Entries that relate to C.S. Lewis and his work.
As the title advertises, this biography focuses on C.S. Lewis’s spiritual life; its method is largely to quote from Lewis’s own words and letters, and there is not a lot of authorial speculation. So the book is straightforward and reliable, but there’s not much to surprise anyone already familiar with Lewis’s life and works. Still … [Read more…]
This anthology begins with “Challenges from …” various quarters, such as postmodernism, atheism, eastern religions, and science, followed by sections that are harder to characterize, except that everything in the book is about apologetics. Not every contribution is great, but overall the book is certainly worthwhile, and received positive reviews from J.P. Moreland and William … [Read more…]
This is a wonderful collection of letters, and a long but very enjoyable read. The letters reveal that the famous Georgia author was a charming, funny, sensible woman, very Christian and very Catholic. They end sadly with her untimely death. I noted that she praised C.S. Lewis’s book on prayer and his Miracles (572). And there … [Read more…]
The author, a Presbyterian pastor in Manhattan, is one of the great living Christian apologists and writers; my sense is that if you want to read one book by him, one that is most foundational in its apologetics, it would be The Reason for God. The book I discuss on this post is very good, … [Read more…]
N.T. Wright is a generally a social liberal, but that’s not too intrusive in this book, and he’s no knee-jerk since he is great on monogamy, supporting chastity and opposing gay sex (230-34). He quotes an old prayer (233), “Help us, Lord, to want what you want us to want.” On the other hand, Joe … [Read more…]
This book is a very good summary of Lewis’s writing, though organized by theme, not by the work: reasons for Lewis’s success, reasons to believe, what God is like, who is Christ, miracles, faith and reason, rivals of Christianity (little on Islam, by the way), Christian living, prayer, death and beyond. I wrote down this … [Read more…]
I had read this book before, so these are just some thoughts on listening later to the audiobook: There is surprisingly little on Christianity per se. It covers his early life through his conversion, but ends there. He first became a theist, and the book really focuses on that rather than his becoming a Christian … [Read more…]
In this collection, I noted the Christian reading list in this letter excerpt (page 345): The first real work of the Gospels on a fresh reader is, and ought to be, to raise very acutely the question, “Who or What is this?” For there is a good deal in the character which, unless He really … [Read more…]
These are just a few notes I made; as a fan of just about everything Lewis wrote, I’m hesitant to post something so limited on an extended work of his, fearing that someone might think this is all I thought noteworthy. With that caveat, here’s what I happened to jot down: I thought important this … [Read more…]
Here are some thoughts on effective evangelism, from someone who may or may not be an especially effective evangelist: You need to have good answers to obvious questions like: (1) Why does God let children die of cancer? (2) Why are good people who don’t believe in Jesus sent to Hell? On the other hand, … [Read more…]