Posts about books that I’ve read.
Some good nuggets: The ancient critics of Christianity did not deny that Jesus existed; only recent critics have done that (75-78). John Stuart Mill argued that that a bunch of fishermen could not have made up Jesus’ wisdom (92); but that at least confirms Christianity’s wisdom, does it not? And Herbert Hoover said man needs more … [Read more…]
Lewis regards MacDonald as his “master,” but in the preface acknowledges that sometimes MacDonald’s writing is not all that great (and so, by the way, I have not read beyond these selections). MacDonald seems to me to be more of a mystic, which is not really my cup of tea — but why should every … [Read more…]
This biography of C.S. Lewis by one of his stepsons is a short and enjoyable read. It doesn’t really offer any insight into his work, but it does make clear what a selfless man he was (and not just with Joy, but also with Janie More, Warnie, and others). Not very well edited; sometimes it … [Read more…]
This close reading of Mark is very good, though it drags a bit toward the end. The author says C.S. Lewis is his “favorite author”; he cites N.T. Wright, too. And he says that a key way to cultivate faith is to pray for if (cf. 56). “And straightway the father of the child cried … [Read more…]
A really good book, an intelligent and close reading of the texts surrounding the Resurrection. I wonder if C.S. Lewis ever said anything about it; he and the author were both Brits writing about the same time and on similar journeys. How could the motley crew of disciples — poor, persecuted, not well-connected, in leaderless … [Read more…]
Just to add a bit to what I wrote re Vintage Muggeridge elsewhere on this site: Muggeridge notes (49) that it’s hard to argue that Jesus would be big on “social justice” political reform when he deliberately refused to get involved in any secular government issues. He is, as I noted, a big fan of … [Read more…]
I’m a Muggeridge fan, and I’ll begin by noting that he endorses Pascal’s wager (31; see also 41, 64-65, 74-75, 92, 111, 150, 120). But to show I’m evenhanded: The chapter “The Bible Today” is, I think, unduly dismissive of the importance of the historicity of the Bible, seeming to suggest that human truth is … [Read more…]
This 1985 book includes as authors Peter Craigie, Edwin Yamauchi, and John Wilkinson. At least some of the entries (by city) are by believers; maybe they all are (Thomas Nelson publisher). An interesting approach: Lots of secular history and archaeology, in addition to the Bible itself. There is much that corroborates the historicity of the … [Read more…]
This is a scene-by-scene/each-year-a-chapter biography by a Harcourt Brace Jovanovich/Macmillan editor. I wasn’t really ready for another Lewis biography, having just finished The Narnian (in February 2012, discussed elsewhere on this site), so I just read the introductory material and chapter 1 (“1925”) and then all that piqued my interest from the index entries.
This is an excellent, sympathetic biography by, I am sure, a Christian (Jacobs is an English professor and director of the Faith and Learning Program at Wheaton College in Illinois). Lewis notes that some disputes about doctrine are not resolvable and/or don’t matter for us (214-15), a point I make elsewhere on this site. The … [Read more…]