| C. S. Lewis | |
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| Born | Clive Staples Lewis 29 November 1898 Belfast, Ireland, United Kingdom (now part of Northern Ireland) |
| Died | 22 November 1963 (aged 64) Oxford, England, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Novelist, scholar, broadcaster |
| Genres | Fantasy, science fiction, Christian apologetics, children's literature |
| Notable work(s) | The Chronicles of Narnia Mere Christianity The Allegory of Love Till We Have Faces |
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Clive Staples "Jack" Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. Medieval literature is a broad subject encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe beyond and during the Middle Ages (encompassing the one thousand The Mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved shorn of its religious meanings Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Christopher Hugh Derrick ( 12 June 1921 &ndash 2 October 2007) was an author reviewer Publisher's reader and lecturer Frederick Antony Ravi Kumar Zacharias (born 1946 is an Indian born Canadian - American evangelical Christian apologist Stephen Reeder Donaldson (born May 13, 1947 in Cleveland Ohio) is an American fantasy, Science fiction and mystery Peter John Kreeft (1938/1939 is a Catholic Apologist, Professor of Philosophy at Boston College and The King's College James Innell Packer (born July 22, 1926 in Gloucester, England) is a British-born Canadian Christian theologian Joanne "Jo" Rowling OBE (born 31 July 1965 who writes under the John Stephen Piper (born January 11, 1946, Chattanooga, Tennessee) is a Reformed and Baptist Theologian Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. S. Lewis, was a British writer and scholar. British people, or Britons, are the native inhabitants of Great Britain and their descendants or citizens of the United Kingdom, of the A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms Scholarly method &mdash or as it is more commonly called scholarship &mdash is the body of principles and practices used by scholars to make their claims about the world as Lewis's works are diverse and include medieval literature, Christian apologetics, literary criticism, radio broadcasts, essays on Christianity, and fiction relating to the fight between good and evil. Medieval literature is a broad subject encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe beyond and during the Middle Ages (encompassing the one thousand Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections Literary criticism is the study discussion evaluation and interpretation of Literature. Examples of Lewis's fiction include The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Space Trilogy. Screwtape redirects here For the musical project "Screwtape" see Drew McDowall. The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a Trilogy of three Science fiction novels by
Lewis was a close friend of J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings. The Lord of the Rings is an epic Both authors were leading figures in the English faculty at Oxford University and in the informal Oxford literary group known as the "Inklings". The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the The Inklings was an informal literary discussion group associated with the University of Oxford, England, for nearly two decades between the early According to his memoir Surprised by Joy, Lewis had been baptised in the Church of Ireland at birth, but fell away from his faith during his adolescence. Surprised by Joy The Shape of My Early Life is a partial Autobiography published by C The Church of Ireland (Eaglais na hÉireann is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland. Owing to the influence of Tolkien and other friends, at about the age of 30, Lewis re-converted to Christianity, becoming "a very ordinary layman of the Church of England" (Lewis 1952, p. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican 6). His conversion had a profound effect on his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim. Later in his life he married the American writer Joy Gresham, who died of bone cancer four years later at the age of 45. Helen Joy Davidman ( April 18 1915 &ndash July 13 1960) was an American Poet and Writer Bone tumor is an inexact term which can be used for both Benign and Malignant abnormal growths found in bone but is most commonly used for primary Tumors
Lewis's works have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold millions of copies over the years. The books that comprise The Chronicles of Narnia have sold the most and have been popularised on stage, in TV, and in cinema. For example, the 1988 BBC TV serialisation and the 2005 film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the 2008 film adaptation of Prince Caspian. The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 Fantasy film directed by Andrew Adamson based on The Lion For the book see Prince Caspian. For the video game see The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian (video game.
Contents |
Biography
Childhood
Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, United Kingdom, on November 29, 1898. Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common His father was Albert James Lewis (1863 – 1929), a solicitor whose father, Richard, had come to Ireland from Wales during the mid 19th century. A "solicitor" is a term used in many Common law jurisdictions for a lawyer who offers legal services outside of the courts The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar His mother was Florence (Flora) Augusta Lewis née Hamilton (1862 – 1908), the daughter of a Church of Ireland (Anglican) priest. The Church of Ireland (Eaglais na hÉireann is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland. Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs He had one older brother, Warren Hamilton Lewis (Warnie). Major Warren Hamilton (WH Lewis ( June 16, 1895 – April 9, 1973) was a soldier and historian best known as the brother of the British At the age of four, shortly after his dog Jacksie died when run over by a car, Lewis announced that his name was now Jacksie. At first he would answer to no other name, but later accepted Jack, the name by which he was known to friends and family for the rest of his life. At six his family moved into "Little Lea", the house the elder Mr. Lewis built for Mrs. Lewis, in the Strandtown area of East Belfast.
Lewis was initially schooled by private tutors before being sent to the Wynyard School in Watford, Hertfordshire, in 1908, just before his mother's death from cancer. Wynyard School was a school in Watford, UK, which was attended by C Watford (ˈwɒtfəd) is a town and district in Hertfordshire, England, situated 19 miles (30 km northwest of London Hertfordshire (ˈhɑːtfədʃə(r, abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of Cancer (medical term Malignant Neoplasm) is a class of Diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled Lewis's brother had already enrolled there three years previously. The school was closed not long afterwards due to a lack of pupils — the headmaster Robert "Oldie" Capron was soon after committed to an insane asylum. A psychiatric hospital (previously called insane asylum, mental hospital; or derogatorily looney bin, nut house or Funny Farm) is Tellingly, in Surprised By Joy, Lewis would later nickname the school "Belsen". Belsen redirects here For other meanings see Belsen (disambiguation. There is some speculation by biographer Alan Jacobs that the atmosphere at Wynyard greatly traumatized Lewis and was responsible for the development of "mildly sadomasochistic fantasies". (Gopnik 2005) After Wynyard closed, Lewis attended Campbell College in the east of Belfast about a mile from his home, but he left after a few months due to respiratory problems. History It was founded in 1894 thanks to a bequest from Henry James Campbell, who had made his fortune in the linen trade As a result of his illness, Lewis was sent to the health-resort town of Malvern, Worcestershire, where he attended the preparatory school Cherbourg House (called "Chartres" in Lewis's autobiography). Malvern is a Town and Civil parish in Worcestershire, England. In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school (usually abbreviated to prep school
In September 1913, Lewis enrolled at Malvern College, where he would remain until the following June. Malvern College is a Coeducational British Public School, founded in 1865 It was during this time that 15-year-old Lewis abandoned his childhood Christian faith and became an atheist, becoming interested in mythology and the occult. Atheism The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus (clandestine hidden secret referring to "knowledge of the hidden" [1] Later he would describe "Wyvern" (as he styled the school in his autobiography) as so singularly focused on increasing one's social status that he came to see the homosexual relationships between older and younger pupils as "the one oasis (though green only with weeds and moist only with fetid water) in the burning desert of competitive ambition. In Sociology or Anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in Society (one's Social position) Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the same sex or to a Homosexual orientation. […] A perversion was the only thing left through which something spontaneous and uncalculated could creep" (Lewis 1966, p. 107). After leaving Malvern he moved to study privately with William T. Kirkpatrick, his father's old tutor and former headmaster of Lurgan College. History As befitted a growing industrial town Lurgan had a strong educational establishment from the mid 19th Century
As a young boy, Lewis had a fascination with anthropomorphic animals, falling in love with Beatrix Potter's stories and often writing and illustrating his own animal stories. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of uniquely Human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings natural and supernatural phenomena material states and objects He and his brother Warnie together created the world of Boxen, inhabited and run by animals. Boxen is a Fictional world that C S Lewis (known as Jack and his brother W Lewis loved to read, and as his father’s house was filled with books, he felt that finding a book he had not read was as easy as "finding a blade of grass. "
As a teenager, he was wonderstruck by the songs and legends of what he called Northernness, the ancient literature of Scandinavia preserved in the Icelandic sagas. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well The Sagas of Icelanders ( Icelandic: Íslendingasögur)&mdashmany of which are also known as family sagas &mdashare prose histories describing These legends intensified a longing he had within, a deep desire he would later call "joy". He also grew to love nature — the beauty of nature reminded him of the stories of the North, and the stories of the North reminded him of the beauties of nature. His writing in his teenage years moved away from the tales of Boxen, and he began to use different art forms (epic poetry and opera) to try to capture his newfound interest in Norse mythology and the natural world. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland Studying with Kirkpatrick (“The Great Knock”, as Lewis afterwards called him) instilled in him a love of Greek literature and mythology, and sharpened his skills in debate and clear reasoning. Greek literature refers to those writings autochthonic to the areas of Greek influence typically though not necessarily in one of the Greek dialects throughout the
World War I
Having won a scholarship to University College, Oxford in 1916, Lewis enlisted the following year in the British Army as World War I raged on, and was commissioned an officer in the third Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry. A scholarship is an award of access to an institution or a financial aid award for an individual student scholar for the purpose of furthering their Education University College (in full the The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as Univ) is one of The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Lewis arrived at the front line in the Somme Valley in France on his nineteenth birthday, and experienced trench warfare. The Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.
On April 15, 1917, Lewis was wounded during the Battle of Arras, and suffered some depression during his convalescence, due in part to missing his Irish home. Events 1450 - Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year WikipediaHow to fix bunched-up edit links --> WikipediaHow On his recovery in October, he was assigned to duty in Andover, England. Andover is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is situated on the River Anton some 18 He was discharged in December 1918, and soon returned to his studies. Lewis received a First in Honour Moderations (Greek and Latin Literature) in 1920, a First in Greats (Philosophy and Ancient History) in 1922, and a First in English in 1923. Honour Moderations (or Mods) are a first set of examinations at Oxford University during the first part of the degree course for some courses (e Latin literature, the body of written works in the Latin language remains an enduring legacy of the culture of Ancient Rome. Literae Humaniores is the name given to the study of Classics at Oxford and some other universities "Ancient" redirects here For other uses see Ancient_(disambiguation. English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of Literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U
Jane Moore
While being trained for the army Lewis shared a room and became close friends with another cadet, "Paddy" Moore. The two had made a mutual pact that if either died during the war, the survivor would take care of both their families. Paddy was killed in action in 1918 and Lewis kept his promise. Killed in action ( KIA or K I A) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces by other Paddy had earlier introduced Lewis to his mother, Jane King Moore, and a friendship very quickly sprang up between Lewis, who was eighteen when they met, and Jane, who was forty-five. The friendship with Mrs. Moore was particularly important to Lewis while he was recovering from his wounds in hospital, as his father, who had an almost pathological reluctance to break free from the routine of his Belfast practice, could not bring himself to visit him.
Lewis lived with and cared for Mrs. Moore until she was hospitalized in the late 1940s. He routinely introduced her as his "mother", and referred to her as such in letters. Lewis, whose own mother had died when he was a child and whose father was distant, demanding and eccentric, developed a deeply affectionate friendship with Mrs. Moore. "All I can or need to say is that my earlier hostility to the emotions was very fully and variously avenged", he wrote of her in his autobiography. He also said to his friend George Sayer: "She was generous and taught me to be generous, too. "
In December 1917 Lewis wrote in a letter to his childhood friend Arthur Greeves that Jane and Greeves were "the two people who matter most to me in the world. "
In 1930, Lewis, Moore, her daughter Maureen and Warnie moved into "The Kilns", a house in the district of Headington Quarry on the outskirts of Oxford (now part of the suburb of Risinghurst). Headington is one of the district centres of Oxford, England. Risinghurst is a quiet outlying residential area of Oxford, England, situated just outside the Eastern Bypass road which forms part of the Oxford ring road They all contributed financially to the purchase of the house, which passed to Maureen, then Dame Maureen Dunbar, Btss., when Warren died in 1973. Dame Maureen (Daisy Helen Dunbar 8th Baronetess, or more commonly known as Dame Maureen Dunbar,(née Moore 19 August 1906 &ndash 14 February
Moore suffered from dementia in her later years and was eventually moved into a nursing home, where she died in 1951. Dementia (from Latin de- "apart away" + Mens ( genitive mentis) "mind" is the progressive decline SNF redirects here For the sports show see NBC Sunday Night Football. Lewis visited her every day in this home until her death.
"My life"
Lewis experienced a certain cultural shock upon first arriving in England: "No Englishman will be able to understand my first impressions of England," Lewis wrote in Surprised by Joy. Bangor (Beannchor is a large Town in County Down, Northern Ireland, with a population of 76403 people in the 2001 Census, making it the County Down, ( Ulster Scots: Coontie Doun. is one of the nine counties that form the province of Ulster and one of six counties that form Culture shock refers to the Anxiety and Feelings (of surprise disorientation uncertainty confusion etc Surprised by Joy The Shape of My Early Life is a partial Autobiography published by C "The strange English accents with which I was surrounded seemed like the voices of demons. The regional accents of English speakers show great variation across the areas where English is spoken as a first language But what was worst was the English landscape … I have made up the quarrel since; but at that moment I conceived a hatred for England which took many years to heal. "
From boyhood Lewis immersed himself firstly in Norse and Greek and then in Irish mythology and literature and expressed an interest in the Irish language, though he seems to have made little attempt to learn it. Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance The Mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved shorn of its religious meanings For a comparatively small island Ireland has made a disproportionate contribution to World literature in all its branches Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. He developed a particular fondness for W. B. Yeats, in part because of Yeats’s use of Ireland’s Celtic heritage in poetry. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts In a letter to a friend Lewis wrote, "I have here discovered an author exactly after my own heart, whom I am sure you would delight in, W. B. Yeats. He writes plays and poems of rare spirit and beauty about our old Irish mythology. "
In 1921, Lewis had the opportunity to meet Yeats on two occasions, since Yeats had moved to Oxford.
Surprised to find his English peers indifferent to Yeats and the Celtic Revival movement, Lewis wrote: "I am often surprised to find how utterly ignored Yeats is among the men I have met: perhaps his appeal is purely Irish — if so, then thank the gods that I am Irish. Celtic Revival covers a variety of movements and trends mostly in the 19th and 20th centuries which drew on Celtic art and traditions " Early in his career, Lewis considered sending his work to the major Dublin publishers, writing: "If I do ever send my stuff to a publisher, I think I shall try Maunsel, those Dublin people, and so tack myself definitely onto the Irish school. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. " After his conversion to Christianity, his interests gravitated towards Christian spirituality and away from pagan Celtic mysticism. Conversion to Christianity is the Religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to some form of Christianity.
Lewis occasionally expressed a somewhat tongue-in-cheek chauvinism toward the English. Tongue-in-cheek is a term used to refer to humor in which a statement or an entire fictional work is not meant to be taken seriously but its lack of seriousness is subtle Chauvinism (ˈʃoʊvɨnɪzəm is extreme and unreasoning Partisanship on behalf of a group to which one belongs especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred The English people (from the adjective in Englisc) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to England who predominantly speak English Describing an encounter with a fellow Irishman he wrote: "Like all Irish people who meet in England we ended by criticisms of the inevitable flippancy and dullness of the Anglo-Saxon race. For their language see Anglo-Saxon language. Anglo-Saxon is the term usually used to describe the invading Tribes in the south After all, Ami, there is no doubt that the Irish are the only people … I would not gladly live or die among another folk. "
Due to his Oxford career Lewis did indeed live and die among another folk, and he often expressed regret at having to leave Ireland. Throughout his life, he sought out the company of his fellow Irish living in England and visited Northern Ireland regularly, even spending his honeymoon there (The Old Inn 2007). He called this "my Irish life".
Conversion to Christianity
Raised in a church-going family in the Church of Ireland, Lewis claimed he became an atheist at the age of 15, though in contradiction he later described his young self (in Surprised by Joy) as being "very angry with God for not existing". The Church of Ireland (Eaglais na hÉireann is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland. Atheism In Classical logic, a contradiction consists of a logical incompatibility between two or more Propositions It occurs when the propositions taken together yield Surprised by Joy The Shape of My Early Life is a partial Autobiography published by C He returned to his Christian beliefs at age 33.
His separation from Christianity began when he started to view his religion as a chore and as a duty; around this time he also gained an interest in the occult as his studies expanded to include such topics. Lewis quoted Lucretius (De rerum natura, 5. Titus Lucretius Carus (ca 99 BC- ca 55 BC was a Roman Poet and Philosopher. 198–9) as having one of the strongest arguments for atheism:
- Nequaquam nobis divinitus esse paratam
- Naturam rerum; tanta stat praedita culpa
- "Had God designed the world, it would not be
- A world so frail and faulty as we see. "
Lewis's interest in fantasy and mythology, especially in relation to the works of George MacDonald, was part of what turned him from atheism. George MacDonald ( 10 December 1824 &mdash 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author poet and Christian minister In fact, MacDonald's position as a Christian fantasy writer was very influential on Lewis. This can be seen particularly well through this passage in The Great Divorce, chapter nine, when the semi-autobiographical main character meets MacDonald in Heaven:
…I tried, trembling, to tell this man all that his writings had done for me. The Protagonist or main character is the central figure of a story. Heaven may refer to the physical heavens the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the Universe beyond I tried to tell how a certain frosty afternoon at Leatherhead Station when I had first bought a copy of Phantastes (being then about sixteen years old) had been to me what the first sight of Beatrice had been to Dante: Here begins the new life. Leatherhead is a small town in the County of Surrey, England, on the River Mole. I started to confess how long that Life had delayed in the region of imagination merely: how slowly and reluctantly I had come to admit that his Christendom had more than an accidental connexion with it, how hard I had tried not to see the true name of the quality which first met me in his books is Holiness. A true name is a Name of a thing or being that expresses or is somehow identical with its true Nature. (Lewis 1946, pp. 66 – 67)
Influenced by arguments with his Oxford colleague and friend J. R. R. Tolkien, and by the book The Everlasting Man by Roman Catholic convert G. K. Chesterton, he slowly rediscovered Christianity. The Everlasting Man is a two-part history of mankind Christ and Christianity by G Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936 was an influential English writer of the early 20th century He fought greatly up to the moment of his conversion noting, "I came into Christianity kicking and screaming. " He described his last struggle in Surprised by Joy:
You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. Surprised by Joy The Shape of My Early Life is a partial Autobiography published by C Magdalen College redirects here see also Magdalene College Cambridge Magdalen College (ˈmɔːdlɨn "maudlin" is one of the constituent That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. (Lewis 1966)
After his conversion to theism in 1929, Lewis converted to Christianity in 1931. Theism, in its most inclusive usage is the belief in at least one Deity. The historical phenomenon of Christianization (or Christianisation &mdash see spelling differences) the conversion of individuals to Christianity Following a long discussion and late-night walk with his close friends Tolkien and Hugo Dyson, he records making a specific commitment to Christian belief while on his way to the zoo with his brother. Henry Victor Dyson Dyson (1896–1975 generally known as Hugo Dyson and who signed his writings H He became a member of the Church of England — somewhat to the disappointment of Tolkien, who had hoped he would convert to Roman Catholicism (Carpenter 2006). The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican [2]
A committed Anglican, Lewis upheld a largely orthodox Anglican theology, though in his apologetic writings, he made an effort to avoid espousing any one denomination. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican In his later writings, some believe he proposed ideas such as purification of venial sins after death in purgatory (The Great Divorce) and mortal sin (The Screwtape Letters), which are generally considered to be Catholic teachings. According to Roman Catholicism, a venial sin (meaning "forgivable" Sin) is a lesser sin that does not result in a complete separation from God See also Intermediate state Limbo|Heaven|Sheol|Hades in Christianity|Hell in Christianity Purgatory, in the original sense is the condition or process of purification The Great Divorce is a work of Fantasy by C S Lewis that portrays Christian perceptions of the life after death allegorically specifically Mortal sin, according to the beliefs of Roman Catholicism, and some Protestant denominations is a Sin that unless confessed and absolved (or at least Screwtape redirects here For the musical project "Screwtape" see Drew McDowall. Regardless, Lewis considered himself an entirely orthodox Anglican to the end of his life, reflecting that he had initially attended church only to receive communion and had been repelled by the hymns and the poor quality of the sermons. The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those A hymn is a type of Song, usually religious specifically written for the purpose of praise adoration or Prayer, and typically addressed to a deity/deities He later came to consider himself honoured by worshipping with men of faith who came in shabby clothes and work boots and who sang all the verses to all the hymns.
Joy Gresham
In Lewis's later life, he corresponded with and later met Joy Davidman Gresham, an American writer of Jewish background and also a convert from atheism to Christianity. Helen Joy Davidman ( April 18 1915 &ndash July 13 1960) was an American Poet and Writer PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ [3] She was separated from her alcoholic and abusive husband, the novelist William Gresham, and came to England with her two sons, David and Douglas. William Lindsay Gresham ( August 20, 1909 &ndash September 14, 1962) was an American Novelist and Non-fiction Douglas Gresham (born November 101945 in the USA) is a British Biographer and Film producer, resident in Ireland, and [2] Lewis at first regarded her as an agreeable intellectual companion and personal friend, and it was at least overtly on this level that he agreed to enter into a civil marriage contract with her so that she could continue to live in the UK. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** [4] Lewis's brother Warnie wrote: "For Jack the attraction was at first undoubtedly intellectual. Joy was the only woman whom he had met… who had a brain which matched his own in suppleness, in width of interest, and in analytical grasp, and above all in humour and a sense of fun" (Haven 2006). However, after complaining of a painful hip, she was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer, and the relationship developed to the point that they sought a Christian marriage. Since she was divorced, this was not straightforward in the Church of England at the time, but a friend, the Rev. Peter Bide, performed the ceremony at her hospital bed in 1956.
Gresham's cancer soon went into a brief remission, and the couple lived as a family (together with Warren Lewis) until her eventual relapse and death in 1960. The year she died, the couple took a brief holiday in Greece and the Aegean in 1960; Lewis was fond of walking but not of travel, and this marked his only crossing of the English Channel after 1918. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. Lewis’s book A Grief Observed describes his experience of bereavement in such a raw and personal fashion that Lewis originally released it under the pseudonym N. A Grief Observed, first published in 1961, is a collection of C W. Clerk to keep readers from associating the book with him. However, so many friends recommended the book to Lewis as a method for dealing with his own grief that he made his authorship public.
Lewis continued to raise Gresham's two sons after her death. Douglas Gresham is an active Christian and remains involved in the affairs of the Lewis estate, though David Gresham returned to his mother's original Jewish faith. The two brothers are now estranged (Neven 2001).
Illness and death
In early June 1961, Lewis began experiencing medical problems and was diagnosed with inflammation of the kidneys which resulted in blood poisoning. Nephritis is Inflammation of the Kidney. The word comes from the Greek nephro- meaning "of the kidney" and -itis meaning "inflammation" Bacteremia ( Bacteræmia in British English is the presence of bacteria in the Blood. His illness caused him to miss the autumn term at Cambridge, though his health gradually began improving in 1962 and he returned that April. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the Lewis's health continued to improve, and according to his friend George Sayer, Lewis was fully himself by the spring of 1963. However, on July 15, 1963 he fell ill and was admitted to hospital. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The next day at 5:00 pm, Lewis suffered a heart attack and lapsed into a coma, unexpectedly awaking the following day at 2:00 pm. Myocardial infarction ( MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction) also known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply After he was discharged from hospital, Lewis returned to the Kilns though he was too ill to return to work. As a result, he resigned from his post at Cambridge in August. Lewis's condition continued to decline and in mid-November, he was diagnosed with end stage renal failure. Chronic kidney disease (CKD also known as chronic renal disease, is a progressive loss of renal function over a period of months or years On November 22, 1963, Lewis collapsed in his bedroom at 5:30 pm and died a few minutes later, exactly one week before what would have been his 65th birthday. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He is buried in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, Headington, Oxford (Friends of Holy Trinity Church). Headington is one of the district centres of Oxford, England.
Media coverage of his death was almost completely overshadowed by news of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which occurred on the same day, as did the death of Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World. The assassination of John F Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday November 22 1963 in Dallas Texas Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 &ndash 22 November 1963 was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Brave New World is a 1932 Novel by Aldous Huxley. Set in the London of AD 2540 (632 A This coincidence was the inspiration for Peter Kreeft's book Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialog Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C. S. Lewis, & Aldous Huxley (Kreeft 1982). Peter John Kreeft (1938/1939 is a Catholic Apologist, Professor of Philosophy at Boston College and The King's College Between Heaven and Hell is a fiction novel by Peter Kreeft about American President John F
C. S. Lewis is commemorated on November 22 in the church calendar of the Episcopal Church. veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important people of the Christian faith The Episcopal Church is the official name of the Province of the Anglican Communion in the United States.
Career
The scholar
Lewis taught as a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, for nearly thirty years, from 1925 to 1954, and later was the first Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge. Magdalen College redirects here see also Magdalene College Cambridge Magdalen College (ˈmɔːdlɨn "maudlin" is one of the constituent The Chair in Medieval and Renaissance English is a professorship in English at Cambridge University. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the Magdalene College redirects here see also Magdalen College Oxford Magdalene College (ˈmɔːdlɪn was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel in time Using this position, he argued that there was no such thing as an English Renaissance. The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the early 16th century to the early 17th century Much of his scholarly work concentrated on the later Middle Ages, especially its use of allegory. The Late Middle Ages is a term used by historians to describe European history in the period of the 14th and 15th centuries (AD 1300–1499 His The Allegory of Love (1936) helped reinvigorate the serious study of late medieval narratives like the Roman de la Rose. The Allegory of Love A Study in Medieval Tradition ( 1936) by C The Roman de la rose is a medieval French poem styled as an allegorical dream vision Lewis wrote several prefaces to old works of literature and poetry, like Layamon's Brut. His book "A Preface to Paradise Lost" is still one of the most valuable criticisms of that work. His last academic work, The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1964), is a summary of the medieval world view, the "discarded image" of the cosmos in his title. The Discarded Image An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature is non-fiction and the last book written by C A comprehensive world view (or worldview) is a term Calqued from the German word Weltanschauung ( Welt is the German
Lewis was a prolific writer, and his circle of literary friends became an informal discussion society known as the "Inklings", including J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and his brother Warnie Lewis. The Inklings was an informal literary discussion group associated with the University of Oxford, England, for nearly two decades between the early Charles Walter Stansby Williams ( September 20, 1886 – May 15, 1945) was a British Poet, Novelist, Theologian Owen Barfield ( November 9, 1898 – December 14, 1997) was a British Philosopher, Author, poet and Critic. At Oxford he was the tutor of, among many other undergraduates, poet John Betjeman, critic Kenneth Tynan, mystic Bede Griffiths, and Sufi scholar Martin Lings. Sir John Betjeman, CBE ( 28 August 1906 &ndash 19 May 1984 was an English poet writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who Kenneth Peacock Tynan ( 2 April 1927 - 26 July 1980) was an influential and often controversial British Theatre Critic Alan Richard "Bede" Griffiths ( 17 December, 1906 &ndash 13 May, 1993) also known as Swami Martin Lings (Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din ( January 24, 1909 – May 12, 2005) was a Sufi and a student and follower of Frithjof Schuon[http Curiously, the religious and conservative Betjeman detested Lewis, whereas the anti-Establishment Tynan retained a life-long admiration for him (Tonkin 2005). An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social political and economic principles of a society
Of Tolkien, Lewis writes in Surprised by Joy:
When I began teaching for the English Faculty, I made two other friends, both Christians (these queer people seemed now to pop up on every side) who were later to give me much help in getting over the last stile. Surprised by Joy The Shape of My Early Life is a partial Autobiography published by C They were H. V. V. Dyson … and J. R. R. Tolkien. Friendship with the latter marked the breakdown of two old prejudices. At my first coming into the world I had been (implicitly) warned never to trust a Papist, and at my first coming into the English Faculty (explicitly) never to trust a philologist. See Comparative linguistics for the narrower field of "comparative philology" Tolkien was both. (Lewis 1966, p. 173)
The author
In addition to his scholarly work, Lewis wrote a number of popular novels, including his science fiction Space Trilogy and his fantasy Narnian books, most dealing implicitly with Christian themes such as sin, humanity's fall from grace, and redemption. The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a Trilogy of three Science fiction novels by Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting Sin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral Rule, or the state of having committed such a violation
The Pilgrim's Regress
His first novel after becoming a Christian was The Pilgrim's Regress, his take on John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress which depicted his own experience with Christianity. The Pilgrim's Regress is a book of allegorical fiction by C S John Bunyan (28 November 1628 &ndash 31 August 1688 a Christian writer and Preacher, was born at Harrowden (one mile south-east of Bedford The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come by John Bunyan (published February 1678) is a Christian Allegory The book was critically panned at the time.
In a footnote of the biography D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith 1939 – 1981 by Iain Murray, Murray notes the following: "Lewis is said to have valued ML-J's appreciation and encouragement when the early edition of his Pilgrim's Regress was not selling well. Iain Hamish Murray (b 1931 Lancashire, England) was educated in the Isle of Man and at the University of Durham. Vincent Lloyd-Jones and Lewis knew each other well, being contemporaries at Oxford. ML-J met the author again and they had a long conversation when they found both themselves on the same boat to Ireland in 1953. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world On the later occasion, to the question, 'When are you going to write another book?', Lewis replied, 'When I understand the meaning of prayer. '" (Murray 1990)
Space Trilogy
His Space Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy novels (also called the Cosmic Trilogy) dealt with what Lewis saw as the then-current dehumanizing trends in modern science fiction. The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a Trilogy of three Science fiction novels by Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding The first book, Out of the Silent Planet, was apparently written following a conversation with his friend J. R. R. Tolkien about these trends; Lewis agreed to write a "space travel" story and Tolkien a "time travel" one. __FORCETOC__ Out of the Silent Planet is the first Novel of a Science fiction Trilogy written by C Tolkien’s story, "The Lost Road", a tale connecting his Middle-earth mythology and the modern world, was never completed. The Lost Road and Other Writings is the fifth volume of The History of Middle-earth, a series of compilations of drafts and essays written by J Middle-earth refers to the fictional lands where most of the stories of author J Lewis’s main character of Ransom is based in part on Tolkien, a fact that Tolkien himself alludes to in his Letters of J. Elwin Ransom is the prominent character from C S Lewis 's Space Trilogy series R. R. Tolkien. The second novel, Perelandra, illustrates a new Garden of Eden, a new Adam and Eve, and a new "serpent figure" to tempt them. Perelandra (also titled Voyage to Venus in a later edition published by Pan Books) is the second book in the Space Trilogy Not to be confused with Eden Gardens.The Garden of Eden ( Hebrew "pleasure" גַּן עֵדֶן Arabic: جنات عدن, Adam (אָדָם ʼĀḏām, "dust man mankind" آدم; Ge'ez: አዳ and Eve (חַוָּה Ḥawwā, "living The story can be seen as a hypothesis of what could have happened if "our Eve" had resisted more firmly the temptation of the serpent. The last novel in the Trilogy, That Hideous Strength, also contains numerous references to Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth. That Hideous Strength is a 1945 Novel by C S Lewis, the final book in Lewis's theological Science fiction Space Trilogy. A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with unique background elements such as an imaginary history or geography and possibly fantasy or science Middle-earth refers to the fictional lands where most of the stories of author J Many of the ideas presented in the books, particularly in That Hideous Strength, are dramatizations of arguments made more formally in Lewis’ The Abolition of Man. The Abolition of Man is a 1943 book by C S Lewis. It is subtitled "Reflections on education with special reference to the teaching of English in
This last was based on the series of lectures Lewis had given at Durham University in 1943, designed to counter what he saw as a movement in contemporary literature and thought to de-humanise man. Durham University is a University in Durham, England. It was founded as the University of Durham (which remains its official and legal name Lewis stayed in Durham, where he was overwhelmed by the cathedral. Durham (ˈdʌrəm in RP, locally ˈdʏrəm is a small city and main settlement of the City of Durham district of County Durham, England The Cathedral Church of Christ Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly referred to as Durham Cathedral, in the city of Durham, England That Hideous Strength is in fact set in the environs of Durham University ('Edgestow').
It is claimed that Lewis began another science-fiction novel, The Dark Tower, but it is unfinished; it is not clear whether it was intended as part of the same series as the completed novels. The Dark Tower is a novel written by C S Lewis that appears to be the beginning of an abandoned Science fiction novel intended as a sequel to An unfinished work is a Creative work that has not been finished The manuscript was eventually published in 1977, though controversy persists about its authenticity.
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children and is considered a classic of children's literature. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting Children's literature is an age category of literature written for published for or marketed to Children roughly through age 12 Written between 1949 and 1954 and illustrated by Pauline Baynes, the series is Lewis' most popular work having sold over 100 million copies in forty-one languages (Kelly 2006)(Guthmann 2005). Pauline Baynes ( September 9, 1922 - August 1, 2008) was an English book illustrator whose work encompassed more than 100 books notably It has been adapted several times, complete or in part, for radio, television, stage, and cinema. Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one The series has been published in several different orders, and the preferred reading order for the series is often debated among fans; Douglas Gresham has stated that Lewis preferred that they be read in "Narnian chronology", not the order in which they were published (Drennan 1999).
The books contain many allusions to Christian ideas which are easily accessible to younger readers; however, the books are not weighty, and can be read for their adventure, colour, and richness of ideas alone. Because of this, they have become favourites of children and adults, Christians and non-Christians. In addition to Christian themes, Lewis also borrows characters from Greek and Roman mythology as well as traditional British and Irish fairy tales. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Roman mythology, or more appropriately Latin mythology, refers to the mythological beliefs of the Italic people inhabiting the region of Latium and its A fairy tale or fairy story is a fictional Story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, enchantments]] often involving Lewis reportedly based his depiction of Narnia on the geography and scenery of the Mourne Mountains and "that part of Rostrevor which overlooks Carlingford Lough" (Guardian Unlimited 2005). The Mourne Mountains or Mournes (Na Beanna Boirche a granite mountain range located in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland, are among the For the place in Adelaide, South Australia, see Rostrevor South Australia. Carlingford Lough ( Loch Cairlinn in Irish) (Cairlinn being shortened form of "Cathair Linn" literally translated as "City of the Pool" is a sea Lewis cited George MacDonald's Christian fairy tales as an influence in writing the series. George MacDonald ( 10 December 1824 &mdash 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author poet and Christian minister
Other works
Lewis wrote a number of works on Heaven and Hell. Heaven may refer to the physical heavens the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the Universe beyond Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering One of these, The Great Divorce, is a short novella in which a few residents of Hell take a bus ride to Heaven, where they are met by people from Earth. The Great Divorce is a work of Fantasy by C S Lewis that portrays Christian perceptions of the life after death allegorically specifically A novella is a written, Fictional Prose Narrative longer than a Novelette but shorter than a Novel. EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 The proposition is that they can stay (in which case they can call the place where they had come from “Purgatory”, instead of “Hell”): but many find it not to their taste. See also Intermediate state Limbo|Heaven|Sheol|Hades in Christianity|Hell in Christianity Purgatory, in the original sense is the condition or process of purification The title is a reference to William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, a concept that Lewis found a "disastrous error" (Lewis 1946, p. William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827 was an English poet, painter, and Printmaker. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is one of William Blake 's Books a series of texts written in imitation of biblical books of prophecy but expressing Blake's vii). This work deliberately echoes two other more famous works with a similar theme: the Divine Comedy of Dante Aligheri, and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. The Divine Comedy The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come by John Bunyan (published February 1678) is a Christian Allegory Another short work, The Screwtape Letters, consists of suave letters of advice from a senior demon, Screwtape, to his nephew Wormwood, on the best ways to tempt a particular human and secure his damnation. Screwtape redirects here For the musical project "Screwtape" see Drew McDowall. Dammit redirects here to see the Opeth album see Damnation (album. Lewis’s last novel was Till We Have Faces — he thought of it as his most mature and masterful work of fiction, but it was never a popular success. Till We Have Faces A Myth Retold is a 1956 Parallel It is a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche from the unusual perspective of Psyche's sister. The Tale of Cupid and Psyche (or The Tale of Amor and Psyche) first appeared as a digressionary story told by an old woman in Lucius Apuleius ' Novel, It is deeply concerned with religious ideas, but the setting is entirely pagan, and the connections with specific Christian beliefs are left implicit. Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "country dweller rustic" is a word used to refer to various religions and religious beliefs from across the world
Before Lewis’s conversion to Christianity, he published two books: Spirits in Bondage, a collection of poems, and Dymer, a single narrative poem. Spirits in Bondage (1919 was author and Christian Apologist C Dymer is a Narrative poem by CS Lewis published by JM Dent in 1926 under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton Narrative poetry is Poetry that tells a story The poems may be short or long and the story it relates to may be simple or complex Both were published under the pen name Clive Hamilton. A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a Pseudonym adopted by an Author or their publishers to conceal their identity
The Christian apologist
In addition to his career as an English professor and an author of fiction, Lewis is regarded by many as one of the most influential Christian apologists of his time; Mere Christianity was voted best book of the twentieth century by Christianity Today in 2000. Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections Mere Christianity is a theological book by C S Lewis, adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944 while Lewis Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian Periodical based in Carol Stream Illinois. Due to Lewis' approach to religious belief as a skeptic, and his following conversion, he has been called "The Apostle to the Skeptics. Religious belief refers to a mental state in which trust ( Faith) is placed in a Creed related to the Supernatural, Sacred, or divine In ordinary usage skepticism or scepticism ( Greek 'σκέπτομαι' skeptomai, to look about to consider see also spelling differences "
Lewis was very much interested in presenting a reasonable case for the truth of Christianity. Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, and Miracles were all concerned, to one degree or another, with refuting popular objections to Christianity, such as "How could a good God allow pain to exist in the world?". The Problem of Pain is a 1940 book by C S Lewis, in which he seeks to provide an intellectual Christian response to questions about Suffering Miracles is a book He also became known as a popular lecturer and broadcaster, and some of his writing (including much of Mere Christianity) originated as scripts for radio talks or lectures (Lewis 1952, p. v).
A 1948 loss in a debate with Elizabeth Anscombe led to his reevaluating his role as an apologist,[5] and his future works concentrated on devotional literature and children's books. G E M Anscombe ( 18 March, 1919 &ndash 5 January, 2001) born Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe, but better known as Elizabeth
Lewis also wrote an autobiography titled Surprised by Joy, which places special emphasis on his own conversion. (It was written before he met his wife, Joy Gresham; the title of the book came from the first line of a poem by William Wordsworth. ) His essays and public speeches on Christian belief, many of which were collected in God in the Dock and The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, remain popular today. God in the Dock is a collection of essays and speeches from C The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses is a compilation of essays on Christianity by C
His most famous works, the Chronicles of Narnia, contain many strong Christian messages and are often considered allegory. An allegory (from αλλος allos "other" and el αγορευειν agoreuein "to speak in public" is a figurative mode of representation Lewis, an expert on the subject of allegory, maintained that the books were not allegory, and preferred to call the Christian aspects of them "suppositional". Supposition theory was a branch of Medieval logic that was probably aimed at giving accounts of issues similar to modern accounts of Reference, Plurality As Lewis wrote in a letter to a Mrs. Hook in December 1958:
If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity in the same way in which Giant Despair [a character in The Pilgrim's Progress] represents despair, he would be an allegorical figure. Aslan, the "Great Lion " is the central character in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come by John Bunyan (published February 1678) is a Christian Allegory In reality however he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, 'What might Christ become like, if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?' This is not allegory at all. (Martindale & Root 1990)
Trilemma
In a much-cited passage in the book Mere Christianity, Lewis challenged the increasingly popular view that Jesus, although a great moral teacher, was not God. Lewis's Trilemma (or the Lewis Triumvirate) is a Syllogism intended to demonstrate the logical inconsistency of both holding Jesus of Nazareth to be a "great Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) He argued that Jesus made several implicit claims to divinity, which would logically exclude this:
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. Divinity and divine (sometimes 'the Divinity' or 'the Divine' are broadly applied but loosely defined terms used variously within different faiths and belief systems — That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. A poached egg is an egg that has been cooked by poaching. No oil or fat is used in its preparation You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. Son of God is a phrase found in the Hebrew Bible, various other Jewish texts and the New Testament. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. (Lewis 1952, p. 43)
This appeared at a time when scholars such as Albert Schweitzer and Rudolf Bultmann had portrayed Jesus' miracles and resurrection as myths. Albert Schweitzer, MD, OM, (January 14 1875 &ndash September 4 1965 was an Alsatian theologian, Musician, Philosopher Rudolf Karl Bultmann ( August 20, 1884 – July 30, 1976) was a German theologian of Lutheran background who A miracle is an event believed to be caused by interposition of Divine intervention by a Supernatural being in the Universe by which the ordinary operation This article concerns itself with Jesus Christ Christian, Islamic and other religious interpretations of resurrection in general The concept that Jesus was not God but a wise man had gained ground in academic circles. In accepting the premise that Jesus had claimed divinity, Lewis was contradicting a viewpoint, popularized by H. G. Wells in his Outline of History, that Jesus had made no such claim. Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 &ndash 13 August 1946 He was an outspoken socialist and a pacifist, his later works becoming increasingly political The Outline of History, subtitled either " The Whole Story of Man " or " Being A Plain History of Life and Mankind
This argument, which Lewis did not invent but developed and popularised, is sometimes referred to as "Lewis' trilemma". Lewis's Trilemma (or the Lewis Triumvirate) is a Syllogism intended to demonstrate the logical inconsistency of both holding Jesus of Nazareth to be a "great It has been used by the Christian apologist Josh McDowell in his book More Than a Carpenter (McDowell 2001). Joslin "Josh" McDowell is a Christian apologist, evangelist, and Writer. Although widely repeated in Christian apologetic literature, it has been largely ignored by professional theologians and biblical scholars. [6]
Lewis' Christian apologetics, and this argument in particular, have been widely criticized. Philosopher John Beversluis in C. S. Lewis and the Search for Rational Religion (1985, rev. 2007) described Lewis's arguments as "textually careless and theologically unreliable". John Hick, writing in 1993, observed that New Testament scholars do not today support the view that Jesus claimed to be God. Professor John Harwood Hick (born Yorkshire, England, 1922 is a philosopher of religion and theologian. [7] The Anglican bishop N. T. Wright commented that the 'trilemma' argument "doesn’t work as history, and it backfires dangerously when historical critics question his reading of the Gospels. Nicholas Thomas "Tom" Wright (born 1 December 1948) is the Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and a leading New Testament "[8]
Lewis used a similar structure in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, when Professor Kirke advises the young heroes that their sister's claims of a magical world must logically be taken as either lies, madness, or truth. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C
Universal morality
One of the main theses in Lewis' apologia is that there is a common morality known throughout humanity. In the first five chapters of Mere Christianity Lewis discusses the idea that people have a standard of behaviour to which they expect other people to adhere. Mere Christianity is a theological book by C S Lewis, adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944 while Lewis This standard has been called Universal Morality or Natural Law. Lewis claims that people all over the earth know what this law is and when they break it. He goes on to claim that there must be someone or something behind such a universal set of principles. (Lindskoog 2001b, p. 144)
These then are the two points that I wanted to make. First, that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in. (Lewis 1952, p. 21)
Lewis also portrays Universal Morality in his works of fiction. In The Chronicles of Narnia he describes Universal Morality as the "Deep magic" which everyone knew. (Lindskoog 2001b, p. 146)
In the second chapter of Mere Christianity Lewis recognizes that "many people find it difficult to understand what this Law of Human Nature [. . . ] is". And he responds first to the idea "that the Moral Law is simply our herd instinct" and second to the idea "that the Moral Law is simply a social convention". In responding to the second idea Lewis notes that people often complain that one set of moral ideas is better than another, but that this actually argues for there existing some "Real Morality" to which they are comparing other moralities. Finally he notes that sometimes differences in moral codes are exaggerated by people who confuse differences in beliefs about morality with differences in beliefs about facts:
I have met people who exaggerate the differences, because they have not distinguished between differences of morality and differences of belief about facts. For example, one man said to me, "Three hundred years ago people in England were putting witches to death. Was that what you call the Rule of Human Nature or Right Conduct?" But surely the reason we do not execute witches is that we do not believe there are such things. If we did — if we really thought that there were people going about who had sold themselves to the devil and received supernatural powers from him in return and were using these powers to kill their neighbours or drive them mad or bring bad weather, surely we would all agree that if anyone deserved the death penalty, then these filthy quislings did. The term supernatural or supranatural ( Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature" pertains to entities events Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. There is no difference of moral principle here: the difference is simply about matter of fact. It may be a great advance in knowledge not to believe in witches: there is no moral advance in not executing them when you do not think they are there. You would not call a man humane for ceasing to set mousetraps if he did so because he believed there were no mice in the house. (Lewis 1952, p. 26)
Legacy
Lewis continues to attract a wide readership. The Magician's Nephew is a fantasy novel for children written by C The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of Readers of his fiction are often unaware of what Lewis considered the Christian themes of his works. His Christian apologetics are read and quoted by followers of a wide range of religious denominations, including Catholics and Mormons (Pratt 1998). Church (disambiguation A religious denomination is a subgroup within a Religion that operates under a common name tradition and identity
Lewis has been the subject of several biographies, a few of which were written by some of his close friends, such as Roger Lancelyn Green and George Sayer. Roger (Gilbert Lancelyn Green ( 2 November 1918 – 8 October 1987) was a British biographer and children's writer In 1985 the screenplay Shadowlands by William Nicholson, dramatizing Lewis's life and relationship with Joy Davidman Gresham, was aired on British TV (starring Joss Ackland as Lewis and Claire Bloom as Joy). Shadowlands is a 1985 Television film, written by William Nicholson, directed by Norman Stone and produced by David M There have been several well-known people named William Nicholson, including William Nicholson (chemist (1753&ndash1815 William Nicholson Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE (born February 29 1928) known as Joss Ackland, is an English Actor who has appeared Claire Bloom (born Patricia Claire Blume; 15 February 1931) is an English Film and stage Actress. In 1989 this was staged as a theatre play (starring Nigel Hawthorne) and in 1993 Shadowlands became a feature film, starring Anthony Hopkins as Lewis and Debra Winger as Joy. Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne CBE ( 5 April, 1929 – 26 December, 2001) was an English Actor, perhaps best Shadowlands is a 1993 British Biographical film directed by Richard Attenborough. Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, CBE (born 31 December 1937 is a Welsh Film, stage and Television Actor. Debra Winger (born May 16, 1955) is an Academy Award -nominated American Actress. In 2005, a one hour made for TV movie entitled C. S. Lewis: Beyond Narnia (starring Anton Rodgers) provided a general synopsis of Lewis's life. Anton Rodgers ( 10 January 1933 &ndash 1 December 2007) was an English Actor and occasional director best known for his
Many books have been inspired by Lewis, including A Severe Mercy by his correspondent and friend Sheldon Vanauken. A Severe Mercy is an autobiographical book by Sheldon Vanauken, relating the author's relationship with his wife their friendship with C Sheldon Vanauken ( August 4, 1914 &ndash October 28, 1996) is an American Author, best known for his autobiographical book The Chronicles of Narnia have been particularly influential. Modern children's literature such as Daniel Handler's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter have been more or less influenced by Lewis' series (Hilliard 2005). Daniel Handler (born February 28 1970 is an American writer, Screenwriter and Accordionist He is best known for his work under the Pen name A Series of Unfortunate Events is a children's Book series of thirteen novels written by Daniel Handler under the Pseudonym of Eoin Colfer (born 14 May 1965) is an Irish Author of children's books and a comedian There is a draft page for this article here. Artemis Fowl is a series of Fantasy novels written by Irish author Eoin Colfer Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946) is an English writer. His Dark Materials is a Trilogy of Fantasy Novels by Philip Pullman comprising Northern Lights (1995 Joanne "Jo" Rowling OBE (born 31 July 1965 who writes under the Harry Potter is a series of seven Fantasy novels written by British author J Pullman, a critic of Lewis, considers him a negative influence and has accused Lewis of featuring religious propaganda, misogyny, racism, and emotional sadism (BBC News 2005) in his books. Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people Misogyny (mɪˈsɒdʒɪni is hatred (or contemptof women Misogyny is parallel to Misandry — the hatred of men List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that Authors of adult fantasy literature such as Tim Powers have also testified to being influenced by Lewis' work. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American Science fiction and fantasy author
Most of Lewis’ posthumous work has been edited by his literary executor, Walter Hooper. Walter McGehee Hooper (born March 27 1931 is a trustee and literary advisor of the estate of C An independent Lewis scholar, the late Kathryn Lindskoog, argued that Hooper's scholarship is not reliable and that he has made false statements and attributed forged works to Lewis (Lindskoog 2001). Kathryn Lindskoog (December 26 1934 to October 21 2003 was a C C. S. Lewis' stepson, Douglas Gresham, denies the forgery claims, saying that "The whole controversy thing was engineered for very personal reasons. Douglas Gresham (born November 101945 in the USA) is a British Biographer and Film producer, resident in Ireland, and . . Her fanciful theories have been pretty thoroughly discredited. " (Gresham 2007).
A bronze statue of Lewis' character, Digory, from The Magician's Nephew, stands in Belfast's Holywood Arches in front of the Holywood Road Library (BBC News 2004). Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal Sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply a "bronze" Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland.
Lewis was strongly opposed to the creation of live-action versions of his works. His major concern was that the anthropomorphic animal characters "when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare". This was said in the context of the 1950s, when technology would not allow the special effects required to make a coherent, robust film version of Narnia. The illusions used in the Film, Television, Theater, or Entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called
The song "The Earth Will Shake" performed by Thrice is based on one of his poems, and the band Sixpence None the Richer are named after a passage in Mere Christianity. Thrice is an American band from Irvine California. The group was founded in 1998 by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and guitarist Teppei Teranishi while Sixpence None the Richer (Shorter Sixpence NTR is a Grammy -nominated American Christian pop/rock band that formed in New Braunfels Texas, eventually The Great Divorce has served as the inspiration for at least three pieces of music: a string quartet piece entitled The Great Divorce by Matt Slocum of Sixpence None the Richer, the song "The High Countries" by Caedmon's Call on their album Back Home, and Phil Woodward's 2007 rock album Ghosts and Spirits. Matt Slocum (born December 27, 1972) is a Guitarist, Cellist, Pianist and Composer. Sixpence None the Richer (Shorter Sixpence NTR is a Grammy -nominated American Christian pop/rock band that formed in New Braunfels Texas, eventually Caedmon's Call is a Contemporary Christian band which fuses traditional folk with World music and Alternative rock. New Zealand Christian singer-songwriter Brooke Fraser also included a song entitled "C. Brooke Gabrielle Fraser (born December 15, 1983 in Wellington, New Zealand) is an award-winning New Zealand Singer-songwriter S. Lewis Song" in her latest album "Albertine" which contains passages from his writing. [9] Christian alternative rock band Poor Old Lu are so named because of a sentence in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Christian alternative rock music ( ACM) is a form of Alternative rock music lyrically grounded in a Christian worldview Poor Old Lu was a pioneering alternative Christian band based in the American Northwest. Another alternative rock band, Future of Forestry, got its name from Lewis's poem The Future of Forestry. Future of Forestry is a Christian rock alternative band from Southern California, USA. The Future of Forestry is a poem by C S Lewis. It appears on page 63 of Poems, edited by Walter Hooper, published by Harvest Books (November 4 2002 2nd Chapter of Acts recorded an album entitled The Roar of Love, inspired by the first of the Narnia stories. The 2nd Chapter of Acts was a Jesus Music and an early Contemporary Christian Music group composed of sisters Annie Herring and Nelly Greisen The Roar of Love is a 1978 Concept album by Christian band 2nd Chapter of Acts that tells the story of the first book in the Chronicles British band The Waterboys quoted from the final Narnia book, The Last Battle, in their 1984 song "Church Not Made with Hands". The Last Battle is the seventh and final novel in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C Later, on their 1990 album Room to Roam, The Waterboys included a song entitled "Further Up, Further In", the title taken from the penultimate chapter of The Last Battle". Also, Joni Mitchell included a song titled "The Dawntreader" on her album, "Song to a Seagull. "
The 2005 film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was based on his first installment in the Narnia series. The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 Fantasy film directed by Andrew Adamson based on The Lion It grossed $744 million worldwide. Film adaptations have been made of three other books he wrote: Prince Caspian (released on May 16, 2008), Voyage of the Dawn Treader (to be released on May 7, 2010) and The Screwtape Letters (to be released sometime in 2008 and shot as a live-action movie). For the book see Prince Caspian. For the video game see The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian (video game. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a Fantasy novel for children by C
Several C. S. Lewis Societies exist around the world, including one which was founded in Oxford in 1982 to discuss papers on the life and works of Lewis and the other Inklings, and generally appreciate all things Lewisian. [10] His name is also used by a variety of Christian organizations, often with a concern for maintaining conservative Christian values in education or literary studies. The Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe a spectrum of right-wing Christian political and social movements and
Bibliography
Nonfiction
- The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition (1936)
- Rehabilitations and other essays (1939) — with two essays not included in Essay Collection (2000)
- The Personal Heresy: A Controversy (with E. M. W. Tillyard, 1939)
- The Problem of Pain (1940)
- A Preface to Paradise Lost (1942)
- The Abolition of Man (1943)
- Beyond Personality (1944)
- Miracles: A Preliminary Study (1947, revised 1960)
- Arthurian Torso (1948; on Charles Williams's poetry)
- Mere Christianity (1952; based on radio talks of 1941 – 1944)
- English Literature in the Sixteenth Century Excluding Drama (1954); 1975 reprint ISBN 0198812981;
- Major British Writers, Vol I (1954), Contribution on Edmund Spenser
- Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life (1955; autobiography)
- Reflections on the Psalms (1958)
- The Four Loves (1960)
- Studies in Words (1960)
- An Experiment in Criticism (1961)
- A Grief Observed (1961; first published under the pseudonym «N. The Allegory of Love A Study in Medieval Tradition ( 1936) by C Jack’s “Personal Heresy” The Politics of Poetics Summary The Personal Heresy is a series of articles three each by C Eustace Mandeville Wetenhall Tillyard (1889 –1962 was a British Classical scholar and literary scholar The Problem of Pain is a 1940 book by C S Lewis, in which he seeks to provide an intellectual Christian response to questions about Suffering A Preface to Paradise Lost is one of C S Lewis 's most famous scholarly works The Abolition of Man is a 1943 book by C S Lewis. It is subtitled "Reflections on education with special reference to the teaching of English in Miracles is a book Charles Walter Stansby Williams ( September 20, 1886 – May 15, 1945) was a British Poet, Novelist, Theologian Mere Christianity is a theological book by C S Lewis, adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944 while Lewis Surprised by Joy The Shape of My Early Life is a partial Autobiography published by C An autobiography, from the Greek αὐτός autos "self" βίος bios "life" and γράφειν graphein "to write" The Four Loves is a Book by C S Lewis which explores the nature of Love from a Christian perspective through thought-experiments Studies in Words is a secular work of linguistic scholarship written by Clive Staples Lewis and published by the Cambridge University Press in 1960 An Experiment in Criticism is a 1961 book by C S Lewis in which he proposes that the quality of books should be measured not by how they are written but by how A Grief Observed, first published in 1961, is a collection of C A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) W. Clerk»)
- They Asked for a Paper: Papers and Addresses(1962)
- Selections from Layamon's Brut (ed. G L Brook, 1963 Oxford University Press) introduction
- The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1964)
- Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1966) — not included in Essay Collection (2000)
- Spenser's Images of Life (ed. The Discarded Image An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature is non-fiction and the last book written by C Alastair Fowler, 1967)
- Letters to an American Lady (1967)
- Christian Reflections (1967; essays and papers)
- Selected Literary Essays (1969) — not included in Essay Collection (2000)
- God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics (1970), = Undeceptions (1971) — all included in Essay Collection (2000)
- Of Other Worlds (1982; essays) — with one essay not included in Essay Collection
- Present Concerns (1986; essays)
- All My Road Before Me: The Diary of C. God in the Dock is a collection of essays and speeches from C S. Lewis 1922 – 27 (1993)
- Essay Collection: Literature, Philosophy and Short Stories (2000)
- Essay Collection: Faith, Christianity and the Church (2000)
- Collected Letters, Vol. I: Family Letters 1905 – 1931 (2000)
- Collected Letters, Vol. II: Books, Broadcasts and War 1931 – 1949 (2004)
- Collected Letters, Vol. III: Narnia, Cambridge and Joy 1950 – 1963 (2007)
- The Business Of Heaven:Daily Readings From C. S. Lewis ed. Walter Hooper, 1984, Harvest Book, Harcourt, Inc.
Fiction
- The Pilgrim's Regress (1933)
- Space Trilogy
- Out of the Silent Planet (1938)
- Perelandra (aka Voyage to Venus) (1943)
- That Hideous Strength (1946)
- The Screwtape Letters (1942)
- The Great Divorce (1945)
- The Chronicles of Narnia
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)
- Prince Caspian (1951)
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
- The Silver Chair (1953)
- The Horse and His Boy (1954)
- The Magician's Nephew (1955)
- The Last Battle (1956)
- Till We Have Faces (1956)
- Screwtape Proposes a Toast (1961) (an addition to The Screwtape Letters)
- Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer (1964)
- The Dark Tower (1977)
- Boxen: The Imaginary World of the Young C. S. Lewis (ed. The Pilgrim's Regress is a book of allegorical fiction by C S The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a Trilogy of three Science fiction novels by __FORCETOC__ Out of the Silent Planet is the first Novel of a Science fiction Trilogy written by C Perelandra (also titled Voyage to Venus in a later edition published by Pan Books) is the second book in the Space Trilogy That Hideous Strength is a 1945 Novel by C S Lewis, the final book in Lewis's theological Science fiction Space Trilogy. Screwtape redirects here For the musical project "Screwtape" see Drew McDowall. The Great Divorce is a work of Fantasy by C S Lewis that portrays Christian perceptions of the life after death allegorically specifically The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C Prince Caspian The Return to Narnia is a Novel for children by C The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a Fantasy novel for children by C The Silver Chair is part of The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels written by C The Horse and His Boy is a Novel by C S Lewis. It was published in 1954 making it the fifth of seven books published in Lewis' series The Magician's Nephew is a fantasy novel for children written by C The Last Battle is the seventh and final novel in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C Till We Have Faces A Myth Retold is a 1956 Parallel Screwtape redirects here For the musical project "Screwtape" see Drew McDowall. Letters to Malcolm Chiefly on Prayer is a book by CS Lewis posthumously published in 1964. The Dark Tower is a novel written by C S Lewis that appears to be the beginning of an abandoned Science fiction novel intended as a sequel to Boxen is a Fictional world that C S Lewis (known as Jack and his brother W Walter Hooper, 1985)
Poetry
- Spirits in Bondage (1919; published under pseudonym Clive Hamilton)
- Dymer (1926; published under pseudonym Clive Hamilton)
- Narrative Poems (ed. Spirits in Bondage (1919 was author and Christian Apologist C A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) Dymer is a Narrative poem by CS Lewis published by JM Dent in 1926 under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton Walter Hooper, 1969; includes Dymer)
- The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis (ed. Walter Hooper, 1994; includes Spirits in Bondage)
As editor
- George MacDonald: An Anthology (1947)
- Essays Presented to Charles Williams (1947)
Secondary works
- John Beversluis, C. S. Lewis and the Search for Rational Religion. Eerdmans, 1985. ISBN 0-8028-0046-7
- Humphrey Carpenter, The Inklings: C. Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter ( April 29 1946 – January 4 2005) was an English biographer, Author, and S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and their friends. George Allen & Unwin, 1978. ISBN 0-04-809011-5
- Joe R. Christopher & Joan K. Ostling, C. Richard and Joan Ostling are United States Authors and Journalists living in Ridgewood New Jersey. S. Lewis: An Annotated Checklist of Writings about him and his Works. Kent State University Press, n. d. (1972). ISBN 0-87338-138-6
- James Como, Branches to Heaven: The Geniuses of C. Chairman and Professor of the Department of Performing and Fine Arts at York College of the City University of New York ( CUNY) in Jamaica, Queens S. Lewis, Spence, 1998.
- James Como, Remembering C. S. Lewis (3rd ed. of C. S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table). Ignatius, 2006
- Michael Coren, The Man Who Created Narnia: The Story of C. S. Lewis. Eerdmans Pub Co, Reprint edition 1996. ISBN 0-8028-3822-7
- Christopher Derrick, C. Christopher Hugh Derrick ( 12 June 1921 &ndash 2 October 2007) was an author reviewer Publisher's reader and lecturer S. Lewis and the Church of Rome: A Study in Proto-Ecumenism. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 1981. ISBN 978-9991718507
- Colin Duriez and David Porter, The Inklings Handbook: The Lives, Thought and Writings of C. Colin Duriez (born 19 July 1947) is a writer on fantasy and related matters David Porter can mean David R Porter (1788-1867 a Pennsylvania politician David Porter (naval officer (1780—1843 United States S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and Their Friends. 2001, ISBN 1-902694-13-9
- Colin Duriez, Tolkien and C. S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship. Paulist Press, 2003. ISBN 1-58768-026-2
- Bruce L. Edwards, Not a Tame Lion: The Spiritual World of Narnia. Bruce L Edwards is Professor of English and Africana Studies and Associate Vice Provost for Academic Technology at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green Ohio Tyndale. 2005. ISBN 1414303815
- Bruce L. Edwards, Further Up and Further In: Understanding C. Bruce L Edwards is Professor of English and Africana Studies and Associate Vice Provost for Academic Technology at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green Ohio S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Broadman and Holman, 2005. ISBN 0805440704
- Bruce L. Edwards, General Editor, C. Bruce L Edwards is Professor of English and Africana Studies and Associate Vice Provost for Academic Technology at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green Ohio S. Lewis: Life, Works, and Legacy. 4 Vol. Praeger Perspectives, 2007. ISBN 0275991164
- Bruce L. Edwards, Editor. Bruce L Edwards is Professor of English and Africana Studies and Associate Vice Provost for Academic Technology at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green Ohio The Taste of the Pineapple: Essays on C. S. Lewis as Reader, Critic, and Imaginative Writer. The Popular Press, 1988. ISBN 0879724072
- Bruce L. Edwards, A Rhetoric of Reading: C. Bruce L Edwards is Professor of English and Africana Studies and Associate Vice Provost for Academic Technology at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green Ohio S. Lewis's Defense of Western Literacy. Center for the Study of Chrfistian Values in Literature, 1986. ISBN 0939555018
- Alastair Fowler, 'C. S. Lewis: Supervisor', Yale Review, Vol. 91, No. 4 (October 2003).
- Jocelyn Gibb (ed. ), Light on C. S. Lewis. Geoffrey Bles, 1965 & Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1976. ISBN 0-15-652000-1
- Douglas Gilbert & Clyde Kilby, C. S. Lewis: Images of His World. Eerdmans, 1973 & 2005. ISBN 0-8028-2800-0
- Diana Pavlac Glyer The Company They Keep: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community. Kent State University Press. Kent Ohio. 2007. ISBN 978-0-87338-890-0
- David Graham (ed. ), We Remember C. S. Lewis. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001. ISBN 0-8054-2299-4
- Roger Lancelyn Green & Walter Hooper, C. Roger (Gilbert Lancelyn Green ( 2 November 1918 – 8 October 1987) was a British biographer and children's writer Walter McGehee Hooper (born March 27 1931 is a trustee and literary advisor of the estate of C S. Lewis: A Biography. Fully revised & expanded edition. HarperCollins, 2002. ISBN 0-00-628164-8
- Douglas Gresham, Jack's Life: A Memory of C. Douglas Gresham (born November 101945 in the USA) is a British Biographer and Film producer, resident in Ireland, and S. Lewis. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005. ISBN 0-8054-3246-9
- Douglas Gresham, Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis. HarperSanFrancisco, 1994. ISBN 0-06-063447-2
- William Griffin, C. S. Lewis: The Authentic Voice. (Formerly C. S. Lewis: A Dramatic Life) Lion, 2005. ISBN 0-7459-5208-9
- Joel D. Heck, Irrigating Deserts: C. S. Lewis on Education. Concordia Publishing House, 2006. ISBN 0-7586-0044-5
- David Hein, "A Note on C. S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters. " The Anglican Digest 49. 2 (Easter 2007): 55-58. Argues that Lewis's portrayal of the activity of the Devil was influenced by contemporary events--in particular, by the threat of a Nazi invasion of Britain in 1940.
- David Hein and Edward Hugh Henderson, eds. , Captured by the Crucified: The Practical Theology of Austin Farrer. New York and London: T & T Clark / Continuum, 2004. A study of Lewis's close friend the theologian Austin Farrer, this book also contains material on Farrer's circle, "the Oxford Christians," including C. Austin Marsden Farrer (1904– 29 December 1968) was an English Theologian and Philosopher. S. Lewis.
- Walter Hooper, C. S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide. HarperCollins, 1996. ISBN 0-00-627800-0
- Walter Hooper, Through Joy and Beyond: A Pictorial Biography of C. S. Lewis. Macmillan, 1982. ISBN 0-02-553670-2
- Alan Jacobs, The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C. S. Lewis. HarperSanFrancisco, 2005. ISBN 0-06-076690-5
- Carolyn Keefe, C. S. Lewis: Speaker & Teacher. Zondervan, 1979. ISBN 0-310-26781-1
- Clyde S. Kilby, The Christian World of C. S. Lewis. Eerdmans, 1964, 1995. ISBN 0-8028-0871-9
- W. H. Lewis (ed), Letters of C. S. Lewis. Geoffrey Bles, 1966. ISBN 0-00-242457-6
- Kathryn Lindskoog, Light in the Shadowlands: Protecting the Real C. S. Lewis. Multnomah Pub. , 1994. ISBN 0-88070-695-3
- Susan Lowenberg, C. S. Lewis: A Reference Guide 1972 – 1988. Hall & Co. , 1993. ISBN 0-8161-1846-9
- Wayne Mardindale & Jerry Root, The Quotable Lewis. Tyndale House Publishers, 1990. ISBN 0-8423-5115-9
- Markus Mühling, "A Theological Journey into Narnia. An Analysis of the Message beneath the Text", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2005, ISBN 3-525-60423-8
- Joseph Pearce, C. Joseph Pearce (born 1961) is an English-born writer As of 2004 Writer in Residence and Professor of Literature at Ave Maria University in Naples S. Lewis and the Catholic Church. Ignatius Press, 2003. ISBN 0-89870-979-2
- Thomas C. Peters, Simply C. S. Lewis. A Beginner's Guide to His Life and Works. Kingsway Publications, 1998. ISBN 0-85476-762-2
- Justin Phillips, C. S. Lewis at the BBC: Messages of Hope in the Darkness of War. Marshall Pickering, 2003. ISBN 0-00-710437-5
- Victor Reppert, C. S. Lewis's Dangerous Idea: In Defense of the Argument from Reason. InterVarsity Press, 2003. ISBN 0-8308-2732-3
- George Sayer, Jack: C. S. Lewis and His Times. Macmillan, 1988. ISBN 0-333-43362-9
- Peter J. Schakel, Imagination and the Arts in C. S. Lewis: Journeying to Narnia and Other Worlds. University of Missouri Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8262-1407-X
- Peter J. Schakel. Reason and Imagination in C. S. Lewis: A Study of "Till We Have Faces. " Available online. Eerdmans, 1984. ISBN 0-8028-1998-2
- Peter J. Schakel, ed. The Longing for a Form: Essays on the Fiction of C. S. Lewis. Kent State University Press, 1977. ISBN 0-87338-204-8
- Peter J. Schakel and Charles A. Huttar, ed. Word and Story in C. S. Lewis. University of Missouri Press, 1991. ISBN 0-8262-0760-X
- Stephen Schofield. In Search of C. S. Lewis. Bridge Logos Pub. 1983. ISBN 0-88270-544-X
- Jeffrey D. Schultz and John G. West, Jr. (eds. ), The C. S. Lewis Readers' Encyclopedia. Zondervan Publishing House, 1998. ISBN 0-310-21538-2
- G. B. Tennyson (ed. ), Owen Barfield on C. S. Lewis. Wesleyan University Press, 1989. ISBN 0-8195-5233-X.
- Richard J. Wagner. C. S. Lewis and Narnia for Dummies. For Dummies, 2005. ISBN 0-7645-8381-6
- Andrew Walker, Patrick James (ed. ), Rumours of Heaven: Essays in Celebration of C. S. Lewis, Guildford: Eagle, 1998, ISBN 0863472508
- Chad Walsh, C. S. Lewis: Apostle to the Skeptics. Macmillan, 1949.
- Chad Walsh, The Literary Legacy of C. S. Lewis. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979. ISBN 0-15-652785-5.
- George Watson (ed. ), Critical Essays on C. S. Lewis. Scolar Press, 1992. ISBN 0-85967-853-9
- Michael White, C. Michael White is a British writer based in Perth, Australia. He has been a Science editor of British GQ S. Lewis: The Boy Who Chronicled Narnia. Abacus, 2005. ISBN 0-349-11625-3
- Erik J. Wielenberg, God and the Reach of Reason. Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-521-70710-7
- A. N. Wilson, C. Andrew Norman Wilson (born 27 October, 1950) is an English writer known for his critical biographies novels and works of popular and cultural history S. Lewis: A Biography. W. W. Norton, 1990. ISBN 0-393-32340-4
See also
- Christian apologetics (field of study concerned with the defence of Christianity)
- The Chronicles of Narnia
- The Inklings
- Pauline Baynes
- G. E. M. Anscombe
- George MacDonald
Notes
- ^ http://atheism.about.com/od/cslewisnarnia/a/biography.htm accessed September 15, 2007
- ^ Carpenter, Humphrey (1978). Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections The Inklings was an informal literary discussion group associated with the University of Oxford, England, for nearly two decades between the early Pauline Baynes ( September 9, 1922 - August 1, 2008) was an English book illustrator whose work encompassed more than 100 books notably G E M Anscombe ( 18 March, 1919 &ndash 5 January, 2001) born Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe, but better known as Elizabeth George MacDonald ( 10 December 1824 &mdash 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author poet and Christian minister The Inklings. Allen & Unwin. Lewis was brought up in the Church of Ireland, and after his conversion joined the Church of England. The Church of Ireland (Eaglais na hÉireann is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican
- ^ C.S. Lewis - His Conversion
- ^ Green and Hooper. C. S. Lewis: A Biography (New York:Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974), 268.
- ^ Frequently Asked Questions About C.S. Lewis. “According to George Sayer, Lewis's friend and biographer, Lewis regarded the debate as a defeat, and felt humiliated by it:
- "He told me that he had been proved wrong, and that his argument for the existence of God had been demolished. . . . The debate had been a humiliating experience, but perhaps it was ultimately good for him. In the past, he had been too proud of his logical ability. Now he was humbled . . . . 'I can never write another book of that sort' he said to me of Miracles. And he never did. He also never wrote another theological book. Reflections on the Psalms is really devotional and literary; Letters to Malcolm is also a devotional book, a series of reflections on prayer, without contentious arguments. "”
- ^ "Was Jesus Mad, Bad, or God?", in Stephen T. Davis, Daniel Kendall, Gerald O'Collins, The Incarnation: an interdisciplinary symposium on the Incarnation of the Son of God (Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 222 – 3.
- ^ John Hick, The Metaphor of God Incarnate, page 27.
- ^ N. T. Wright, "Simply Lewis: Reflections on a Master Apologist After 60 Years", Touchstone, March 2007 [1]
- ^ http://songslyrics.selaplana.com/songs/international/cs-lewis-song-brooke-fraser retrieved September 9, 2007
- ^ lewisinoxford - OXFORD UNIVERSITY C. S. LEWIS SOCIETY
References
- Barker, Dan (1992), written at Madison, Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist, Freedom from Religion Foundation, ISBN 1-877733-07-5
- BBC News, Staff (2005), "Pullman attacks Narnia film plans", BBC News 2005 (16 October), <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4347226.stm>
- BBC News, Staff (2004), "City that inspired Narnia fantasy", BBC News 2004 (5 March), <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3533797.stm>
- Carpenter, Humphrey (2006), The Inklings: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and Their Friends, HarperCollins, ISBN 0-0077-4869-8
- Dodd, Celia (2004), "Human nature: Universally acknowledged", The Times 2004 (05-08), <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-100-1100513,00.html>
- Drennan, Miriam (1999), "Back into the wardrobe with The Complete Chronicles of Narnia", BookPage, <http://www.bookpage.com/9903bp/douglas_gresham.html>
- Ezard, John (2002), "Narnia books attacked as racist and sexist", The Guardian 2002 (6-3), <http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,726739,00.html>
- Friends of Holy Trinity Church, Staff, History of the Building, <http://www.friendsofholytrinity.org.uk/History1.html>
- Gopnik, Adam (2005), "PRISONER OF NARNIA How C. S. Lewis escaped", The New Yorker 2005 (11 – 21), <http://www.newyorker.com/critics/content/articles/051121crat_atlarge>
- Guardian Unlimited, Staff (2005), "If you didn't find Narnia in your own wardrobe…", Guardian Unlimited 2005 (04 – 12), <http://travel.guardian.co.uk/article/2005/dec/04/unitedkingdom.cslewis.booksforchildrenandteenagers>
- Guthmann, Edward (2005), "'Narnia' tries to cash in on dual audience", San Francisco Chronicle, <http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/12/11/NARNIA.TMP>
- Haven, Cynthia (2006), "Lost in the shadow of C.S. Lewis' fame Joy Davidman was a noted poet, a feisty Communist and a free spirit", San Francisco Chronicle (no. From traditional Book reviews and Author interviews to a blog and e-newsletter services BookPage has become one of the United States ' most popular The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. The New Yorker is an American Magazine that publishes reportage commentary criticism essays fiction satire cartoons and poetry guardiancouk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. The San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H The San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H 01-01), <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/01/01/RVGQFGC5DO1.DTL>
- Hooper, Walter (1979), written at London, They stand together: The letters of C. Walter McGehee Hooper (born March 27 1931 is a trustee and literary advisor of the estate of C S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves (1914 – 1963), Collins, ISBN 0-00-215828-0
- Hilliard, Juli (2005), "Hear the Roar", Sarasota Herald-Tribune 2005 (12 – 09), <http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/FEATURES/512090692/1376>
- Kelly, Clint (2006), "Dear Mr. Lewis", Response 29 (1), <http://www.spu.edu/depts/uc/response/winter2k6/features/lewis.asp>
- Kreeft, Peter (1982), Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialogue Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C. S. Lewis & Aldous Huxley, InterVarsity Press, 0-8778-4389-9
- Lewis, C. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is a daily Newspaper located in Sarasota Florida. Between Heaven and Hell is a fiction novel by Peter Kreeft about American President John F S. (1946), written at London, The Great Divorce, Collins, 0-00-628056-0
- Lewis, C. The Great Divorce is a work of Fantasy by C S Lewis that portrays Christian perceptions of the life after death allegorically specifically S. (1952), written at London, Mere Christianity, Collins, 0-00-628054-4
- Lewis, C. Mere Christianity is a theological book by C S Lewis, adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944 while Lewis S. (1942), written at London, The Screwtape Letters, Collins, 0-00-767240-3
- Lewis, C. Screwtape redirects here For the musical project "Screwtape" see Drew McDowall. S. (1966), written at London, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life, Harvest Books, 0156870118
- Lindskoog, Kathyrn (2001), Sleuthing C. Surprised by Joy The Shape of My Early Life is a partial Autobiography published by C S. Lewis: More Light In The Shadowlands, Mercer University Press, ISBN 0-8655-4730-0
- Gresham, Douglas (2007), Behind The Wardrobe: An Interview Series with Douglas Gresham, NarniaFans. com, <http://www.narniafans.com/?id=1235>
- Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, ISBN 0-1981-4405-9, <http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/785>
- Martindale, Wayne & Jerry Root (1990), The Quotable Lewis, Tyndale House, ISBN 0-8423-5115-9
- McDowell, Josh (2001), More Than a Carpenter, Kingsway Publications, ISBN 0-8547-6906-4
- Murray, Iain (1990), David Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith, 1939 – 1981, The Banner of Truth Trust, ISBN 0-8515-1564-9
- Neven, Tom (2001), "In Lenten Lands", Le Penseur Réfléchit, <http://www.mrrena.com/2001/Lewis.shtml>
- The Old Inn, Staff (2007), History of the Old Inn, <http://www.theoldinn.com/about-us/history-of-the-old-inn/>
- Pratt, Alf (1998), "LDS Scholars Salute Author C.S. Lewis At BYU Conference", The Salt Lake Tribune 1998 (December), <http://www.crlamppost.org/BYU.htm>
- Tonkin, Boyd (2005), "CS Lewis: The literary lion of Narnia", The Independent 2005 (11 – 11), <http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/features/article326179.ece>
- Toynbee, Polly (2005), "Narnia represents everything that is most hateful about religion", The Guardian 2005 (December 5), <http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,2763,1657759,00.html>
External links
Original Works of CS Lewis
- Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College — has the world’s largest collection of Lewis's works and works about him
- Taylor University, Upland, Indiana, has the world's largest private collection of C. The Salt Lake Tribune is the largest-circulated daily newspaper in the U The Independent is a British compact Newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly 's Independent News & Media. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Wheaton College is a private Evangelical Protestant, Coeducational Liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a Suburb S. Lewis first editions, letters, manuscripts, and ephemera — the Edwin W. Brown Collection
- Arend Smilde's CSL site — Dutch and (mainly) English. Several unique or hard-to-find texts and resources
Audio
- Lewis on The George MacDonald Informational Web Has an excerpt of Lewis talking about friend and fellow author: Charles Williams, bottom of page
- Lewis's Surviving Broadcast Talks on the BBC BBC page on Lewis with original audio recordings.
- Complete text and audio of C.S. Lewis' BBC Radio Broadcast 'Beyond Personality - Mere Men'
Periodical publications
- The Chronicle — British academic journal for C. S. Lewis and his circle
Analysis/Evaluation
- Works by or about C. S. Lewis in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- C.S. Lewis at the Internet Book List
FAQs
Genealogy
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Lewis, Clive Staples |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | C. WorldCat is a Union catalog which itemizes the collections of more than 10000 libraries which participate in the OCLC global cooperative S. Lewis, CS Lewis, Jack (nickname) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Author & Christian apologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 29 November 1898 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| DATE OF DEATH | 22 November 1963 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Oxford, England |
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