Responding to CS Lewis
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Imaginative Rationality: Philosophical Themes in C.S
Loyola Marymount University Fall, 2013 First Year Seminar Imaginative Rationality: Philosophical Themes in C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Their Intellectual Circle Course Number: 44950, FFYS 1000, section 72 Course Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:004:15 PM Course Location: Pereira 207 Instructor: Dr. Thomas Ward University Hall 3618 [email protected] (310)-338-4287 (phone) (310)-338-5997 (fax) Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:1510:15 AM and 2:00-3:00 PM Writing Instructor: Mr. Joshua Kulmac Butler [email protected] Course Description: This course will introduce you to the philosophical thought of Lewis, Tolkien, some other members of their circle, and some of their intellectual influences. We will explore traditional philosophical themes through the fiction and non-fiction of these and other authors. These themes include: the existence of God, the problem of evil, human nature, moral knowledge, and the meaningfulness of figurative language. Since we will be examining some of these philosophical issues through literature, one major question that we will ask throughout the course is this: To what extent can imaginative discourse effectively communicate truth? Required Texts: C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, ISBN: 0060652969 C.S. Lewis, Perelandra, ISBN: 074323491X C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man, ISBN: 0060652942 C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength, ISBN: 0743234928 Charles Williams, Descent into Hell, ISBN: 0802812201 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, ISBN: 9780544003415 and lots of other texts that will be available as .pdf downloads on Blackboard Please make every effort to buy precisely these editions. -
SHADOWLANDS Introduction
SHADOWLANDS Introduction ‘Shadowlands’ tells of the extraordinary love between C. S. Lewis, the famous writer and Christian academic and Joy Gresham, an American poet who came to know him first through his writing. She was to die shortly after their marriage. ‘Shadowlands’ was first a television and then a stage play and is now a film starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. This guide is for use before and after a viewing of Richard Attenborough’s film. It seeks to expand for class work the themes of love and bereavement, the risks of emotional involvement and the challenge to all faiths of pain and tragedy as well as discussing the way film tackles these difficult subjects. JACK AND JOY Olive Staples Lewis - known always as Jack - was born in 1898 in Belfast three years after the Lewis’s first son, Warren or “Warnie”. The brothers were very close, and spent much of their adult bachelor life living together near Oxford in a ramshackle house, The Kilns, known to their friends as The Midden (Old English for dung heap). What impressions do we first receive of the brothers? How does the film express briefly a little of their life “before” Joy? What do we learn during the course of the film of C. S. Lewis’s world? Apart from Joy, what other women do we “meet” in ‘Shadowlands’? How are they represented? Find out a little about Britain in the 1950s. Who was Prime Minister? When did rationing end? Why was Princess Margaret known as the “heartbreak princess”? As well as picture and library research, ask those who were alive at the time. -
The Complete CS Lewis Signature Classics
THE COMPLETE C. S. LEWIS SIGNATURE CLASSICS: BOXED SET PDF, EPUB, EBOOK C. S. Lewis | 1584 pages | 11 Oct 2012 | HarperCollins Publishers | 9780007500192 | English | London, United Kingdom The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics: Boxed Set PDF Book Chronicles of Narnia: The Chronicles of Narnia Box Set [] The seven chronicles of Narnia are brought together in this beautifully presented slipcase. From 'The Problem of Pain' - a wise and compassionate exploration of suffering - to the darkly satirical 'The Screwtape Letters', Lewis is unrivalled in his ability to disentangle the questions of life. Date of Birth: November 29, Best Selling in Nonfiction See all. By: C. View all copies of this ISBN edition:. New Paperback Quantity available: 3. And I understood what he was trying to portray in the "Weston" character from his fiction novel, Out of the Silent Planet a little better now. Titles in This Set. View Product. He does not make absolutely clear the centrality of the gospel and belief in Jesus Christ as the only way to eternal life. Jun 28, Robert rated it it was amazing Shelves: art , non-fiction. Hopefully not many. Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing. Search by title, catalog stock , author, isbn, etc. Seller Inventory V Read this as Lewis would have The preface is the most important part of the book, in this case, so that you understand that the wisdom and lessons of this story are found in the conversations held within. Adam gave me the boxed set ok, I cheated and it was on CD but I had read all of these years ago. -
Myth in CS Lewis's Perelandra
Walls 1 A Hierarchy of Love: Myth in C.S. Lewis’s Perelandra A Thesis Submitted to The Faculty of the School of Communication In Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts in English by Joseph Robert Walls May 2012 Walls 2 Liberty University School of Communication Master of Arts in English _______________________________________________________________________ Thesis Chair Date Dr. Branson Woodard, D.A. _______________________________________________________________________ First Reader Date Dr. Carl Curtis, Ph.D. _______________________________________________________________________ Second Reader Date Dr. Mary Elizabeth Davis, Ph.D. Walls 3 For Alyson Your continual encouragement, support, and empathy are invaluable to me. Walls 4 Contents Introduction......................................................................................................................................5 Chapter 1: Understanding Symbol, Myth, and Allegory in Perelandra........................................11 Chapter 2: Myth and Sacramentalism Through Character ............................................................32 Chapter 3: On Depictions of Evil...................................................................................................59 Chapter 4: Mythical Interaction with Landscape...........................................................................74 A Conclusion Transposed..............................................................................................................91 Works Cited ...................................................................................................................................94 -
A CS Lewis Related Cumulative Index of <I>Mythlore</I>
Volume 22 Number 2 Article 10 1998 A C.S. Lewis Related Cumulative Index of Mythlore, Issues 1-84 Glen GoodKnight Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation GoodKnight, Glen (1998) "A C.S. Lewis Related Cumulative Index of Mythlore, Issues 1-84," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 22 : No. 2 , Article 10. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol22/iss2/10 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract Author and subject index to articles, reviews, and letters in Mythlore 1–84. Additional Keywords Lewis, C.S.—Bibliography; Mythlore—Indexes This article is available in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol22/iss2/10 MYTHLORE I s s u e 8 4 Sum m er 1998 P a g e 5 9 A C.S. -
Thesis-1983-D141c.Pdf (1.395Mb)
C. 9. _!.ewis' Critique of Naturalism in That Hideous §_trength By TIMOTHY JOSEPH DALEY II Bachelor of Science University of Tulsa Tulsa, Oklahoma 1974 bubmitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS December, 1983 . TheSI.S \'1g3 ))14/c., Urf '':1- C. S. Lewis' Critique of Naturalism in That Hideous Strength Thesis Approved: ii 117u19s- 1 PREFACE C. S. Lewis was a prolific and versatile author who wrote popular theology, literary criticism, and children's books, as well as science fiction. As a young man he was a professed atheist, but was challenged in his non-belief by reading George MacDonald's Phantastes, G. K. Chesterton's The Everlasting Man, and the philosophy of Henri Bergson. Lewis became interested in Christianity through his associ ation with J. R. R. Tolkien and his own study of St. Augus tine, The Imitation of Christ, and Luther's Theologica Germanica. Later he was profoundly influenced by Aquinas' Summa and came to admire the works of Buber, Marcel, Mari tain, and Berdyaev, along with Rudolf Otto's The Idea of the Holy. Though he was a committed rationalist he believed that the highest theological truths could only be understood imaginatively, not rationally. And so he exploited litera- ture's capacity to accomplish that undertaking. Because Lewis became convinced of the philosophically untenable na ture of atheism and was sickened by the direction of modern ity he attempted to provide an alternative vision through his imaginative literature. -
Course Syllabus
The Life and Thought of C.S. LEWIS TH 2XL3 / MS 2XL3 McMaster Divinity College Summer School, 2015 Instructors: Bradley K. Broadhead, Ph.D. (Cand.) [email protected] COURSE DESCRIPTION C.S. Lewis is one the most influential Christian writers of the twentieth century. Just over fifty years after his death, his theological writings and works of fiction (which are often one and the same) remain widely read and appreciated. The story of his life demonstrates in a powerful way how his encounter with Jesus Christ definitively shaped both his worldview and his actions. Together we will walk through his life and his major writings, considering his relevance for the contemporary world. COURSE OBJECTIVES Knowing To become familiar with the life and major works of Lewis To identify the major themes that emerge from Lewis’ corpus To understand the arguments for the value of contemporary parables/myths Being To engage in theological reflection on the works of Lewis To be challenged by the example of Lewis in leading a Christian life Doing To critically engage with a selected portion of Lewis’ work To evaluate Lewis’ impact on Christian and secular cultures SPECIALIZATIONS Christian Thought and History Church and Culture Christian Worldview 2 1 CLASS SCHEDULE Week 1 Tuesday, May 26 Introduction to the Course Young Lewis Lewis the Academic Lewis at War Thursday, May 28 Lewis the Atheist Lewis’ Conversion Lewis and the Inklings Week 2 Tuesday, June 2 Lewis the Popular Christian Apologist Mere Christianity The Problem of Pain Miracles Thursday, June 4 Lewis the Writer The Space Trilogy The Screwtape Letters The Great Divorce Week 3 Tuesday, June 9 The Chronicles of Narnia Until We Have Faces Thursday, June 11 Lewis, Joy, and A Grief Observed Lewis and Evangelicalism Lewis and contemporary issues 1 Please note that the instructor reserves the right to make alterations to the content and its sequence. -
The Problem of Pain Defended
Seventeen PRO: THE PROBLEM OF PAIN DEFENDED Philip Tallon In 1939, Ashley Sampson of Centenary Press invited C. S. Lewis to write on the problem of evil for the Christian Challenge series. Lewis asked if he could write anonymously, because he felt he did not live up to the hard-edged principles he would need to espouse. This would not have been first time (or the last) that Lewis published anonymously. His early poems appeared under the name “Clive Hamilton” and the memoir of his wife’s death, A Grief Observed, was attributed to “N. W. Clerk” during Lewis’s lifetime. The publisher, however, refused his request for anonymity. And so with the publication of The Problem of Pain in 1940, Lewis kick-started his role as a public philosopher and theologian. Later works in this vein would include the radio talks that were published as Mere Christianity (1952), as well as books like Miracles (1947) and The Four Loves (1960), along with numerous essays on theological and philosophical topics. But The Problem of Pain was the first, and constituted a strong entry into the public sphere. Despite some self-deprecatory remarks by Lewis at the start of the book (“If any real theologian reads these pages he will very easily see that they are the work of a layman and an amateur”), Lewis’s work is thoughtful, scriptural, steeped in the Western tradition, and ambitious in scope (Lewis, 2001c, p. vii). Within 150 pages or so, Lewis handles the origins of religion, articulates the problem of evil in various forms, deals with free will and soul making, offers an imaginative reconstruction of the origins of humanity and its fall, discusses the nature of pain in some depth, grapples with the problem of animal suffering, and theologizes about heaven and hell. -
C. S. Lewis on Gender Ann Loades Introduction Riess a Well a Continuing to Work on Farms
C. S. Lewis on Gender Ann Loades Introduction riess a well a continuing to work on farms. They worked in trans- port t and a the front, as well as at home as nurses and ambulance Cautious though one must be in thinking that one can entirely drivers,n i addition to all the other tasks they performed. It was understand someone in terms of their circumstances, C. S. Lewis not until February 6, 1918, that some women (those over thirty (CSL) virtually invites us to pay attention to his by the publica- years old, householders or wives thereof, occupiers of property tionfs o hi Surprised by Joy (1955).s Thi text, which we can now wortht a least five pounds per year, and university graduates)5 es - reads a a classic of “textual male intimacy” in religion,1 s fi one o cured the vote. Men simply had to be nineteen years or older and those resources particularly important when we try to grasp what ableo t supply an address. The age restriction for women dropped CSL meant and could not mean by “masculinity,” as will become to twenty-one in 1928. The time had come when women, married clear in the last part of this article. In addition, we need to attend or not, could no longer be regarded as legal nonentities, deprived to a whole range of his publications when we attempt to assess his of adequate education and economic resources, though much re- understanding of “femininity” and its relation to “masculinity.” mainedoe t b achieved in the twentieth century. -
Parsons – Is God As Good As We Think – Crucible 5-1 May 2013
www.crucible.org.au 5:1 (May 20 13) Is God as Good as We Think? Conrad Parsons Abstract C. S. Lewis discussed the presence of pain, evil and suffering in his book The Problem of Pain . In the face of evil, he affirmed his view that God is ‘good,’ that is, people are able to recognize God using their natural understanding of what constitutes goodness. However, in July 1960 Joy Davidman, the wife of C. S. Lewis, died of bone cancer. Lewis kept a journal immediately following Joy’s death and those reflections were the basis of his book A Grief Observed . In that small book, Lewis expressed anger towards God and questioned whether God is as good as he thinks. Today the question is still asked by many people: “Is God as good as we think?” Introduction Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) found it difficult to maintain confidence in the goodness of God immediately after his wife’s death due to bone cancer. This paper examines the available evidence to assess the permanence of those doubts. During his period of grief, Lewis revisited his previous ideas about God’s character. He expressed anger towards God and questioned whether God is ‘a vet or a vivisector.’ 1 But despite what happened, Lewis maintained his long term belief that God is good. His pain over his wife’s suffering, and his own great loss of a companion, was expressed in writing. Lewis kept a journal during August 1961, supposedly filling four empty manuscripts with his thoughts and feelings arising from that experience. -
Shadowlands: Will the Real C.S. Lewis Please Stand
A review by David Kettle F Ollowing the television pro- have known before, Lewis has noth- real point? Could it really be just an gramme and the stage play ing to say about grief and pain. Now, attempt to pre-empt others from about C.S. Lewis's relationship unlike before, he is truly in touch with charging him with self-deception- with Joy Gresham, we now have his experience-and he can find noth- another part of a stratagem to main- Richard Attenborough's film. It is a ing to say except 'It's a mess!' The tain his illusion of being in control. moving account, superbly acted. Be- closing scene of the film fails to take In pursuing this we might con- neath the sentiment runs a bold story us beyond this, and, given his plot, sider Lewis's words specifically line of, in the words of a critic, 'the surely Attenborough shouldn't have about grief. Take for example the pas- breakdown (for Lewis) of repression tried. sage in The Lion, the Witch and the and inhibition, and then the terror of This film is one of many portray- Wardrobe when Susan and Lucy losing the person who has forced un- als of Lewis since his death, varying crouch all night beside the dead conditional love out of him.' 1 It is a poignant story. For those of us who come to it with a debt of gratitude to Lewis for having enli- vened our faith, however-and we I are many-the film's story line raises questions. -
C. S. Lewis and Animal Experimentation Michael J
Article C. S. Lewis and Animal Experimentation Michael J. Gilmour Michael J. Gilmour C. S. Lewis is one of those rare Christian thinkers giving careful attention to the place of nonhuman animals in theology and the religious life. We fi nd this career-long concern for animal well-being across diverse genres, and also in his public opposition to vivisection. This article proposes a particular link between Lewis’s refl ections on animal cruelty and wartime, and identifi es certain theological assumptions informing his ideas. he Christian tradition is curiously about Nineveh … in which there are ambivalent about animals and their more than a hundred and twenty thou- place in theology and ethics. This T sand persons … and also many animals?” is somewhat surprising given the New (Jonah 4:11). Testament’s high view of nonhuman sen- tient life, as is evident in Jesus’s remarks So why, in light of this, does Christianity about donkeys and sparrows (Luke 13:15; largely ignore animal ethics? Why are the Matt. 10:29), and the Pauline tradition’s vast majority of churches silent regarding repeated use of the inclusive ta panta unnecessary, human-caused animal pain? (“all things,” Col. 1:15–20; cf. Rom. 8:18– There is not space here to do justice to such 23) when speaking of the eschatological important questions though the views hope of restoration in Christ. To be sure, of certain highly infl uential theologians there are passages appearing to indicate contribute to Christianity’s tendency indifference toward animals and animal toward anthropocentrism. Augustine and suffering (Mark 5:1–20; 1 Cor.