The Reading Today
• Daily Theme: The purpose of education, the necessity of history, and combating the "nonsense" of the present age.
• Source Material: "Learning in War-Time" (The Weight of Glory)
• Source Material: "Learning in War-Time" (The Weight of Glory)
My Reflection
Today’s passage discusses learning and its power to combat ignorance, yet once again, Lewis’s opening sentence initially utterly confounded me. His assertion that "if all the world were Christian, it might not matter if all the world were uneducated" felt deeply concerning. I have always felt that faith is a matter of personal choice, and someone who is not a Christian may still be highly educated; one certainly does not trump the other.
In his opening paragraph, Lewis constructs arguments that feel unnecessarily complex and militant. What initially drew me to his writings was his accessibility, but today’s text relies on terms like "good" and "bad" philosophy, and "muddy heathen mysticisms." It left me feeling that he was writing from a rigid position of judgement—an attitude that feels fundamentally at odds with a Christian stance of grace.
However, stepping back to look at when this was written changes the entire complexion of the passage. Lewis preached this in the autumn of 1939 to Oxford undergraduates who were questioning whether their university degrees even mattered while Europe plunged into World War II. When he speaks of "muddy heathen mysticisms which deny intellect altogether," he isn't just throwing out a general judgment; he is directly attacking the irrational, anti-intellectual ideology of Nazi Germany. He is telling these guilty students that education is not a luxury—it is their intellectual armour against fascism.
With that context, the second half of the passage resonates deeply with me. As the old saying goes, "those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it." We absolutely must learn from our mistakes. While societal attitudes rightfully change—typically driven by the young, whose natural approach is to reject the past in order to bring about more inclusive ways of living—we still need an intimate knowledge of history to measure that progress.
I completely agree with his closing sentiment. Travel, whether physical or through the broad study of history, stretches the mind. It helps us understand that there are other ways of living, shielding us from the Orwellian "group-think" relentlessly promoted by the government and the media. As Lewis brilliantly points out, the scholar who has lived in many times is wonderfully immune to the "great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press and the microphone of his own age."
Historical Footnote (8th September)
1947: Lewis appears on the cover of Time magazine, with the caption "Oxford's C. S. Lewis, His Heresy: Christianity."
1958: Reflections on the Psalms is published by Geoffrey Bles, London.
Today’s passage discusses learning and its power to combat ignorance, yet once again, Lewis’s opening sentence initially utterly confounded me. His assertion that "if all the world were Christian, it might not matter if all the world were uneducated" felt deeply concerning. I have always felt that faith is a matter of personal choice, and someone who is not a Christian may still be highly educated; one certainly does not trump the other.
In his opening paragraph, Lewis constructs arguments that feel unnecessarily complex and militant. What initially drew me to his writings was his accessibility, but today’s text relies on terms like "good" and "bad" philosophy, and "muddy heathen mysticisms." It left me feeling that he was writing from a rigid position of judgement—an attitude that feels fundamentally at odds with a Christian stance of grace.
However, stepping back to look at when this was written changes the entire complexion of the passage. Lewis preached this in the autumn of 1939 to Oxford undergraduates who were questioning whether their university degrees even mattered while Europe plunged into World War II. When he speaks of "muddy heathen mysticisms which deny intellect altogether," he isn't just throwing out a general judgment; he is directly attacking the irrational, anti-intellectual ideology of Nazi Germany. He is telling these guilty students that education is not a luxury—it is their intellectual armour against fascism.
With that context, the second half of the passage resonates deeply with me. As the old saying goes, "those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it." We absolutely must learn from our mistakes. While societal attitudes rightfully change—typically driven by the young, whose natural approach is to reject the past in order to bring about more inclusive ways of living—we still need an intimate knowledge of history to measure that progress.
I completely agree with his closing sentiment. Travel, whether physical or through the broad study of history, stretches the mind. It helps us understand that there are other ways of living, shielding us from the Orwellian "group-think" relentlessly promoted by the government and the media. As Lewis brilliantly points out, the scholar who has lived in many times is wonderfully immune to the "great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press and the microphone of his own age."
Historical Footnote (8th September)
1947: Lewis appears on the cover of Time magazine, with the caption "Oxford's C. S. Lewis, His Heresy: Christianity."
1958: Reflections on the Psalms is published by Geoffrey Bles, London.
Why This Matters
Understanding the historical context of a text prevents us from misinterpreting its urgency. Studying history and exposing ourselves to different cultures remains our absolute best defence against the temporary fashions, group-think, and manipulative narratives of our own era.
My Action for Today
Today, I will actively look beyond the immediate headlines and the "group-think" of the modern press, remembering that a broader understanding of history is my best intellectual defence.
Today, I will actively look beyond the immediate headlines and the "group-think" of the modern press, remembering that a broader understanding of history is my best intellectual defence.
Reader Question
How do you protect yourself from the "cataract of nonsense" and Orwellian group-think in today's media landscape?
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