All by Michael Hansen

Awakened From Cold Vulgarity

Lewis teaches us that the best way to defend children from believing in falsehoods is NOT by telling them that fairytales aren’t real. Rather, by inculcating the just sentiments that fairytales offer, children WILL be able to better defend themselves from falsehoods of the worst variety.

A Cultureless Faith

According to Schindler, the Christian church quietly obeyed the voices of the Enlightenment which told the church which compartment of the modern life it could have a say in; namely the realm of spirituality and personal religion.

Childish Lawkeepers

Lord only knows much ink has been spilled over Jesus’ famous words “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17).

In Medias Res

We are characters in a story, we are not the author. We are placed in the plot and given roles. We enter stage right or stage left and are called upon to recite our lines and act.

God Aims at the Whole Creation

Jesus has initiated this glorious redemption and he has ascended to the right hand of God the Father Almighty from whence he has poured out His Spirit on His Church who will continue the work of redemption until all of Christ’s enemies have been made a footstool under his feet (Psalm 110:1).

An Anti-War Gem from "Gone With the Wind"

Especially in today’s climate where we seem to be increasingly okay with war, Rhett Butler’s words are music to the ears. It always strikes me as odd that those who are so adamant about being duped by the government never stop to think that the government could be duping them when it comes to war. If you listen to the rhetoric about Israel then it is so clear the way that we attempt to make war sacred in our own day as well.

How to Know You've Been Called To Ministry

As American individualist we all too often attempt to figure out God’s will for us apart from the means that God has provided for us, namely, the church. This is especially true when it comes to the call into ministry. American Christians have taken something that should be bound up in the church and subjected it, almost entirely, to the subjective feelings of individuals.

C.S. Lewis on "Unrealistic" Stories

We value “realistic” stories over “fairy-tales.” The problem is that these realistic stories are all too often void of true beauty and imagination yet blatantly promote some “social or ethical or religious or anti-religious ‘comment on life.’” This is one of the main avenues that we have been deceived as a culture. We have sought to avoid deception through the very means that deception is most likely to come: “realistic” literature.

"I'm Not a Calvinist/Baptist/Etc, I Follow Jesus"

If we want to “follow Jesus” then it makes no sense to shun His Body the church. That is why Paul says that it makes no sense for a husband to treat his wife badly, because it is like treating one’s self badly. What this means is that following the church is how we follow Jesus. Sure, things can get messy but then again the incarnation was messy. God isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, you might remember that’s how we all got here in the first place (Genesis 2:7).

Incarnation & New Creation

Eschatology must submit to the story of Scripture and follow the story as it leads us to Christ. Too often eschatology (and theology in general) has abandoned the narrative of scripture. This can only lead to confusion and ultimately away from Christ.

Reading the Bible as a Literary Person

Unfortunately, it is this type of pragmatic unliterariness that so pervades many Christians’ approach to the Bible. By and large, the modern Christian church has become a temple to the gods of pragmatism. More often than not, your typical non-denominational worship box has just started a new series on “9 Steps to a Gospel Centered Marriage” or a “Kingdom Finances Series.” The hidden message behind these texts is that Christianity can solve your problems.

C.S. Lewis on Being a Literary Person

No doubt there are many morals and messages held in the great works of literature. However, to approach a work of literature with the sole intention of mining these things is to approach literature as an unliterary person. In the case of the literary person, they approach a great work with the main intention to sit under the author’s tutelage. In this posture they receive from the author what the author is offering. What the literary person finds is that the author is offering much more than the unliterary person could ever imagine.