Tag Archives: Mere Christianity

The Legacy of Walter Hooper, C.S. Lewis’ Better Than Boswell

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

In the warm and appreciative introduction to a festschrift honouring Walter Hooper (1931-2020), C.S. Lewis and the Church (eds., Judith Wolfe and Brendan N. Wolfe), Andrew Cuneo compares Walter Hooper to James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck and biographer of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged Andrew Cuneo, C.S. Lewis, Dr. Johnson, God in the Dock, James Boswell, Life of Samuel Johnson, Mere Christianity, Narnia, Of Other Worlds, owen barfield, Past Watchful Dragons, Spirits in Bondage, The Dark Tower, The Preface to Paradise Lost, Walter Hooper, Warren Lewis | 16 Comments

“A Sense of the Season”: C.S. Lewis’ Birthday Pivot and the Cambridge Inaugural Address

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

In the autumn of 1954 at the age of 56, C.S. Lewis was at the height of his academic career. After nearly two decades of research and writing English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, Excluding Drama, this magnum opus intensified … Continue reading →

Posted in Lewis Biography, Original Research, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged anthropology, autoethnography, BBC Talks, C.S. Lewis, De Descriptione Temporum, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, F.R. Leavis, I.A. Richards, J.R.R. Tolkien, literature, Mere Christianity, Narnia, OHEL, Reflections on the Psalms, Surprised by Joy, The Discarded Image, theology, WWI | 9 Comments

Review of “C.S. Lewis and the Christian Worldview” by Michael L. Peterson

Posted on October 13, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

Note: This is a longer and more conversational version of a review that was published this week in Literature and Theology, which you can find here (free, open access). For those of you who would like a short, tight review, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged A Preface to Paradise Lost, apologetics, C.S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, Intelligent Design, Mere Christianity, Michael L. Peterson, Miracles, The Allegory of Love, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, theodicy | 7 Comments

Brenton Dickieson’s Great Divergence within the Great Divorce: Podcast Interview on In the Corner Back by the Woodpile

Posted on February 26, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

A couple of years ago I blogged about the podcast, In the Corner Back by the Woodpile, this one about Phil Keaggy and C.S. Lewis’ influence. It took this long, but I was finally able to sit down with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged American evangelicalism, American history, C.S. Lewis, Christianity Today, Fundamentalism, hell, Mere Christianity, Narnia, Rob Bell, That Hideous Strength, The Abolition of Man, The Great Divorce | 8 Comments

“A Sense of the Season”: C.S. Lewis’ Birthday Pivot and the Cambridge Inaugural Address

Posted on November 28, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

C.S. Lewis’ Book that Is Not a Book: Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

I am writing an article for Touchstone Journal in Canada about C.S. Lewis’ Letters to Malcolm. In 1949, an American reader suggested his next book should be on prayer. Lewis declined, saying “I don’t feel I could write a book on … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis, epistolary fiction, Letters to Malcolm, Mere Christianity, owen barfield, prayer, Sr. Penelope, Surprised by Joy, The Four Loves, The Lord's Prayer, The Screwtape Letters | 10 Comments

8 Questions about the Problem of Susan Narnia Debate, or How to Read Well

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

Kat Coffin’s brief article last week on “The Problem of Susan” is the hottest post of 2019. “How do you Solve a Problem like Susan Pevensie?” has been discussed in the blog comments and in various forums, sometimes with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged A Preface to Paradise Lost, An Experiment in Criticism, Gender Theory, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Mere Christianity, Michael Ward, Narnia, Reading, sexism, That Hideous Strength, The Last Battle, The Personal Heresy, The Problem of Susan, The Screwtape Letters, The Silver Chair, Till We Have Faces, Virginia Woolf | 52 Comments

Literary Diversity and the Bottomless C.S. Lewis: A Unique Journey in Books

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

In George Sayer‘s compelling biography of C.S. Lewis, Sayer recalls the first time he met his future tutor and friend. Before and after his first meeting, Sayer found himself chatting with an unknown professor, later to be revealed as J.R.R. … Continue reading →

Posted in On Writing, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged apologetics, books, C.S. Lewis, George Sayer, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jack, Mere Christianity, Narnia, The Great Divorce, writing | 13 Comments

The Shape of the Cross in C.S. Lewis’ Writing: My Oct 23rd Talk at the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society

Posted on October 17, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

I’m pleased to announce that I will be giving a talk at the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society next week (Tues, Oct 23rd, 8pm for 8.15pm start at Pusey House). The Society was very kind to fit me in on my … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged C.S. Lewis, cruciformity, Dymer, lion the witch and the wardrobe, Mere Christianity, Oxford, Oxford C.S. Lewis Society, self-death, spiritual theology, The Great Divorce, The Pilgrim's Regress, The Problem of Pain, theology, Till We Have Faces | 7 Comments

“Not Because I am Anyone in Particular”: C.S. Lewis’ Original Preface on Mere Christianity

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

Based on a year-2000 survey of church leaders and contributors to Christianity Today about 20th-century “classics that have shaped religious thought,” C.S. Lewis was “by far … the most popular author and Mere Christianity the book nominated most often.” Narnia also … Continue reading →