NEW THIS SUMMER:
SECOND FRIENDS C.S.LEWIS AND RONALD KNOX IN CONVERSATION by Milton Walsh
C.S.Lewis and Ronald Knox were two of the most popular authors of Christian apologetics in the twentieth century ... and for many years they were neighbors in Oxford. In Second Friends, Milton Walsh delves into their writings and compares their views on a variety of compelling topics, such as the existence of God, the divinity of Christ, the problem of suffering, miracles, the way of Love, the role of religion in society, prayer, and more. They both bring to the conversation a passionate love of truth, clarity of thought, and a wonderful wit.
Lewis and Knox both experienced powerful conversions to the Christian faith, an important aspect that Walsh covers in detail. Both wrote about their conversion experiences because they wanted to explain to others why they took that life-changing step. They each valued logical thinking, and they professed that the Christian faith should be embraced, not only because it is good, but because it is true. Reason provides the intellectual foundation of belief for both authors.
For both these apologists, Christianity is much more than a doctrinal system: it is above all a personal relationship with Christ that entails romance, struggle, and loyalty. A common adjective applied to Lewis and Knox as writers was "imaginative". They saw lack of imagination as a great hurdle to faith, and they believed that imagination is a privileged path leading to a deeper apprehension of the truth.
Lewis and Knox, while convinced that the Christian faith rested on sound reason and that it fulfilled the deepest human longings, also knew that God is a mystery - and so is the human heart. In the face of these twin mysteries, Milton Walsh shows that both men approached their evangelizing efforts in a spirit of humility, as he explores how they appealed to the mind, the heart, and the imagination in presenting the Christian faith.
THE MONSIGNOR AND THE DON: an interview with Father Walsh
Msgr.Cormac Burke has posted the entire New Testament - as translated by Msgr.Ronald Knox - online. But here's the twist: he has carefully changed 'Thou' and 'Thine' to 'You' and 'Yours'.
Msgr. Burke explains: "The past 40 years have seen a welter of English translations of the Bible. One appears to have been quite lost in this biblical multiplication: that of Ronald Knox which was so immensely popular from its publication in 1944 to the mid-1960s. My own reaction to it had been enthusiastic, yet maybe somewhat ambivalent: I found it very readable, very inspiring, and at times a bit debatable...
In any case it descended into practical oblivion after Vatican II. It might - and perhaps should - have survived if Knox had not made the mistake, as I now see it, of sticking to the "thou" forms throughout.
Some time back, seeing the very varied quality of the new versions, I began to wonder if Knox, in "you" form, might not be of interest and help to some people. So I began to while away odd moments by "you-ing" his New Testament (I have a good program for such a task). With "you" etc. throughout, many passages seemed to take on a new freshness and interest.
Now, more than a year after its first appearance on my website, I find that the 'you' version has drawn more interest than I ever anticipated. One reader makes a comment worth transcribing. For him, the Ronald Knox translations, "somehow combine clarity with mystery: I mean they are easy enough to understand and they still have that majesty of language which constantly reminds the reader that these words concern much more than the everyday".
It is an opinion that may have particular application to the pauline epistles. Regarding these I do recall some early critic who, while conceding that Msgr. Knox had certainly made St. Paul intelligible (he was at times barely so in the old Douai-Rheims version), still doubted whether Knox's version really makes Paul say what he actually wanted to say... I am not scripture scholar enough to resolve the question; but am sure that the same doubt can be made extensive to quite a few more recent versions.
In consequence, the more the present spare-time activity progresses, the greater my impression that something old has in a small but important way become new again. If so, the endeavor is not totally useless.
In any case, may "Ronnie" forgive me from his heavenly abode, if he does not approve of my efforts. But I would not like to see any of his masterly and inspiring prose being thrust aside because of a few pronouns or adjectives here and there."
FOR THE YEAR OF ST.PAUL:
The Catholic Truth Society has republished a series of Lenten talks by Ronald Knox entitled St.Paul's Gospel. These sermons are included in Pastoral and Occasional Sermons but this new CTS edition is a nice, inexpensive introduction to Knox - if you happen to be in the vicinity of Westminster Cathedral & the CTS bookstore!