Tag: Mere Christianity

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 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”

Transcript of Douglas Gresham Interview (Sept. 2013)

William OFlaherty CSL Minute

The following is a transcript of the interview I did with Douglas Gresham, stepson of C.S. Lewis. It was recorded on 9/24/2013 during his visit to Asbury University.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

O’FLAHERTY: While this is the 50th anniversary of Lewis’s death and his legacy has lasted this long, looking ahead, not to the present here but ahead, what do you think will be the most remembered about Jack 50 or maybe 100 years from now if you don’t mind speculating.

GRESHAM: I don’t think it’s going to change very much you know. I think Christianity worldwide is at an all-time ebb at the moment and I think it’s starting to gather pace to come back with huge force again, Jack is going to

Lewis at the BBC (CSLM-33)

William OFlaherty CSL Minute

Can you image what it was like to be C.S. Lewis preparing for and delivering his radio talks in the 1940’s?

As noted in a previous minute Lewis made his radio debut in August 1941. The result became four series of talks that eventually become known as Mere Christianity. Prior to Justin Phillips writing C.S. Lewis at the BBC there had not been any detailed account of the behind the scenes preparation before and between these historic broadcasts.

The Lasting Legacy of C.S. Lewis

William OFlaherty CSL Minute

Fifty years ago C.S. Lewis died on the same day that John F. Kennedy was murdered. While the mystery of who killed Kennedy remains in some minds, it is clear why C.S. Lewis continues to be admired and his popularity is ever growing. The key reason is because he wrote in several diverse realms and thus had a variety of audiences. Some are only familiar with him as the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, while others respect him because of his works dealing with understanding or defending the Christian faith. Then there are those who have regard for him due to his academic books resulting from teaching Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

Ironically almost as each decade

RETROSPECTIVE: November 11th – 20th

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect

Highlights for the second third of November (11th – 20th) include: The American debut of Mere Christianity, an explanation of why “Fairy Stories,” and the publication of a landmark sermon.

This series has already noted at various times (including the last installment) why the material making up Mere Christianity is such a great book. While I’d used any excuse to say more, this time it is easily justified as those in the US first had the opportunity to purchase the combined book that consisted of all four BBC broadcast talks on the 11th in 1952. This is only four months later than the release in the UK. The main new material for this edition was Lewis’s preface, but the convenience of having all three short books together in one volume was invaluable. While many are aware that the book was adapted from material on the radio, fewer are familiar with any of the details behind this fact. I mentioned last time that Focus on the Family had a new radio

Fact / Quote / Quiz: November 11th

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

The American edition of Mere Christianity was first published on this date (11/11) in 1952. Lewis It was published on 7/7 in the UK in ’52.

– – –

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.”

Hope
(Chapter 10 of Book III (Christian Behavior) in Mere Christianity)

– – –

QUIZ OF THE DAY:

What is the name of the talking ape in The Last Battle?
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)

Fact / Quote / Quiz: November 9th

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

“Period Criticism” is an essay about Chesterton that was first published today (11/9) in 1946 in “Notes on the Way” column in Time and Tide.

– – –

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“The truth is that the whole criticism which turns on dates and periods, as if age-groups were the proper classification of readers, is confused and even vulgar.”

Period Criticism
(Published on 11/9/1946 as “Notes on the Way” column in Time and Tide)

– – –

QUIZ OF THE DAY:

What two chapters in Mere Christianity has the same name and what is it?
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)

RETROSPECTIVE: November 1st -10th

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect

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 first third of November (1st – 10th) include: A two-part broadcast talk on “Faith,” a posthumous book on Spenser and the start of bus ride to an unknown destination.

Mere Christianity, as many people know, is a collection of three smaller books that were published in the early 1940’s. Before that they were individual broadcasts on the BBC. A person can pick any of them and gain insight from what Lewis shares. However, as I was reading over the two radio talks for this period I got to thinking that if out of all of the material he shared