Category: Special Feature

Lewis on the Incarnation and Resurrection

William OFlaherty Special Feature

C.S. Lewis made comments on the Incarnation and Resurrection in several writings over the years. Previous on my C.S. Lewis Minute blog I shared this post and felt there were those who probably hadn’t seen it there, and so it would be useful to add it here.

From “Christianity and Literature” (found in Christian Reflections):

To believe in the Incarnation at all is to believe that every mode of human excellence is implicit in His [Jesus’] historical human character. . . . But if all had been developed, the limitations of a single human life would have been transcended and he would not have been a man; therefore all excellences save the spiritual remained in varying degrees implicit.

RETROSPECT: April 11th – 19th

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

The following is part of a series reflecting on the life of C.S. Lewis. This is accomplished by summarizing various events or happenings during his lifetime for the noted period and may include significant events related to him after his death.

Highlights for the second third of April (11th – 19th) include: Publication of third BBC series; Publication of second book from BBC Talks; four posthumous books and the final installment about a bus ride to heaven.

Christian Behaviour: A Further series of Broadcast Talks tops the list of happenings over the years in the life of Lewis. It was first published on the 19th in 1943 in the U.K. (and nine months later in the U.S.). As you may be aware, it was just the second book printed of three that eventually became part of Mere Christianity. What gets confusing to some is that when you examine the book from 1952 Christian Behavior is stated as being “Book III.”

If I Had Lunch with C.S. Lewis (Review)

William OFlaherty Special Feature

In 2013 two books related to Lewis studies was released by Dr. Alister McGrath. Now this year another book by him, If I Had Lunch with C.S. Lewis recently became available. Last year we were presented with a biography and collection of new scholarly essays that evaluated Lewis’s life and the major themes of his writings. The present volume has a unique enough title to at least stop you long enough to make you wonder just what the book is aiming to accomplish. The subtitle offers some assistance: “Exploring the Ideas of C.S. Lewis on the Meaning of Life.” I’m not sure, but I think this is the first book with Lewis’s name in the title AND subtitle.

RETROSPECT: April 1st – 10th

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for the first third of April (1st – 10th) include: Final broadcast from his last BBC series; preaching the same sermon for second time and the death of his grandfather.

The concluding BBC broadcast in the fourth and final series for Lewis stands out as the most noteworthy for this period. On the 4th in 1944 “The New Men” talk was heard from a recording made the previous month. It is the only surviving recording from the Beyond Personality series. When the book version came out it contained four additional chapters not heard on the radio (which are also found in Mere Christianity). When expanding the material for print Lewis actually modified the content of this talk and so what was actually heard that night is somewhat different than what is in the book. For the sake of simplicity I will

RETROSPECT: March 22nd – 31st

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for the final third of March (22nd – 31st) include: Publication of The Four Loves, his first essay collection and republication of a landmark professional work.

During the last decade of Lewis’s life his Christian-themed titles had less to do with defending the faith and more with sharing his understanding of a variety of aspects of it. The Four Loves, released on the 28th in 1960 is one of those works where he shares his wisdom on a topic related to the faith he had gained a greater understanding of over his life. Many individuals are not aware of the fact that two years prior to the book release Lewis had given ten radio talks on this theme.

RETROSPECT: March 12th – 21st

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for the second third of March (12th – 21st) include: First ever published book, final Narnia book and a second marriage to Joy Davidman!

Spirits in BondageTwo books by Lewis were released for the first time during this period. His debut as an author came on the 20th in 1919 with Spirits in Bondage. This was a very small volume of poems published while he was only 20 years old, but many were written when he was just sixteen or seventeen. When initially released it was under the pseudonym of Clive Hamilton. They were composed in a period of Lewis’s life when his primary goal was to be known as a poet. It is also a time when he wasn’t a Christian.

How Hooper Got Started (CSLM-43)

William OFlaherty CSL Minute, Special Feature

There’s no denying that Walter Hooper has made the greatest contribution to the study of C.S. Lewis, but do you know how he got started?

If you had to name only one person closely associated with C.S. Lewis’ work it has to be Walter Hooper. Just about every book published after Lewis’ death that is a collection of his writings has been edited by Hooper. Interestingly, Hooper, who was born in the U.S., only began corresponding with Lewis less than ten years before he died and met him only during the summer of 1963 before his death.

RETROSPECT: March 1st – 11th

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for the first third of March (1st – 11th) include: First book collecting quotations and shorter passages, how Charles Williams became a friend and a former student previews The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Less than five years after C.S. Lewis died a collection containing brief excerpts from a wide range of his writings came out on the 4th of March in 1968. A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C.S. Lewis would be the first of many books featuring quotations or shorter selections. This debut work was edited by Clyde S. Kilby, the person who began what we know today as The Marion E. Wade Center. The book is arranged into ten major sections and nearly all of those divisions are further divided into sub-themes.

RETROSPECT: February 19th – 29th

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for the final third of February (19th – 29th) include: The beginning of his fourth and final BBC series of talks, a landmark lecture series that would become one of his most insightful works aimed at a mainstream audience, and a new edition of The Screwtape Letters containing a second preface.

The fourth and final BBC radio series kicked off on the 22nd in 1944. The series itself was first called “Beyond Personality” and the first talk was entitled “Making and Begetting.” However, on the 24th the text was reprinted in The Listener and it was called “The Map and the Ocean.” This was the first time Lewis’s broadcasts were made available before being collected in a book.

The two different titles for the fourth series debut provides some hints at what was presented by Lewis. He noted the words “begetting” or “begotten” are not used today, but its

Who Drew Narnia (CSLM-42)

William OFlaherty CSL Minute, Special Feature

Who illustrated The Chronicles of Narnia and how was the person selected?

If you love the stories about Narnia, you probably also greatly admire the illustrations found in the books. Pauline Baynes is the only one who drew them and we have J.R.R. Tolkien to thank in part for them. It was after Lewis saw the pictures she created for Farmer Giles, one of Tolkien’s books, that Lewis picked her.