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(From Hymn 8 on the Nativity)

Mary gained in You, O Lord, the honours of all married women. She conceived [You] within her without marriage. There was milk in her breasts, not after the way of nature. You made the thirsty land suddenly a fountain of milk.

If she carried You, Your mighty look made her burden light; if she gave You to eat, it was because You were hungry; if she gave You to drink [it was], because You were thirsty; willingly if she embraced You, You, the coal of mercies, kept her bosom safe.

A wonder is Your Mother. The Lord entered her, and became a servant: the Word entered her, and became silent within her; thunder entered her, and His voice was still: the Shepherd of all entered her; He became a Lamb in her, and came forth bleating.

The Womb of Your Mother changed the order of things, O You that orders all! The rich went in, He came out poor: the High One went in, He came out lowly. Brightness went into her and clothed Himself, and came forth a despised form.

The Mighty went in, and clad Himself with weakness from the Womb. He that gives food to all went in, and gained hunger. He that gives all to drink went in, and gained thirst. Naked and bare came forth from her the Clother of all…

How meek are You! How mighty are You, O Child! Your judgment is mighty, Your love is sweet! Who can stand against You? Your Father is in Heaven, Your Mother is on earth; who shall declare You?

If a man should seek after Your Nature, it is hidden in Heaven in the mighty Bosom of the Godhead; and if a man seek after Your visible Body, it is laid down before their eyes in the lowly bosom of Mary.

The mind wanders between Your generations, O Rich One! Thick folds are upon Your Godhead. Who can sound Your depths, You great Sea that made itself little?

We come to see You as God, and, lo! You are a man: we come to see You as man, and there shines forth the Light of Your Godhead!

Who would believe that You are the Heir of David’s Throne? A manger have You inherited out of [all] his beds, a cave has come down to You out of all his palaces. Instead of his chariots a common ass’s colt, perchance, comes down to You.

How fearless are You, O Babe, that does let all have you [to carry]: upon every one that meets with You do You smile: to every one that sees You, are You gladsome! Your love is as one that hungers after humans.

You make no distinction between Your fathers and strangers, nor Your Mother and maidservants, nor her that suckled You and the unclean. Was it Your forwardness or Your love, O You that loves all?

What moves You that You let all that saw You have You, both rich and poor? You helped them that called You not. Whence came it that You hungered so for people?

How great was Your love, that if one rebuked You, You were not angry! If a man threatened You, You were not terrified! If one hissed at You, You did not feel vexed! You are above the laws of the avengers of injuries.

Moses was meek, and [yet] his zeal was harsh, for he struggled and slew. Elisha also, who restored a child to life, tore a multitude of children in pieces by bears. Who are You, O Child, whose love is greater than that of the Prophets?

Term Paper Topics

Choice A:

The Argument of Mere Christianity and The Abolition of Man.

In this paper, compare and contrast Mere Christianity (Books 1 and 2) and The Abolition of Man. It is suggested that you divide the paper as such: Synopsis & Analysis of MC, Synopsis & Analysis of AM, Comparison and contrast of the works

The Synopsis & Analysis MC

Summarize the overall argument of Book 1 and then of Book 2 of Mere Christianity. Here you will want to consider:

• What are the main arguments underpinning Lewiss reasoning in these respective sections? Can certain principles that Lewis relies upon for an overall argument be identified? Is there an overall arc and coherence in his logic, or is he just speaking about various topics that are only loosely related?
• What are the strongest points made? Here you may consider highlighting the most illuminating analogies.
• What are weaknesses with his line of thought? Does Lewis overstate his case? Does he make any logical errors?

The Synopsis & Analysis AM

Summarize the overall argument of The Abolition of Man. Here you will want to consider:

• What are the main arguments underpinning Lewiss reasoning in each respective section? Can certain principles that Lewis relies upon for an overall argument be identified? Is there an overall arc and coherence in his logic, or is he just speaking about various topics that are only loosely related?
• What are the strongest points made? Here you may consider highlighting the most illuminating analogies.
• What are weaknesses with his line of thought? Does Lewis overstate his case? Does he make any logical errors?

Comparison & contrast

Compare and contrast the works.

• Beyond the obvious differences in genre, (one is based on radio broadcasts, the other lectures based on a book review), what are the major differences in these works? Is Lewis logically consistent between the works?
• In what sense are these two works fundamentally related (or are they?)? How do they complement each other? How can they be viewed in light of Lewiss critique of the philosophical undercurrents in his society? Are they still relevant today? Explain.

Choice B:

The Past, the Present, and the Future: STL and MC

In C.S. Lewis The Screwtape Letters, Screwtape argues that man best serves his Creator when he concentrates on the present and on eternity, but that focusing on the future is always to the advantage of the Father Below. Why does he say this? Do you agree with his argument? Why or why not? Incorporate elements from Mere Christianity regarding creation, the present, and eternity into your answer.

Choice C:

Movie / Novel Comparison

Select one of the contemporary cinematographic renditions of The Chronicles of Narnia: a) The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005) b) Prince Caspian (2008) c) Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

And answer ONLY ONE of the following questions.

Plot development: has the narrative arc been altered; if so, to what end? Here you might consider omissions, additions, re-arrangement of material, and so forth. In your conclusion may wish to assess the faithfulness (or lackthereof) to the original text, and consider whether or not the film rendition succeeds in bringing the written text to life.

Assessing Character: pick a particular character or a group of characters (such as the dwarves). Briefly sketch the character(s) as described by Lewis. Analyze how they are re-presented in the film. Consider in particular: is this essentially the same character or has the director created something altogether different here? Given the limits of the medium of film, does the cinematographic version a succeed in animating this character(s)?

Scene critic: Given what Lewis has said about literature and its aims, can the film really re-present the text without jeopardizing Lewiss purpose in writing the book? Here you can pick either the affirmative or negative position. Begin by briefly discussing Lewiss thoughts on fantasy literature and myth. Then focus on a few pertinent scenes from the film and assess whether or not they capture the thrust of the text. You may even include a prediction on how Lewis may have reacted to these scenes as you conclude the paper.

Choice D:

The Inklings: Creation in Tolkien and Lewis

Without Tolkien, it is likely that Lewis would not have come to the Christian faith when he did. Without Lewis, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings may never have been published. Briefly discuss the interdependence of these authors and how they influenced one another before assessing the creation stories of Tolkien and Lewis. Consider particularly the Ainulindal and the act of creation in The Silmarillion and in The Magicians Nephew. How do these differ? In what ways are they similar? Finally, what insights can be garnered regarding how these respective visions of creation influence how we now view the world?

Choice E:

Aslan Rocks

C.S. Lewis wrote in an eclectic range of genres. Lewis also inspired other artists captivated by his imaginative works. Switchfoot front man, Jon Foreman, makes the following comments regarding his song This is Home made for the song track to the movie version of Prince Caspian.This is a song for me that was inspired by [Lewis who] wrote a book called Prince Caspian, that they turned into a movie and we wrote a song for that. But I tried to remember what it was like when I was a kid when my dad used to read me these storieswriting from that perspective. So just in this next song, were all 13, or 12, maybe 9 years old.

Select a Switchfoot song, [This is Home or Where We Belong would work well] and a) provide a brief analysis and summary of the lyrics; b) explain how the song connects to Lewisian themes studied this term whether from Narnia or other works, and c) evaluate Foremans assertion. (i.e. is this song consonant with Lewisian themes, does it do justice to Lewis thought, or is it only loosely related, if at all).

Term Paper Guideline & Rubric

Essays are to be 5-6 pages in length and must be formatted in 12-point Times New Roman and double-spaced.

Citations and bibliography must adhere to a standard citation style. The Chicago style as well as APA or MLA are consider acceptable.

Title page and bibliography do not count towards page-count.

Papers will be graded on the basis of Understanding and Organization, Supporting Evidence, Effective Use of Resources, and Conventions (see rubric below).

Two or more secondary sources should be referenced in the work. Ensure sources are academic (i.e. from a scholarly source or peer-reviewed published author).

Do not email your submission. Please submit it below.

Early submissions are acceptable.

Please submit the work in .doc or docx. or in a Word compatible format. If you use google docs, please download the file as a in word compatible format as such:

• Name the file Last Name_First Name_242 format. For instance, Lewis_Jack_242.doc

The grading rubric below will be used for the Term Paper and is out of 24. The weighting of the Term Paper for your overall grade is 30%.

Christology Discussion

One of Robinettes final paragraphs states: In sum, then, in Jesus Christ, the fullness of God is expressed in human form. He not only most fully and definitively reveals God to human beings, but he also reveals the fulfillment of the human person. He is humanity at its most actualized, precisely because he is united with God. As a human person, he is God with us, Emmanuel (Matt 1:23) (p. 124). Given what you have read in Chapter 4, what is Robinette saying here about Jesus? What are some key words from the chapter that you had to look up in the dictionary (or are new to you) and what do they mean? What is a key learning for you, from the chapter, and how would you teach it to your students?