Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an Eastern Orthodox author who is at least somewhat known among conservative converts. I grew up reading C.S. Lewis, and have read about 90% of everything he wrote, and that cannot but have an effect. My readership finds my writing familiar. Perhaps surprising at times; one kind reviewer wrote about one of my titles “A collection of joyful, challenging, insightful, intelligent, mirthful and jarring essays written by an Eastern Orthodox author who is much too wise for his years.”
Orthodox who grew up reading C.S. Lewis may find my writing something they can relate to; on Facebook I gave my name as Christos Jonathan Seth Hayward, and people have condensed that to CSH, i.e. “C.S. Hayward.” I’m deeply honored.
As to how many books I have written, it’s a lot. My “C.J.S. Hayward: The Complete Works” series, available from https://cshayward.com/cws, has eleven volumes of around 500 pages each. I’m prolific as a writer.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my last real title is “Orthodox Theology and Technology: A Profoundly Gifted Autobiography.” In spiritual direction, my director noted that one of the chief things I seem to have to offer the conversation is about the humane use of technology, in which regard I agree with Humane Tech but go much further in talking about how to master technologies that will surely master us if we do not master them.
One friend and co-worker a decade back talked about how she felt as if she was becoming attached to a computer keyboard. Now we’re glued to mobile devices that are always with us, and it’s an impressive feat just not to check a mobile device constantly.
I’m not aiming to have any real kind of last word on use of technology that is tamed by Orthodox spiritual practices, but I am trying to put in a good first word that can help a discussion get rolling. Bacon said “Truth arises more quickly from error than confusion,” and if I have succeeded I’ve provided a good dartboard for people to shoot at and then realize how they can improve their aim.
People often like to get to meet the person behind a book or series of books, and D. Donovan at the Midwest Book Review said that my autobiography would be an attractive offer to people who like my kind of work already, and people who like writing autobiographies. She wrote:
“Orthodox Theology and Technology
CJS Hayward
CJS Hayward Publications
979-8584713522
$7.99 Paper/$.99 Kindle
“Orthodox Theology and Technology: A Profoundly Gifted Autobiography will attract two different kinds of readers: those interested in orthodox theology and its intersection with technology and personal life, and autobiography readers (especially those with some prior familiarity with CJS Hayward’s weighty, expansive writings and reflections). It includes the kind of work that has drawn from prior readers responses of, “When I read it, I was stunned.”
“At a little over a hundred pages, this presentation will prove especially inviting for busy readers with only a cursory interest in Orthodoxy or Hayward.
“Orthodox Theology and Technology opens with Hayward’s musings about his life and work. His retrospective on life is explored in a ‘Dear Reader’ letter that moves from his teachings about math’s simple beauty to how he has struggled “to become more human” in his approaches to (and perception of) life, theology, and everything in-between.
“It will immediately become evident to readers that although Hayward’s musings are quite accessible, they are also filled with observations that embrace philosophical, psychological, and theological reflection. Thus, they are weighty reading even when they strive for language and descriptions to attract a casual reader. Furthermore, they offer a unique encounter with the kind of mind that most readers encounter only in books written long ago and far away.
“Orthodox Theology and Technology is no light collection of life encounters, but a deeply personal inspection of self and the spiritual works that drive relationships with God. Hayward is candid about his admittance of successes and failures in both arenas, as well as the impact of such writings on those who seek wisdom and faith: “I believe there is some merit in these pieces, but not that much: if they say something that needs to be said, they are limited to winning an argument. Theology can win an argument and some of the best theology is meant to win an argument, but the purpose of real theological writing is to draw people into the presence of God. These pieces may say something valuable, but they do not really do the job of theology: beckon the reader to worship before the throne of God.” The effect is, at times, mesmerizing.
“It’s important to note that this survey of Hayward’s life focuses on his scholarly and spiritual revelations at different points of his studies. This is no light romp through childhood and adult years, but a thought-provoking examination of the major influences on and developments of his intellectual pursuits. There is something here for everyone to take away, and the reading is meant to be rewarding to many different kinds of readers.
“As such, it’s a critical discussion of his involvement in mathematics and Orthodoxy that juxtaposes “a mathematician’s approach to relating” with broader inspections of college studies, interactions with professors and peers, and the overall contributions of his evolving psyche and scholarly studies on the foundations of life perceptions which translated to his writing a series of books inspecting Orthodoxy’s place in his world. This may seem very esoteric, but the book offers a real, live glimpse into such a world of mysticism and brilliance.
“Some might deem these discussions wide-ranging ramblings; but for those truly interested in the foundations of Orthodox thinking and the influence of education on the pursuit of God and character, Orthodox Theology and Technology offers a window into how this passion and pursuit evolved against different kinds of obstacles. Readers looking for wonder will find many wonders are to be found in these works.
“Additionally, as the end of the cyber-quarantine increasingly draws near, this book offers exceptional food for thought about “Do we really want to live this way?”
“Anyone with an interest in Orthodoxy in general and Hayward’s influences in particular should begin with Orthodox Theology and Technology before pursuing his other works. It is fascinating, providing a foundation for understanding, and a sense of his voice that will prove keys to a better appreciation of his writings.”
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can only write my best work under what a bard might call awen: a sense of spiritual inspiration and a spiritual discipline that is at once wrestling with the work to master it and a struggle with myself to clear myself out of the way. I cannot summon the inspiration at will, and I cannot simply decide to write things in my best work. This allowed me, for instance, to write “The Consolation of Theology” at https://cjshayward.com/consolation/ downwind of the classic “The Consolation of Philosophy,” but I cannot write a classic at will.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Outside of the Bible, the great English language apologists: C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, and more recently Orthodox orators like St. John Chrysostom. To read C.S. Lewis is to imbibe the tradition of medieval rhetoric. I have also read Simon Lancaster, who had a TED talk at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGBamfWasNQ and it was useful to read how an opposing school approaches rhetoric. However, I am grateful that even if I find Simon Lancaster fascinating, I have drunk long and deep at the wells of medieval rhetoric that pour out in C.S. Lewis. Perhaps I should turn to more like St. John Chrysostom and his “Treatise to Prove that No One Can Harm the Man Who Does Not Injure Himself” at a Fathers site I set up at https://orthodoxchurchfathers.com/fathers/npnf109/npnf1037.htm.
What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on trying to fill out an interview for at least some of my (mumble) books. And getting my room clean.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
One of the most important SEO tips out there is to write interesting and compelling works that people will want to link to. All of my essential collection is available on my website at https://cjshayward.com; and I have changed the links from “Buy on Amazon” to “Own it in Paper”, as at least some of my readers think my writing is worth owning in paper. I get about $100 more from Amazon after doing this.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I wrote great lengths of incomprehensible work that has been lost except at the NSA’s archives, and I’m glad it’s lost. It took me a really, really long time to write things that people can understand, and I don’t always do well. Practice writing as diligently as a musician would practice a musical instrument.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Madeleine l’Engle talked about how an artist, male or female, is called to serve a work in the shadow of Mary the Mother of God receiving God, carrying him, and giving him her humanity. The essential task is to serve a work, humbly, and in it to serve your neighbor.
What are you reading now?
Various religious items in Russian (this is less impressive than it sounds). I go through spurts of reading, researching, writing, and creating. Now I’m trying to manage a spurt of representing my books with Awesome Gang.
What’s next for you as a writer?
What is next for me is, I really hope, to become a novice under obedience. And write as little or as much as the obedience is assigned for me.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible, the Philokalia, and of my own work the Luddite’s Guide to Technology (https://cshayward.com/lgt/), even if my struggles would hardly need technology under the conditions. That, I believe, is my most significant work, and it has some truly good editorial reviews but hasn’t connected with reviewers on Amazon. It has most recently been reviewed:
“The Luddite’s Guide to Technology: The Past Writes Back to Humane Tech! comes from the “Major Works” series by C.J.S. Hayward and blends philosophical inspection with science, Luddite orthodoxy, and a curious blend of life inspection. It romps through the world of new devices with a clever eye towards considering the guideposts of technology choices.
“In the discipline of ethics, the Golden Rule represents a feat in formulating ethics: a single, short criterion that sheds light on many situations, and Hayward takes a cue, opening with a formulation of a “Silicon Rule” of “What do Silicon Valley technology executives choose for their children?” with a surprising answer: Steve Jobs did not give his children iPhones and iPads but walls of paper books and animated discussions with them. This single criterion unfolds at length in variations on the theme of right use of technology.
“C.J.S. Hayward (abbreviated “CSH” for “C.S. Hayward” on Facebook) adopts a revealing, chatty tone that winds intellectual debate, spiritual reflection, and cultural and social analysis in a curious, compelling manner. While this tone might not be for all readers, it will prove exceptionally fun and thought-provoking for those who relish both humor and a spiritual/philosophical style of inspection: “I remember, on environmental issues, someone talking softly about how “subdue the earth” in Genesis 1 originally meant a very gentle mastery. That was everything I wanted to believe, and I’d still like it to be true, but it has been said that the Hebrew has the force of, “trample it under foot!” Should we lord it over the earth? That’s one thing I think we have done disproportionately well. However, I bring this up for a reason. I believe we can, should, and perhaps need to lord it over technology, and the basis for our interactions, above the assumed life in the Church and frequent reception of sacraments, is the bedrock to how we should relate to technology. We should reject most use of technology along marketing propositions.”
“Indeed, it is the Orthodox reader versed in this discipline and Biblical references and inspections who will most likely be fascinated by the technological probe Hayward undertakes here. This audience will also appreciate the scholarly yet accessible inspections that consider such elements as ‘porn mode’ in a browser, Newtonian physics, the pros and cons of assistive technologies, and how technology shifts the mindsets of children and adults alike, as in the Lego scenario: “Charles Baudelaire, in his “la Morale du Joujou” (“the moral of the toy”) talks about toys and the fact that the best toys leave something to the imagination. Children at play will imagine that a bar of soap is a car; girls playing with dolls will play the same imagined drama with rag dolls as they will with dolls worth hundreds of dollars. There has been a shift, where Lego sets have shifted from providing raw material to being a specific model, made of specialized pieces, that the child is not supposed to imagine, only to assemble.”…
“The result is a literary blend of spiritual, social, and technological reflection wound in an overlay of tongue-in-cheek wry humor. Besides Eastern Orthodox and those interested in Eastern Orthodoxy, the work commends itself to those interested in the social dimensions of technology, including those drawn to the Lead Pencil Society and the Humane Tech movement, and the Nature Connection movement. The Luddite’s Guide to Technology will especially appeal to intellectual thinkers interested in the intersection between orthodox beliefs and technology’s allure.”
Author Websites and Profiles
C.S. Hayward Website
C.S. Hayward Amazon Profile
C.S. Hayward’s Social Media Links
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