A Night of Epiphanies

Hosted byIan Punnett

A Night of Epiphanies

About the show

Ian Punnett hosted an evening of Open Lines which featured the theme of epiphanies and how they changed callers' lives. Dave in Hamilton, Ontario, recounted a hunting incident, which he called "such a ghastly experience" that it forever altered the course of his life. He explained that he had shot and killed a robin and then saw that another bird had flown down and was "looking down forlornly" at its fallen mate. Not wanting to make the heartbroken bird suffer, he then shot that one as well. So ashamed of his actions, Dave said, he has since stopped killing all creatures, even flies and mosquitoes.

Harry from Pleasanton, Texas, recalled how he'd finished up work late one night and stopped for some takeout food. On the way home, he spied a homeless man trying to find refuge from the harsh weather. Harry gave him his food and the homeless man expressed thanks, saying, "I'll pray for you tonight, sir." The parting words deeply resonated with Harry as he laid comfortably in bed that night. "Here's a man who had nothing, needed everything, full of despair, and he was thinking of me and he said his prayers for me," Harry said, "the impact it made on me was that no matter how desperate we are in life ... we'll always have the one thing that all of us need to help our fellow man and that is the capacity for compassion."

The Life of C.S. Lewis

First hour guest Will Vaus discussed the life of legendary author C.S. Lewis and how a religious conversion changed the course of his writing career. Vaus explained that Lewis had been brought up religious but rejected God after his mother had died. He went go on to have an early career as a poet, yet, according to Vaus, felt a "deep experience of longing in his life for something that wasn't being satisfied by anything in this world." Lewis would be persuaded to reexamine his faith and, subsequently, his writing entered the fictional realm where he'd pen classics such as The Chronicles of Narnia series.

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