Quote
"Assassination has never changed the history of the
world." Benjamin Disraeli
News
Two distinguished men died on this day fifty years ago, one
through an assassin’s bullet, the other through renal failure. JF Kennedy was the youngest elected President
of the United States, while CS Lewis was an Oxbridge academic, broadcaster and apologist
for the Christian faith.
Both men inspired hope.
Kennedy launched his presidency with the famous words, "Ask not
what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your
country." His leadership motivated
idealism and service, and one of his more enduring legacies was establishing
the US Peace Corps. Yet the hope he inspired
remained unfulfilled, trapped in suspended animation through his sudden and
untimely death.
CS Lewis inspired hope in quite a different way. His earthy, well-reasoned theology appealed
to a wide range of people. Whether
addressing the challenges of war, the reality of pain and grief, or inner
battles with temptation, Lewis was able to communicate the deep truths of the
Christian faith to a doubting world. His
Chronicles of Narnia are a masterful Christian allegory loved by children and
adults alike, in which Aslan the great lion symbolises Jesus Christ.
The death of Lewis was eclipsed by the assassination of
Kennedy the same day, which is one of the reasons why it has taken a long time
to appreciate his influence and legacy. In
recognition of Lewis’ contribution to literature and national life, a plaque is
being unveiled today in his honour at Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey.
The world needs hope as much now as it did 50 years
ago. However, people in the 21st
century look on political leaders through jaded eyes, and there will never be
another like John F. Kennedy. Neither
will there be another Lewis, but through his writings, people continue to
discover the source of hope and faith which transformed his own life. As Lewis wrote in The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe,‘Aslan is on the move!’
Read on
Alister McGrath wrote a new biography of CS Lewis this year,
which was reviewed by Anthony Kenny in the Times Literary Supplement; you can
read the review here.
Walk the talk
Where do you tend to look for hope? Are you depending on human strength or skill,
or are you trusting in a higher power?
The last word
From the Bible, Psalm 146 verses 3 & 5: “Do not put your
trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save… Blessed are those whose help is the God of
Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.”
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