Viewpoint

There are many different ways to look at any one thing. The question is which way is the right one or are there more than one right view. C.S. Lewis writes in “Meditation in a Toolshed” about the difference in the experience vantage point and the on lookers view.  He points out that in his time that it was accepted fact that the rational view of the outsider was accepted over the view of experience. Now, it seems that the world has switched its view. How are we to decide when one view is more correct then the other? Sometimes, it is obvious that one choice is clearly truer than the other, but others the truth cannot be understood without both vantage points. Lewis explains that feelings like pain can only be viewed from the outside after the experience from the inside, but things like religion do not need that unique quality. People can criticize religion from the outside, but they can never then fully understand it. Without fully living in and accepting religion, the judgment passed is just one viewpoint—a distorted version of reality. However, the same is true of life long believers. Without the consideration of the view from the outside, belief is confined to one view distorting it just as the reverse way. To grasp a fuller understanding in faith, both view must be seen and considered and embraced. This will also help a believer to share God's Word in a more effective way if they can understand the viewpoint of those they are trying to share it with.