Category: Special Feature

RETROSPECT: February 10th – 18th

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for the second third of February (10th – 18th) include: The concluding talk from the “What Christians Believe” BBC series, an explanation of the word “membership” in a talk to a group and the publication of a selection of Christian-themed essays.

In 1945 on the 10th Lewis gave a talk, simply called “Membership,” to the Society of St. Alban and St. Sergius in Oxford. It was also published later in the year and is now best found in The Weight of Glory. Lewis explained in his presentation that the word “membership” in the New Testament differs from the way it is used today. Instead of speaking of it in the sense of a group containing like items, the Christian meaning is close to “what we should call organs, things essentially different from, and complementary to, one another.” He also pointed out that believers are

Contest/Giveaway Annotated Screwtape Letters

William OFlaherty CSL Minute, Special Feature

DEADLINE IS THURSDAY!
Get a chance to WIN a copy of The Screwtape Letters: Annotated Edition that was just released late last year. It contains interesting background information to enhance your enjoyment of the classic book by C.S. Lewis. Paul McCusker (from Focus on the Family) did the annotations and he was careful to provide information and not interpretation. Details about HOW to win are below. If you want to learn more about the book itself, checkout a podcast interview I just posted (go here).

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO ENTER is simply leave a comment below telling me what you think about The Screwtape Letters book. So, I’m looking for just your opinion of the original book itself.

Again, DEADLINE to enter is Thursday, February 13th at 6pm Eastern.
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Follow link to ENTER

The Shoddy Lands (CSLM-41)

William OFlaherty CSL Minute, Special Feature

Lewis is known for various fictional works, especially his stories of Narnia. But I bet you didn’t know he also wrote about “The Shoddy Lands.”

During Lewis’ lifetime only two of his short stories were published. One of them, “The Shoddy Lands” was in a issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. It is also reprinted in Of Other Worlds.

RETROSPECT: February 1st – 9th

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for the first third of February (1st – 9th) include: Two more BBC talks from the second series, “What Christians Believe,” an often misunderstood debate and the first book that made Lewis famous.

An idea that started in 1940 led to international fame for Lewis. This is before he gained fame for being the author of The Chronicles of Narnia and even before he was loved as a defender of the Christian faith. A small book containing thirty-one letters set things in motion that made Lewis gain international fame. Although The Screwtape Letters had been released weekly in 1941, it was not until a year later, on the 9th of this month that all of them could be found in one place. The first edition of 2,000 copies sold out even before the date of publication! In fact it was reprinted eight times before the end of 1942. Despite being so popular, it is well known that Lewis actually didn’t enjoy writing it.

Quotes NOT By Lewis: A Preliminary Examination

William OFlaherty CSL Minute, Not Quite Lewis, Special Feature

Not long ago I was talking to Abraham Lincoln and he told me, “The thing about quotes on the internet is that you cannot confirm their validity.” My reply to him was that I thought C.S. Lewis had actually made that statement! Of course, I’m making this up; I’ve never spoken to Lincoln and I don’t believe Lewis ever said it. However, there are many quotations floating around online that are attributed to Lewis that he actually never wrote.

Back in March, 2013 I posted in a couple Facebook groups that I was trying to collect quotations that were credited as being by Lewis that were suspect. Even though there was a decent response to my request, I began to be involved in other projects that took up my time. The issue came back to the forefront of my mind when a friend saw one of the more common quotes misattributed to Lewis shared on Facebook by a famous author.

RETROSPECT: January 22nd – 31st

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for the final third of January (22nd – 31st) include: The publication of one of the last books Lewis wrote, the first meeting of a special Oxford club and the last sermon Lewis ever preached.

Lewis was working on several books before he died in 1963. The first one published posthumously was Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer. It came out on the 27th in 1964. While Lewis is known for writing in a variety of styles, this book is somewhat unique in that though they are present as letters to someone, they were really letters to an imaginary person. Today we have a large collection of actual letters Lewis wrote, so those new to his writings should be careful to note this fact. This leads to the obvious question as to why he would deal with such a serious subject to a fictional person.

Mouse of Courage (CSLM-40)

William OFlaherty CSL Minute, Special Feature

If you voted on the most courageous in Narnia, this character would be the big cheese!

If you found a Narnian dictionary I think you would likely discover a picture of Reepicheep under the definition of courage. What this mouse lacks in stature he more than makes up for with his bravery. Reepicheep is quick to seek adventure and is well known (almost too well known) for defending his honor.

No Expert on Prayer (CSLM-39)

William OFlaherty CSL Minute, Special Feature

What do you do when you strongly believe in prayer but you are all too aware that it’s still somewhat of a mystery to you? Write about it to a friend that doesn’t exist, of course!

Less than a year before he died, C.S. Lewis wrote Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer. It was published just a few months after he died. While Lewis had written many letters to others during his life that touched on the subject of prayer, he never really felt he understood it enough to claim to be an authority.

RETROSPECT: January 11th – 21st

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect, Special Feature

Highlights for the second third of January (11th – 21st) include: The start of his second series of BBC broadcasts, the publication of a fictional serial as a book and the death of a person Lewis lived with for the longest period of his life.

Lewis began the second series of talks on the BBC at the start of this period. “What Christians Believes” was the overall theme of the messages. The initial broadcast was on the 11th in 1942 and before it became better known as content from Mere Christianity it was included in the first published collection of talks, Broadcast Talks (AKA The Case for Christianity in the US). While not originally having a title, this chapter was later called “The Rival Conceptions of God”

Summary of JACK & TOLLERS (The New C.S. Lewis Movie)

William OFlaherty CSL Minute, Special Feature

This page features a summary of facts or frequently asked questions about the forthcoming movie about the friendship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien entitled JACK & TOLLERS. While all answers are believed to be accurate as of the date posted above, please note that this is an UNOFFICIAL page and not meant to suggest it is endorsed by those who are actually producing the movie.

Presently the best place to get official information is from the Facebook page of Third Dart Studios. You can also hear interviews I did with those involved in the production from Dec. 9, 2013 (with Darren Jacobs, a screenwriter and Chris Dodge, the Executive Producer) and Dec. 17, 2013 (with Darren again and Dr. Louis Markos, the other screenwriter).