Reflections on God … Man … Life
C. S. Lewis in his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, made a statement that startled many when he said, “I do not much believe in the Renaissance as generally described by historians. The more I look into the evidence the less trace I find of that vernal rapture which is supposed to have swept Europe in the fifteenth century.” And in a letter to his friend Sister Penelope in 1952 he leaves no doubt with respect to his views of the… Read more »
Readers of this blog know that I have been working (along with my co-author Jamin Metcalf) on a proposed book dealing with C. S. Lewis’s views on history. One begins researching and writing an academic book usually without any promise that it will see publication. We academics don’t normally receive any up front funding based on future royalties principally because royalties for such books are not equivalent to royalties earned by “popular” authors. We write from a deep desire to… Read more »
In my quest to write a book about C. S. Lewis’s views on history, I’ve laid out potential chapters for the proposed book. The very first chapter, I believe, needs to establish Lewis’s credentials as someone whose views on history should be taken seriously. Some, I know, would say that since he primarily taught English literature that this might be a hill too steep to climb. Yet, as a historian myself, I know quite well that history and literature are… Read more »
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 »
I returned from the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College about a week ago. I was there for two reasons: to hear a lecture from historian Mark Noll regarding C. S. Lewis’s connections with Americans (many of you know I wrote a book on that topic); to delve into more research for a hoped-for future book that will examine Lewis’s understanding of history–its significance, its limitations, and how Christians should incorporate it into their comprehension of God’s redemption plan…. Read more »
Study C. S. Lewis long enough and you will come to the realization that there are gems to be found in some of his works that most have overlooked. We tend to concentrate on the well-known writings, which is understandable, but we also need to look deeper into the lesser-known pieces. One such gem can be found in a collection of Lewis’s essays in Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature. Originally written as an introduction to a proposed book, “De… Read more »
My upper-level history adjunct offering this semester at Southeastern University is a course I’ve taught only once before but am eager to do so again. It’s the final one I developed when I was full-time at the university: Religion and the Presidents. The aim is to examine and analyze each president’s religious beliefs (or sometimes the lack thereof) and personal character to see how those beliefs showed up in their personal lives and in their public policies when they became… Read more »