“He [the Enemy] wants men, so far as I can see, to ask very simple questions; is it righteous? Is it prudent? Is it possible? Now if we can keep men asking ‘Is it in accordance with the general movement of our time? is it progressive or reactionary? Is this the way that History is going?’ they will neglect the relevant questions.”
The Screwtape Letters
I don’t know if they changed my perspective on life, but they certainly had a large impact on me. I read them both when I was a freshman in College and perhaps they helped inoculate me against the skepticism as to religion that college can bring.
Put your books in the comboxes.
“Centuries old, but recently widened, the highway was the same road used by pagan armies, pilgrims, peasants, donkey carts, nomads, wild horsemen out of the east, artillery, tanks, and ten-ton trucks. Its traffic gushed or trickled or dripped, according to the age and season. Once before, long ago, there had been six lanes and robot traffic. Then the traffic had stopped, the paving had cracked, and sparse grass grew in the cracks after an occasional rain. Dust had covered it. Desert dwellers had dug up its broken concrete for the building of hovels and barricades. Erosion made it a desert trail, crossing wilderness. But now there were six lanes and robot traffic, as before.”
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Life of Christ by Bishop Sheen. Read it when I was about 19-20. Did more to take me out of the “Jesus is cool/wise/my pal” mindset I was marinated in – and it has also brought a heavy influence in the classroom.