Ched Spellman

obtuse

2010-08-27T23:17:18.479-05:00

obtuse

Is that an invitation to self-delusion?

2010-08-27T23:16:31.021-05:00

Is that an invitation to self-delusion?

A reason for hope: you might be the bird.

2010-08-27T11:42:02.386-05:00

A reason for hope: you might be the bird.

Ched, First, congratulations! Second, I think you...

2010-08-27T09:42:37.522-05:00

Ched,
First, congratulations!

Second, I think you are the SWBTS version of me (or am I the SEBTS version of you)? Same dissertation stuff, same basic time in the program, my oldest daughter looks around the same age as yours and her middle name is EliSabeth, and we're waiting for our second. Crazy.

Third, how's your dissertation coming?

Matt Emerson

brilliant

2010-08-26T10:39:48.453-05:00

brilliant

I really liked it. The whole book is written lik...

2010-08-25T08:05:23.180-05:00

I really liked it.

The whole book is written like a dying old Father to his young son. It doesn't sound like you could keep that going for an entire novel, but Robinson does with class.

I heartily recommend it. I think Gilead and The Road are two of the most important books of the last few decades in America.

I read it years ago, and I was flipping through it...

2010-08-25T08:03:02.130-05:00

I read it years ago, and I was flipping through it and re-read that quotation.

I hope to get the chance to read it again soon. Chesterton's always good for some sort of combination of Wit + sarcasm + biting insight.

I love this one by Chesterton. He's so witty, and ...

2010-08-24T22:17:17.263-05:00

I love this one by Chesterton. He's so witty, and he can sustain it forever! Are you reading Orthodoxy? I just finished it a month ago and loved every page of it, even though he doesn't like Calvinists.

I like this quote. How is Gilead? I've heard good ...

2010-08-24T22:14:41.252-05:00

I like this quote. How is Gilead? I've heard good things.

But it will be the best gift she has ever had, and...

2010-08-15T16:37:56.768-05:00

But it will be the best gift she has ever had, and it will keep on giving for her entire life. Congratulations.

congratulations, Ched!

2010-08-15T15:13:10.932-05:00

congratulations, Ched!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

2010-08-15T14:06:17.500-05:00

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Don't you know that "always" means "generally"! ...

2010-08-10T10:02:40.290-05:00

Don't you know that "always" means "generally"!

Yeah, I'm familiar with his letter to children on the matter, but I think the source I was going off of was from a conference message from Walter Hooper at a C.S. Lewis Society meeting held at Southeastern a few years ago. Those are two outstanding messages and you should listen to them. I think you could probably find a link to them on my blog still.

When Kim and I went to see the movie "Inception" a few weeks ago, the theater had a big display for "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" coming out this winter. I was under the impression that the series had been dropped by Disney and that nobody had picked it back up because it wasn't making enough money, but I guess not. Maybe there's a teaser trailer for it.

Arrgh! Google blocks every odd page. Hooray! It...

2010-08-03T23:22:05.195-05:00

Arrgh! Google blocks every odd page.

Hooray! It's only $1.60 on Kindle.

Thanks, Ched. :-)

Seriously, that was captivating. Of course, you know I *like* questions no one has asked. ;-)

cute :) thanks.

2010-08-03T01:23:26.895-05:00

cute :)
thanks.

Great quote.

2010-08-01T22:43:59.648-05:00

Great quote.

All that to say, I think "contextual reading" work...

2010-07-29T08:09:41.923-05:00

All that to say, I think "contextual reading" works better, though you still have to figure out which sequence you will follow.

And, if that order is accepted as the order by a group of people, then that's starting to seem like a canon. :)

Billy, you said, "Lewis always suggested that you ...

2010-07-29T08:05:53.463-05:00

Billy, you said, "Lewis always suggested that you read them in the order of that he wrote them."

Well, not always. I'm sure you've seen his letter to a young reader:

"Dear Laurence, I think I agree with your [chronological] order for reading the books more than with your mother's. The series was not planned beforehand as she thinks. When I wrote The Lion I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P. Caspian as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite sure it would be the last, but I found I was wrong. So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them. I’m not even sure that all the others were written in the same order in which they were published" (C.S. Lewis: Letters to Children, p. 68).

Also, when Lewis explained the meaning and role of Aslan in the "metanarrative" of Narnia, he put the Magicians' Nephew first (C.S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide, p. 426).

Apparently, the first draft of Magician's nephew was written immediately after the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: "Interestingly, although The Magician's Nephew was published sixth, it was the last of the Chronicles to be completed, having been the second one to be started" (Michael Ward, Planet Narnia, 165, 292 n 14).

So, neither the publication order or the chronology of composition is cut and dry.

Also, when you are introduced to "the lion" in the Magician's Nephew, you still don't know who he is. It's just a random lion roaming around yelling out the planet while the other figures argue about something else. There's still quite a bit of enigma and narrative artistry involved in the way he introduces things. In this discussion, the Magician's Nephew narrative is usually downplayed in order to up-play the Wardrobe narrative.

I had read Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe previously, so I still got the "intended effect" of that volume as my intro to Narnia.

It's an interesting discussion, because it hits at what is "canonical." Reading them in the order they were written is certainly not "canonical," especially when you see that Magician's Nephew was obviously intended by Lewis as the introduction/prequel to the Narnia storyline. Now, whether it should be "read first" is another question.

Lewis always suggested that you read them in the o...

2010-07-28T20:48:28.547-05:00

Lewis always suggested that you read them in the order of that he wrote them. Although this will be ruined on you, he said that one was supposed to read about Aslan in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe without knowing who he was so that it would have the right affect. But, as you noted, this is already a debated issue and I think a canonical approach to Narnia all depends on which order you believe to be the true canonical order;). If there's not a set order, then is it only a contextual reading of the Chronicles?

She does look happy in that cap. Not so much in t...

2010-07-28T14:04:01.192-05:00

She does look happy in that cap. Not so much in the flower puff. Precious

Thanks for the well wishes! The chronological/"ca...

2010-07-23T07:39:58.852-05:00

Thanks for the well wishes!

The chronological/"canonical" reading order issue is very interesting to me. I'm looking forward to thinking about it. There are also a number of letters Lewis wrote where he discusses the order, and how he responded to kids' letters asking about it. Maybe I'll do a little digging.

Barry, I'll be on the look out for that bit of phraseology.

my favorite quote from the Magician's Nephew (whic...

2010-07-22T15:48:00.863-05:00

my favorite quote from the Magician's Nephew (which may be may favorite book from the series) is "A dem fine gel." You'll know it when you come to it.

canonically eh.... only you would use such a descr...

2010-07-22T14:43:14.614-05:00

canonically eh.... only you would use such a description. happy reading :]

Hope you enjoy the series! I can sympathize with t...

2010-07-22T14:25:16.606-05:00

Hope you enjoy the series! I can sympathize with the frustration of not being able to read everything (and everything others maintain you should). Also--good choice on reading through chronologically. I think the story flows better that way.

Hope you enjoy it.

2010-07-22T12:15:17.667-05:00

Hope you enjoy it.