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Joking With Immortals

Joking With Immortals

Last updated on: November 30, 2022 at 1:03 am by Mark Wilson

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Joking With Immortals 2022-11-30T01:03:50-05:00 Mark Wilson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

With all the chaos going on in the world and even in our own little corner of it, its’ good to remember that everyone around us have been brought into existence and are now a permanent part of it. Lets remember that before we comment negatively about someone else. C.S. Lewis reminds us that…

“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (1942)

See the source image

And now let us illustrate this quote and flesh it out. even more.

“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses,

to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to

may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship,

See the source image

or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.

All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations.

See the source image

It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities,

See the source image

it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them,

that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another,

See the source image

all friendships,

See the source image

all loves,

See the source image

all play,

all politics.

See the source image

There are no ordinary people.

See the source image

You have never talked to a mere mortal.

See the source image

Nations,

cultures,

See the source image

arts,

See the source image

civilizations

See the source image

– these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat.

See the source image

But it is immortals whom we joke with,

See the source image

work with,

See the source image

marry,

See the source image

snub,

See the source image

and exploit

See the source image

– immortal horrors

See the source image

or everlasting splendors.”

See the source image

― C.S. Lewis,

See the source image

The Weight of Glory (1942)

One of these immortals we joke with just might be

Somebody’s Daughter…

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