C. S. Lewis on Discarding Old Ideas for New Ones

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My newest, “C. S. Lewis on Discarding Old Ideas for New Ones,” is up at The Huffington Post. In case you ever wanted to know more about the title and theme of this blog, this article will explain it.

I raise the subject on The Huffington Post because the idea remains consistently relevant to me. An “image” is a model of reality or a perception of how things work. New information can affect whether we see that model as working or not and may require a new image.

I try to instill in my students the sense that truth is truth, regardless of where it is coming from, and that how we understand it is never divorced from individual perception. If it makes sense of the world and shows that your previous model or image of reality is flawed, then discard the old one for the new one. What I find is that students, especially in the field of religion, can fortify themselves behind a flawed view for the sake of preserving what they’ve known. They find a way to look past the new information, treat it as insignificant, or patch it up with theological putty, just to remain faithful to the familiar.

This I also understand because I’ve been (and in many ways still am) there. When we reach the point where we are no longer able to ignore it, however, the truth can set us free.

Many times the light was turned on and the old answers provided for me utterly failed. When that light shines, I cannot un-see it. Additionally, light on the nature of the world can come from any source, whether it is C. S. Lewis or his polar opposite, Richard Dawkins, or simply a song I hear on the radio. In any case, if there is truth to what I hear, I would be foolish to ignore it.

Read the full article at The Huffington Post