Meaning in the Clues

I am presently reading an enjoyable detective novel by A.D. Scott as well as the transcript of a lecture by Alister McGrath regarding the rationality of faith. The two fit together well. In his lecture, McGrath notes that Dorothy Sayers once said that

detective fiction appeals to our deep yearning to discover patterns, to uncover secrets, and to impose order on what seem to some to be an unrelated series of events, yet to the initiated are the vital clues that lead to the solution of the mystery. . . .

Sayers, one of Britain’s most successful and talented detective novelists, argued that crime fiction was a powerful witness to our yearning to discover patterns, find meaning, and uncover hidden secrets. For Sayers, the detective novel appeals to our implicit belief in the intrinsic rationality of the world around us, and our ability to discover its deeper patterns. . .1

McGrath, the 2009 Drawbridge lecturer, further says that longing to make sense of things is not limited to crime fiction. He suggests that

The question being asked, whether in science or religion or detective fiction, is this: What greater picture unifies our disparate observations? How can the threads of evidence and observation be woven into a tapestry of truth? . . .
It is a vision that captivates the imaginations of many, and it still captivates mine. The ability of a theory – whether this is a detective’s attempt to makes sense of the evidence in a criminal case, or the more general human attempt to make sense of life . . . 2

I like what McGrath is saying because this vision also captivates my mind. I find that I am still seeking knowledge that will help me piece together the universe in which I live and help me find meaning. I hope that all of my life I will continue to ask the big questions of life: How did this universe come to be? What does science tell us about our world? What are the best theories on the mechanics of how this universe came into being? What does the Bible and theology tell us about purpose and meaning? How do we make sense of God, the Bible, and science? McGrath quotes Michael Polanyi (1891-1976), the Hungarian chemist who also explored the philosophical implications of the scientific method as saying, “The pursuit of discovery, . . . is guided by sensing the presence of a hidden reality toward which our clues are pointing.” May we always search for truth and never fear it; for all truth is God's truth. May we never lose the wonder of searching for reality. May we always be guided by the clues to the great truths of the universe.




McGrath, Alister E. "2009 Drawbridge Lecture." Shipoffools.com. November 12, 2009. http://shipoffools.com/features/2009/pdfs/ces_2009_drawbridge_lecture.pdf (accessed August 5, 2012).

1 (McGrath 2009)
2 (McGrath 2009)

Wait

Advent is a time when we look forward to the coming of salvation. We light candles that glimmer with a faint light as if we are seeing the "light of the world" from a far off distance. We recognize that before the coming of Jesus the world was truly in darkness. We must not too soon skip over the concept of darkness and immediately look forward to the coming of the Christ child. We must wait patiently in this darkness. The years prior to the coming of Jesus had been a dark and quiet period of waiting. Waiting for the Lord. God was not sending prophets and few miracles were occurring. It was the calm, quiet, darkness before the brilliant light that was about to flood the world.


In nature, in the northern hemisphere, trees and plants lie dormant through the bleak mid-winter awaiting the coming of light and spring. There is no fruit; there is an appearance of death. But look at the ends of the branches and you will see the new buds preparing to burst in spring. There is hope; there is life; spring will come again; but for now we must wait. We must wait in the darkness, accepting the dark night of the soul, the barrenness of winter, and the winter of our spiritual life. Only by hanging in the moment of this darkness will we appreciate the brilliance of the light. Advent is a season that cries out, "Wait, wait for it." Let the moment build to a heightened expectancy. We must wait so that we might truly appreciate light and life.


Dorothy L. Sayers, speaking of the "Word becoming flesh," says, ". . . from the beginning of time until now it is the only thing that has ever really happened . . . We may call this doctrine exhilarating or we may call it devastating, we may call it revelation or we may call it rubbish . . . but if we call it dull then what in heaven's name is worthy to be called exciting?"*


In this season of Advent we look with expectancy to this "only thing that has ever happened." He is near, but, at this very moment we wait . . . and wait . . . and wait . . . in darkness and barrenness.


*Sayers, Dorothy L. Creed or Chaos? Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1949, p. 5, 7.

Follow-up to "Imagination"

To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. - Thomas A. Edison.

Imagination

Many of us spend very little time cultivating our imagination. The early twenty-first century was expected to give us more leisure time as automated devices freed us up from household chores. But instead the pace of life has robbed us of quiet times to dream and create. Add to this the fact that we have so much information and entertainment available to us and one soon sees why most of us are quite content to absorb someone else's imagination as we settle in for a night of television, movies, or video games. Most are content to listen to music rather than compose; read books rather than write; view movies rather than produce; and critique art rather than create. Perhaps you are one who has thought about using your imagination and becoming more creative. Can we cultivate an imagination? The good news is that we can. Think of imagination as an ability to play. When I was young I had no problem imagining that my bicycle was a space-ship on which I cruised through the solar system. I could use it to visit interesting planets and lost civilizations. When I was bored with another afternoon on the farm I could readily invent something that was far more interesting than dirt roads and fields of grain. My mind could transform these into other places, other times, and other creatures. Trees became jungles, barn-cats became fierce carnivorous beasts, and a granary roof the look-out for a castle. How could I be bored when I was capable of seeing all of these things in a single day?

Dorothy L. Sayers, in an interview, once explained how, at a certain point, she was discontented with her life and so she created a character in one of her novels that had all of the things she wished for. 

Lord Peter's large income... I deliberately gave him... After all it cost me nothing and at the time I was particularly hard up and it gave me pleasure to spend his fortune for him. When I was dissatisfied with my single unfurnished room I took a luxurious flat for him in Piccadilly. When my cheap rug got a hole in it, I ordered him an Aubusson carpet. When I had no money to pay my bus fare I presented him with a Daimler double-six, upholstered in a style of sober magnificence, and when I felt dull I let him drive it. I can heartily recommend this inexpensive way of furnishing to all who are discontented with their incomes. It relieves the mind and does no harm to anybody.[1]

What an amazing way to explain her process. I think I would have enjoyed spending an afternoon learning from Sayers. That too is another way to spark imagination: spend time with those who are creative. C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield, and other writers were known to spend time together at a public house known as "The Eagle and Child" in Oxford. The group was known as "The Inklings" and they read each other's works and inspired each other's imaginations. If you want to write books it certainly can't hurt to hang out with those who already write. Spending time with authors and song writers is a great way to stimulate your own creative gifts. Perhaps imagination and creativity are not expressed in every person. That is likely what makes them such precious gifts. Yet, I am convinced that more of us are capable of imagination than the ones who actually go on to express their creativity. What projects lie dormant in your heart? What might come of dusting off your imagination?

---

[1] Barbara Reynolds, Dorothy L. Sayers: Her Life and Soul, p. 230.

Quotations

"I always have a quotation for everything - it saves original thinking."
- Lord Peter Wimsey (a character in Dorothy L. Sayers' detective novels)

Good Work

When I grew up in Western Canada there was a weekly CBC television show called "Marketplace." The theme song was sung by Stompin' Tom Connors and the lyrics I most remember said,

The Consumer, they call us,
We're the people that buy
While everyone else is out to sell
Some kind of merchandise
Another sale on something,
We'll buy it while it's hot
And save a lot of money spending money we don't got
We'll save a lot of money spending money we don't got

Oh, yes we are the people
Running in the race,
Buying up the bargains in the old marketplace,
Another sale on something,
We'll buy it while it's hot
And save a lot of money spending money we don't got
We'll save a lot of money spending money we don't got

 

It was only a snippet of a longer song that spoke of the difficulties of the working population who were trying to pay their bills, get a good deal, buy quality products, borrow more money, and generally get a fair shake. Stompin' Tom was using his platform as a folk-singer to say some of the same things Dorothy Sayers said in a 1942 essay entitled "Why Work?". She says,

A society in which consumption has to be artificially stimulated in order to keep production going is a society founded on trash and waste, and such a society is a house built upon sand.

Nearly seventy years later, I wonder if we have learned anything from Dorothy Sayers'  important essay. Indeed, have we learned anything from Connors' folk song? Or are we simply "saving a lot of money spending money we don't got?" As economies of the world plunge to new depths and we wonder how it will affect our country and our jobs, politicians encourage us to see things as "business as usual." We continue to consume more than we can afford and individually and collectively go more and more in debt. We are told that it is just a temporary slowdown in the economy. "It will all get back to normal if we put our nation first. But the trouble with normal is it always gets worse."* We spiral into more debt and consume more to stimulate our flat economy.
Sayers suggests,

Whatever we do, we shall be faced with grave difficulties. That cannot be disguised. But
it will make a great difference to the result if we are genuinely aiming at a real change in
economic thinking. . . . The habit of thinking about work as something one does to make money is so ingrained in us that we can scarcely imagine what a revolutionary change it would be to think about it instead in terms of the work done. To do so would mean taking the attitude of mind we reserve for our unpaid work – our hobbies, our leisure interests, the things we make and do for pleasure – and making that the standard of all our judgments about things and people. We should ask of an enterprise, not “will it pay?” but “is it good?”; of a man, not “what does he make?” but “what is his work worth?”; of goods, not “Can we induce people to buy them?” but “are they useful things well made?”; of employment, not “how much a week?” but “will it exercise my faculties to the utmost?” And shareholders in – let us say – brewing companies, would astonish the directorate by arising at shareholders’ meeting and demanding to know, not merely where the profits go or what dividends are to be paid, not even merely whether the workers’ wages are sufficient and the conditions of labor satisfactory, but loudly and with a proper sense of personal responsibility: “What goes into the beer?”

Sayers is reminding us that our jobs are about more than money; they are about producing a good product. We ought to "clamor to be engaged in work that was worth doing, and in which we could take pride." Work is to be about making a difference in the world. I wonder if we might try that for a while.


*Bruce Cockburn, "The Trouble With Normal."