C.S.Lewis wrote some Science Fiction as well as some Fantasy. He and J.R.R.Tolkien lamented the state of fiction writing and some of the de-humanising trends depicted and decided to contribute works of their own.

Their strategies differed. C.S.Lewis believed people needed to be clearly shown the message and so felt the writing needed to do this without much subtlety. His Narnia series is written from this perspective where it is hard to miss the point.

J.R.R.Tolkien believed that unless someone discovered a truth for themselves then they would not fully own and possess it’s meaning. The Lord Of The Rings is written from this perspective. “Even the smallest person can change the world”, is my favourite idea in that book.

C.S.Lewis also wrote the Space Trilogy which includes: “Out of the Silent Planet”, “Voyage to Venus” and “That Hideous Strength”. These were quite acclaimed and showed how the literary vehicle of Science Fiction could be used to convey core Christian ideas.

Some C.S.Lewis quotes on the power of literature:
- If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.
- Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.
- Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.
- The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.

So Helen, irrigate away

Ray Keefe
http://www.successful.com.au

There are many stories of people who have prayed for a long time before they saw an outcome. Prayer will never force another against their free will. What it does do is to change the spiritual landscape they live in so they can freely make a choice when the time is right.

If in doubt, persevere.

Ray Keefe
http://www.successful.com.au

I have your book, “How To Be A Supernatural Christian In Your Everyday World” and thoroughly recommend it. If anyone reading this hasn’t purchased it yet, do so today. Use this link http://www.supernatural-christian.com

Helen, please keep writing and sharing with us because you are making a real difference.

I recently read a series by Peter F Hamilton. It is known as the Night’s Dawn Trilogy. The first book is titled “The Reality Dysfunction”.

For those who haven’t guessed it is a Science Fiction series. But it is the kind of Science Fiction that I love. Where you look at a new idea or technology and explore the implications for society and how people choose to respond.

In this series, they discover that there is life after death. Go figure! But not in the passive way we deal with it as we contemplate the eternal journey where our life on earth is but the first step. For them the barrier between the dead and the living is broken and we see a much more visceral encounter. It creates both a moral and pragmatic dilemma. You can learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nights_Dawn_Trilogy.

For me, the most interesting part is the effect this new knowledge has on the leading characters. One of them declares that it changes everything. Up until now we have lived as if what we do now is our only reality and we are doing the best we know how. But faced with the unmitigated reality that we are eternal and that life goes on past the end of our mortal bodies, and that our choices in this life set up our eternal outcome, everything changes.

In the book, some of the dead are free to choose how they will progress, and some are stuck in a never ending night that they cannot escape from. The difference etween the 2 groups is simple. Love. If you love others, then that sets you free to choose good for them and in death you can move into the greater eternal. If you don’t, eternal imprisonment is your outcome where you see the living and wish you had your time again to choose better.

Now this is a secular storyline but I was struck by how much of it resonated with the eternal Gospel we live under. Our choices in this life determine our forever outcomes. And love is the only way forward out of darkness. Jesus showed this to us on the cross where in love he broke the bonds and made it possible for us to be free to progress forward in love ourselves.

So praying for those we love is therefore both natural and powerful. God’s story is much more powerful than Peter Hamilton’s fiction and His outcome ultimately much more interesting.

I am quite sure that all our best ideas about heaven fall way short of what God has in store for us.

And how great will be to share that with all those we love and are connected to.

Ray Keefe
http://www.successful.com.au