Entries that relate to C.S. Lewis and his work.
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…]
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…]
First of all, note that these are letters not to Joy Davidson, but to another American lady. She’s a Southerner, older and frequently ill, which prompts Lewis to say that, though he has been critical of Britain’s welfare state, he likes the fact that everyone there has free healthcare — though he recognizes it means … [Read more…]
As the title indicates, the book is divided between the author’s personal memories of Lewis (his teacher) and his own reflections on Lewis’s writing (more his fiction and academic writing than his apologetics). He is a Lewis fan, but the trouble with the “reflections” (the “memories” are fine) is that they assume a just-read familiarity … [Read more…]
Just a couple of notes: (1) The first part of his “Psalms’ (115-17) — on what we have in common with (and how we differ from) the Greeks and Romans versus the Hebrews — is great. (2) It’s thought-provoking that he thinks Jesus got some genes from Mary (121).
I’ve noted elsewhere on this site (see especially “Why I Am a Christian (and You Should Be, Too), in 600 Words”) my take on Pascal’s Wager as pressing Christians to cultivate the faith they choose to declare. That is, one doesn’t just say, okay, I believe, and then forget about it; one must act accordingly … [Read more…]
I like the categorization of prayer into A-C-T-S: that is, adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Every night, I run through that list and try to recall events of the day that fit into each box. I’ll admit, though, that the first category is the trickiest, especially since it’s very easy to say you adore God … [Read more…]