BreakPoint
Standing on Strong Shoulders
Yesterday on “BreakPoint” I strongly recommended that you subscribe to the “Great Books Audio CD” series by Ken Boa. Through his depth of understanding for the seminal works of Judeo-Christian-influenced Western culture, Boa brings these classics to life.I also told you about the first book in that series, The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis—no better way to start a series on great books than by beginning with Lewis. That’s because he, perhaps better than anyone, understood the value of great books.
“In reading great literature,” Lewis wrote, “I become a thousand men and yet remain myself . . . Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do.”
Lewis also strongly felt that we should read more old books—and fewer new ones. “Every age has its own outlook,” Lewis wrote. “It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes.” In other words, we are all, in a sense, a captive to our own age, limited by the times in which we live. So, Lewis concludes, “The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books.”
Lewis even gives us a word of advice: “It is a good rule,” he says, “after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.”
Lewis is so right. In this postmodern and media-saturated age, we get caught up in today’s headlines, which pass away like evanescent clouds. And so much of what is on the bookshelves today is fluff, ignoring the past or mocking it. So if we limit ourselves to contemporary books, we limit our vision. But when we read the great classics, we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. When you do that, you get a much better view of the horizon: of reality, of truth, and even of ourselves.
Now, I have a book coming out this winter, which I think is very important, so I am definitely not recommending that you swear off new books—although mine is about the timeless truths of Christianity. But Lewis’s caution about modern books is a good one, especially now that so much contemporary literature is driven by the marketplace. When John Bunyan wrote his great classic, Pilgrim’s Progress, back in 1675, he did so from a jail cell, not worried about whether Oprah would recommend his book.
What makes great books great? Great books transcend. They explore themes important to all people of all ages: the struggle of good versus evil, our own mortality and destiny. Great books test and train our minds and stir our imaginations. They create in us a longing for beauty, for Truth and the good. And they sharpen our vision so we can better discern the beautiful from the ugly, the truth from falsehood.
The books that Ken Boa discusses in his audio series do all of these things. And they have shaped the course of Western culture, the greatest civilization in human history.
Visit our website, BreakPoint.org, for more information on the “Great Books Audio CD” series. Ken Boa, who is a great teacher, will help you stand on the shoulders of John Bunyan, of C. S. Lewis, of Milton and Dostoyevsky, and of other great Christian writers. You will love the view of the world as they saw it.
Today's BreakPoint Offer
Subscribe today to the “Great Books Audio CD” series from Dr. Ken Boa and BreakPoint. Call 1-877-322-5527 to learn more.
For Further Reading and Information
“Poll: 1 in 4 American Adults Read No Books in 2006,” FOX News, 22 August 2007.
C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce (HarperOne, 2001 ed.).
Gina Dalfonzo, “To ‘Become a Thousand Men’: Why We Need Literature,” BreakPoint WorldView, June 2005.
Jim Tonkowich, “In Praise of Old Books,” BreakPoint WorldView, March 2004.
See BreakPoint’s recommended reading lists.
Louise Cowan and Os Guinness, eds., Invitation to the Classics (Baker, 1998).
Yesterday on “BreakPoint” I strongly recommended that you subscribe to the “Great Books Audio CD” series by Ken Boa. Through his depth of understanding for the seminal works of Judeo-Christian-influenced Western culture, Boa brings these classics to life.I also told you about the first book in that series, The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis—no better way to start a series on great books than by beginning with Lewis. That’s because he, perhaps better than anyone, understood the value of great books.
“In reading great literature,” Lewis wrote, “I become a thousand men and yet remain myself . . . Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do.”
Lewis also strongly felt that we should read more old books—and fewer new ones. “Every age has its own outlook,” Lewis wrote. “It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes.” In other words, we are all, in a sense, a captive to our own age, limited by the times in which we live. So, Lewis concludes, “The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books.”
Lewis even gives us a word of advice: “It is a good rule,” he says, “after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.”
Lewis is so right. In this postmodern and media-saturated age, we get caught up in today’s headlines, which pass away like evanescent clouds. And so much of what is on the bookshelves today is fluff, ignoring the past or mocking it. So if we limit ourselves to contemporary books, we limit our vision. But when we read the great classics, we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. When you do that, you get a much better view of the horizon: of reality, of truth, and even of ourselves.
Now, I have a book coming out this winter, which I think is very important, so I am definitely not recommending that you swear off new books—although mine is about the timeless truths of Christianity. But Lewis’s caution about modern books is a good one, especially now that so much contemporary literature is driven by the marketplace. When John Bunyan wrote his great classic, Pilgrim’s Progress, back in 1675, he did so from a jail cell, not worried about whether Oprah would recommend his book.
What makes great books great? Great books transcend. They explore themes important to all people of all ages: the struggle of good versus evil, our own mortality and destiny. Great books test and train our minds and stir our imaginations. They create in us a longing for beauty, for Truth and the good. And they sharpen our vision so we can better discern the beautiful from the ugly, the truth from falsehood.
The books that Ken Boa discusses in his audio series do all of these things. And they have shaped the course of Western culture, the greatest civilization in human history.
Visit our website, BreakPoint.org, for more information on the “Great Books Audio CD” series. Ken Boa, who is a great teacher, will help you stand on the shoulders of John Bunyan, of C. S. Lewis, of Milton and Dostoyevsky, and of other great Christian writers. You will love the view of the world as they saw it.
| Today's BreakPoint Offer |
| For Further Reading and Information |
09/7/07
