This is a series of books which have a common theme: the understanding of Christ, and therefore the revelation of God, in the work of C. S. Lewis. These books are a systematic study of Lewis's theology, Christology and doctrine of revelation; as such they draw on his life and work. They are written for academics and students, but also, crucially, for those people, ordinary Christians, without a theology degree who enjoy and gain sustenance from reading Lewis's work. www.cslewisandthechrist.net
C. S. Lewis--On the Christ of a Religious Economy. II. Knowing Salvation, opens with a discussion of the Anscombe-Lewis debate (the theological issues relating to revelation and reason, Christ the Logos). This leads into Lewis on the Church (the body of Christ) and his understanding of religion: how is salvation enacted through the churches, how do we know we are saved? This concludes with, for Lewis, the question of sufferance and atonement, substitution and election, deliverance and redemption: heaven, hell, resurrection, and eternity--Christ's work of salvation on the cross. What did Lewis say of humanity in relation to God, now Immanuel, God with us, incarnate, crucified, resurrected, and ascended for humanity? What of Lewis's own death, and that of his wife? What does this tell us about the triune God of Love, who is Love? This volume forms the second part of the third book in a series of studies on the theology of C. S. Lewis titled C. S. Lewis: Revelation and the Christ. The books are written for academics and students, but also, crucially, for those people, ordinary Christians, without a theology degree who enjoy and gain sustenance from reading Lewis's work.
C. S. Lewis is one of the most influential and beloved Christian writers of the past century, and interest in him continues to grow as books about his fantasy, fiction, and biography continue to appear. Although Lewis's personal journey was a deeply philosophical search for the most adequate worldview, the few extant books about his Christian philosophy focus on specific topics rather than his overall worldview. In this book, Michael Peterson develops a comprehensive framework for understanding Lewis's Christian worldview--from his arguments from reason, morality, and desire to his ideas about Incarnation, Trinity, and Atonement. All worldviews address fundamental questions about reality, knowledge, human nature, meaning, and so forth. Peterson therefore examines Lewis's Christian approach to these same questions in interaction with other worldviews. Accenting that the intellectual strength and existential relevance of Lewis's works rest on his philosophical acumen as well as his Christian orthodoxy--which he famously called mere Christianity--Peterson skillfully shows how Lewis's Christian thought engages a variety of important problems raised by believers and nonbelievers alike: the problem of evil and suffering, the problem of religious diversity, the problem of meaning, and others. Just as Lewis was gifted in communicating philosophical ideas and arguments in an accessible style, Peterson has crafted a major contribution to Lewis scholarship presented in a way that will interest scholars and benefit the general reader.
C. S. Lewis--On the Christ of a Religious Economy I, Creation and Sub-Creation opens with Lewis on creation, the fall into original sin, and the human condition before God and how such an understanding permeated all his work, post-conversion. For Lewis, Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is the agent of creation and its redeemer. This leads into Lewis's representation through sub-creation: explaining salvation history and the purpose of the creation and the creature through story (The Chronicles of Narnia, The Space Trilogy, Screwtape, etc.), but also the question of multiple incarnations, and the encounters he pens between Aslan-Christ and creatures. What does this tell us about the human predicament and our state after the fall? This volume forms the first part of the third book in a series of studies on the theology of C. S. Lewis titled C. S. Lewis: Revelation and the Christ. The books are written for academics and students, but also, crucially, for those people, ordinary Christians, without a theology degree who enjoy and gain sustenance from reading Lewis's work.
C.S. Lewis's enlightened, foundational respect for the Jews as God's chosen people is a feature in much of his apologetic and theological writing. Although as a boy and young man Lewis reflected much of the implicit anti-Semitism inherent in the public-school-educated Edwardian establishment, this was replaced by deep respect when he became a Christian. Later on, Lewis's understanding was much enhanced by his wife, Joy Davidman (m. 1956); born to American Jewish parents, she was an adult convert to Yeshua Ha Mashiach - Jesus Christ - and Lewis referred to her as a Jewish Christian. A Hebraic Inkling examines in depth this Jewish-Hebrew influence in Lewis' life and works. Analysing some of his key writings in theology, philosophy, literature and apologetics, his rigorous stand against anti-Semitism and affinity for Jewish literature and culture is outlined, as well as his vision of how Christians are enfolded into the chosen people. This respect and affinity extended to Lewis' own family; when one of Joy's children sought to return to his mother's birth-faith, Lewis moved all to accommodate his wishes and raise him as a Jew, after Joy's untimely death.
Does the Bible have authority in a world committed to relative truth? The understanding of absolute, objective truth has been largely lost. Spend just a few minutes discussing politics or religion and you’ll hear responses like, “There is no truth!” or “That may be true for you, but not for me.” Understanding the Faith dares to wade into the middle of the controversy with chapters such as: Is God Christian? Isn’t Claiming Truth Intolerant? Is the Bible Anti-Science? Summit Ministries’ half century of teaching, this first volume of the Understanding the Times Series is your definitive resource for deepening and defending your faith. It’s a required resource for every Christian’s bookshelf.
This is a unique collection of two of the Inklings and their literary associates’ views on the negative impacts of technology in various areas of life and the resolution of these impacts through fellowship with others and faith in the Creator. Some of these essays offer suggestions on how ensnarement by social media and surrender to modern technology can be countered by surrender to God. Other essays also demonstrate how the significant literary craft of these authors can enchant readers and invite them into fairylands from which they return empowered and with a keener spiritual vision to tackle universal and present concerns.
The theological and philosophical works of C. S. Lewis were grounded in the argument from reason (being a form of revelation that predates nature and relates to the divine; i.e., the Word of God, Christ the Logos). These essays provide some understanding of the essentials to Lewis’s philosophical theology—that is, the essentia, “in the highest degree.” Lewis’s corpus can seem disparate, but here we find unity in his aims, objectives, and methodology, a consistency that demonstrates the deep roots of his philosophical theology in Scripture, Greek philosophy, patristic and medieval theology, and some of the Reformers, all framed by a reasoned discipline from a perceptive and critical mind: method and form, content and reason, for the glory of God. From an analysis of reason to the evidence of Christ as the light of the world across human endeavors and religions, a doctrine of election, and an understanding of Scripture (“the Philosophy of the Incarnation,” as Lewis termed it), in fundamental arguments with various modern/liberal theologians, we find evidence for the actuality of the incarnation: the divinity of Christ.
C. S. Lewis--The Work of Christ Revealed focuses on three doctrines or aspects of Lewis's theology and philosophy: his doctrine of Scripture, his famous mad, bad, or God argument, and his doctrine of christological prefigurement. In each area we see Lewis innovating within the tradition. He accorded a high revelatory status to Scripture, but acknowledged its inconsistencies and shrank away from a theology of inerrancy. He took a two-thousand-year-old theological tradition of aut Deus aut malus homo (either God or a bad man) and developed it in his own way. Most innovative of all was his doctrine of christological prefigurement--intimations of the Christ-event in pagan mythology and ritual. This book forms the second in a series of three studies on the theology of C. S Lewis titled C. S. Lewis, Revelation, and the Christ (www.cslewisandthechrist.net). The books are written for academics and students, but also, crucially, for those people, ordinary Christians, without a theology degree who enjoy and gain sustenance from reading Lewis's work.
