Thursday, November 22, 2012

November 22, 1963 - In Remembrance

From the archives (updated):

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Today marks the 49th anniversary of the passing of a great man. One who left his mark on his country and his culture. One who is still quoted to this day. On November 22, 1963, the world little noted his passing in the shock and outpouring of grief over the assassination of JFK. That man was Clive Staple Lewis…oddly enough, like JFK, ”Jack” to his friends.

C. S. Lewis, author of The Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity and The Chronicles of Narnia, was a contemporary and friend of J. R. R. Tolkien. He was also an atheist who came to Christianity, in his own words, “kicking and screaming”, who became one of its strongest apologists.

You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.
-Surprised by Joy

His books have been translated into dozens of languages and sold millions of copies over the years. Anthony Hopkins portrayed him in the movie Shadowlands (1993), the story of his romance with American poet Joy Gresham, who died of cancer a mere handful of years after they met.

His life was rich and varied. His sorrows deep and vast. His legacy is enduring.

In our remembrance of those who passed this day, one might do well to remember what can be accomplished with just a pair of Jacks!

2 comments:

  1. And one day 40 years from now people might look at this blog and reflect on how Proof lacks each and every one of those notabilities.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So, you claim I am not substantive, but you come and piss on the memories of JFK, C.S. Lewis, Medal of Honor recipients with nothing but foul mouthed carping and ad hominems, and without leaving anything yourself, but a meconium slime trail. 40 seconds from now, no one will care to remember what you wrote, envious troll.

      Try getting a life. I don't find in myself the need to troll left wing sites and insult the obviously benighted people there. I have better things to do. If you had the balls or the brains necessary to write a blog, or were not so cowardly as to not stand behind your own comments, you would pick a screen name, either your own or a Nom de Cyber, and have the courage to own whatever you say on the Internet.

      You know the difference between spam and anonymous trolls? Spam is generally polite and occasionally makes a cogent case.

      On this day, I am thankful that my life and my self esteem are not built around having to degrade and insult someone else, to somehow feel better about myself.

      Go out and have some turkey, anonymous. After your presence this AM, we've already had ours!

      Delete