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C.S. Lewis, my favorite (and probably one of the most prolific) writers of the 20th century, became the focus of my senior honors thesis project. Although I suffered from a few setbacks—namely illness—in my efforts to complete this paper, my excitement and zeal to complete this task has yet to subside. My thesis revolves around Lewis’ writings on identity formation, and the role of the numinous in the formation of identity. Lewis uses myth, allegory, and other literary devices to demonstrate the importance of desire in the formation of identity.
My thesis will argue that Lewis’s works suggest that true identification is granted when we condition our desire to eradicate every last trace of self, as opposed to looking inwardly or to the past, because a reformed self is not the goal that will surrender us to glory, or lend us unto joy, but rather a transformed self—a self that is not ours. For, one’s own possession of the self suggests that the identity of that individual remains yet to be surrendered. Subsequently, the numinous cannot be addressed until the surrender is made.
When researching this claim, I came across the book called “Desiring God,” by John Piper. He focuses on the Christian attitude and behavior toward pleasure and happiness. He suggests that Christians were created to glorify God, and that God is most fulfilled when He delights in Himself – in His glory. If God would turn away from Himself as the source of infinite joy, He would cease to be God, and would commit, in essence, idolatry, since there is no being that displays more supremacy. We glorify God by praising Him. If you think about it, humans exalt things of beauty or excellence in the form of praise. When we see newborn babies, we exclaim, “Oh, how beautiful!” or “She has a pretty little pug nose just like her sister.” Lewis further examines this point on praise:
“But the most obvious fact about praise—whether of God or anything—strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless (sometimes even if) shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it. The world rings with praise—lovers praising their mistresses, readers heir favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game—praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars. I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious, minds praised most, while the cranks, misfits, and malcontents praised the least…” (Piper 48).
We praise the things or people that we enjoy precisely because the praise completes our enjoyment. Our joy is unfulfilled until it is expressed. As we close in upon the holidays, we should remember to praise the ones we love most: our family and our friends. Most importantly, we should glorify God in the Highest, and be thankful for all of the blessings He has bestowed upon us. If we praise Him and bring Him due glory, we will in turn rejoice in His divine love.
Trisha Maclin