Luther and Lewis

For to praise the Lord with gladness is not a work of man; it is rather a joyful suffering and the work of God alone. It cannot be taught in words but must be learned in one’s own experience.—Martin Luther, Magnificat, AE 21:302

I found the famous saying, attributed to Gregory [whose commemoration we celebrate today!], that our use of secular culture was comparable to the action of the Israelites going down to the Philistines to have their knives sharpened. This seems to me a most satisfactory argument as far as it goes, and very relevant to modern conditions. If we are to convert our heathen neighbours, we must understand their culture. We must ‘beat them at their own game.’—C. S. Lewis, Business of Heaven, p. 224.