I have the greatest admiration for Os Guinness, a brilliant author and social critic who’s written or edited more than 30 books. I first came to appreciate Os when he worked with one of my favorite authors Francis Schaeffer at L’Abri in Switzerland. While there, living with Francis and his wife Edith, Os wrote his remarkable book The Dust of Death. When Os and I were both speaking at a C. S. Lewis conference in Oxford years ago, Nanci and I had a delightful dinner with him and his wonderful wife Jenny. (More about her and her amazing story at the end of this blog.)
I was struck by this quote from a message that Os, now 83 years old, gave earlier this year about the need for cultural-spiritual renewal in the West. This moved my heart:
We’re at the showdown moment in Western Civilization. Will the radical revolutions regenerate society as they promised, or not? Will the secular enlightenment of liberalism encourage humanity to go forward and progress with reason alone without God, or not? But also…the God of Sinai, the God of the burning bush, the God of the burning mountain, and our Lord with the call of Galilee—are these things true, or not? The Christian faith will not do anything for civilization if it’s viewed as useful. It will do nothing for civilization if we turn it into a psychological version of whatever. It will only be true and effective if it’s understood to be true and you have enough people who are citizens who have an ultimate loyalty to what they see as ultimate reality.
Os also said, “Humans need three things on a personal level: meaning, belonging, and purpose. And there are no deeper answers than the Christian faith, rooted in Judaism.”
Watch the full message here. It’s just 15 minutes long and well worth your time:
Going back to that dinner that Nanci and I had with Os and Jenny Guinness, it also included a driving tour of Oxford, which was unforgettable since Os is a great historian. (We drank wine at dinner, and I had to comment on that because his great-great-great grandfather was Arthur Guinness, the founder of Guinness beer, the Dublin brewery!)
Before our meeting, Nanci was curious about Jenny, wondering how she would dress for the dinner, so she looked her up and found out she had been a cover girl for Vogue magazine. Nanci thought maybe she’d feel totally outclassed, but Jenny turned out to be a gracious sister in Jesus, and she and Nanci really hit it off. There was much laughter, most of it involving Nanci. We had a wonderful time, the way believers can spend only one evening together and yet feel a permanent friendship has been forged, to be renewed in Heaven or on the New Earth. Memories like that, with people in places all over the world, make me miss Nanci all the more and long for the great reunion!
Read Jenny’s testimony here. Or if you want to see her compelling intellectual and cultural insights as well as hear her journey to faith from her immersion in the world of fashion, see this remarkable video. If you listen to it, you may well think of unbelieving friends who could be reached through her powerful story. Os also tells her story in his 2023 book Signals of Transcendence.
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