Orphan's Journey by: Robert Buettner

Orphan's Journey
Robert Buettner
Orbit Books
ISBN 9780316001731

Robert Buettner's long-awaited third book in the Jason Wander series is finally here. Delays because of a Publisher closing and debates over rights to the book have made this a much-anticipated and long-delayed book. However it was worth the extended wait!

Jason Wander became a hero, not by trying but out of necessity and circumstance. He is a hero of the human-slug war; he was field promoted to the position of Major General, a position he kept because of morale back on earth. In the previous two books Orphanage and Orphan's Destiny Wander grows and develops into the military leader that he reads about in history. However he often doubts himself and his own leadership ability. In this book Wander and a small group of earthlings are thrown well across the universe while doing some testing on a captured slug ship from the previous war. Once more into the breech, Wander and his compatriots find that they must struggle against the slugs. This time he is on an alien planet, well behind earth's technology, and he must make three different clans come together if he is to save his friends, himself and all human life on this alien planet.

The three clans are the Tassini, the Casuni and the Marini. These three tribes hate each other and, other than at the time of the fair, would rather kill than look at each other. Now under Wander they must come together and learn to not only tolerate each other but to work together if they are to have a hope for a future. In this volume Wander learns the burden of leadership; as a soldier he could sacrifice and die if needed for others, but as a leader he must learn how to send men to die. It will not be an easy lesson.

Orphanage was originally written in homage to Robert A. Heinlien's Starship Troopers. I believe Heinlien would have enjoyed Buettner's original offering and this latest installment. Buettner is developing a unique voice and a great writing style. The reader is transported into the events as one reads. This is a great work of science fiction and a commentary on war and the burden of leadership. And we have at least two more installments to look forward to - Orphan's Alliance and Orphan's Triumph both forthcoming.

Jason Wander Saga:

Orphanage
Orphan's Destiny
Orphan's Journey
Orphan's Alliance
Orphan's Triumph

Eye See You - Canadian Optometry Board Exams

This past month about 200 people descended upon the UW campus, and specifically the Optometry building. The people came for a number of reasons, but all tied to the Optometry Board exams. UW is one of two schools in Canada where the Canadian Examiners in Optometry / Examinateurs Canadiens en Optometrie (CEO/ECO) run by the Canadian Standards Association in Optometry (CSAO) take place. This is usually an annual event, but this year so many applicants applied for the board exams it was split over two weekends, one in April and this past weekend. There are a number of different characters in this event - the Examiners, the Candidates, test subjects and volunteers or support staff. Each character type comes for different reasons, and plays a different role.

The Examiners are members of the Optometry profession; they come for a few reasons. First as part of their profession they must take continuing education courses to keep up their own certification to practice. Coming and helping with this weekend, meets some of their requirements in this field. Also their travel costs and accommodations are covered, therefore the event is not a loss financially for them. Also they receive an honorarium for their aid in the process. There are 24 examiners per day to make this event successful. The chief examiner this year was Dr. Jonathan Arnel, a hulking man who led the weekend with a joyful smile and strict attention to details.

The second category is the subjects; these are people who meet specific needs for the practical eye exam, or who have normal eyes and are part of the basic eye exam assessment. Subjects can come for a half day, full day or both full days. They are paid $60 per half day plus parking if they drive and park at UW. I met subjects that had been doing this for a dozen years now and had no plans to stop volunteering in this way. There are 30 subjects needed each day, and at least 24 each session. Subjects are needed who meet each of the four sections of the practical exam in Clinical Skills Assessment. Plus they need spares for each test type in case of a conflict of interest, or a subject needing a break. Subjects arrive early on their first day or part day and are examined by two Examiners who create the baseline the Candidates will be judged against. One session I had to spare because the student was from UW and knew the subject, creating a conflict of interest. Subjects are approached and recruited by UW's own Nancy Yowski.

Nancy Yowski also coordinates the support staff and volunteers who help make the event successful. Without these people, what needs to happen would not happen, at least not in such a timely fashion. On their walkie talkies they make sure that for every session every examinee and Candidate and Examiner are where they should be when they should. They also look after the needs in the facilities - signage, set-up, take-down and other support roles. Nancy helps to run a tight ship that stays efficient.

The Candidates come next, for all the other people are there to test them to see if they have learned enough in 6 or 7 years of school to become an Optometrist. There were 91 candidates this past weekend and 59 the weekend in April. They come from all over Canada, the US and from abroad. Anyone wishing to practice Optometry in Canada must write these board exams. I met candidates from around the world, and many from home. This session had many students from UW. I met 3 cousins from Calgary who had all studied in different schools in the States, had written their US boards the week before and were all hoping to practice close to home in Alberta. I met others who also planned on writing the UK boards to keep future options open.

Now that we know the players, what happens next? As mentioned, each subject has a baseline created for what the Candidates' answers will be compared to. The Clinical Skills assessment consists of 4 exams: binocular vision, ocular health, refraction/case history and contact lenses/glasses. If a candidate fails a section they can reattempt that section during the next set of exams; the same for a second failure. If however they miss a section a third time, they must do a remedial year, apply to a committee to redo the boards and they must redo all 4 sections. The candidates have 40 minutes for each section, with a break in between. They move from station to station until they have completed all four sections. Yet even when they finish these practical exams their week is only beginning.

After the practical exams, they move on to written exams. This is composed of 3 exams spread over 5 sittings. The 3 exams are Optometric Knowledge, Ocular Therapeutics, and Clinical Judgments. The exam on Optometric knowledge is written in 3 three-hour sessions over two days and is comprised of 280 multiple choice questions. The Ocular Therapeutics is 120 multiple choice questions done in a three-hour exam. The final exam in Clinical Judgment is 100 multiple choice questions done in one sitting. Yet even after passing those five written exams and the clinical exams from the CSAO, they are still not yet licensed to practice. Candidates still have to write a Jurisprudence exam for each province in which they wish to practice, in Canada.

So even though 200 people descended upon UW this week, of the 91 Candidates, who knows how many will be practicing Optometry soon. Yet it was a fun weekend for the examiners with a catered dinner Friday evening, and breakfast and lunch catered on Saturday and Sunday for the support staff, subjects and examiners. But after all those exams and at least six years of school, you sure better hope you enjoy the work once you get into the field. So farewell till next year to the examiners, and good luck to the candidates - hopefully we will not see you again next spring.

(First Published in Imprint 2008-06-27 as 'Eyeful of Testing'.)

Custom Profile Pictures.

My friend and coworker from Imprint has started selling his artwork. You can see his cartoon profile pictures here. Mine is below. He stated on facebook: "That's right! A fee. But "how much," do you say? Well, normally things like this would cost about $20 or much more, which is a fair price definitely. As for me, I will charge an even better fee.

If you want me to draw a cartoon portrait of you (or a friend) — full colour, inked, any requested theme to follow — you will have to pay me a minimum of $15 a pop.

Mind you, things like detailed backgrounds and such will add quite a bit to the price of the commission, so if you need something like that, you'll have to talk to me about it in more detail.

So, yeah. If you want me to do some cartoon art for you, just leave a request comment after the note and I'll put you on the list. And since I can't tag everyone on my list, ask around from friends if they want any commission work from me! I'd be entirely grateful if you did!
You can pay me in either one of two ways:

1. In person.
2. Through PayPal, email is dayuse [at] gmail [dot] com.

So there you have it. If you're interested, just give him a buzz!"

So if you like mine or are interested in some custom profile pictures drop Peter a line.

Beyond the Valley of Thorns by Patrick Carman

Beyond the Valley of Thorns
The Land of Elyon Book 2
Patrick Carman
Scholastic
ISBN 0439700949

This is book two in the Land of Elyon trilogy and the third book by Carman I have read set in Elyon. Carman creates an amazing, believable, alternate world. As I read more and more of Carman's writing the more I enjoy and appreciate his skills. Elyon is the Semetic for God or Most High. It has been used in fiction by Ted Dekker as a name for God allegorically, and for Carman it is the name of the world or land. As I progress through his books, the more similar I see that his writings are to Lewis's Narnia. As such, these are great stories for the whole family.

This book takes place a year after The Dark Hills Divide. A year ago beloved leader Thomas Warvold passed away, the plan to capture Bridewell have been foiled and the walls connecting the towns of Bridewell, Ainsworth, Lathbury and Turlock have come down. Now a year later it appears Warvold had plans for Alexa Daley, and others. Alexa is delivered a letter and told she has a mission to perform and she cannot tell anyone she is leaving. She must leave another letter prepared for her father and be on her way to yet another adventure.

Alexa joins forces again with Yipes the dwarf, Odessa the wolf, Squire the Hawk and Murphy the squirrel. They have been entrusted into the hands and guidance of John Christopher a former convict, who will guide them through the wild, and along the way they join forces with a Giant named Armon. They are charged with the task of sneaking into a well-guarded land, freeing a captive and overthrowing the Grindall.

However, whenever great tasks are attempted, a price must be paid, and in this adventure the price will be very high. You must join Alexa and the team that has been gathered around her as she travels across the land of Elyon to fulfill the request of her beloved Warvold. But many challenges and surprises are in store for our small band of adventurers.

Just a forewarning though - this book ends with a cliff-hanger, or should I say, we at the bottom of the cliff salivating for the next book!

Other of Patrick Carman Books:

The Dark Hills Divide - The Land of Elyon Book 1
Beyond the Valley of Thorns - The Land of Elyon Book 2
The Tenth City - The Land of Elyon Book 3
Into The Mist - The Land of Elyon Prequel
Stargazer - The Land of Elyon Book 4

The House of Power - Atherton Book 1
Rivers of Fire - Atherton, Book 2
The Dark Planet - Atherron Book 3

Saving Mr Nibbles - Elliot's Park Book 1
Haunted Hike - Elliot's Park Book 2
The Walnut Cup - Elliot's Park Book 3
A Windy Tale - Elliot's Park Book 4

Skeleton Creek - Skeleton Creek Book 1 - A Prereview.
Ghost in the Machine - Skeleton Creek Book 2
Crossbones - Skeleton Creek Book 3
The Raven - Skeleton Creek Book 4

The Black Circle - 39 Clues Book 5

Trackers #1

Thirteen Days to Midnight

Jhegaala by Steven Brust

Jhegaala
Steven Brust
TOR Books
ISBN 9780765301475

It really is amazing that this the eleventh novel; in the Vlad Taltos serirs is as captivating as the first. Steven Brust attempts to write each novel so that it can stand on it's own, and again in this one he has done so. When I recommend people read them books, it varies on my approach. Always start with Jhereg but to some friends I recommend reading in order of publication and some in order of chronology. This book steps back from the last few and tells of an earlier tale. A tale of a man in search of his past and his family. It is also a tale of murder, intrigue, confusion and misunderstanding that all leads to a high body count.

In each of the Vlad Taltos novels Brust approaches them differently. He has created such a believable world that side stories and books mentioned become something the read would like to possess. In this book each chapter begins with quotes from a play Six Parts Water by a playwright named Miersen. These snippets leave you wanting to read or see the play. It is hard not to like the witty and humorous Vlad Taltos, even if he is an assassin by profession, even if he betrayed his 'crime family' to save his estranged wife. Even is he got most of his distant family murdered because he did not understand a situation he blundered into. This is Vlad Taltos, the man we would like to meet and know and count among our friends. He has impeccable taste in food and drink and live by a motto akin to 'Life is to short for bad food or drink.'

In this book we see a very different side of Vlad, he is not an Easterner trying to fit in without fitting in; in the Dragaera Empire, he has returned to the land of his ancestors in the east. He is a human among humans and yet he fits in even less than we are used to. In part because he has live his whole life in the west. Because of that in this book we see for the first time Vlad take a major misstep and pay a personal price, he is injured worse that we have seen yet in any of the books.

This book will be a great summer read for any fan of the fantasy genre, or for people who are already fan's of Brust works. It fills in some of the story between early books, and answers some of the reader's ongoing questions about Vlad, unfortunately it also raised many new questions. But those must be answered in another tale. Hopefully soon.

(First Published in Imprint 2008-06-27.)

Books by Steven Brust:
Vlad Taltos Publishing Order:

Jhereg (1983)
Yendi (1984)
Teckla (1987)
Taltos (1988)
Phoenix (1990)
Athyra (1993)
Orca (1996)
Dragon (1998)
Issola (2001)
Dzur (2006)
Jhegaala (2008)
Iorich (2010)
Tiassa (2011)
Hawk (2014)
Vallista (2017)

Tsalmoth (2023)
Lyorn (2024)
...

Vlad Taltos: Chronological Order:
Taltos (1988)
Dragon, main chapters (1998)
Yendi (1984)

Tsalmoth (2023)
Dragon, interludes (1998)
Tiassa, section 1 (2011)
Jhereg (1983)
Teckla (1987)
Phoenix (1990)
Jhegaala (2008)
Athyra (1993)
Orca (1996)
Issola (2001)
Dzur (2006)
Tiassa, section 2 (2011)
Iorich (2010)
Tiassa, section 3 (2011)
Hawk (2014)
Vallista (2017)

Lyorn (2024)
...

The Khaavren Romances:

The Phoenix Guards (1991)

Five Hundred Years After (1994)

The Viscount of Adrilankha, published in three volumes:

The Paths of the Dead (2002)

The Lord of Castle Black (2003)

Sethra Lavode (2004)

Other Books:

Brokedown Palace (1986)

To Reign in Hell (1984)

The Sun, the Moon & the Stars (1987)

Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille (1990)

Agyar (1993)

My Own Kind of Freedom (2008)
Good Guys (2018)

Co Written:

The Gypsy (1992) with Megan Lindholm

Freedom & Necessity (1997) with Emma Bull

Incrementalist (with Skyler White):

The Incrementalists

The Skill of our Hands

Incrementalist Short Stories

Fireworks in the Rain - Steven Brust

Strongest Conjuration - Skyler White

Short Stories:

An Act of Contrition - Liavek (1985)

An Act of Trust - Liavek: The Players of Luck (1986)

A Dream of Passion - in the convention chapbook for Ad Astra (1986)

An Act of Mercy - Liavek: Wizard's Row (1987, with Megan Lindholm)

An Act of Love - Liavek: Spells of Binding (1988, with Gregory Frost and Megan Lindholm)

Csucskári - Excerpt from The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: First Annual Collection (1988)

A Hot Night at Cheeky's - Liavek: Festival Week (1990)

Looking Forward: Excerpt from Athyra in Amazing Stories, March (1993)

Attention Shoppers - Xanadu (1993)

Abduction from the Harem - in Timewalker Issue 14 (October 1996)

Drift - Space Opera (1996)

Valóság and Élet - in Sandman: Book of Dreams (1996)

Calling Pittsburgh - in Lord of the Fantastic: Stories in Honor of Roger Zelazny (1998)

When the Bow Breaks - The Essential Bordertown (1998)

The Man From Shemhaza - in Thieves' World: Enemies of Fortune (2004), reprinted in Year's Best Fantasy 5 (2005)

Klava with Honey - Eeriecon Convention Chapbook #4 (2005)

Chapter One - in Eeriecon Convention Chapbook #6 (2007)

The Desecrator - on tor.com (2011)

Fireworks in the Rain - on tor.com (2013)

Bonaventure and Erasmus Two Ways. - An Essay.

Bonaventure and Erasmus two ways.

In this paper we will examine the concept of journey in the Christian faith. This journey or 'Quest' in my opinion is a two-fold journey. First it is the journey to God or faith, then when we think the quest is over, we discover a whole new journey has begun, that being the journey into God. Thus when we think we have reached our destination we find that it is really just another door, leading to a whole new road. These journeys or quests, take many different paths; we could almost say there are as many paths are there are people. For each person has been shaped by his life, circumstances, times, surroundings and influences. We will examine the concepts of spiritual journeys, or faith quests, and we will look at some historical examples of these processes, from the bible through to our own time. Then we will look at Bonaventure and Erasmus and their specific journeys and their views of such journeys or quests into God.

Though each faith journey is unique there are some characteristics that are common or at least many overlaps in different people's journeys. As Donald Nicholl in the essay Scientia Cordis states: "Certainly a striking feature of many of the great spiritual adventurers of this century has been the way in which, having lost their bearings within their own traditions, they have sought them in some other - and have almost gone over to that tradition, only to discover their bearings once more within their own." Nicholl, here illustrates a point that the quest is journey that will lead one back to one's own tradition; a great example of this quest and the dual nature of the quest of Thomas Merton (1915-1968). As I wrote in an earlier paper: "Thomas Merton was an enigma. He was a monk, a man and a myth. He created the myth with his bestseller The Seven Story Mountain and then spent most of the rest of his life trying to change that story." Merton thought that when he became a Catholic and then a monk he was at the end of his spiritual journey. He wrote his most famous book The Seven Story Mountain and believed he had all the answers, yet within a short time he realized that he was now set upon a new journey, that of growing in this new faith and relationship with God. He wrote prolifically the rest of his life to try and counter the arrogance and mistake of that first book. Now turning to a much older source we have an example from St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians 3:12-16 he states: "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this in mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind." Here Paul outlines his own striving, and journey into God, and how others should be struggling, striving to follow a similar journey. Also in St. Peter's second letter we see a clear outline of instructions for growth in Christian character, or the path to journey on to grow in Christ Jesus and in fellowship with other believers: "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ."

From the above examples we see that the concepts of journey, in the Christian life, that there is a path to follow goes back to those who founded Christianity as a sub-sect of Judaism, right up to today. So now a study of St. Bonaventure, his life and his view of spiritual journey begins.

St. Bonaventure; whose years are 1221AD-1274AD, was an amazing man of faith. He is credited as being the second founder of the Franciscans. He taught at the University of Paris, was the Head of the Franciscans(1257AD), a Bishop(1273AD), a Cardinal(1274AD) and he played a major role in the Second Council of Lyons. Bonaventure is considered a disciple of Augustine. In "A history of the Christian Church" it states: "Bonaventure was intellectually a disciple of St. Augustine. Like the Latter, he desired to know but two things; God, the supreme reality, and the soul's progress to union with God. Philosophy and all secular knowledge are, at best, only a means to the end of 'seeing' God (the visio Dei)." Bonaventure's life was a quest for two things, to know God, and to journey towards God. Now let us examine those specific paths.

Bonaventure believed that there were three modes of understanding. Those being: i) reflection on the natural world, ii) the consideration of our natural power and iii) our receiving illumination through Christ who is our mediator. Yet each of these three modes is two-fold in that God can be seen in them and also through them. These six stages are representative of different stages on the road by which we ascend to God. Thus Bonaventure can be seen as a mystical theologian. Walker et. Al. summarize Bonaventure's thought as follows: "By meditation and prayer, and aided throughout by divine grace, the mind journeys to God first by gazing upon his traces in the world at large, then by catching sight of him deep within itself, and finally by rising above itself to behold God the Holy Trinity, who is the origin and goal of all that is. At this highest stage, all intellectual operations cease; the soul (not the mind) unknowingly unites with God in the ecstasy of love and affection." Thus we see clearly Bonaventure's view of the journey into God. Now let us move ahead a few hundred years and onto another quester, that of Desiderius Erasmus.

Desiderius Erasmus the illegitimate son of a Rotterdam priest was born in 1466AD and died some time in 1536AD. His mother passed away when he was young, and his inheritance was squandered, shortly thereafter. Much of his adult life was a struggle to overcome the pain and poverty of his youth. Erasmus studied at the Deventer school (1475AD-1484AD) "where Alender Hegius was headmaster from 1483, awakened his love of letters and introduced him to the 'modern devotion' - the inward, christocentric piety" This drove him to educational excellence. He entered the Augustinian monastery at Steyn in 1486AD and left in 1492AD. In 1492AD he was ordained a priest and he studied at the University of Paris from 1495AD until 1499AD. He spent the rest of his career traversing Europe, seeking patronage, seeking knowledge and deeper understanding, both on the continent and in England. Through this process of seeking knowledge he hungered for the study of classical and Christian antiquity. He was considered the most educated man of his time. Erasmus was also at the forefront of the Christian Humanist movement. McBrien in his book Catholicism states this: "Although various Christian humanists were sympathetic towards the contemporary emphasis on mysticism, they were strongly committed to the general restoration of the Christian Life itself, so much corrupted then by the worst of the Renaissance spirit. Love for classical antiquity and an optimistic view of human nature were characteristic of this so-called devout humanism, and the spiritual writings of Erasmus (d. 1536) are representative of it." Erasmus was another remarkable man of the church, who strove for understanding his whole life. Now let us turn to his specific thoughts on spiritual journey.

Erasmus was a master of letters, and a wordsmith of the highest calibre. His works were wide ranging and extensive. Including the Greek New Testament published in 1515AD. Yet from my readings his biggest desire was reform; reform of the individual and through that society. Walker et. Al state: "Erasmus has his own constructive program of reform. He envisioned the renovation of church and society through education and eloquence - specifically, through a return to the pristine sources of Christian truth, to the Bible and the fathers, as well as to the ethical wisdom of the ancient sages, to be instilled through the art of persuasion by pleasing discourse." Erasmus wanted to use reason as a tool of spiritual growth, and through that as a tool to change society. Cory and Landry sum up Erasmus's contributions as: "The greatest of the northern humanists was Desiderius Erasmus (c.1466-1536), a scholar learned in the literature of both the Latin and Greek early church writers, and the most famous writer of his age. In his Handbook of the Christian Soldier, Erasmus argued that true piety depends on the virtue of the Spirit, rather than on conformity to external rites of the church." This echoes a similar thought in Placher: "Erasmus sought to clear away corruption and superstition in order to restore a simple, ethical Christianity in which people would try to follow Christ and be decent to each other." Therefore we see that Erasmus was dedicated to growth in the individual and through that society. Now we will turn to some of Erasmus's own writings and words.

The first quote is from a letter to Paul Voltz: "a great part of holiness consists in desiring with all one's heart to become holy; I do not feel that we should look down on a person striving for such a goal even if the attempt sometimes falls short of success." We see here a clear call to holiness and to personal perusal of that goal. The personal quest. From his writing The Weapons of Christian Warfare; he states: "You must believe me when I say that there is really no attack from the enemy, no temptation so violent, that a sincere resort to Holy Writ will not easily get rid of it. … Therefore, if you will but dedicate yourself entirely to the study of scriptures, if you meditate day and night on the divine law, nothing will ever terrorize you and you will be prepared against any attack of the enemy." We see here a commitment and directions for spiritual growth and protection, for spiritual warfare we must know scripture and be prepared to use it in defence of ourselves. Erasmus also wrote General Rules for Living the Christian Life; I have been unable to find a complete list but here are some of those points I have found:

• First Rule: Now since faith is the only gateway to Christ, the first rule I would lay down is that we ought to place great reliance on the Scriptures.
• Second Rule: is that we doubt nothing in the divine promises, then we must act upon them.
• Forth Rule: Make Christ the only goal of your life. Dedicate yourself to Him all your enthusiasm, all your effort, your leisure as well as your business.
• Tenth Rule: Make a violent effort to put sinful thoughts out of your mind.
• Eleventh Rule: You have two dangers to face: one is giving in; the other is becoming proud after a temptation has been conquered.
• Seventeenth Rule: Each temptation has its own appropriate remedy.

We see then a man passionate about seeing hearts set free, or as St. Irenaeus said, "The Glory of God is a man fully alive!" This quote can describe both Erasmus and Bonaventure, and so we will now compare the two and their different approaches to the spiritual journey.

As a man living in a post-modern world, I have found both these authors fascinating, and believe that we can learn much from them both. As Erasmus looked back to the classical and Christian antiquities, I find that we can look back at the Medieval and Reformation writers and glean the gems from their writings. Yet it is true that these two approach things from very different angles, and present alternative paths to spiritual growth. Bonaventure is a mystic, and though very educated, many today would struggle with the mystical path to spirituality. Yet for some it would be the right route. Erasmus on the other hand is extremely logical, and process oriented; he lays out clear rules and steps to be followed that will help to transform the individual and through the individual transformations help to transform society. Many would find this straightforward approach helpful in developing spiritual disciplines and these steps or rules would help them along in their journey.

For me personally, though both authors and approaches are attractive and intriguing to me, I find the systematic approach in Erasmus most appealing. Clear straightforward rules and guidelines would help me in my spiritual development and faith journey. They are something I can judge and see growth; there would be empirical evidence of progress. The guiding questions could be: Do I see a greater love of others? Do I fail/sin less often? Do I love God and others more than I did last week? Last month? Last year? And from the answers to these questions I could find the areas in which more work and development would be needed.

In conclusion I believe that all believers are on a spiritual journey, and that all people are spiritual questers. Our quests, either that of to God or that of into God, are lifelong pursuits that we will only improve as people and as believers by seeking means of growth. Either the mystical road represented by Bonaventure, or the progression through rules seen in Erasmus will help us. Allan Bloom, in The Closing of the American Mind, states: "I must reiterate that Rousseau, Kant, Hegel and Nietzsche are thinkers of the very highest order. This is, in fact, precisely my point. We must relearn what this means and also that there are others who belong in the same rank." We are all questers, and can learn from those who have gone before us on this journey. Will we seek the knowledge of those who have gone before us and try and walk in their steps for some distance, or a long way, so that we will be challenged and grow through the process? Or will we try and go it alone? I believe that both Bonaventure and Erasmus would encourage us to: Journey on!

Endnotes:

1. Scientia Cordis in The Beatitudes of Truth: Darton, Longman & Todd, New York 1998, p.150
2. Thomas Merton, The Man, the Monk, on Monasticism, McEvoy, Steven R. November 25th 1998, p.2
3. Philippians 3:12-16 NKJV p.867
4. 1St Peter 1:5-8 NKJV p.905
5. Biographical information taken from Tyson's An Introduction to Christian Spirituality, p.159-160
6. A History of the Christian Church: 4th Edition, Walker et. Al. McMillian, 1985, p.338
7. A History of the Christian Church: 4th Edition, Walker et. Al. McMillian, 1985, p.338-339
8. A History of the Christian Church: 4th Edition, Walker et. Al. McMillian, 1985, p.408
9. Catholicism Volume 2, McBrien, Richard P., Winston Press, Minneapolis, 1980, p.1066
10. A History of the Christian Church: 4th Edition, Walker et. Al. McMillian, 1985, p.410
11. The Christian Theological Tradition: Second Edition; Cory & Landry, Prenice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 2003, p. 256 (Advanced Reading Copy)
12. A History of Christian Theology; Placher, William C., The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1893, p.184
13. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.217
14. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.220
15. Edited from Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.221-222
16. St. Irenaeus, as quoted in The Purpose Driven Life, Warren Rick, Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2002, p.55
17. The Closing of the American Mind. Bloom, Allan New York: Touchstone, 1987, p.240

Bibliography:

Tyson, John R. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. New York: Oxford UP, 1999

Cory, Catherine A. and Landry, David T. The Christian Theological Tradition:
Second Edition Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2003 (Advanced Reading Copy)

Placher, William C. A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction
Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1983

Walker, Williston. et al., eds. A history of the Christian Church: Fourth Edition New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1985

Bloom, Allan. The Closing of the American Mind.
New York: Touchstone, 1987

McBrien, Richard P. Catholicism Volume II
Minneapolis, Wnston Press, 1980

Nicholl, Donald. Scientia Cordis in The Beatitudes of Truth:
Darton, Longman & Todd, New York 1998

Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Life
Zondervan, Grand Rapids 2002

McEvoy, Steven R. Thomas Merton, The Man, the Monk, on Monasticism
Essay for P. Frick, RS 100K Fall 1998

Holy Bible New King James Version:
Nashville, TN, Thomas Nelson, 2003

(First written for RS231 Histroy of Christian Thought Fall 2003.)

God and Grief - An Essay

Can God be found in Grief?

Or is God Lost?

Both C.S. Lewis and Jerome A. Miller in their respective works, A Grief Observed and The Way of Suffering, deal with the questions of faith and doubt and love, in and through the process of grief. The question we will examine is: Did Lewis actually find God in a deeper way, or did he lose his God or understanding of God, through the grief he experienced at the loss of his wife Joy? Both of these scholars present very differently in the works we are examining: Lewis's writing is very raw and visceral and written in the moment of pain and grief and loss of his wife Joy, whereas Miller's argument is much more scholarly and is written as a clearly defined argument.

To begin with, Lewis himself stated in his book The Four Loves: "We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them and offering them to Him, throwing away all defensive armour. If our hearts need to be broken, and if He chooses this as the way in which they should break, so be it." This book by Lewis is an academic study of the four different loves. In A Grief Observed we have a very different approach. Lewis presents a very visceral response to the loss of his wife. An example of this is that Lewis states at the beginning of the book: "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing." Where Miller declares in his paper: "God writes straight with crooked lines. The most crooked path conceivable is the one that leads us up to God by inviting us to follow the intimations that lead us straight down into our own nothingness." Lewis does indeed go down that path and comes out the other side with a new perspective and experience. (Note: Douglas Gresham, C.S. Lewis's stepson recently released a book about Lewis called Jack's Life. It includes a DVD interview, where Gresham states that Lewis did not intend to publish A Grief Observed; it was a personal notebook. When it was published it was under the pseudonym NW Clark and by a publisher Lewis had never published with. Gresham also said that Lewis received numerous copies of the book as gifts from friends who thought it would help.) Lewis's stepson Douglas Gresham shared in an interview how much Lewis grieved, yet came out the other end with an even deeper faith. He stated that he wrote the book about Lewis to share about the man he loved and respected, who was a true Christian gentleman.

Miller states: "When we lose the thing that gives us so clear, so perfect an intimation of something infinitely precious, loss seems the most deadly of wounds, dashing everything we have longed for. But what we never suspect, what we never in a million years would have thought to anticipate, is the simple truth that the only way we can ever find that infinitely loveable reality we have always looked for is by losing that very thing that has given us the most perfect intimation of it" Lewis comes to the same conclusion in a very different way. He declares: "God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn't." Lewis has come to the conclusion that through the process and pain of his grief he has come back to God in a deeper, truer and more full way. He has learned how to love and love fully through this process. This is contrasted with what Lewis stated earlier in the book: "Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him." Lewis feared that he would come out of the process of grief with a distorted, evil view of God. Instead, he goes through this process with a belief in God.

Lewis describes Grief as a journey. "Grief is like a long valley, a winding valley where any bend may reveal a totally new landscape. As I've already noted, not every bend does. Sometimes the surprise is the opposite one; you are presented with exactly the same sort of country you thought you had left miles ago. … There are partial recurrences, but the sequence doesn't repeat." Lewis went down that long journey and as Miller says, he comes out with a new insight, impression and experience of the divine. Miller states: "Those who have suffered a mortal loss, those who have allowed it to shatter them, know that God does not prevent it from happening."

Lewis states: "Yet that would have been best for me. Praise is the mode of love which always has some element of Joy in it. Praise is due order; of Him as the giver, of her as the gift. Don't we in praise somehow enjoy what we praise, however far we are from it?" When we compare that statement with Miller's: "In the other Case, something has happened to us at some point that broke through the surface and penetrated the most secret, intimate part of the self. Some agony, some joy, some terrible suffering, or some transporting ecstasy made us think, at least while it was happening, that we were in the presence of something of absolute transcendent importance." Lewis clearly made that progression; he has gone from anger to a greater experience of God through his suffering.

Endnotes:

Lewis, C.S., The Four Loves, Harper Collins, London, 1960 p.148
Lewis, C.S., A Grief Observed, Harper Collins, London, 1961 p.1
Miller, Jerome A., The Way of Suffering, Second Opinions, No. April, pp.21-23
Miller, Jerome A., The Way of Suffering, Second Opinions, No. April, pp.21-23
Lewis, C.S., A Grief Observed, Harper Collins, London, 1961 p.61
Lewis, C.S., A Grief Observed, Harper Collins, London, 1961 p.5
Lewis, C.S., A Grief Observed, Harper Collins, London, 1961 p.69
Miller, Jerome A., The Way of Suffering, Second Opinions, No. April, pp.21-23
Lewis, C.S., A Grief Observed, Harper Collins, London, 1961 p.72
Miller, Jerome A., The Way of Suffering, Second Opinions, No. April, pp.21-23

(Written for RS 100M Love & Friendship Fall 2006.)
(Click here for my review of A Grief Observed.)

Other Reviews of Lewis's Books.
A Grief Observed
The Four Loves

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The Ransom Cycle:

Out of the Silent Planet

Perelandra

The Screwtape Letters

Screwtape Proposes a Toast

That Hideous Strength

The Dark Tower and Other Stories

...

Original Space Trilogy:
Out of the Silent Planet
Perelandra
That Hideous Strength

...
The Dark Tower and Other Stories

...

Narnia Publication Order:

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Prince Caspian

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Silver Chair

The Horse and His Boy

The Magician's Nephew

The Last Battle

...

Narnia Chronological Order:

The Magician's Nephew

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Horse and His Boy

Prince Caspian

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Silver Chair

The Last Battle

...

Books about C.S. Lewis:

Planet's In Peril: A critical Study of C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy - David C. Downing

C. S. Lewis Apostle to the Sceptics - Walter Hooper - CTS Biographies

The Man Who Created Narnia - Michael Coren

Further Up & Further In Understanding Narnia - Joseph Pearce

God and Grief - An Essay

Between Heaven  Hell - Peter Kreeft

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