Tag: The Screwtape Letters

Fact / Quote / Quiz: November 22nd

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

C.S. Lewis died on this date (11/22) in 1963, the same day as JFK and Aldous Huxley.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

The general rule which we have now pretty well established among them is that in all experiences which can make them happier or better only the physical facts are “Real” while the spiritual elements are “subjective.”

The Screwtape Letters – XXX
(First published in The Guardian on 11/21/1941)

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QUIZ OF THE DAY:

What is the title to the follow-up essay to The Screwtape Letters?
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)

RETROSPECTIVE: November 21st – 30th

William OFlaherty Jack in Retrospect

Interestingly it was on Lewis’s fifty-sixth birthday (in 1954) that he gave what hard-core enthusiasts of his works often consider one of his best talks to a non-religious audience. “De Descriptione Temporum” are not words you hear every day, but they were fitting as a title for his inaugural lecture as Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English Literature at Cambridge University. The translation for this Latin title is “a description of the times.” The Internet Archive has a copy of the complete text. Later it was recorded (4/1/1955) as a radio broadcast for the BBC where the title was “The Great Divide” and aired on April 6, 1955. You can get a copy of this recording, along with other audio featuring his voice from Episcopal Marketplace.

As you might imagine, there are differences between the radio version and the actual address. If you have both you will want to listen to it and follow along the printed version to see Lewis’s ability to adapt a text to different audiences.

Fact / Quote / Quiz: November 21st

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

The Screwtape Letters – XXX was released today (11/21) in 1941 in The Guardian. It was the next to last one.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

[A Warning to Wormwood]: “You will soon find that the justice of Hell is purely realistic, and concerned only with results. Bring us back food, or be food yourself.”

The Screwtape Letters – XXX
(First published in The Guardian on 11/21/1941)

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QUIZ OF THE DAY:

What essay was published this month in what year (and what was the title) that talked about some of how Lewis came to write the Narnia stories?
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)

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

Fact / Quote / Quiz: November 15th

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

On 11/14/1958 Lewis wrote to Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher to accept his invitation to become a member of the Commission to Revise the Psalter.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“Despair is a greater sin than any of the sins which provoke it.”

The Screwtape Letters – XXIX
(First published in The Guardian on 11/14/1941)

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QUIZ OF THE DAY:

One fictional series ended this month and another began (in different years); what are they?
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)

Fact / Quote / Quiz: November 14th

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

The Screwtape Letters – XXIX: Cowardice was released today (11/14) in 1941 in The Guardian.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“Our research department has not yet discovered (though success is hourly expected) how to produce any virtue. This is a serious handicap. To be greatly and effectively wicked a man needs some virtue.”

The Screwtape Letters – XXIX
(First published in The Guardian on 11/14/1941)

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QUIZ OF THE DAY:

What Narnia book was published for the first time in the US this month?
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)

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 7th

William OFlaherty Daily Lewis

FACT OF THE DAY:

The last month of weekly letters from Screwtape began today (11/7) in 1941 when the 28th letter was published in The Guardian.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“[Humans] do tend to regard death as the prime evil and survival as the greatest good. But that is because we have taught them to do so. Do not let us be infected by our own propaganda.”

The Screwtape Letters – XXVIII
(First published in The Guardian on 11/7/1941)

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QUIZ OF THE DAY:

What four children’s names did Lewis FIRST consider for the Pevensie children?
(Click “Read More” to SEE Answer)