Category: Special Feature

RETROSPECT: September 1st – 11th

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for September 1-11 include: Two Narnia books published, a final fictional work, being on the cover of Time in the U.S. and his only title devoted to a book of the Bible.

Time CoverThe number of books published over the years during these ten days would be enough for most authors for an entire lifetime. Although, two of the titles are collections of shorter works were released after his death, interestingly the five others were during the last eleven years of his life. An additional title, A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C.S. Lewis, is a lesser known collection of quotes first available in March, 1968, but was published as a paperback on the 9th in 1980.

C.S. Lewis — Mere Christian: Mere Christianity (Event)

William OFlaherty Special Feature

Robert Trexler, publisher, writer, and scholar of George MacDonald and C.S. Lewis, will be speaking on “C.S. Lewis – Mere Christian: Mere Christianity on Saturday, September 13th. It will take place at Campbell Hall at Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito, CA. The church is sponsoring the event, with the C.S. Lewis Society of California and New York C.S. Lewis Society co-sponsoring.

This special event kicks off at 2 o’clock with a wine & cheese reception.

New Associate Editors for Sehnsucht

William OFlaherty Special Feature

The Arizona C. S. Lewis Society is pleased to welcome on board Bruce Edwards, Diana Glyer, and Arend Smilde as the new Associate Editors of Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal. Together, they represent a significant body of scholarly achievement in the field of Lewis-related studies. They will join returning Associate Editor Jim Helfers (Grand Canyon University) in the role of assessing proposed articles for the peer-reviewed publication. Outgoing General Editor Grayson Carter (Fuller Seminary Southwest) has graciously agreed to become part of the advisory Editorial Board, filling the opening left by the untimely passing of Chris Mitchell. Former Associate Editor Bruce R. Johnson has assumed the role of General Editor.

RETROSPECT: August 22nd – 31st

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for August 22nd – 31st include: An unfortunate childhood loss, letters from Screwtape on gluttony and love, and the radio broadcast of the last chapter of what’s now book one of Mere Christianity.

As mentioned during a previous column last month, Lewis lost his wife to cancer. The second most significant loss for him was during his childhood, when his mother, Florence Augusta Hamilton Lewis, died on the 23rd in 1908. This was also due to cancer. Although Lewis had prayed for his mother to live, he reports not actually being a Christian at the time

RETROSPECT: August 12th – 21st

William OFlaherty Special Feature

Highlights for August 12-21 include: A final series of radio talks, the concluding book of a series, two more talks from his initial broadcast series and a never before published essay by Lewis that became available in 1990.

The first scholarly book by Lewis was The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition. The theme of love in a broader sense is (obviously) of great importance to him and can be found in a large variety of his writings. So it is of no surprise that when Lewis finally agreed to return to the microphone for another series of radio talks this was the theme. These talks were recorded in London on the 19th and 20th in 1958, but they were not done for the BBC (as his previous radio work was). It was the Episcopal Radio-TV Foundation from the United States who had made the request. Eventually the material from these talks were extended to become The Four Loves.

RETROSPECT: August 1st – 11th

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for August 1-11 include: Lewis’s first time ever on the radio, earning of a second First at Oxford and two more letters from Screwtape.

In one sense not a lot of events occurred in Lewis’s life over the years during the first week and a half in August; but then the most significant from this period is likely among the highest points in his entire life. It was on the 6th in 1941 that he stood before a microphone to kick-off the first of four scheduled talks about “Right and Wrong: A Clue to the Meaning of the Universe.” The place was the offices of BBC Home Services and the local time was 7:45 p.m. Over the next fifteen minutes he would speak on “Common Decency,” but later this first chapter of book one in Mere Christianity would be called “The Law of Human Nature.”

Upcoming Lecture on Lewis as Preacher

William OFlaherty Special Feature

This year is the 75th anniversary of C.S. Lewis’s first appearance behind the pulpit. His first sermon was in 1939 at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Oxford. To help mark this landmark event William O’Flaherty will be speaking at the C. S. Lewis Society of Chattanooga on Tuesday, August 12 to highlight all of his messages.

O’Flaherty’s talk is entitled “Lewis as Preacher – A 75th Anniversary Reflection” as is part of the group’s free summer series held at The Camp House in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Preview some of the material that will be covered at the talk by reading an article recently posted on HarperOne’s official C.S. Lewis blog. Below is the first couple of paragraphs

RETROSPECT: July 22nd – 31st

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for the period of July 22-31include: Lewis on the radio that wasn’t a part of the eventual Mere Christianity book, the U.S. release of The Four Loves and the publication of a friend’s landmark book that Lewis encouraged the author to write (hint: it has a “ring” to it).

When you consider a person’s life over the years (like this series has with C.S. Lewis), it’s no surprise that there might be a week or two were relatively little significant events happened. Such is the case for this time-period. However, there was a very meaningful moment in the life of a now more famous friend, J.R.R. Tolkien. In 1954 The Fellowship of the Ring was published at the end of July (the actual date is either the 24th or 29th, as I’ve seen both listed).

It’s not just because they were friends that it’s worth mentioning, rather

C.S. Lewis’s Hidden Hatred of Males

William OFlaherty Special Feature

Those who falsely claim that C.S. Lewis didn’t like women have missed the gender than he secretly hated: MALES! That’s correct, hidden very deep within the writings of C.S. Lewis you will discover a hatred that is so concealed that only my carefully skilled abilities have been able to uncover the shocking truth.

I don’t expect you to accept my word on this delicate matter…so, I’ll reveal what my findings have been so far (undoubtedly there is more yet to be discovered). What follows is a list of characters Lewis created along with a short explanation as to why it proves my point.

Edmund Pevensie – in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Edmund is the villainous traitor whose deeds result in the death of Aslan.

RETROSPECT: July 11th – 21st

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for the period of July 11-21 include: the first book resulting from speaking on the BBC, an unusual meditation, and the death of Joy.

When Lewis agreed to do talks over the radio he had no idea how well received they would be. After two successful series of talks that were each in five parts and another series scheduled to start in late September, the book Broadcast Talks was released on the 13th in 1942. Unlike the later books released after each of his last two series, this book contained no additional material. They were merely five chapters each to match what was on the air. The only difference had to do with the order of the chapters from the first series.