Reflection Essay

So I've been going crazy over school, and I haven't had the time to blog at all. Since I've been really occupied with school, I figured I'd post an essay I wrote. This is a Reflection Essay on Mere Christianity and it's from my Inklings Class.

Mere Christianity

Reflect on what Dualism is and why C. S. Lewis believes it is an inferior point of view to Christianity.

According to Lewis, Dualism and Christianity are the only two religions that “face all the facts” (42). When Lewis refers to the facts that Dualism and Christianity face, he is referring to the traits of reality. Lewis states that reality is never simple, but it is in fact complicated and odd and that all other religions besides Dualism and Christianity fail to meet these criteria (40-42). He goes on to describes the Christian viewpoint by stating “that this is a good world that has gone wrong, but [the Christian view] still retains the memory of what it [the world] ought to have been”, and defines Dualism as “the belief that there are two equal and independent powers at the back of everything, one of them good and the other bad” (42). The topic posed has two parts to it. What is Dualism? And why does Lewis believe it is an inferior belief when compared to Christianity?
In Mere Christianity Lewis only defines Dualism as a belief in which there are equal and opposite good and bad powers, but he does not explain why Dualism is not a simple religion, and why it “faces all the facts” (42-43). Lewis does go on to describe the two powers by saying that the opposing powers are independent, that one did not create the other, that nothing created them, and that each of them thinks it is good and the other is bad (42). By Lewis’ definition, Dualism seems like a simple religion, as does Christianity for that matter, yet, with closer and deeper consideration of the particular doctrines of both religions, they become complicated and odd. Complication and peculiarity are both defined by Lewis as traits of reality (41). If these two ideologies face all the facts and comply with reality’s standard of complication, which one is correct?
This question ties in with the second portion of the topic, why does Lewis believe that Dualism is inferior compared to Christianity? The fallacy in Dualism begins with the simple act of calling one of these two powers good, and the other bad. Lewis says, “the moment you say that [that one force is good and the other bad], you are putting into the universe a third thing in addition to the two Powers: some law or standard or rule of good by which one of the powers conforms to and the other fails to conform to” (43). Because the two powers are judged by this standard, it suddenly makes this law or the Someone who made the law higher up than these two original powers; and then you come to the conclusion that this Someone is a God, and before you know it, the very basis for Dualism crumbles (43). This then begs the question: does Christianity cope with this standard of behavior and the Someone behind it that Dualism cannot explain? The answer is, of course, yes. This Someone behind the law is the very basis for the Christian faith.

Top 25 Guitarists of All Time

So... I was pretty horrified with RS's list of top 100 guitarist of all time, so I thought I'd make my own little list, except minimize it to 25. So here goes...


1. Jimi Hendrix

2. BB King

3. Eric Clapton

4. Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones

5. Jimmy Paige of Led Zepplin

6. Kirk Hammett of Metallica

7. Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band

8. Chuck Berry

9. Stevie Ray Vaughn

10. Steve Vai

11. Yngwie Malmsteen

12. Herman Li of Dragonforce

13. Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen

14. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana

15. John Frusciante of The Red Hot Chili Peppers

16. Tom Morrello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave

17. George Harrison of The Beatles

18. Les Paul

19. Brian May of Queen

20. Joe Perry of Aerosmith

21. Pete Townshend of The Who

22. Jonathan Cain of Journey

23. Angus Young of AC/DC

24. David Gilmore of Pink Floyd

25. Orianthi - This one is a surprise, but amazing guitarists are not limited to guys


So there you have it. I probably missed a couple, or mixed them up, but I've gone over it a couple times, so if I have missed someone plz lemme know.