Not a Tame Lion: The “Deplorable” C.S. Lewis

From Crisis-

C.S. Lewis was not Catholic, much less a theologian who teaches with an authority Catholics are obliged to recognize. As an eloquent proponent of natural law and the close colleague of important Catholic writers like J.R.R. Tolkien and Elizabeth Anscombe, however, the Anglican Lewis is surely someone whose significance we must acknowledge. Unfortunately, among some there is a tendency to celebrate an imaginary Lewis, a tame conservative establishmentarian who opposes atheism, abortion, and human cloning but would otherwise fit nicely into a post-1960s dispensation of multiculturalism and working mothers. Such sanitizing of Lewis is unfortunate not because he was always right, but because we cannot possibly benefit from our conversations with the finest minds of the past until we are ready to listen to what such minds actually have to say.

“By learning to drink and smoke and perhaps to tell risqué stories,” observes Lewis, the supposedly emancipated modern girl has not really “drawn an inch nearer to the men than her grandmother.” Moreover, he adds, “her grandmother was far happier and more realistic. She was at home talking real women’s talk to other women and perhaps doing so with great charm, sense and even wit.” There are “sensible women,” but at a mixed party such women are wont to “gravitate to one end of the room and talk women’s talk to one another,” for they know full well that “it is only the riff-raff of each sex that wants to be incessantly hanging on the other.” So much for co-ed dorms. Or, for that matter, co-ed colleges.

More here-

https://www.crisismagazine.com/2018/not-tame-lion-deplorable-c-s-lewis

The Holy Work of Grieving

From Communicating Across Boundries-

Two days ago, my friend’s dad died. In twenty first century vernacular – she “lost” her dad. “Lost” is such a silly thing to say – like she needs to just go searching for him and she will find him; like it’s a child’s game of hide ‘n seek.

“Lois – just look for him! I’m sure you’ll find him.”

My dark humor comes through as I think about this. We humans delight in deceiving ourselves about death and loss by using words that are ambiguous and sweetly horrid.

As I heard the news, I immediately revisited my dad’s death and the resulting losses. The first picture taken of Lois and me together was on the banks of the Dead Sea. Each of us is holding hands with our dads. Our dads are so young and so alive. Two adventurers – as at home in Pakistan and Jordan as they were in the United States. They lived between worlds – learning languages with sounds that seemed impossible, deciphering a script that was completely foreign, and traveling to places that topped the U.S State Department watch list. They learned about Middle Eastern hospitality; about what it was to send their children to boarding schools; and about friendship in a Middle Eastern context. Most of all, they learned what it is to follow a faith until the end and to never give up.

More here-

https://communicatingacrossboundariesblog.com/2018/01/25/the-holy-work-of-grieving/

J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, The Great War and This Present Darkness

From Christian Week-

In the wake of the Paris and Beirut attacks, it is easy to feel a darkness descending. What hope is there when people are willing to do such terrible and heinous things to others?

If there is any comfort in history, it is in knowing that we are not the first to feel this way, or go through this experience.

Two men who experienced the worst that humans can do to each other were J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings, and C.S. Lewis, who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia.

Both men were soldiers in the British army on the western front in World War One. Tolkien participated in two attacks, in July and October, 1916, including one where he was in combat for 50 straight hours.

On November 8 of that year, he was sent to hospital with trench fever. He never returned to the front—which probably saved his life.

More here-

http://www.christianweek.org/j-r-r-tolkien-c-s-lewis-great-war-present-darkness/

The Fellowship: Why the Inklings Still Matter

From Huffington-

This summer, I lived for five weeks in Oxford, where the influence of the Inklings -- the group of Oxford writers and thinkers including J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield -- remains visible everywhere you go. Whether you see their pictures in The Eagle and Child, one of their regular haunts in town, feel their presence as you walk along the Thames to The Perch or The Trout, two of their regular haunts out of town, or pass the New Building at Magdalen College, where The Inklings met for evening readings in his rooms, the Inklings are as omnipresent in Oxford as Lewis Carroll's Alice.

More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-garrett/the-fellowship-why-the-in_b_8055796.html

How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Revived Modern Myth-Telling

From Atlantic Monthly-

In this nearly magical room, amid fire-crackle and clink of glass, you can hear them talking. Pipe smoke is in the air, and a certain boisterous chauvinism, and the wet-dog smell of recently rained-on tweed. You can hear the donnish mumbles of J. R. R. Tolkien as the slow coils of The Silmarillion glint and shift in his back-brain. Now he’s reading aloud from an interminable marmalade-stained manuscript, and his fellow academic Hugo Dyson, prone on the couch, is heckling him: “Oh God, not another fucking elf!” You can hear the challenging train-conductor baritone of C. S. Lewis, familiar to millions from his wartime radio broadcasts; hear the unstoppable spiel of the writer/hierophant Charles Williams, with his twitchy limbs and angel-monkey face; hear the silver stream of ideas and argumentation that is the philosopher Owen Barfield. They are intellectually bent upon one another, these men, but flesh-and-blood is the thing: conviviality is, for them, a kind of passion. The chairs are deep; the fire glows gold and extra fiery in the grate. Lewis’s brother, Warnie, rosy with booze and fellow feeling, serves the drinks. And the walls drop away, and the scene extends itself backwards and forward in time …

More here-

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/j-r-r-tolkien-and-c-s-lewis-revived-myth-telling/399347/

C.S. LEWIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: AN INTERVIEW WITH JOSEPH PEARCE

From World Religion News-

The Catholic News Agency recently published an interview with writer Joseph Pearce. He authored C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church, a book that was almost not written if not for the urging of Walter Hooper, the former secretary and literary executer of the C.S. Lewis Estate. The book was initially going to be a simple republish an earlier book by Christopher Derrick, C.S. Lewis and the Church of Rome, however Mr. Hooper wanted a different approach to the subject. “I leapt at the opportunity to grapple with Lewis’ complex and problematic relationship with the Church,” said Pearce, who had converted to Catholicism after being inspired by C.S. Lewis.

More here-

http://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/christianity/c-s-lewis-catholic-church-interview-joseph-pearce

C.S. Lewis lecture focuses on connectivity as common theme between religion, science

From Missouri-

According to Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA, science and religion have more in common than most people would think.

In her 2014 C.S. Lewis Lecture at Westminster College Thursday morning, Jefferts Schori told those gathered in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury that the "Great 'Why' questions" often posited by Lewis are also often a focus in both religious and scientific circles.

"We will focus on scientific and religious frameworks of meaning-making, and I will tell you as we begin that I don't see them as mutually exclusive," Jefferts Schori said. "I see the scientific and religious stories as parallel systems of meaning that are overlapping in their method, but not in the questions they ask or the outcome they seek."

The first female presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA, Jefferts Schori also holds a bachelor of science degree in biology from Stanford Univeristy and master's and doctorate degrees in oceanography from Oregon State University.

More here-

http://www.fultonsun.com/news/2014/feb/28/cs-lewis-lecutre-focuses-connectivity-common-theme/

The C.S. Lewis you never knew

From CNN-

He looked like a “red-faced pork butcher in shabby tweeds,” lived secretly with a woman for years and was so turned on by S&M that he once asked people at a party whether he could spank them.

We’re talking, of course, about C.S. Lewis, the Christian icon and author of classics such as “Mere Christianity” and “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

It’s tempting to remember Lewis only as the self-assured defender of Christianity who never met an argument he couldn't demolish. His death 50 years ago, on November 22, 1963, was overshadowed by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He has since become a patron saint of American evangelicals.

But the actual man whom friends called “Jack” had a “horrible” personal life, thought he had failed as a defender of Christianity and spent so much time in pubs that his publishers initially struggled selling him to a religious audience, scholars say.

More here-

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/01/the-c-s-lewis-you-never-knew/

C.S. Lewis: No mere Christian

From National Post-

There have been many books that have I loved. There are some that have moved me. Only one book has ever made me tremble. In the midst of reading C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity there were passages that physically shook me, which made me feel exhilarated and troubled all at once. There were passages that spoke to me with such authority that I was incapable of ignoring what I was being told — even though at times I wanted to hide and pretend I had not heard a word.

I read it 10 years ago on the suggestion of an Anglican priest. I had told him I wanted to really understand what Christianity was about. The initial miracle was that my local bookstore, whose religion section is full of books on atheism, Tarot cards and Eastern Spirituality, had multiple copies of Mere Christianity.

More here-

http://life.nationalpost.com/2013/11/22/c-s-lewis-no-mere-christian/

C.S. Lewis, Catholic Gateway Drug

From Aleteia-

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the death of one of the greatest Christian minds of the 20th century, the apologist, poet, and novelist, C.S. Lewis.

He authored over forty non-fiction books, eighteen novels, and four books of poetry, including such masterpieces as Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and the children’s book series The Chronicles of Narnia. Publishers report that his books have been far more popular since his death than they were during his lifetime.

Lewis’ writings are not only appreciated by Catholics but have been influential in actually leading numberless converts across the Tiber river to the Catholic Church. Though he remained an Anglican until his death, Lewis has been one of the most effective evangelists for the Catholic faith in the last hundred years.
More here-

http://www.aleteia.org/en/religion/article/cs-lewis-catholic-gateway-drug-17654001

How Lewis Lit the Way to Better Apologetics

From Christianity Today-

In the south transept of London's Westminster Abbey—where for a thousand years the kings and queens of England have been enthroned—sits a crowded collection of statues, plaques, and engraved flagstones. Geoffrey Chaucer, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Charles Dickens are buried there; dozens more are commemorated there. On November 22, 2013, 50 years to the day after his death, C. S. Lewis will join them.

Poets' Corner may seem like an odd place for a writer whose poetry is largely overlooked (though his first two publications were volumes of verse, and Lewis's poetry is far better than many remember or realize). But you needn't be a poet to join Poets' Corner. Musicians like George Frideric Handel and actors like Laurence Olivier mingle with Tennyson and Chaucer. The Corner is devoted to poets in the older, deeper sense of the word. They are "makers" who assemble words (or musical notes or dramatic performances) for artistic ends.

In this older, deeper sense, there is no place Lewis more rightly belongs. Indeed, perhaps we should think of the celebrated Oxford novelist, literary critic, and apologist above all as a poet. For Lewis believed that knowledge itself was fundamentally poetic—that is to say, shaped by the imagination. And his poetic approach to commending and defending the Christian faith still lights the way for us today.

Of course, everyone recognizes Lewis's great imaginative gifts. Often people will say that his great strength was his ability to present Christianity both rationally and imaginatively.

More here-

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/november/cs-lewis-better-apologetics.html

10 C.S. Lewis Quotes That Show He Was Ahead of His Time

From Relevant-

Fifty years ago on November 22, C.S. Lewis quietly passed away in his home. His death went widely unnoticed, as JFK was assassinated on the same day (Brave New World author Aldous Huxley also died, making November 22, 1963 a truly lamentable day in recent human history), but it left a void that has never been rightly filled.

To whom is there to compare him? He was not a trained theologian (as many trained theologians will hasten to say) nor was he ever ordained. In his lifetime, he was a professor, literary
critic and essayist. 

His dear friend J.R.R. Tolkien said he modeled Treebeard after Lewis. He is best remembered now as a children’s author. But none of those come close to encompassing the unique place Lewis holds in modern Christianity. As an excellent profile in Christianity Today argues, he might be best described as a poet. Someone with a rare gift to channel his mighty intellect and generous spirit through an artful, unparalleled mix of wit, warmth and spectacular clarity.



More here-


http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/books/10-cs-lewis-quotes-show-he-was-ahead-his-time

Aldous Hulxley: The visionary could yet outlast the fantasist

From The Telegraph-

Aldous Huxley and CS Lewis, both distinguished writers, died on November 22 1963; few took note of their passing. The assassination that day of President Kennedy overshadowed all other news. Commemoration of JFK on the 50th anniversary of the assassination next month will have the same effect, wall-to-wall coverage in the newspapers, on TV, radio and the social media. Huxley and Lewis may again struggle to get a look-in.

Of the two, Lewis is the better-known now, and so the more likely to receive media attention. This is a reversal of how it was once. In the Twenties Huxley was one of the brightest stars of English literature, Lewis a don scarcely known to anyone outside Oxford. Huxley’s early novels – Crome Yellow, Antic Hay, Those Barren Leaves, Point Counter Point – were witty, stimulating, provocative, and successful. In the Thirties he was better known and more admired than Evelyn Waugh. His dystopian novel, Brave New World, offered a nightmare vision of the future. 

He was unusual among English novelists in being fascinated by ideas and by science – not surprisingly, because he was the grandson of the great Victorian scientist T  H Huxley, known as “Darwin’s Bulldog”. He was also the author of sparkling and wide-ranging essays, and his reputation was international. The veteran French novelist, Michel Déon, says that, when he was young, Huxley was his “idol” . If at any time before the Second World War you had put Huxley and Lewis at either end of a see-saw, Huxley would have soared aloft, while Lewis remained grounded.

More here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10406518/Why-Aldous-Huxleys-novels-could-outlast-those-of-CS-Lewis.html

In The Footsteps Of C.S. Lewis: A Pilgrimage

From Huffington-

A little over a year ago, I found myself channeling Chaucer, embarking on my own pilgrimage while studying abroad in York, UK. Instead of Canterbury, however, my destination was Oxford. And instead of St. Thomas a Beckett, I sought the sites of another divine: Clive Staples Lewis.

I was never much into "The Chronicles of Narnia," but when I read Lewis' "Mere Christianity" at the age of 16, it completely changed the way I thought of my faith. Lewis has provided answers to millions since his death in 1963, speaking to an age that views traditional expressions of faith -- and even faith itself -- with skepticism. And as I boarded the train from York to London in desperate need of answers to my own questions, I hoped Lewis could help me.

I was at a pivotal point in my own faith journey. In the throes of discerning a call to ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church, I had just come out of a complete upheaval of my previous religious identity as a Southern Baptist.

After disembarking the train at the Oxford train station and checking into my B&B, I headed up to Headington just North of Oxford to pay a visit to Lewis's grave and to make an appointment to tour Lewis's nearby home, The Kilns. 

More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cameron-nations/cs-lewis-pilgrimage_b_1540068.html

The eternal C.S. Lewis: now, more than ever

From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-

In this muddled, manic world of ours, which so often seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown, what possible relevance and comfort can be found in the words of a rumpled Oxford academic best known as an author of children's literature?

Plenty, apparently, for the stature and mystique that surround the life of Clive Staples Lewis has grown to a proportion that would likely perplex even his legendary mind.

Nearly a half century after his death on the same day J.F.K. was assassinated in 1963, Lewis' books have sold 100 million copies in 50 languages; another 2 million copies sell each year. Three movies made from the Chronicles of Narnia series have grossed $500 million.

My own interest began not with Narnia but after reading his classic explanation of the Christian faith, "Mere Christianity." That was 30 years ago and I was instantly charmed by the power of his prose and the clarity of his logic.

Recently, as I learned more, I found the storyline of his faith progression from atheist to advocate even more compelling than the canon of his literature. It's a story not widely known and quite improbable; it's as if the leading atheist of our age, say Richard Dawkins, also of Oxford, suddenly reversed himself to become a Christian evangelist.

Lewis' change of heart was so dramatic as to suggest (to me at least) a providential hand -- that God had a plan for C.S. Lewis that until the midpoint of his life had not yet been revealed.

Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11240/1170132-109-0.stm#ixzz1WKT7ghzi