The Reading Today
• Daily Theme: The absolute demand for forgiveness, the "inexcusable," and daily provocations
• Source Material: "On Forgiveness" (The Weight of Glory)
• Source Material: "On Forgiveness" (The Weight of Glory)
My Reflection
Not a great start to the new month. When I read today’s excerpt, my immediate thought was, “Oh no, Jack, here we go again. Not more of the same…” I am genuinely beginning to feel a rift developing between myself and my hero, Mr. Lewis.
His use of the word "inexcusable" intrigues me, primarily because I wonder how he arrives at his definition and how he compares the inexcusable in one person to that of another. When Lewis speaks of ignoring the "ninety-nine per cent" of apparent guilt that can be explained away, it felt deeply uncomfortable. To use a modern phrase, I felt triggered. It instantly reminded me of my own mother, for whom ninety-nine per cent was always considered a failure.
Then there are his examples of daily provocations: "the bossy mother-in-law, the bullying husband, the nagging wife, the selfish daughter, the deceitful son." I actually laughed out loud. They fall into such stereotyped categories that I wonder if it was a deliberate rhetorical choice on his part, or simply a product of his time.
But my deeper issue with today’s passage is this dogmatic approach to the human experience, which aggressively flattens everyone into the exact same category of "sinners in need of redemption." I completely agree that we all need forgiveness at times. However, to suggest that a person who has committed murder falls into the exact same moral category as someone who stole a loaf of bread because they were starving feels soulless and deeply misguided.
Perhaps I simply got out of bed on the wrong side today, but I feel that if Jack and I were in the same room right now, we would be having a rather heated discussion. Today’s passage left me deeply confused and a little annoyed. Let’s hope tomorrow’s reading offers something different.
Historical Footnote (1st September)
September 1910: Lewis (age eleven) is enrolled at Campbell College, Belfast, for a period of four months.
September 1913: Warren begins private studies with his father's former teacher, William T. Kirkpatrick, in Great Bookham, Surrey.
Not a great start to the new month. When I read today’s excerpt, my immediate thought was, “Oh no, Jack, here we go again. Not more of the same…” I am genuinely beginning to feel a rift developing between myself and my hero, Mr. Lewis.
His use of the word "inexcusable" intrigues me, primarily because I wonder how he arrives at his definition and how he compares the inexcusable in one person to that of another. When Lewis speaks of ignoring the "ninety-nine per cent" of apparent guilt that can be explained away, it felt deeply uncomfortable. To use a modern phrase, I felt triggered. It instantly reminded me of my own mother, for whom ninety-nine per cent was always considered a failure.
Then there are his examples of daily provocations: "the bossy mother-in-law, the bullying husband, the nagging wife, the selfish daughter, the deceitful son." I actually laughed out loud. They fall into such stereotyped categories that I wonder if it was a deliberate rhetorical choice on his part, or simply a product of his time.
But my deeper issue with today’s passage is this dogmatic approach to the human experience, which aggressively flattens everyone into the exact same category of "sinners in need of redemption." I completely agree that we all need forgiveness at times. However, to suggest that a person who has committed murder falls into the exact same moral category as someone who stole a loaf of bread because they were starving feels soulless and deeply misguided.
Perhaps I simply got out of bed on the wrong side today, but I feel that if Jack and I were in the same room right now, we would be having a rather heated discussion. Today’s passage left me deeply confused and a little annoyed. Let’s hope tomorrow’s reading offers something different.
Historical Footnote (1st September)
September 1910: Lewis (age eleven) is enrolled at Campbell College, Belfast, for a period of four months.
September 1913: Warren begins private studies with his father's former teacher, William T. Kirkpatrick, in Great Bookham, Surrey.
