As you might be aware it was 50 years ago this month that C.S. Lewis died. His death happen the same day John F. Kennedy was killed, November 22, 1963. Why has Lewis’s legacy endured? There has been a lot of books written to help answer this very question and some were even just released this year (see the links below the video for interviews I did with the authors of three new biographies on Lewis).
While these are great resources, what do you do if you were wanting to introduce a friend to the life and writings of Lewis and they don’t have a lot of time to hear you out? Thanks to the Internet this isn’t a problem, as there are various websites (in addition to my larger site, EssentialCSLewis.com that is a featured partner site on the Middle Earth Network) that tell about Lewis. However, if you want something that will take less than 30 minutes then read on about a great video that is online.
A few years ago a video was produced around the same time that the Hollywood version of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader came out. Written by Dr. Devin Brown and Greg Bandy (who also does the narration), C.S. Lewis: Why He Matters Today was first available through a site promoting that movie and then also available for purchase at events where Dr. Brown spoke. Then in late February of this year (2013) it was posted on YouTube to reach an even wider audience (note: video is viewable below).
This production is rather short (it’s just less than 25 minutes, including credits) but it doesn’t hope to give you a detailed look at Lewis. Rather, as the title suggests, it wants to tell you “why (Lewis) matters today.” Originally the video was in five shorter segments for an individual to reflect on the parts, or a group to discuss them. This YouTube version presents the material seamless, but the divisions are obvious enough to pause them if desired.
As for the actual content, the information about Lewis is present in the form of short comments by a variety of well-known individuals or experts on Lewis. This includes, Tim and Kathy Keller, Chuck Colson, Doug Gresham, Eric Metaxas, Devin Brown, Micheal Flaherty, Mike Peterson, Phil Cooke, Mark Joseph, Craig Detweiler and Joseph Pearce. Specifically, the material is divided into the following parts.
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Introduction
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Reclaiming Christian Reason
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Rediscovering Christian Imagination
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Restoring a Christian Vision of Humanity
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Epilogue
Again, the video is rather short, but that isn’t a negative. It can either serve as a brief reminder to someone already enjoying Lewis how great of a writer he was, or help introduce a person less familiar with him what interesting things he wrote and why he stills matters today.
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PODCAST INTERVIEWS WITH AUTHORS OF 2013 LEWIS BIOGRAPHIES:
- C.S. Lewis – A Life by by Dr. Alister McGrath
- C.S. Lewis: A Biography of Friendship by Colin Duriez
- A Life Observed (with Dr. Devin Brown)