Tag: C. S. Lewis

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St. Athanasius On the Incarnation | Book Review

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There are three good reasons to read this edition of Athanasius’On the Incarnation. First, the Introduction by C. S. Lewis is worth the price of the book. “There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by professionals,” he writes, “and that the amateur should content himself with the modern books.” He goes on to give reasons why that “strange idea” is a mistake, as well as to make the case for the importance of reading old books. “The only palliative [to modern prejudices] is to keep the clean sea breeze of … Continue reading St. Athanasius On the Incarnation | Book Review

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Review of ‘Peacekeeper’ by Christopher Bryan

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Christopher Bryan, Peacekeeper: A Novel (Sewanee, TN: Diamond, 2013). Paperback | Kindle Peacekeeper is a supernatural thriller, and like all such thrillers requires a willing suspension of disbelief. If golems, demons, apparitions, the music of the spheres, and an imminent apocalypse aren’t your cup of fictional tea, don’t read this book. You won’t like it. If, on the other hand, you’re a fan of C. S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce and That Hideous Strength, by all means, take a look. Peacekeeper draws inspiration from those books (and others) and tells an interesting tale about a diabolical plot to launch World … Continue reading Review of ‘Peacekeeper’ by Christopher Bryan

Ecclesiastes, The Daily Word1 Comment

Christian Hedonism (Ecclesiastes 9:7–10)

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God filled this world with many pleasures; it is your religious duty to enjoy them. Now, I suppose that such an idea strikes some of you as slightly off kilter, as the kind of thing a Christian ought not to say. In 1 John 2:16 we read, “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.” Aren’t we supposed to avoid worldly pleasures? Yes and no. Yes, we ought to avoid pleasures that cause us to love anything more … Continue reading Christian Hedonism (Ecclesiastes 9:7–10)

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Review of ‘The Pilgrim’s Regress: The Wade Annotated Edition’ by C. S. Lewis

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C. S. Lewis, The Pilgrim’s Regress: The Wade Annotated Edition, ed. David C. Downing (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2014). Hardcover First published in 1933, The Pilgrim’s Regress by C. S. Lewis is “an allegorical apology for Christianity, reason, and romanticism” (in the words of the subtitle). It was Lewis’s first Christian book, written over the course of two weeks (August 15–29, 1932) while Lewis stayed in Belfast with his lifelong friend, Arthur Greeves. Lewis had converted—or perhaps, reconverted—to Christianity in either 1929 or 1930 (the date is disputed by Lewis scholars) after a long intellectual sojourn through various intellectual points … Continue reading Review of ‘The Pilgrim’s Regress: The Wade Annotated Edition’ by C. S. Lewis

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Review of ‘C. S. Lewis–A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet’ by Alister McGrath

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McGrath, Alister. 2013. C. S. Lewis—A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet. Carol Steam, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. C. S. Lewis—Jack to his friends—looms large in the American evangelical mind. On the one hand, this is surprising. A communicant in the Church of England, Lewis was generically orthodox but not specifically evangelical in theological or spiritual emphases. His closest lifelong friends were a homosexual Unitarian (Arthur Greeves) and a traditionalist Roman Catholic (J. R. R. Tolkien). And he drank and smoked prolifically, at one point having a barrel of beer in his rooms at Oxford for the use of his … Continue reading Review of ‘C. S. Lewis–A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet’ by Alister McGrath

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Review of ‘C. S. Lewis–A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet’ by Alister McGrath

georgepwood

 McGrath, Alister. 2013. C. S. Lewis—A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet. Carol Steam, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. C. S. Lewis—Jack to his friends—looms large in the American evangelical mind. On the one hand, this is surprising. A communicant in the Church of England, Lewis was generically orthodox but not specifically evangelical in theological or spiritual emphases. His closest lifelong friends were a homosexual Unitarian (Arthur Greeves) and a traditionalist Roman Catholic (J. R. R. Tolkien). And he drank and smoked prolifically, at one point having a barrel of beer in his rooms at Oxford for the use of his … Continue reading Review of ‘C. S. Lewis–A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet’ by Alister McGrath

The World Wide (Religious) Web1 Comment

The World Wide (Religious) Web for Monday, May 9, 2011

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This year is the 400th anniversary of the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. Over at ChristianityToday.com, Mark A. Noll asks, “What would it have been like if the KJV had always been only one among several competing English-language versions of the Bible?”His answer: When the KJV became the cultural and literary standard for the entire English-speaking world, it was easier to focus on the literary excellence of the translation without stopping to face the divine imperatives and promises that are any Bible’s primary reason for existence. The pervasive cultural presence of this Bible also made it easy to … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Monday, May 9, 2011