Each work of art and each encounter with nature is an island of "Sehnsucht": a moment of heavenly longing out of mundane existence. Here we reflect on how the arts show forth divine truth.
C.S. Lewis wrote about "joy" or "sehnsucht" all his life: about those moments of insatiable longing that point us to God. In his life, as in mine, those moments are most frequently stimulated by a work of art (poetry, music, etc.) or something beautiful in nature.
I believe that all great works of art, whether their creators meant them to or not, bear witness to the deep truth of the Christian faith.
So what do you think? Is that a good title for this blog? What encounters have catalyzed sehnsucht in your life? Does art show forth Christian truth?
4 comments:
I think it's a good title. More and more I think "PLace of the Lion" would capture various dimensions, but probably too Williamsy. "The Vein of the Spirit" and "The Everlasting Dance" are nice. Islands of Joy, though, is good.
Yes, I think I should stay more Lewisian on this blog and stick with Williamsian for the other!
Hi Sorina,
You may smile at my lack of knowledge here, but I had to look up "sehnsucht" - that's a phenomenal concept and one that responates a lot with me. We should chat sometime. There's a writer I like, John Eldredge, who gets close to this word and the theme of your blog in all his works - "Journey of Desire" is a great example. In fact, "desire" is now a key word in my Christian life and comes up in a lot of writers I respect (of course, Lewis among others).
As for blog title, I think "Islands of Joy" superior to "Surprised by Everything". Love the metaphor.
Talk to you soon.
Dominic
Thanks, Dominic! Yes, let's talk about "Sehnsucht" and "Journeys of Desire" very soon. I'd love to know your thoughts. It's a very important idea to me.
Post a Comment