PowerPoint presentation for TTL-C.S. Lewis week of August 20 JFCA 2012-2013

1. Welcome to TTL
C.S. Lewis
Journal Prompt for 22
August 2012
“God was to be obeyed
simply because He was
God…He had taught me
how a thing can be
revered not for what
it can do to us but
for what it is in
itself….If you ask why

2. A couple of
details stuff
Just housekeeping
•Make sure you read all the items on
Edline, particularly my pet peeves,
samples, and the syllabus.
•All written work is to be typed with an
MLA header. The Purdue OWL site is
bookmarked on the Edline homepage for
this class.
•Facebook will be an important tool.
Please make sure you join the group for
this class.
•We will follow roughly the same reading
assignments as the T/F class, but class
structure will be adjusted.
•BE HERE. Only meeting once a week is
hard. Missing a week is deadly.
•Journals are DAILY—yes, even on Sundays

3. About this class
Images are Important
C.S. Lewis said, “All my seven Narnian books, and my
three science fiction books, began with seeing pictures in
my head. At first they were not a story, just pictures.”
(Lewis, “It All Began as a
Picture”)

4. Cupcakes
What do
cupcakes have
to do with Joy?
But what…of Joy? To tell you the truth, the
subject has lost nearly all interest for me….I
believe…that the old stab, the old
bittersweet, has come to me as often and as
sharply as ever…. But now I know that the
experience…was valuable only as a pointer
to something other and outer….

5. Cupcakes
What do cupcakes
have to do with Joy?
Gluten free cupcakes that actually
taste good have been hard to find.
Finally there are good bakeries and
mixes and flours that allow people
with intolerances to enjoy these
treats without pain.
The first one is a sublime
experience. People actually cry
with delight and happiness. After a
while, however, the cupcake itself But what…of Joy? To tell you the truth, the
is less important. What is truly
important is the ability to feel subject has lost nearly all interest for me….I
normal. The cupcake is only
evidence of what had been lacking. believe…that the old stab, the old
bittersweet, has come to me as often and as
Lewis’s search for Joy turned out to
be a search for something sharply as ever…. But now I know that the
(someONE) else altogether.
experience…was valuable only as a pointer
to something other and outer….

6. Your Turn Now
What did this book teach you?

7. Out of
the
Silent
Planet

8. Trivia and Tidbits
Written in 1938 (Lewis age 40)

9. Trivia and Tidbits
Written in 1938 (Lewis age 40)
Lover of Science Fiction since childhood

10. Trivia and Tidbits
Written in 1938 (Lewis age 40)
Lover of Science Fiction since childhood
Wrote his first scify story at age 6

11. Trivia and Tidbits
Written in 1938 (Lewis age 40)
Lover of Science Fiction since childhood
Wrote his first scify story at age 6
Always fascinated by space (was given
a telescope at age 11)

12. Trivia and Tidbits
Written in 1938 (Lewis age 40)
Lover of Science Fiction since childhood
Wrote his first scify story at age 6
Always fascinated by space (was given
a telescope at age 11)
Inspired for this book by a story
called, “Voyage to Arcturus” (David
Lindsay, 1920)

13. Trivia and Tidbits
 Written in 1938 (Lewis age 40)
 Lover of Science Fiction since childhood
 Wrote his first scify story at age 6
 Always fascinated by space (was given a telescope
at age 11)
 Inspired for this book by a story called, “Voyage to
Arcturus” (David Lindsay, 1920)
 Secondary inspiration by Olaf Stapleton (“Last and
First Men” 1930) and J.B.S. Haldane (“Possible
Worlds” 1927)

14. What did Lewis think
We might…find a race which was, like
about life on other
us, rational but, unlike us, innocent—
planets?
no wars nor any other wickedness
among them; all peace and good
fellowship. I don’t think any Christian
would be puzzled to find that they
knew no story of an Incarnation or
Redemption, and might even find our
story hard to understand or accept if we
told it to them. There would have been
no redemption in such a world because
it would not have needed
redeeming…We should have much to
learn from such people and nothing to
teach them. We’d find some reason for
exterminating them.

15. Things to ponder
• At this point in his life, Lewis had been a
Christian for less than ten years.
• Lewis knew mythology and legend
better than pretty much anyone.
• Lewis used the cosmic trilogy to make a
spiritual point.
• Lewis was an academic, scholar, and
philosopher.

17. Homework
• Read Out of the Silent Planet through p 77
• Write In these first few pages, Lewis discusses more than a
few philosophical issues, including the purpose for love, the
avarice of man, the need for order, and a half dozen others.
Choose one of Lewis’s ideas and write a 2-3 page essay
explaining the philosophy and why it is relevant in current
culture.
• Create a digital image that illustrates the philosophical
issue you discuss in your essay
• Prepare a PowerPoint presentation using at least three
slides that shows your artwork and how it connects to your
essay.