“I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of it. I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand a word you say, but I shall still be your affectionate Godfather, C. S. Lewis.”
“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” G.K. Chesterton
Psalm 25:4-5
Show me Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day
My original plan was to write a post about BEARDS. I have been growing my beard out, and my face is just beginning to itch. "Itchy beard stage"(IBS) is not an enjoyable stage of beard growth, especially when you wear a hoodie or jacket with a zipper. Why? Because it is the stage where the beard is just long enough to get caught in the fastener, but you do not think about this until after your beard gets caught the first time and you lose a hair. Then you have to be careful how you turn your head, and just when you think you have this figured out...you feel a prick on your neck or chin. The next thing you know you are taking off your hoodie in a fit and screaming at the top of your lungs, "HAHAHA TAKE THAT MANIACAL EEEVIL ZIPPER!!" You start kicking the hoodie, and people are staring at you wondering what this homeless guy with a ratty beard is ranting about. The zipper always ends up winning because the weather outside is cold and a little prick from the zipper is better than hypothermia. So, as I was saying.
I typed into Google Search "famous quotes about beards," and clicked on the first link from the list. There were quite a few quotes from the bible, William Shakespeare, and a number of 18th Century poets about beards. None of the quotes really interested me until I found one from C.S. Lewis, but when I read what Lewis had to say about beards I realized I had lost interest in beards. In a moment of arbitrary decision I clicked on the quote, which sent me to more famous quotes by Mr. Lewis.
While I was reading these quotes I came across the one I wrote out above. Personally I have always loved fairy tales or myths or epics. This got me thinking about George MacDonald and G.K. Chesterton.
C.S. Lewis wrote a book of quotes taken from different writings by George MacDonald, and Lewis even uses MacDonald as a character in his book The Great Divorce. MacDonald lived during the 1800s and is known for writing fairy tales. Oswald Chambers wrote about MacDonald's books saying, "It is a striking indication of the trend and shallowness of the modern reading public that George Macdonald's books have been so neglected." Lewis, Chambers, and Chesterton all had great respect for Mr. MacDonald.
A few years ago one of my professors in college recommend the book Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton. Despite the title I decided to give the book a go, and I am so glad that I did because Orthodoxy is one of my most favorite books. I believe Chesterton's quote on fairy tales comes from the book.
All three of these men have had profound impacts on my faith, walk, and belief in Jesus. And something I love about all three of them is that they all appreciated fairy tales.
You should never judge a book by its cover OR title. But especially when the title is such a great word as orthodoxy. That book is great, and also one of my absolute favorites.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
ReplyDeleteTo clarify on why I at first had issue with the title: I remember thinking when the book was recommended to me that the word orthodoxy was archaic and stubborn. I do not remember why; I just had that feeling of finding an old treasure map written in a dead language. I was pleasantly surprised, when I began reading the book, to find a treasure map written in a language I understood.