aefenglommung (aefenglommung) wrote,
aefenglommung
aefenglommung

In memoriam, C.S. Lewis

Three famous men died on this day, 51 years ago. The first was John F. Kennedy, murdered by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas. This event marked my childhood and has been remembered and observed in all kinds of ways ever since. With all the controversy over Obama's machinations, this is the first year I can remember no marking of the day in the news.

Second, the English-born philosopher Aldous Huxley died in Los Angeles on the same day. He was a member of the Bloomsbury set. He dabbled in occultism and drugs. What little attention was left after Kennedy's assassination was probably given to his passing.

But third, C.S. Lewis died in Oxford on that day, too. Author, critic, teacher, and lay theologian, in the end his influence has been far greater than that of Huxley, and arguably far greater than that of Kennedy. It's a good day to acknowledge his influence over my life and pay my debt of personal piety toward him. His books continue to be read. Many of the issues he talked about in the Church of his day are still applicable to the Church of our day, and of course, the eternal issues and doctrines he did so much to explain are still as fresh today as they have always been.

Ave et vale.
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