Month: January 2014

Fact / Quote / Quiz: January 31st

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

Lewis was president of the Oxford Socratic Club from it’s founding (1942) until 1955 (when he started teaching at Cambridge).

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“Nobody who gets enough food and clothing in a world where most are hungry and cold has any business to talk about ‘misery.'”

Letter to Arthur Greeves on 1/31/1917
(Published in The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume I)

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QUIZ OF THE DAY:

What is the name of the bear in That Hideous Strength?
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)

All About C S Lewis (Reggie Gates)

William OFlaherty Resource Spotlight

There are a variety of books available about the writings of C.S. Lewis (in addition to the biographies) and you can find a decent amount of material online about his life and writings. However, there are not too many audio based resources. One great FREE resource that has been around for nearly six years is called “All About C S Lewis.” Reggie Gates has been an enthusiast of Lewis’s writings for many decades and provides excellent podcast that are somewhat like what you make get from CliffsNotes, only it’s in audio.

Fact / Quote / Quiz: January 30th

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

First paperback edition of The Last Battle came out today (1/30) in 1964. It was published as ‘Puffin Books’ by Penguin Books Ltd.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“One cannot be too careful: one must try to hold fast to one’s duties (I wish I did) which are the prose of the spiritual life and not learn to depend too much on these delightful moments.”

Letter to Arthur Greeves on 1/30/1930
(Published in The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume I)

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QUIZ OF THE DAY:

Name the mountainous land south of Narnia that is usually their ally.
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)

Fact / Quote / Quiz: January 29th

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

Lewis preached his final sermon, “A Slip of the Tongue” on this day (1/29) in 1956. It was preached at Evernsong at Magdalene College.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“For it is not so much of our time and so much of our attention that God demands; it is not even all our time and all our attention: it is our selves.”

A Slip of the Tongue
(Sermon preached on 1/29/1956)

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QUIZ OF THE DAY:

Finish the quote and name the source (two words):
“Heaven is not a state of mind. Heaven is ____ _____ .”
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)

Fact / Quote / Quiz: January 28th

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

The Abolition of Man (released 1/6/1944) is the book Lewis did that he claimed addressed “a ‘serious’ point” that is presented in That Hideous Strength.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“It is no use to ask God with facetious earnestness for A when our whole mind is in reality filled with B. We must lay before Him what is in us not what ought to be in us.”

Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer
(Published on 1/27/1964)

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QUIZ OF THE DAY:

Lewis did something new related to his professional duties at Oxford on what date in what year this month?
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)

Fact / Quote / Quiz: January 27th

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer was published today (1/27) in 1964; one of the last books Lewis prepared before his death.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“Joy is the serious business of Heaven.”

Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer
(Published on 1/27/1964)

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QUIZ OF THE DAY:

Which Narnia book mentions the fictional character Sherlock Holmes?
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)

Quotes NOT By Lewis: A Preliminary Examination

William OFlaherty CSL Minute, Not Quite Lewis, Special Feature

Not long ago I was talking to Abraham Lincoln and he told me, “The thing about quotes on the internet is that you cannot confirm their validity.” My reply to him was that I thought C.S. Lewis had actually made that statement! Of course, I’m making this up; I’ve never spoken to Lincoln and I don’t believe Lewis ever said it. However, there are many quotations floating around online that are attributed to Lewis that he actually never wrote.

Back in March, 2013 I posted in a couple Facebook groups that I was trying to collect quotations that were credited as being by Lewis that were suspect. Even though there was a decent response to my request, I began to be involved in other projects that took up my time. The issue came back to the forefront of my mind when a friend saw one of the more common quotes misattributed to Lewis shared on Facebook by a famous author.

Fact / Quote / Quiz: January 26th

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

The first meeting of the Oxford Socratic Club was today (1/26) in 1942. Lewis was the 1st president.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“There have been men before now who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God Himself…as if the good Lord had nothing to do but exist!”

Who Goes Home? or The Grand Divorce XII (Published in The Guardian on 1/26/1945)

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QUIZ OF THE DAY:

Finish the quote and name the source (three words):
“If a man’s self is not kept clean and bright, his ___ ___ ___ will be blurred—like the Moon seen through a dirty telescope.”
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)

Fact / Quote / Quiz: January 25th

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

“Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism,” published in Christian Reflections on 1/23/67 was later re-titled as “Fern-seed and Elephants.”

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“If nothing is certainly right, then of course it follows that nothing is certainly wrong.”

De Futilitate
(Published in Christian Reflections on 1/23/1967)

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QUIZ OF THE DAY:

What book by Lewis dealing mainly on one topic, but had a fictional element was release on what day (in what year) this month?
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)