Any fans of C.S. Lewis here?

[kill051]

I started this topic as I am a fan of the writings of C.S. Lewis, the great Christian apologist. Having been raised in an atheist household, my parents unwittingly gave me a boxed set of the Narnia books for my eleventh birthday, thus sparking a love affair that has lasted to this day. When I realised, at the age of twenty-three, that I believed in Christianity, I slowly made my way through Lewis’ apologetic writings for adults; then, ten years later when I converted to Catholicism, I found his writings most helpful, though he was nominally Anglican. I am curious if there are other admirers of this great man’s works here on CAF.

 

[ShowersofRoses]

Me, me, me!!
jumps excitedly up and down with my arm in the air

I think there are lots of us here who greatly love and admire C.S. Lewis and his writings.

 

[kill051]

Me, me, me!!
jumps excitedly up and down with my arm in the air

I think there are lots of us here who greatly love and admire C.S. Lewis and his writings.

I am so happy to hear this! I feel I owe Lewis so much, as he was instrumental in my throwing off the atheist yoke and embracing the Christian faith. I am sure you love the Narnia books, but do you have any special favorites amongst his apologetics works?

 

[JanSobieskiIII]

He’s part of my conversion to Catholicism.

 

[SeriousQuestion]

I think I might go to the library and get the Chronicles of Narnia and reread them today. I wonder if Cardinal Newman’s writings might somehow be related since he used to be an Anglican too.

 

[kill051]

He’s part of my conversion to Catholicism.

That’s excellent! Although he was Anglican, I have noticed a distinctly Catholic flavor to much of his writing. For example, he apparently believed, quite without reserve, in Purgatory. He wrote of it frequently in his non-fiction, and I recall at least one letter written to an Anglican nun in which he asks her, should he predecease her, to pray for him to be released from Purgatory.

 

[ShowersofRoses]

Besides Narnia , I love Mere Christianity, Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, and Perelandra probably the most. I reread them all usually at least once a year.

I want to reread Suprised by Joy and his Letters to Children again soon, as well as Grief Observed and The Problem of Pain.

His writing just speaks right to my heart.

 

[kill051]

I can see where his writings, rich as they are, would be a good source for homily material.

 

[kill051]

I think I might go to the library and get the Chronicles of Narnia and reread them today. I wonder if Cardinal Newman’s writings might somehow be related since he used to be an Anglican too.

That’s an interesting idea. I have only read part of Newman’s Apologia pro sua vita, so I am not as familiar as I ought to be with his work.

 

[kill051]

His writing just speaks right to my heart.

Yes! That’s just how it affects me, as well. The one book I have given rather short shrift to is Till We Have Faces. That one is next for me to reread.

 

[Maximilian75]

Absolutely. I loved Narnia, and need to read some of his more serious works.

 

[kill051]

Absolutely. I loved Narnia, and need to read some of his more serious works.

I have always loved the Narnia books, ever since I first read them. They are a quick read, too. I remember as a boy, one Sunday afternoon my parents were giving an ‘adults only’ party, and my brother and I were to stay in our rooms, silent and invisible. I took the opportunity to reread all seven Narnian chronicles, and was finished before bedtime.

 

[kill051]

Just a tip: don’t start with Miracles, which I find the most academic and least accessible of his books. Lewis’ great strength is his ability to speak to people where they are, without any whiff of condescension. Mere Christianity might be the best introduction to his apologetics works. My personal favorite is The Great Divorce, a novella-length work that follows a group of damned souls on a day-trip to Heaven. Brilliant, thought-provoking and heartbreaking.

 

[Torolf]

I was first introduced to The Chronicles of Narnia when I was in second grade and I’ve been a fan of Lewis ever since. Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters were the first books I read after coming back to Christianity. Mere Christianity also played a large part in my conversion to Catholicism.

 

[BlueMaxx]

Me, me, me!!
jumps excitedly up and down with my arm in the air

I think there are lots of us here who greatly love and admire C.S. Lewis and his writings.

Ditto! I just picked up some groovy vintage 70’s paperbacks of the complete Space Trilogy…



I gotta quit searching eBay late at night

 

[ShowersofRoses]

Oh, wow, those are really “groovy.” Funny how the covers really don’t match the insides!

Even though they take place on Venus and Mars, I don’t think of them as sci-fi. Definitely more of a light fantasy, bit of sci-fi, heavy on the theology, just taking place outside our atmosphere (at least the first two).

I like the updated book covers I have, but I’m digging the 70’s ones you got. Peace out!

 

[kill051]

ShowersofRoses:

Me, me, me!!
jumps excitedly up and down with my arm in the air

I think there are lots of us here who greatly love and admire C.S. Lewis and his writings.

Ditto! I just picked up some groovy vintage 70’s paperbacks of the complete Space Trilogy…

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QoU92w9YysQZguuZ7

I gotta quit searching eBay late at night

I used to have these editions as a boxed set! I read them until they fell to pieces.

 

[Delphinus]

I LOVE CS Lewis. I have read just about everything he ever put on paper! I did just discover “The Weight of Glory” and I’ve been reading that and it seriously just blows my mind. Yes, the guy is protestant and a pretty shameless Calvinist, but no one is perfect.

I really loved “Transposition” one of his essays. Seriously life changing!

 

[Finn]

Absolutely… he is one of the greats. He was a fantastic imaginative writer and his works have led a lot of people to Christianity. Narnia is a fantastic way to introduce children to Christian concepts. I love The Great Divorce, which has some interesting ideas about purgatory and hell (even if I’m not sure I agree with them). The Screwtape Letters are well worth a read.

 

[commenter]

Next to Chesterton, Lewis is the writer I regard the most highly. He was not really a Calvinist as one poster claimed. He was Evangelical and high church, so good that both sides claim him.

I asked a Baptist 40 years ago who were her favorite Christian writers, then I told her mine. Lewis was on both our lists, and the only one we both had ever heard of.