Frank Zappa is quoted as having said “So
many books, so little time”. But of course, for a while now, many of us have
had considerably more time for reading than we bargained for, thanks to the
pandemic and the lockdown. I’ve been going to work in my dining room for the
last few months, so as it turns out I haven’t had a lot of extra reading time. But
I have enjoyed a few notable (and eclectic) pandemic reads…so far.
As I’ve noted inside its front cover,
my first lockdown read was Alistair McGrath’s biography of C.S. Lewis(1). To my
mind both the author and the subject are interesting characters. McGrath is interesting
because he began his academic sojourn in the world I am most familiar with. His
initial calling was to science, eventually obtaining his Oxford DPhil in molecular
biophysics. However, around the time he went up to Oxford, he discovered that
there were other, complimentary ways of investigating and understanding the world
around him, including theology. And it was to theology he turned, and in which
he has made his mark. Lewis, along with other authors and scholars, helped him to
understand his journey, and it is perhaps this that explains his interest in
Lewis. McGrath’s approach as a biographer turns out to be quite scientific, because
in order to master his subject, his approach was to immerse himself in the data
- in Lewis’ case his published writings, broadcasts and, importantly, his letters.
I came to Lewis in my teens, although I confess that I have still to read the
Narnia books. My introduction to him was his science fiction trilogy (“Out of
the Silent Planet”, “Voyage to Venus”, and “That Hideous Strength”) from which
I moved on to books like “Mere Christianity” and “The Screwtape Letters”. What these
don’t particularly reveal is much about the man himself. But McGrath does this forensically,
although from a sympathetic standpoint. In doing so he reveals a complex character,
flawed (as we all are) in many ways, navigating his way through two world wars
and the cultural upheavals of the 20th century. It is well worth a
read.
Much harder work, but no less rewarding, was Peter Sanlon’s “Simply God”(2). This isn’t bedtime reading, but it addressed something that’s bothered me for a while. As readers of this blog will know, I’m interested in God. Admittedly my interest is more personal than academic, but that doesn’t mean I’m somehow exempt from doing hard thinking about Him. And one of the dangers I’ve become aware of is that I come to see Him as simply a bigger and better version of me. This is in part the age old issue of creating God in my image, instead of recognising that I’m created in His. Of course, I’m not alone. Arguably this is fallen humanity’s biggest and most devastating mistake, stretching all the way back to Eden and the Fall. And it’s pervasive. The “gods” of the ancient world were just big versions of their Canaanite, Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman inventors. The “straw-God” of the new atheists is/was just a big version of what they observed/observe in humanity around them. More worryingly the God who is the object of some contemporary evangelical prayer and worship often seems to suffer from similar deficits. But Sanlon’s starting point is that this is a total misconception. Yes we are created in His image, but it is a fundamental mistake to see in this the idea that the difference between us and Him is quantitative. It turns out (and no real surprise here if you’ve been paying attention) that He is a totally different type of being. The gap between Him and us is way bigger than, and of a completely different order to, the gap between a person and a paramecium. This causes an obvious problem. How are we to understand Him if He is so different? Thankfully, it turns out that He has provided help towards exactly this end, because He wants to be known. So He has revealed things about Himself in ways that we can understand. Not being able to understand everything, shouldn't stop us from trying to understand something. Starting with God’s simplicity (which in this context has a particular meaning and significance) Sanlon investigates God as He is revealed. And there is an interesting subtext. I may be reading more into Sanlon’s writing than is there (for which I apologise in advance), but I think he’s fairly angry about the small of view of God that many of us carry around in our heads. I think he’s right to be angry about this (if he is). And to the extent that this book helped me to understand that my view of God had been inaccurate, weak and impoverished, I’m more than happy to apologise! Hard work, but a good read.
A third lockdown read that I’ll mention
is completely different. It’s John Searle’s “Seeing Things as They Are”(3).
This book has nothing to do with theology. Searle is a UC Berkeley philosopher,
as far as I know not a believer, with little interest in theology. I discovered
him through his “Chinese Room” argument which appeared in the late 70’s/early
80’s; this seeks to show why brains are not computers and why computers cannot
be conscious (or at least conscious in the way that you and I are). He writes
with a compelling and elegant clarity. Not that I would claim to always follow
his arguments fully, I’m sure I miss a lot. I am after all, just a scientist
not a philosopher. But I always get the feeling that there’s something in his
arguments, and that it’s worth paying attention. “Seeing..” is an attempt to
explain consciousness, in this case the kind of consciousness that is involved
in the process of perception. While many regard consciousness as a mystery (and
some have argued that it is a mystery that can’t be solved), for Searle there
is no mystery, once we think about it clearly enough. The mystery results from
confusing categories, and holding on to philosophical baggage and bad arguments
from the past. This one’s been keeping me going for a while. So quite handy in
a pandemic.
And as if this were not enough
already, I’ve just ordered my holiday reads. A similarly eclectic bunch including
Stephen Westaby’s “The Knife’s Edge”, George Zuckerman’s “The Greatest Trade
Ever Made”, and on the theological front Peter Hick’s “Evangelicals and Truth”.
So many books. But then the pandemic isn’t over.
1.
McGrath A (2013) “C.S. Lewis: A Life”. Hodder
& Stoughton.
2.
Sanlon P (2014) “Simply God”. IVP.
3.
Searle JR (2015) “Seeing Things As They Are”.
Oxford University Press.
