Mike Bliley: Alternate Topic 4

Any Person, Dead or Alive

            The question itself has been used and used and overused…”If you could have lunch with any person in history, dead or alive, who would it be and why?” Up until this class, I would never have considered an author – even my favorite author, Kurt Vonnegut, would almost surely be a depressing lunch date – but after taking this class, I would be inclined to throw C. S. Lewis into the discussion (although, admittedly, he would have staff competition in Freddie Mercury, Richard Pryor, and Jesus).

            I think it is certainly worth throwing him in the discussion, though. Think of all the things you could talk about! You could literally just say “hey, so…uhh, tell me what it was like writing The Chronicles of Narnia,” and then just sit back and listen for the next seven hours. You could ask him about his experience with the war, as well as his various religious experiences. His journey to Christianity alone would create so much dialogue; the only thing more interesting than hearing of his transformation from Anglican to Atheism would be hearing of his journey from Atheism to Christianity. Certainly, having that conversation would shed further light on some of his stories. I would personally argue against a view he made in Mere Christianity, where he states that you must either argue that Jesus is divine or a lunatic, and that no third option of “he was a great teacher, but not divine” exists. In fact, if Lewis didn’t get at least a little bit riled up, the lunch date would not be successful.

            But the more I think about it, there are so many other alternatives. Frank Turner, perhaps? Or how about Hines Ward? Perhaps Sasha DiGiulian…Or maybe I’d pick C. S. Lewis after all!

Nope, DEFINITELY Sasha DiGiulian.