A Change of Language

Several (mostly good) things conspired over the last several months to eliminate much of my reading and nearly all of my writing time.  At the same time, some of these conspirators planted a seed in my mind that germinated for the last couple of months and eventually grew into this essay. 

I’ve written in passing a few times that the label “Social Justice Christian” makes me uncomfortable.  At the time, the discomfort was not strong enough to eliminate the phrase or to stop using it completely but it was there and growing.   The discomfort is now strong enough to make me change my language.  I intend to argue that we should stop using the phrase “Social Justice Christian”.  My argument also serves as a confession.  My (though not necessarily your) use of the phrase proves my own arrogance because I did not want to be “that kind of Christian”.  This dual purpose means that this essay will contain the pronoun “I” many more times than normal for my writing, which I hope you will excuse.

Three conspirators let this idea grow in me: something I said, something a friend said, and something I read.

C. S. Lewis and Moral Leadership: Opposing Injustice will not always End Injustice

The Old Narnians are an oppressed people.  There is no way to read Prince Caspian without seeing them as victims of extraordinary injustice.  The injustice runs so deep that the New Narnians, who are ancestors of the invading Telmarine people, do not believe that Old Narnia is anything more than legend.  Old Narnia, for all practical purposes, does not and never existed.  This means that the Old Narnians have a justifiable anger and we cannot argue against their desire for the end of their oppression.  There is still a choice to be made, however.  The book Prince Caspian and the character it is named for demonstrate that there is a right way to confront to injustice.

 

This essay is best read after reading the novel and will reveal significant plot points.

Reflection from a Homeless Shelter Volunteer

Brilliant writers, like Ray Bradbury and Snoopy, can open with, “It was a dark and stormy night.”  Regular folks, like me and presumably you, cannot get away with clichéd openings.  That is a problem because stormy, dark nights are partly what I am writing about.  I write about such nights because I want to reflect on my experience as a volunteer at a homeless shelter – Out of the Cold in Saint John, NB.  Out of the Cold is a winter emergency shelter for homeless men that is in a church parlour.  If safe shelter cannot be assumed, “It was a dark and stormy night,” is not eerie, mysterious, or even cliché.  It is frightening.

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C. S. Lewis and Embracing Goodness: A Key Action for Fairness

When the queens and kings of Narnia receive their crowns, they are also given a title to describe their character.  The titles for the others – King Peter the Magnificent, Queen Lucy the Valiant, Queen Susan the Gentle – seem apt when you consider the rest of the story of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe.  King Edmund, however, receives a name that does not always fit.  He is King Edmund the Just.  This is an odd title.  The story begins with him belittling his younger sister Lucy, it progresses to him aligning himself with the Witch, and moves toward him betraying his brother and sisters.  These are hardly the actions of a person we would describe as just.  His title implies a change, which is a change we see in The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe.  A key lesson from Edmund’s story is that repentance not only turns away from the wrong but also turns into the right.  
 

This essay is best read after reading the novel and will reveal significant plot points.

Out of the Cold Presentation

Thank you to the congregations of The Church of Saint Andrew and Saint David & Centenary Queen Square United Church for allowing me to share a bit about Out of the Cold this morning.