While reading through John Piper's book, Don't Waste Your Life, I came across a quote about C.S. Lewis that wouldn't let me turn the page without writing it down.
"He (Lewis) demonstrated for me and convinced me that rigorous, precise, penetrating logic is not opposed to deep, soul-stirring feeling and vivid, lively -even playful- imagination. He was a 'romantic rationalist'. He combined things that almost everybody today assumes are mutually exclusive: rationalism and poetry, cool logic and warm feeling, disciplined prose and free imagination. In shattering these old sterotypes, he freed me to think hard and to write poetry, to argue for the resurrection and compose hymns to Christ, to smash an argument and hug a friend, to demand a definition and use a metaphor . . . He shook my dozing soul and threw the cold water of reality on my face, broke into my world with glory and horror."
Piper, John. "Don't Waste Your Life". Crossway Books. 2003
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4 comments:
Sally,
Thanks for posting this quote. It is wonderful!!
Dad
I have really enjoyed that book. We are studying it on Sunday evenings with a group of people at church. Piper has such a way with words.
Kaylee
The other day I sent Max a note telling him to check out the pages in Piper's book where he reflected on Lewis' influence on him. I was sending him to these very lines of Piper's (thinking ahead to when Max will be doing a weekend seminar - in Lawrence, KS - on Lewis). It was great to read them again here.
Lori
Sally, I don't know you, but am an old old old friend of Susan and Sandy's. This book sounds amazing! Can't wait to chew on it...... Cool blog, loved seeing pictures of the next and next generation.
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