Author Archives: Dr Snyder

This Was Never a Neutral Culture

  

Tim Keller is a well-known Christian pastor, bestselling author, and mentor to rising Christian leaders. He planted Redeemer Presbyterian Church in the heart of Manhattan in 1989, and it has grown to more than 5,000 worshipers per week in an area that is considered rather inhospitable to the Gospel message. He stepped down from his position as senior pastor in 2017 to focus more on training church leaders. In 2020, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but he continues to… Read more »

America Is Still Discovering Lewis

  

It’s hard for me to believe that my book, America Discovers C. S. Lewis: His Profound Impact, was published more than five years ago. I’ll always be grateful for the sabbatical I received in 2014-2015 that allowed me to concentrate on Lewis and develop the book. Once I did the research, the writing practically flowed. Gratitude also goes to the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College for all the help provided there. Not only did I receive guidance, but… Read more »

My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

  

Of all the words Jesus spoke from the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me,” had to be the ones of greatest personal anguish. Why? What makes these words so searing? The key is the word “forsaken.” We must stop and consider the depth of this anguish and why it is so. In order to do this, we have to draw from the rest of Scripture the reason why this would be so devastating. The Father, Son,… Read more »

Perelandra: Genesis & Impact

  

I’ve been hard at work developing my course on C. S. Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy, and just completed my preparation for teaching the second book, Perelandra. This mythical novel, which at least one critic said should have been written as a poem rather than in prose, tells the story of an unfallen world (which we call Venus), a temptation for its first inhabitants to follow in Earth’s fateful path of rebellion against the Creator, and the attempt by a chosen earthling… Read more »

The Christian Lens

  

C. S. Lewis’s path to Christian faith was helped along mightily by certain authors. In his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, he tells of his discovery of G. K. Chesterton’s writings and says specifically, “I read Chesterton’s Everlasting Man and for the first time saw the whole Christian outline of history set out in a form that seemed to me to make sense. You will remember that I already thought Chesterton the most sensible man alive ‘apart from his Christianity.’ Now,… Read more »

The Silent Planet Is Silent No Longer

  

Some tasks are more pleasant and gratifying than others, to be sure. One of the tasks that I enjoy is developing courses for adult education at my church. And when I can develop a new one on a C. S. Lewis topic, I do it with relish. That’s definitely the case with the latest course. After developing and teaching “The Screwtape Letters,” “Mere Christianity,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and “C. S. Lewis on Life, Death, and Eternity,” I now have… Read more »

For By Your Words . . .

  

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure…. Read more »