GWOB Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Where does one start with C.S. Lewis? I've read all the Narnia books. I absolutely loved Till We Have Faces. I would like to jump into the Lewis theology pool. Where should I start? I own The Problem of Pain, Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, Miracles, A Grief Observed, Perelandra, and That Hidden Strength. No comments on owning books one has never read :p. You know how homeschoolers are with books. Help a girl out here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 To jump into theology itself, I would start with Mere Christianity. I own and have read all of these books. ;) The Sci-Fi Trilogy - Out of the Silent Planet being the first one - has a theological basis but isn't what I would call theology itself. It's more of a "what if things happened differently on another planet" type of a scenario. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I thoroughly enjoyed The Screwtape Letters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 So either Screwtape Letters or Mere Christianity. Thanks for weighing in on this topic! Another question. Do you know which one of those a Lutheran would enjoy more? I am not completely married to Lutheran theology, though we are going steady right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 It depends what kind of Lutheran you are. Do you love the liturgy and hymns and the sweep of big ideas? Then start with Perelandra and follow it with That Hideous Strength. They are about as poetic as Lewis ever gets, at least in places. Do you like logic and well thought out but succinct theology? Then read Mere Christianity and then The Problem of Pain. Do you like irony/sarcasm with good strong truth behind it? Then read The Screwtape Letters--it's also full of aha moments. Personally, I like all these books but by far my favorite is That Hideous Strength. That book influenced me more than I can say--more than I realized for years. I reread it earlier this year, and realized to my surprise that some of my most deeply held insights, ones that I thought I had developed myself, had originated with that book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I don't think that ultimately it matters which one you pick up and read first. Other than the trilogy, which should be picked up in chronological order, none depend on each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I don't think that ultimately it matters which one you pick up and read first. Other than the trilogy, which should be picked up in chronological order, none depend on each other. I actually disagree with this. I think that the last book of the trilogy is the strongest and can stand on its own. And I am not sure that I would ever have gotten to it if I had read the other two first. Like LWW, it's not first, but it's best, and it makes the others better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 Carol, you know my flavor of Lutheranism. So, what is the first book of Lewis's Space trilogy? Do I possess it? I must start at the beginning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Carol, you know my flavor of Lutheranism. So, what is the first book of Lewis's Space trilogy? Do I possess it? I must start at the beginning! Unfortunately not, it's Out of the Silent Planet. Really, though, you could skip it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 Unfortunately not, it's Out of the Silent Planet. Really, though, you could skip it. Must. Start. At. The. Beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Must. Start. At. The. Beginning. That's the spirit! (I'm not vehemently disagreeing with Carol, though. I haven't read the trilogy in about 8 years and can't remember enough to be too dogmatic about it. I do remember seeing some things that were foreshadowed in some books that came into fruition in later ones.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Lewis best theological works are Mere Christianity and The Abolition of Man. Abolition gets quoted quite a bit and for good reason. I am not a huge fan of the space trilogy which I think is his worst fiction. And to really confusion, if pressed, I like the second book the best. However, the best kept secret about Lewis is a two fold one: first, his theology is pretty simple and accessible, not by any means real theology compared to other works you might think about in this category (I know some will disagree, but we'll need to begin by figuring out who counts as a theologian). Next, his truly heavy weight works are good, but tough, and they are those which are the products of the Oxford don. They are works on literature and the middle ages. You can get a taste in this brief introduction: http://www.spurgeon....th-inc.htm#ch_0 Then move onto his introduction to Paradise Lost and finally try The Discarded Image which is about the medieval world view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Not theology, but have you read Surprised by Joy? Here is the description from Amazon: This book is not an autobiography. It is not a confession. It is, however, certainly one of the most beautiful and insightful accounts of a person coming to faith. In this case, that person is C.S. Lewis and his path takes us from a childhood in Belfast through the loss of his mother, to boarding school and a youthful atheism in England, to the trenches of World War I, and then to life at Oxford, where he studied, read, and, ultimately, reasoned his way back to God. It is perhaps this aspect of Surprised by Joy that we—believers and nonbelievers—find most compelling and meaningful; Lewis was searching for joy, for an elusive and momentary sensation of glorious yearning, but he found it, and spiritual life, through the use of reason. It might help with your theology studies to know about his path to faith. Best Wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleinMN Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Mere Christianity or The Screwtape Letters or both at the same time! :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 As an educator, I don't think you could go wrong reading Abolition of Man. It's short, but boy is it meaty. The essays can (and should) be read a couple of times to really "get" them, though. I think I read the first essay 3 times before I really grasped it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 Thanks everyone! I started The Screwtape Letters this morning. I have rediscovered my love for satirical Irishmen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 It's hard to go wrong with CS Lewis. Personally, for theology I would go with Mere Christianity. From there I would progress to the Space Trilogy, for more applied theology. Read the trilogy in order. I think Perelandra has the most to offer of the three, though. I also adore Surprised by Joy--that's one I go to again and again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tullia Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I recommend Surprised by Joy as a good starting place because it provides context for all his work. I know you wanted to start with theology, but please allow me to suggest two of my favorites from his more scholarly works: The Discarded Image and An Experiment in Criticism. I also like Abolition of Man and Till We Have Faces. I have to confess that I disliked that last one so much the first time through that I felt compelled to read it again. It's now one of my favorites. If you're a sci-fi fan the collection of essays Of Other Worlds edited by Walter Hooper might be a fun read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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