Why I Chose My Name

In Oxford, England, during the 1930s and 1940s, an unofficial club was started. I say it was unofficial because in the words of W. H. Lewis, "Properly speaking, the Inklings, was neither a club nor a literary society, though it partook of the nature of both. There were no rules, officers, agendas, or formal elections.” The Inklings were a group of men that met in C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien's rooms at Oxford University. These men were devoted to God, literature, learning, and imagination.
In this little group, the men were perfectly themselves. It was a place of confidence and honesty. They were each others critics; many of them being authors. Many unfinished manuscripts were read and some were mocked, others were praised. No matter what the response though there was a comfortable air. Here one could open his soul and no one would judge him for it.
This was also a place of discussion. Everyman has his own opinion and here they could air them. There were often differences, but they all listened and all were given the opportunity to talk. "It is an Inkling's duty to be bored willingly. It is his privilege to be a borer on occasion... But Lord save you all! I don't find myself in any need of practicing forbearance towards any of you - save on the rarest occasions when I myself am tired and exhausted...I want noise often enough. I know no more pleasant sound than arriving at the B. and B. and hearing a roar, and knowing that one can plunge in," wrote J. R. R. Tolkien in a letter.
All were lovers of knowledge. There is a great appeal in knowledge. A sense of self-sufficiency and satisfaction. With knowledge you do not need to rely upon what the media says. C. S. Lewis put it quite simplistically, "The scholar has lived in many times and is therefore to some degree immune from the great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press of his own age."
I named my blog Inkling Society because it resembles what I think our relationships should look like. We should be so open with our brothers and sisters in Christ that we can share our deepest secrets and dreams, we can have agreements and disagreements. We can think for ourselves and learn from the past. We can love to learn and learn to love.