Surprised by Joy – The Shape of My Early Life by CS Lewis author of Mere Christianity http://realini.blogspot.com/2015/02/mere-christianity-by-c-s-lewis.html and other splendid masterpieces - 10 out of 10

 Surprised by Joy – The Shape of My Early Life by CS Lewis author of Mere Christianity http://realini.blogspot.com/2015/02/mere-christianity-by-c-s-lewis.html and other splendid masterpieces

10 out of 10

 

 

Andrei Plesu is our greatest and most amusing luminary http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/01/eminescu-si-recitatorii-by-andrei-plesu.html he shares with CS Lewis a serene, profound, solid belief in God, the former quotes the latter in his lectures and public speeches, and from one of them I have taken the recommendation for Surprised by Joy, though I had had the chance to be familiar with CS Lewis, first through The Screwtape Letters and then with The Problem of Pain and other books by the same religious don, portrayed in a film about part of his life by Anthony Hopkins…

 

He is such a magnificent intellectual – and this opus confirms it again – that the strength of his faith has the effect of shaking my disbelief, I do not go as far as to say Ecce Homo, voila, I see God, or at least I am Surprised by Joy, and experience the coveted epiphany, but at the very least, religion does not seem so much ‘the opium of masses’, the hobby of millions of evangelicals that vote with Trump (hence the temptation to say believer equals eejit) but a very serious idea, and in some ways, I wish I follow the author’s path

There is quite a lot of material that not only denies the existence of the ‘Great Sculptor and Colorist’, but explains his vile influence…The Psychological Effects of Religion http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/04/psychological-effects-of-religion-by.html by the ultimate expert on self-esteem, Nathaniel Branden, concludes that religion is devastating, with its insistence that there is a heaven, or hell waiting at the end of this (others say only) life will prompt most practitioners to miss a lot…

 

On the other hand, Surprised by Joy might just demonstrate the contrary – ‘Joy is distinct not only from pleasure in general but even from aesthetic pleasure…It must have the stab, the pang, the inconsolable longing…"- the fact that, at least for the lucky few, or many, the belief in a Supreme Being could be the conduit through which they reach Joy, Ataraxia, serenity (now, as Frank Constanza shouts in Seinfeld)

There are arguments for the existence of God – some of them have been ‘explained’, or just mentioned in works by CS Lewis http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-problem-of-pain-by-cs-lewis-sublime.html with insistence on ‘Free Will’, the key to accepting the concept of an Almighty, magnanimous Supreme Being that ‘allows’ so much pain, suffering, injustice, it is because he had not made (in that religious version) a world with automatons, humans that have no will, just act like puppets, and therefore they act atrociously sometimes, or very often, it is not because God does not have the power or the will

 

The Anselm ‘demonstration’ attracts me, the thought that God is perfection, and we find that in our minds, and for perfection to exist, then God must also be extant, however limited this argument can be, there is also the watch – if you find a watch in the desert, you do not assume that it just created itself, there was a big bang, you know it was an Intelligent Creator, without having to meet him in person…

When Ricky Gervais, Louis CK http://realini.blogspot.com/2018/03/louis-ck-oh-my-god-by-louis-ck.html and other comedians take on God and religion, it is amusing, and most often they make good points, such as when Gervais laughs at the billions of creatures to be packed on the Arc of Noah, or CK reads from the bible, the passage on the fig that could not provide Jesus with figs, since it was not the season, and then the alleged Son of God is so upset that he curses the tree and this one…just dies…

 

Indeed, CS Lewis himself writes that ‘you either believe that Jesus is the Son of god, or else, he was the biggest fraud’ or words to that effect, the author had clearly not met Donald Trump, the ultimate Confidence Man, Jesus does strike one as ‘genuine’ on some levels (or all), but there are strange aspects, satirized in Monty Python’s Life of Brian http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/03/monty-pythons-life-of-brian-bymonty.html

The most respected expert on religion seems to be Karen Armstrong http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-bible-biography-by-karen-armstrong.html and in her books, she writes that when the Bible, scriptures were written, people believed in myths, did not take things literally, the creationists, those who insist that the earth is just five thousand years old or whatever number the holy book proposes, the world was created in seven days, and take everything else verbatim, do more harm to religion that atheists and others, because we need to look at the symbols, metaphors

 

Since we talk about Surprised by Joy, then we need to look at “Happiness Activity No 11: Practicing Religion and Spirituality- becoming more involved in your church, temple or mosque or reading and pondering spiritually themed books” from the marvelous The How of Happiness http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-how-of-happiness-by-sonja.html by Sonja Lyubomirsky, who argues that Religion (and spirituality) help boost our Joy, she is a glorious psychologist and she knows, and there is logic in there – people congregate for service, they feel the support of the community, they can also rely on God, at least He is up there, virtually, for most of them – the downside in Nathaniel Branden’s view is that this can act as a permanent, damaging, all powerful threat and pain, a torture for many – these elements help, and if they reach that State of Grace, where they see the ‘magic of creation’, the sublime works of the Almighty, the munificence of human beings, then they can enjoy, and vote with Trump with a satisfied mind and heart, and bring about the Apocalypse…

 

Now for a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world    – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

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