The Great Divorce: C.S. Lewis on God’s Truth or Your Truth
St. Philip's Church: Charleston, SC
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Join the Rev. Brian McGreevy for an exploration of C.S. Lewis's "The Great Divorce" and what happens when people, even Christians, give in to worldly notions about Truth and insist that Truth is malleable and individual and a matter of opinion rather than firmly rooted in God’s Word.
Available episodes
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May 24, 2023
Episode 21
Chapter 13 concludes with a dialog on the power of Joy and whether it can be held captive by pity or manipulation, followed by a glimpse of the Sun rising to the refrain of “Sleepers Awake!”, referencing the Second Coming. The book finishes with Lewis’s being reminded that he has been in a dream and waking up at the table in his office.
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May 10, 2023
Episode 20
As we finish Chapter 12 and begin Chapter 13, we see the Great Lady, Sarah Smith of Golders Green, trying to help the disintegrating person who was formerly her husband to put to death those parts of his identity that were tearing him apart and keeping him from Heaven. It is a sad commentary on the huge price that hypocrisy and masks exact from us when we try to pretend to be something that we are not.
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Apr 19, 2023
Episode 19
As we begin Chapter 12, Lewis beholds a magnificent procession radiating with light in honor of a great personage who is at its center. He is surprised to learn who is being honored in the procession, and enters into a deep discussion about the difference between earthly fame and heavenly glory.
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Mar 29, 2023
Episode 18
As we finish up Chapter 11, the new Bright Spirit rides the magnificent stallion up into the high country, as the land itself breaks forth into Joy. Lewis and MacDonald talk about the necessity of putting to death whatever is earthly so that the more glorious Resurrection life may take root and flourish.
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Mar 22, 2023
Episode 17
As we continue our journey in Chapter 11, we meet the Ghost with the lizard on his shoulder, whose presence is preventing the Ghost from moving into Heaven. The Bright Spirit who meets him makes clear that the lizard must be killed if the Ghost is to enter the heavenly country. As always, Lewis's penetrating insights cut through our cultural veneer and show us that sin is not just unpleasant but deadly.
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Mar 8, 2023
Episode16
The Ghost of a domineering mother, who has lost her son to an early death and has enshrined his memory as an idol, berates the Bright Spirit in this chapter about why she cannot see her son. The Spirit tries to explain that her own selfishness is the problem, but she is blinded by her possessive need. George MacDonald and Lewis engage in a discussion of how earthly affection must be transformed into Christ-like love in order to blossom in Heaven.
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Mar 1, 2023
Episode 15
Lewis encounters a Ghost who is perplexed about how her husband, Robert, has turned up in Heaven while she is down below. The Ghost has sought to control her husband's entire life on earth in order to "make something of him" and is determined to reassert her control over him once more. Themes explored include the purpose of life, the nature of true love and friendship, and the bitterness of selfishness.
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Feb 15, 2023
Episode 14
As we wrap up Chapter 9, there are several brief but profound vignettes of encounters with Ghosts. Lewis addresses topics as diverse as grumbling and complaining to sexual seduction to the role of Art and the artist, all the while emphasizing the importance of choice.
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Feb 8, 2023
Episode 13
MacDonald and Lewis explore the connection of choice and pride to eternal destiny in this fascinating chapter, in a discussion heavily informed by John Milton's epic poem, Paradise Lost.
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Feb 1, 2023
Episode 12
Lewis meets George MacDonald in Chapter 9, and a momentous conversation ensues that we will be unpacking next week. In this episode, we set the stage for the themes that will unfold in the chapter, and then spend some time recapping the conference we organized, "Telling a More Beautiful Story: Lessons from C.S. Lewis on Reaching a Fractured World."
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Jan 18, 2023
Episode 11
Who was George MacDonald and why did he have such a profound influence on C.S. Lewis? Before we delve into the riches of the next chapter, join us for some background on MacDonald and his mythopoeic gifts that Lewis said "baptized his imagination."
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Jan 11, 2023
Episode 10
Lewis is unnerved from his encounter with the hard-bitten ghost and worried about whether this new country may be in fact impossible and dangerous to occupy. He then comes upon the ghost of a fashionable and well-dressed lady who is hiding for fear of being seen by the "Solid People." She is preoccupied only with herself and how she looks, and the Bright Spirit welcoming her seeks to help her.
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Dec 14, 2022
Episode 9
Nervous in the presence of the enormous waterfall, Lewis falls into conversation with the hard-bitten ghost, a man who has traveled the world but is not impressed with any of it. HIs rampant cynicism and pessimism and complaining cause him to decide to go back to the Grey Town, as the Heavenly Country is just another example of the plot by "Them," who have failed in their duty to keep him entertained.
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Dec 7, 2022
Episode 8
The focus of this chapter is the glorious beauty of Heaven, which Ikey (the entrepreneurial ghost from the bus) wants to exploit by taking a golden apple back to the Grey Town to sell. An angel and majestic waterfall are part of the overwhelming sensory experience.
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Nov 30, 2022
Episode 7
The Bright Spirit in Chapter 5 has been sent to meet an apostate Church of England bishop who does not understand he has been sent to Hell. A profound yet amusing dialog ensues about the problems with progressive liberal theology--a dialog that is perhaps even more relevant today than when Lewis wrote this in the 1940s.
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Nov 16, 2022
Episode 6
As the passengers from the bus are greeted by Bright Spirits, we overhear a dialog between the Big Man, who is determined to demand his rights and get what he believes he deserves, and Len, now a Bright Spirit but formerly a worker under the Big Man. Len had committed murder but through grace and the "Bleeding Charity" had come to the heavenly country. Lewis offers piercing insights into the bankruptcy of our own efforts to attain salvation based on our merits.
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Nov 9, 2022
Episode 5
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Nov 2, 2022
Episode 4
A tale of woe from the misunderstood and underappreciated tousle-headed poet begins Chapter 2 as the bus leaves the grey town. We learn more about that town and those who inhabit it, as well as a difference of opinion about whether the town is moving towards light or darkness. Lewis also describes what happens when the bus enters the Light--how it reveals Beauty and exposes Sin.
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Oct 26, 2022
Episode 3
As we embark on Chapter 1 of The Great Divorce, Lewis is at his best, laying a foundation of descriptions and interactions that whet our curiosity to know more, while creating the framework for what will follow as the bus miraculously ascends into the air!
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Sep 28, 2022
Episode 2
Lewis's preface to The Great Divorce does a masterful job of laying out some of the key themes he will address in the book. In this episode, we examine five of those themes and texts from Scripture that support them. Music link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jRGngeoilo
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Sep 21, 2022
Episode 1
The Great Divorce, Episode 1 In this introductory session, we talk about C.S. Lewis's background and appeal as an author today, explore why The Great Divorce particularly merits study today, discuss the context of England at war and Lewis's RAF ministry, and point out some highlights of the front matter of the book, including the George MacDonald quote on the frontispiece.
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Sep 13, 2022
Introduction
The Great Divorce, Episode 1 In this introductory session, we talk about C.S. Lewis's background and appeal as an author today, explore why The Great Divorce particularly merits study today, discuss the context of England at war and Lewis's RAF ministry, and point out some highlights of the front matter of the book, including the George MacDonald quote on the frontispiece.
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