Foster’s Celebration: inspiration with a lower-case “i”

Christians have a tendency to canonize certain books, imbuing a select few authors with Saint Paul-like authority.

Despite that pesky stipulation at the end of Revelation, which promises a plague for adding to Scripture, some believers seem as if they would love to sandwich Lewis’ Mere Christianity between Luke and Acts, or insert Foster’s Celebration of Discipline somewhere in the minor prophets (a nice break from all that doom, gloom and messianic sermonizing).

While Lewis and Foster ARE pearls in a sea of bad Christian writing, it’s clear that they belong in the Bible no more than, say, John Eldridge and his wild heart.

So why do the eyes of some Christians sparkle at the mere mention of Lewis and Foster? And why do their books seem to put the “core” in Eastern’s corecurriculum?

“They’re classic texts” Julie Vermeer Elliot, the unofficial “dean” of INST 150, said. “When Christianity Today did a survey among their readers of the top 100 books of the 20th century, Celebration and Mere Christianity were in the top ten.”

Elliot feels that many students come to Eastern with an emotionally driven faith, but without training in discipline and reason. Requiring Lewis and Foster in the curriculum is designed to be the antidote.