“During the first half of the Christian year, remember the five evangelical feast days – Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost. Do not look for any commemoration of St. Alphonse the Lesser, patron saint of three-legged cats. When everything is special, nothing is” (God Rest Ye Merry, p. 112).
Refined Past the Limit
“One of the great problems with developed sensibilities in any area is the temptation to preciosity. Overrefinement in art, music, language, or any area does not create the true artiste but rather the insufferable boor. The task is not to cultivate high standards; any lout can do that. The trick is to cultivate high standards …
With Both Hands
“If the law is grace, and if grace has a backbone, perhaps we ought not be too dismissive of those who have learned how to hold the Word of God in both hands” (Writers to Read, p. 113).
Grace Gets On the Floor
“When the wineskins burst, grace sometimes gets on the floor . . . Find me a place where grace has gone and taken deep root, and I will show you a place where vivid prose flourishes” (Writers to Read, p. 111).
An Imagination Fortress, Not an Imaginary One
“One of the reasons many apologists are not nearly as effective as Lewis is that they want the cold granite of reason to do everything. But true reason will collapse before a false imagination. False imagination must be answered by a true imagination, and when that happens, reason can flourish in its native habitat” (Writers …
What the Actual Mistake Was
“Keep in mind that the battle between Galileo and the church was not a battle between science and mindless fundamentalism. It was a battle between new science and old science, and the error of the church had been that of getting into bed with the best science of the day. And we all know, as …
A Real Challenge
“What happens when you try to put eternity into a human life? The same thing as when you try to put the Pacific Ocean into a thimble, only worse” (Writers to Read, p. 88).
A Glorious Turn
“Even Galadriel is a penitent” (Writers to Read, p. 88).
Magic Temptation
“The world of The Lord of the Rings is the very reverse of this—the good guys there represent a photo negative of magic. The ring of power is the ultimate symbol of magic in the traditional sense, and the whole point of the book is to destroy it, resisting all temptations to use it” (Writers …
Too Self-Aware
“J.R.R. Tolkien had a problem, along with C.S. Lewis, and as we should also, with sentences that begin like this” (Writers to Read, p. 75).