size: 12.06976744186pt;" aria-label="Bible (37 items)">Bible</a>
2312<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/books/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-178 tag-link-position-6" style="font-size: 11.906976744186pt;" aria-label="Books (35 items)">Books</a>
2313<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/britain/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-42606 tag-link-position-7" style="font-size: 11.011627906977pt;" aria-label="Britain (27 items)">Britain</a>
2314<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/c-s-lewis/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-154520 tag-link-position-8" style="font-size: 22pt;" aria-label="C.S. Lewis (624 items)">C.S. Lewis</a>
2315<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/cambridge/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-75314 tag-link-position-9" style="font-size: 8.9767441860465pt;" aria-label="Cambridge (15 items)">Cambridge</a>
2316<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/cats/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-306 tag-link-position-10" style="font-size: 8.2441860465116pt;" aria-label="Cats (12 items)">Cats</a>
2317<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/chaplain/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-528075 tag-link-position-11" style="font-size: 8.2441860465116pt;" aria-label="Chaplain (12 items)">Chaplain</a>
2318<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/chaplains/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-746439 tag-link-position-12" style="font-size: 8pt;" aria-label="Chaplains (11 items)">Chaplains</a>
2319<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/chesterton/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-199776 tag-link-position-13" style="font-size: 8.9767441860465pt;" aria-label="Chesterton (15 items)">Chesterton</a>
2320<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/children/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-1343 tag-link-position-14" style="font-size: 11.011627906977pt;" aria-label="Children (27 items)">Children</a>
2321<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/china/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-1470 tag-link-position-15" style="font-size: 9.4651162790698pt;" aria-label="China (17 items)">China</a>
2322<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/christianity/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-214 tag-link-position-16" style="font-size: 14.755813953488pt;" aria-label="Christianity (81 items)">Christianity</a>
2323<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/christmas/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-15607 tag-link-position-17" style="font-size: 8.5697674418605pt;" aria-label="Christmas (13 items)">Christmas</a>
2324<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/communication/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-1214 tag-link-position-18" style="font-size: 9.4651162790698pt;" aria-label="Communication (17 items)">Communication</a>
2325<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/conversion/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-106887 tag-link-position-19" style="font-size: 9.4651162790698pt;" aria-label="Conversion (17 items)">Conversion</a>
2326<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/correspondence/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-52540 tag-link-position-20" style="font-size: 8.2441860465116pt;" aria-label="Correspondence (12 items)">Correspondence</a>
2327<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/creation/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-26143 tag-link-position-21" style="font-size: 9.953488372093pt;" aria-label="Creation (20 items)">Creation</a>
2328<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/creativity/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-789 tag-link-position-22" style="font-size: 8pt;" aria-label="Creativity (11 items)">Creativity</a>
2329<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/death/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-8437 tag-link-position-23" style="font-size: 12.151162790698pt;" aria-label="Death (38 items)">Death</a>
2330<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/definitions/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-2927 tag-link-position-24" style="font-size: 8.5697674418605pt;" aria-label="Definitions (13 items)">Definitions</a>
2331<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/dogs/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-305 tag-link-position-25" style="font-size: 11.337209302326pt;" aria-label="Dogs (30 items)">Dogs</a>
2332<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/editing/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-11746 tag-link-position-26" style="font-size: 9.4651162790698pt;" aria-label="Editing (17 items)">Editing</a>
2333<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/education/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-1342 tag-link-position-27" style="font-size: 11.337209302326pt;" aria-label="Education (30 items)">Education</a>
2334<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/england/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-1311 tag-link-position-28" style="font-size: 9.4651162790698pt;" aria-label="England (17 items)">England</a>
2335<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/english/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-3205 tag-link-position-29" style="font-size: 8.9767441860465pt;" aria-label="English (15 items)">English</a>
2336<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/faith/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-401 tag-link-position-30" style="font-size: 13.53488372093pt;" aria-label="Faith (57 items)">Faith</a>
2337<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/family/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-406 tag-link-position-31" style="font-size: 11.988372093023pt;" aria-label="Family (36 items)">Family</a>
2338<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/fear/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-32976 tag-link-position-32" style="font-size: 8pt;" aria-label="Fear (11 items)">Fear</a>
2339<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/fiction/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-1747 tag-link-position-33" style="font-size: 9.2209302325581pt;" aria-label="Fiction (16 items)">Fiction</a>
2340<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/fonts/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-24938 tag-link-position-34" style="font-size: 8.9767441860465pt;" aria-label="Fonts (15 items)">Fonts</a>
2341<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/forgiveness/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-71131 tag-link-position-35" style="font-size: 9.4651162790698pt;" aria-label="Forgiveness (17 items)">Forgiveness</a>
2342<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/france/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-4704 tag-link-position-36" style="font-size: 9.7906976744186pt;" aria-label="France (19 items)">France</a>
2343<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/friendship/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-4902 tag-link-position-37" style="font-size: 9.953488372093pt;" aria-label="Friendship (20 items)">Friendship</a>
2344<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/george-macdonald/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-537126 tag-link-position-38" style="font-size: 8.2441860465116pt;" aria-label="George MacDonald (12 items)">George MacDonald</a>
2345<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/germany/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-3550 tag-link-position-39" style="font-size: 9.2209302325581pt;" aria-label="Germany (16 items)">Germany</a>
2346<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/god/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-7816 tag-link-position-40" style="font-size: 9.2209302325581pt;" aria-label="God (16 items)">God</a>
2347<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/grammar/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-13434 tag-link-position-41" style="font-size: 8.5697674418605pt;" aria-label="Grammar (13 items)">Grammar</a>
2348<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/heaven/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-91914 tag-link-position-42" style="font-size: 11.337209302326pt;" aria-label="Heaven (30 items)">Heaven</a>
2349<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/hell/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-23940 tag-link-position-43" style="font-size: 8.5697674418605pt;" aria-label="Hell (13 items)">Hell</a>
2350<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/history/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-678 tag-link-position-44" style="font-size: 8.9767441860465pt;" aria-label="History (15 items)">History</a>
2351<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/hope/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-20816 tag-link-position-45" style="font-size: 10.116279069767pt;" aria-label="Hope (21 items)">Hope</a>
2352<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/humor/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-376 tag-link-position-46" style="font-size: 11.093023255814pt;" aria-label="Humor (28 items)">Humor</a>
2353<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/inklings/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-118458 tag-link-position-47" style="font-size: 13.53488372093pt;" aria-label="Inklings (57 items)">Inklings</a>
2354<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/inspiration/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-107 tag-link-position-48" style="font-size: 9.2209302325581pt;" aria-label="Inspiration (16 items)">Inspiration</a>
2355<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/j-r-r-tolkien/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-353056 tag-link-position-49" style="font-size: 15.56976744186pt;" aria-label="J.R.R. Tolkien (102 items)">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>
2356<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/jesus/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-8329 tag-link-position-50" style="font-size: 11.581395348837pt;" aria-label="Jesus (32 items)">Jesus</a>
2357<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/korea/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-3956 tag-link-position-51" style="font-size: 8pt;" aria-label="Korea (11 items)">Korea</a>
2358<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/language/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-1934 tag-link-position-52" style="font-size: 8.9767441860465pt;" aria-label="Language (15 items)">Language</a>
2359<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/life/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-124 tag-link-position-53" style="font-size: 9.7906976744186pt;" aria-label="Life (19 items)">Life</a>
2360<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/literary-criticism/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-80842 tag-link-position-54" style="font-size: 8.8139534883721pt;" aria-label="Literary Criticism (14 items)">Literary Criticism</a>
2361<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/literature/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-557 tag-link-position-55" style="font-size: 13.290697674419pt;" aria-label="Literature (53 items)">Literature</a>
2362<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/lord-of-the-rings/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-97773 tag-link-position-56" style="font-size: 9.7906976744186pt;" aria-label="Lord of the Rings (19 items)">Lord of the Rings</a>
2363<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/love/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-3785 tag-link-position-57" style="font-size: 11.5pt;" aria-label="Love (31 items)">Love</a>
2364<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/mark-twain/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-67606 tag-link-position-58" style="font-size: 10.116279069767pt;" aria-label="Mark Twain (21 items)">Mark Twain</a>
2365<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/marriage/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-4550 tag-link-position-59" style="font-size: 9.2209302325581pt;" aria-label="Marriage (16 items)">Marriage</a>
2366<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/martin-luther/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-85054 tag-link-position-60" style="font-size: 9.953488372093pt;" aria-label="Martin Luther (20 items)">Martin Luther</a>
2367<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/mercy/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-100179 tag-link-position-61" style="font-size: 8.9767441860465pt;" aria-label="Mercy (15 items)">Mercy</a>
2368<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/middle-earth/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-322560 tag-link-position-62" style="font-size: 11.011627906977pt;" aria-label="Middle Earth (27 items)">Middle Earth</a>
2369<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/military/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-488 tag-link-position-63" style="font-size: 9.953488372093pt;" aria-label="Military (20 items)">Military</a>
2370<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/music/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-18 tag-link-position-64" style="font-size: 8.5697674418605pt;" aria-label="Music (13 items)">Music</a>
2371<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/mythology/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-5174 tag-link-position-65" style="font-size: 9.4651162790698pt;" aria-label="Mythology (17 items)">Mythology</a>
2372<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/names/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-44659 tag-link-position-66" style="font-size: 9.4651162790698pt;" aria-label="Names (17 items)">Names</a>
2373<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/narnia/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-7546 tag-link-position-67" style="font-size: 15.162790697674pt;" aria-label="Narnia (90 items)">Narnia</a>
2374<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/nature/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-1099 tag-link-position-68" style="font-size: 11.255813953488pt;" aria-label="Nature (29 items)">Nature</a>
2375<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/oxford/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-135448 tag-link-position-69" style="font-size: 11.011627906977pt;" aria-label="Oxford (27 items)">Oxford</a>
2376<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/parenting/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-5309 tag-link-position-70" style="font-size: 8.8139534883721pt;" aria-label="Parenting (14 items)">Parenting</a>
2377<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/pastors/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-60648 tag-link-position-71" style="font-size: 8.5697674418605pt;" aria-label="Pastors (13 items)">Pastors</a>
2378<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/peace/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-2128 tag-link-position-72" style="font-size: 8.2441860465116pt;" aria-label="Peace (12 items)">Peace</a>
2379<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/pets/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-9277 tag-link-position-73" style="font-size: 9.7906976744186pt;" aria-label="Pets (19 items)">Pets</a>
2380<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/poetry/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-422 tag-link-position-74" style="font-size: 13.209302325581pt;" aria-label="Poetry (52 items)">Poetry</a>
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2382<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/prayer/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-853 tag-link-position-76" style="font-size: 10.116279069767pt;" aria-label="Prayer (21 items)">Prayer</a>
2383<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/pride/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-45097 tag-link-position-77" style="font-size: 8.8139534883721pt;" aria-label="Pride (14 items)">Pride</a>
2384<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/publishing/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-3330 tag-link-position-78" style="font-size: 11.011627906977pt;" aria-label="Publishing (27 items)">Publishing</a>
2385<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/reading/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-1473 tag-link-position-79" style="font-size: 12.151162790698pt;" aria-label="Reading (38 items)">Reading</a>
2386<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/religion/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-116 tag-link-position-80" style="font-size: 8.2441860465116pt;" aria-label="Religion (12 items)">Religion</a>
2387<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/resurrection/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-93648 tag-link-position-81" style="font-size: 9.953488372093pt;" aria-label="Resurrection (20 items)">Resurrection</a>
2388<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/roman-catholic/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-110170 tag-link-position-82" style="font-size: 8.2441860465116pt;" aria-label="Roman Catholic (12 items)">Roman Catholic</a>
2389<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/rome/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-9641 tag-link-position-83" style="font-size: 8.2441860465116pt;" aria-label="Rome (12 items)">Rome</a>
2390<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/salvation/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-56391 tag-link-position-84" style="font-size: 8.5697674418605pt;" aria-label="Salvation (13 items)">Salvation</a>
2391<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/science/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-173 tag-link-position-85" style="font-size: 8.5697674418605pt;" aria-label="Science (13 items)">Science</a>
2392<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/science-fiction/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-10615 tag-link-position-86" style="font-size: 8.5697674418605pt;" aria-label="Science Fiction (13 items)">Science Fiction</a>
2393<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/screwtape/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-993760 tag-link-position-87" style="font-size: 9.2209302325581pt;" aria-label="Screwtape (16 items)">Screwtape</a>
2394<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/shakespeare/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-112724 tag-link-position-88" style="font-size: 8.9767441860465pt;" aria-label="Shakespeare (15 items)">Shakespeare</a>
2395<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/sin/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-12529 tag-link-position-89" style="font-size: 10.686046511628pt;" aria-label="Sin (25 items)">Sin</a>
2396<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/star-trek/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-28444 tag-link-position-90" style="font-size: 8.2441860465116pt;" aria-label="Star Trek (12 items)">Star Trek</a>
2397<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/tolkien/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-14745 tag-link-position-91" style="font-size: 9.2209302325581pt;" aria-label="Tolkien (16 items)">Tolkien</a>
2398<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/vocabulary/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-10174 tag-link-position-92" style="font-size: 8.2441860465116pt;" aria-label="Vocabulary (12 items)">Vocabulary</a>
2399<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/war/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-3934 tag-link-position-93" style="font-size: 12.151162790698pt;" aria-label="War (38 items)">War</a>
2400<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/words/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-4822 tag-link-position-94" style="font-size: 13.046511627907pt;" aria-label="Words (49 items)">Words</a>
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2402<a href="https://mereinkling.net/tag/writers/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-16761 tag-link-position-96" style="font-size: 10.116279069767pt;" aria-label="Writers (21 items)">Writers</a>
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2554			</div>
2555		</div>
2556		<div class="jp-carousel-overlay" style="display: none;">
2557
2558		<div class="jp-carousel-container">
2559			<!-- The Carousel Swiper -->
2560			<div
2561				class="jp-carousel-wrap swiper jp-carousel-swiper-container jp-carousel-transitions"
2562				itemscope
2563				itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageGallery">
2564				<div class="jp-carousel swiper-wrapper"></div>
2565				<div class="jp-swiper-button-prev swiper-button-prev">
2566					<svg width="25" height="24" viewBox="0 0 25 24" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
2567						<mask id="maskPrev" mask-type="alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="8" y="6" width="9" height="12">
2568							<path d="M16.2072 16.59L11.6496 12L16.2072 7.41L14.8041 6L8.8335 12L14.8041 18L16.2072 16.59Z" fill="white"/>
2569						</mask>
2570						<g mask="url(#maskPrev)">
2571							<rect x="0.579102" width="23.8823" height="24" fill="#FFFFFF"/>
2572						</g>
2573					</svg>
2574				</div>
2575				<div class="jp-swiper-button-next swiper-button-next">
2576					<svg width="25" height="24" viewBox="0 0 25 24" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
2577						<mask id="maskNext" mask-type="alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="8" y="6" width="8" height="12">
2578							<path d="M8.59814 16.59L13.1557 12L8.59814 7.41L10.0012 6L15.9718 12L10.0012 18L8.59814 16.59Z" fill="white"/>
2579						</mask>
2580						<g mask="url(#maskNext)">
2581							<rect x="0.34375" width="23.8822" height="24" fill="#FFFFFF"/>
2582						</g>
2583					</svg>
2584				</div>
2585			</div>
2586			<!-- The main close buton -->
2587			<div class="jp-carousel-close-hint">
2588				<svg width="25" height="24" viewBox="0 0 25 24" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
2589					<mask id="maskClose" mask-type="alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="5" y="5" width="15" height="14">
2590						<path d="M19.3166 6.41L17.9135 5L12.3509 10.59L6.78834 5L5.38525 6.41L10.9478 12L5.38525 17.59L6.78834 19L12.3509 13.41L17.9135 19L19.3166 17.59L13.754 12L19.3166 6.41Z" fill="white"/>
2591					</mask>
2592					<g mask="url(#maskClose)">
2593						<rect x="0.409668" width="23.8823" height="24" fill="#FFFFFF"/>
2594					</g>
2595				</svg>
2596			</div>
2597			<!-- Image info, comments and meta -->
2598			<div class="jp-carousel-info">
2599				<div class="jp-carousel-info-footer">
2600					<div class="jp-carousel-pagination-container">
2601						<div class="jp-swiper-pagination swiper-pagination"></div>
2602						<div class="jp-carousel-pagination"></div>
2603					</div>
2604					<div class="jp-carousel-photo-title-container">
2605						<div class="jp-carousel-photo-caption"></div>
2606					</div>
2607					<div class="jp-carousel-photo-icons-container">
2608						<a href="#" class="jp-carousel-icon-btn jp-carousel-icon-info" aria-label="Toggle photo metadata visibility">
2609							<span class="jp-carousel-icon">
2610								<svg width="25" height="24" viewBox="0 0 25 24" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
2611									<mask id="maskInfo" mask-type="alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="2" y="2" width="21" height="20">
2612										<path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M12.7537 2C7.26076 2 2.80273 6.48 2.80273 12C2.80273 17.52 7.26076 22 12.7537 22C18.2466 22 22.7046 17.52 22.7046 12C22.7046 6.48 18.2466 2 12.7537 2ZM11.7586 7V9H13.7488V7H11.7586ZM11.7586 11V17H13.7488V11H11.7586ZM4.79292 12C4.79292 16.41 8.36531 20 12.7537 20C17.142 20 20.7144 16.41 20.7144 12C20.7144 7.59 17.142 4 12.7537 4C8.36531 4 4.79292 7.59 4.79292 12Z" fill="white"/>
2613									</mask>
2614									<g mask="url(#maskInfo)">
2615										<rect x="0.8125" width="23.8823" height="24" fill="#FFFFFF"/>
2616									</g>
2617								</svg>
2618							</span>
2619						</a>
2620												<a href="#" class="jp-carousel-icon-btn jp-carousel-icon-comments" aria-label="Toggle photo comments visibility">
2621							<span class="jp-carousel-icon">
2622								<svg width="25" height="24" viewBox="0 0 25 24" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
2623									<mask id="maskComments" mask-type="alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="2" y="2" width="21" height="20">
2624										<path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M4.3271 2H20.2486C21.3432 2 22.2388 2.9 22.2388 4V16C22.2388 17.1 21.3432 18 20.2486 18H6.31729L2.33691 22V4C2.33691 2.9 3.2325 2 4.3271 2ZM6.31729 16H20.2486V4H4.3271V18L6.31729 16Z" fill="white"/>
2625									</mask>
2626									<g mask="url(#maskComments)">
2627										<rect x="0.34668" width="23.8823" height="24" fill="#FFFFFF"/>
2628									</g>
2629								</svg>
2630
2631								<span class="jp-carousel-has-comments-indicator" aria-label="This image has comments."></span>
2632							</span>
2633						</a>
2634											</div>
2635				</div>
2636				<div class="jp-carousel-info-extra">
2637					<div class="jp-carousel-info-content-wrapper">
2638						<div class="jp-carousel-photo-title-container">
2639							<div class="jp-carousel-photo-title"></div>
2640						</div>
2641						<div class="jp-carousel-comments-wrapper">
2642															<div id="jp-carousel-comments-loading">
2643									<span>Loading Comments...</span>
2644								</div>
2645								<div class="jp-carousel-comments"></div>
2646								<div id="jp-carousel-comment-form-container">
2647									<span id="jp-carousel-comment-form-spinner"><svg class="jetpack-spinner" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 100 100" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><circle cx="50" cy="50" r="46" fill="none" stroke="#ddd" stroke-width="8"/><path d="M 50 4 A 46 46 0 0 1 96 50" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="8" stroke-linecap="round"><animateTransform attributeName="transform" type="rotate" dur="1.4s" from="0 50 50" to="360 50 50" repeatCount="indefinite"/></path></svg></span>
2648									<div id="jp-carousel-comment-post-results"></div>
2649																														<form id="jp-carousel-comment-form">
2650												<label for="jp-carousel-comment-form-comment-field" class="screen-reader-text">Write a Comment...</label>
2651												<textarea
2652													name="comment"
2653													class="jp-carousel-comment-form-field jp-carousel-comment-form-textarea"
2654													id="jp-carousel-comment-form-comment-field"
2655													placeholder="Write a Comment..."
2656												></textarea>
2657												<div id="jp-carousel-comment-form-submit-and-info-wrapper">
2658													<div id="jp-carousel-comment-form-commenting-as">
2659																													<fieldset>
2660																<label for="jp-carousel-comment-form-email-field">Email (Required)</label>
2661																<input type="text" name="email" class="jp-carousel-comment-form-field jp-carousel-comment-form-text-field" id="jp-carousel-comment-form-email-field" />
2662															</fieldset>
2663															<fieldset>
2664																<label for="jp-carousel-comment-form-author-field">Name (Required)</label>
2665																<input type="text" name="author" class="jp-carousel-comment-form-field jp-carousel-comment-form-text-field" id="jp-carousel-comment-form-author-field" />
2666															</fieldset>
2667															<fieldset>
2668																<label for="jp-carousel-comment-form-url-field">Website</label>
2669																<input type="text" name="url" class="jp-carousel-comment-form-field jp-carousel-comment-form-text-field" id="jp-carousel-comment-form-url-field" />
2670															</fieldset>
2671																											</div>
2672													<input
2673														type="submit"
2674														name="submit"
2675														class="jp-carousel-comment-form-button"
2676														id="jp-carousel-comment-form-button-submit"
2677														value="Post Comment" />
2678												</div>
2679											</form>
2680																											</div>
2681													</div>
2682						<div class="jp-carousel-image-meta">
2683							<div class="jp-carousel-title-and-caption">
2684								<div class="jp-carousel-photo-info">
2685									<div class="jp-carousel-caption" itemprop="caption description"></div>
2686								</div>
2687
2688								<div class="jp-carousel-photo-description"></div>
2689							</div>
2690							<a class="jp-carousel-image-download" href="#" aria-label="Download image" target="_blank" style="display: none;">
2691								<svg width="25" height="24" viewBox="0 0 25 24" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
2692									<mask id="mask0" mask-type="alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="3" y="3" width="19" height="18">
2693										<path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M5.84615 5V19H19.7775V12H21.7677V19C21.7677 20.1 20.8721 21 19.7775 21H5.84615C4.74159 21 3.85596 20.1 3.85596 19V5C3.85596 3.9 4.74159 3 5.84615 3H12.8118V5H5.84615ZM14.802 5V3H21.7677V10H19.7775V6.41L9.99569 16.24L8.59261 14.83L18.3744 5H14.802Z" fill="white"/>
2694									</mask>
2695									<g mask="url(#mask0)">
2696										<rect x="0.870605" width="23.8823" height="24" fill="#FFFFFF"/>
2697									</g>
2698								</svg>
2699								<span class="jp-carousel-download-text"></span>
2700							</a>
2701							<div class="jp-carousel-image-map" style="display: none;"></div>
2702						</div>
2703					</div>
2704				</div>
2705			</div>
2706		</div>
2707
2708		</div>
2709		<aside id="eu_cookie_law_widget-3" class="widget widget_eu_cookie_law_widget">
2710<div
2711	class="hide-on-scroll"
2712	data-hide-timeout="30"
2713	data-consent-expiration="365"
2714	id="eu-cookie-law"
2715	style="display: none"
2716>
2717	<form method="post">
2718		<input type="submit" value="Close and accept" class="accept" />
2719
2720		Privacy &amp; Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. <br />
2721To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here:
2722				<a href="https://automattic.com/cookies/" rel="nofollow">
2723			Cookie Policy		</a>
2724 </form>
2725</div>
2726</aside>
2727	
2727<script type="text/javascript">
2728		(function () {
2729			var wpcom_reblog = {
2730				source: 'toolbar',
2731
2732				toggle_reblog_box_flair: function (obj_id, post_id) {
2733
2734					// Go to site selector. This will redirect to their blog if they only have one.
2735					const postEndpoint = `https://wordpress.com/post`;
2736
2737					// Ideally we would use the permalink here, but fortunately this will be replaced with the 
2738					// post permalink in the editor.
2739					const originalURL = `${ document.location.href }?page_id=${ post_id }`; 
2740					
2741					const url =
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2744						encodeURIComponent( originalURL ) +
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2747
2748					const redirect = function () {
2749						if (
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2751						) {
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2756					if ( /Firefox/.test( navigator.userAgent ) ) {
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2758					} else {
2759						redirect();
2760					}
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2762			};
2763
2764			window.wpcom_reblog = wpcom_reblog;
2765		})();
2766	</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 2766
2766
2767<script id="coblocks-loader-js-extra">
2768var wpcom_coblocks_js = {"coblocks_masonry_js":"https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/plugins/coblocks/2.18.1-simple-rev.4/dist/js/coblocks-masonry.min.js?m=1681832297i","coblocks_lightbox_js":"https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/plugins/coblocks/2.18.1-simple-rev.4/dist/js/coblocks-lightbox.min.js?m=1681832297i","jquery_core_js":"/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js","jquery_migrate_js":"/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery-migrate.min.js","masonry_js":"/wp-includes/js/masonry.min.js","imagesloaded_js":"/wp-includes/js/imagesloaded.min.js"};
2769var coblocksLigthboxData = {"closeLabel":"Close Gallery","leftLabel":"Previous","rightLabel":"Next"};
2770//# sourceURL=coblocks-loader-js-extra
2771</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 2771
2771
2772<script id="jetpack-carousel-js-extra">
2773var jetpackSwiperLibraryPath = {"url":"/wp-content/mu-plugins/jetpack-plugin/sun/_inc/blocks/swiper.js"};
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vendor: 1 bytes, line 2776
2776
2777<script crossorigin='anonymous' type='text/javascript'  src='/_static/??-eJyNkMFOxDAMRH+I1C1UWjggPgWlqVvcOHEUJy38PRWisFrtoccZzzzJA1syTmLBWCBUk7jOFBUWLMk6/6tBa4R3ig6GSjwCxYkiFTTqsjAf+qsJFJtFH+AKehCdDCzOKzw23XPTGaWQGE3GtelhJC2w/IcMix0x3+OVDwyokOoALCu6bKefarQrzbaQnG7MLIPls2n1lAxT9GYSV9VM9HlbPb2fs1mqIv/FDuPew1fUjcYZiwLW/Sqe0LDdoOC+pC144++ct/DaXV7a9tI+9f3yDWWttkA='></script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 2777
2777
2778<script data-wp-strategy="defer" defer id="tiled-gallery-js" src="/wp-content/mu-plugins/jetpack-plugin/sun/_inc/build/tiled-gallery/tiled-gallery/tiled-gallery.min.js?m=1755011788i&#038;ver=16.3-a.4"></script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 2778
2778
2779<script crossorigin='anonymous' type='text/javascript'  src='/wp-content/mu-plugins/carousel-wpcom/carousel-wpcom.js?m=1761899756i'></script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 2779
2779
2780<script id="wp-emoji-settings" type="application/json">
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2782</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 2782
2782
2783<script type="module">
2784/*! This file is auto-generated */
2785var e="script#wp-emoji-settings",t=document.querySelector(e);if(!(t instanceof HTMLScriptElement))throw new Error("Element missing: "+e);const r=JSON.parse(t.text),s=(window._wpemojiSettings=r,"wpEmojiSettingsSupports"),o=["flag","emoji"];function i(e){try{var t={supportTests:e,timestamp:(new Date).valueOf()};sessionStorage.setItem(s,JSON.stringify(t))}catch(e){}}function c(e,t,n){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);t=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data);e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(n,0,0);const r=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data);return t.every((e,t)=>e===r[t])}function p(e,t){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);var n=e.getImageData(16,16,1,1);for(let e=0;e<n.data.length;e++)if(0!==n.data[e])return!1;return!0}function u(e,t,n,r){switch(t){case"flag":return n(e,"\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f","\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200b\u26a7\ufe0f")?!1:!n(e,"\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf6","\ud83c\udde8\u200b\ud83c\uddf6")&&!n(e,"\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f","\ud83c\udff4\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc62\u200b\udb40\udc65\u200b\udb40\udc6e\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc7f");case"emoji":return!r(e,"\ud83e\u1fac8")}return!1}function f(e,t,n,r){let a;const s=(a="undefined"!=typeof WorkerGlobalScope&&self instanceof WorkerGlobalScope?new OffscreenCanvas(300,150):document.createElement("canvas")).getContext("2d",{willReadFrequently:!0}),o=(s.textBaseline="top",s.font="600 32px Arial",{});return e.forEach(e=>{o[e]=t(s,e,n,r)}),o}function a(e){var t=document.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=!0,document.head.appendChild(t)}r.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},new Promise(t=>{let n=function(){try{var e=JSON.parse(sessionStorage.getItem(s));if("object"==typeof e&&"number"==typeof e.timestamp&&(new Date).valueOf()<e.timestamp+604800&&"object"==typeof e.supportTests)return e.supportTests}catch(e){}return null}();if(!n){if("undefined"!=typeof Worker&&"undefined"!=typeof OffscreenCanvas&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&URL.createObjectURL&&"undefined"!=typeof Blob)try{var e="postMessage("+f.toString()+"("+[JSON.stringify(o),u.toString(),c.toString(),p.toString()].join(",")+"));",r=new Blob([e],{type:"text/javascript"});const a=new Worker(URL.createObjectURL(r),{name:"wpTestEmojiSupports"});return void(a.onmessage=e=>{i(n=e.data),a.terminate(),t(n)})}catch(e){}i(n=f(o,u,c,p))}t(n)}).then(e=>{for(const n in e)r.supports[n]=e[n],r.supports.everything=r.supports.everything&&r.supports[n],"flag"!==n&&(r.supports.everythingExceptFlag=r.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&r.supports[n]);var t;r.supports.everythingExceptFlag=r.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!r.supports.flag,r.supports.everything||((t=r.source||{}).concatemoji?a(t.concatemoji):t.wpemoji&&t.twemoji&&(a(t.twemoji),a(t.wpemoji)))});
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2787</script>
2787
2788		
2788<script type="text/javascript">
2789			(function() {
2790				var extend = function(out) {
2791					out = out || {};
2792
2793					for (var i = 1; i < arguments.length; i++) {
2794						if (!arguments[i])
2795						continue;
2796
2797						for (var key in arguments[i]) {
2798						if (arguments[i].hasOwnProperty(key))
2799							out[key] = arguments[i][key];
2800						}
2801					}
2802
2803					return out;
2804				};
2805				extend( window.infiniteScroll.settings.scripts, ["jetpack-mu-wpcom-settings","rlt-proxy","wpcom-actionbar-placeholder","grofiles-cards","wpgroho","the-neverending-homepage","coblocks-loader","lovecraft-navigation","lovecraft-global","lovecraft-skip-link-focus-fix","jetpack-carousel","eu-cookie-law-script","tiled-gallery","carousel-wpcom"] );
2806				extend( window.infiniteScroll.settings.styles, ["the-neverending-homepage","coblocks-frontend","wpcom-core-compat-playlist-styles","wpcom-bbpress2-staff-css","lovecraft-style","genericons","lovecraft-wpcom","reblogging","geo-location-flair","a8c-global-print","h4-global","wp-img-auto-sizes-contain","wp-emoji-styles","wp-block-library","classic-theme-styles","wp-block-styles-placeholder","coblocks-inline-format","wp-global-styles-placeholder","lovecraft-fonts","jetpack-global-styles-frontend-style","wp-block-quote","wp-block-separator","wp-block-image","wp-block-paragraph","global-styles","jetpack-swiper-library","jetpack-carousel","eu-cookie-law-style","tiled-gallery","jetpack-subscriptions","core-block-supports","core-block-supports-duotone"] );
2807			})();
2808		</script>
2808
2809				<span id="infinite-aria" aria-live="polite"></span>
2810		
2810<script src="//stats.wp.com/w.js?69" defer></script>
2810 
2810<script type="text/javascript">
2811_tkq = window._tkq || [];
2812_stq = window._stq || [];
2813_tkq.push(['storeContext', {'blog_id':'26930382','blog_tz':'-7','user_lang':'en','blog_lang':'en','user_id':'0'}]);
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