Fall 2007 - Florida

Enjoying God's Blessings

Questions for Discussion - Letter XV

1 - What is the difference between humans and spirits in relation to time?
2 - What is the problem with peacetime activities and preoccupations?
3 - Discuss “the present is the point at which time touches eternity”
4 - Do you agree with the statement that the biological necessities make all our passions point in the direction of the future, and how can one counteract such inclinations?
5 – How does we take both past and future in consideration and live and work and be obedient to God in the present?

Questions for Discussion - Letter XIV

1.What are the different “states of mind” that Lewis develops in the first paragraph? Does this correspond to real life?
2.Why is a virtue “less formidable to us once a man is aware that he has them?
3.How can the knowledge of humility be transformed in pride?
4.Discuss the true end of humility. How can I rejoice in my neighbor’s talents as frankly and gratefully as in my own?
5.How can we develop a sense of humor and proportion so we can laugh at ourselves?
6.What is God’s true end to humility?
7.Discuss “make him value an opinion for some quality other than truth (how does this relate to postmodernism?
8.How can dishonesty or “make believe” play a role in what “otherwise, threatens to become a virtue”?
9.What, according to Lewis, is the state of mind God wants us to be?
10.Discuss: “to restore to them a kind of self love - a charity and gratitude for all selves, including their own”
11.Which would you think the most humble: the woman who, when complimented on the choice of her beautiful new dress, says, “Yes, it is beautiful, isn’t it?” or the woman who exclaims, “Oh, this is old thing! I had it for ages!”

Questions for Letter XIII

1. What would you consider the “asphyxiating cloud” and how can we live as to become “permanently surrounded by it” as to become inaccessible to the devil?

2. Screwtape hopes to corrupt the patient by causing him to abandon what?

3. Why is any real pain or pleasure a good way to keep us from God?

4. How and why does God wants to detach men from themselves? Why is it necessary for us first abandon the clamor of self-will?

5. Why would a “strong personal taste which is not actually a sin” be discourage?

6. Discuss the meaning of “No amount of piety in his imagination and affections will harm us if we can keep it out of his will”

7. What is the negative relationship between feeling and acting?

Wakulla River Kayak Trip - Images of a Memorable Day - 3/3/07

See Pictures Below

Questions for Discussion - Letter XII

1.Are the simple choices we make on a daily basis really trivial and revocable? Can you give some examples of an apparently simple choice that ended up causing major life changing consequences?
2.How can church going habits be good or bad?
3.What is this “dim uneasiness” that Screwtape talks about?
4.How can we work diligently to keep a health prayer life?
5.How should we choose our friends and amusements? Describe the steps from “choice of friends” (a apparently small unimportant decision) to the “cold dark and utmost place”
6.Have you ever felt that “increased reluctance to think about “ things of God? And what sort of distractions affect your devotional life?
7.How cumulative are small sins? And how to prevent them to slowly and gently taking one into the safest road to Hell?

Questions for Discussion - Letter XI

1.How is joy characterized among friends and lovers reunited on the eve of a holiday? 2.How can we experience real Joy? Is the “Joy of the Lord” your strength? If not, what is missing?
3.What is the real danger of Fun according to Screwtape?
4.Describe the type 1 (to whom no passion is as serious as lust and for whom an indecent story ceases to produce lasciviousness as it becomes funny), and type 2 (to whom laughter and lust are excited at the same moment and by the same things) as depicted by Lewis. Try to compare what they would look in your own circle of friends. How can we help ourselves not to become as one of these characters?
5.If “joy is the serious business of heaven, what is missing in my life and our church life so we can more fully enjoy the God given joy? How can we develop joy in our lives? What is God’s warning in (Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity), Deuteronomy 28:46-48 and how do I compare it to Hebrews 10:34?
6.Does God have a sense of humor?
7.How can we avoid the temptation of flippancy? Is it really as dangerous as Lewis mentions?
8.Can there be joy outside God’s will?

Recent Pictures - January 2007

Questions for Discussion and Reflection - Letter X

1 What kinds of people are considered “desirable acquaintances” by Screwtape?
2 What are the contemporary characteristics of such friends?
3 Are “old warnings” of “worldly vanities, the choice of friends, and the value of time” still important for post-modern lives?
4 How to fight inconsistencies such as enjoying blasphemy over coffee because we are aware of a “deeper” spiritual world?
5 When the difference between being “in” the world and being “of” the world hard to distinguish?
6 How can we avoid being “polluted” by the world?
7 How things like drinking, smoking, partying, etc. become fatal habits?

For Further Reading and Reflection
Reading: The Four Loves, The Inner Ring, Letters of CSL