Entries that relate to C.S. Lewis and his work.
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…]
There can be both selfish and unselfish reasons for wanting to be good and wanting to be godly. They are not inconsistent and may not even be that distinct. *** Faith and love can both be cultivated. Whether we’re considering when they’re beginning or when they’re already extant, it’s romantic but foolish to think otherwise. … [Read more…]
Great title, eh? The book is okay: The basic idea is an intriguing one, namely to be alert to how God is guiding your life to be a story, a coherent narrative with a theme. Cf. C.S. Lewis’s suggested analogy — albeit in the context of God’s being outside of time — between an … [Read more…]
I noted this important exchange (477): When asked, “What Christian writers have helped you?,” C.S. Lewis replied, The contemporary book that has helped me the most is Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man. Others are Edwyn Bevan’s book, Symbolism and Belief, and Rudolf Otto’s The Idea of the Holy, and the plays of Dorothy Sayers. [Footnote: “Such … [Read more…]