Tag Archives: The Problem of Pain

A Grief Observed: A Talk on the Anniversary of My Parents’ Deaths, with C.S. Lewis

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Here is a little piece on a special day: the anniversary of the death of my father and brother on a villainously cold night when I was fourteen, and on the eve of the anniversary of my mother’s passing in … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged A Grief Observed, academics, C.S. Lewis, Death, Douglas Gresham, fatherhood, grief, love, Madeleine L'Engle, mourning, orpan tales, parenting, Teaching, The Problem of Pain, The Shape of Water | 6 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 | 9 Comments

The World as a “Vale of Soul-Making”: A Brief Note on John Keats, C.S. Lewis, and L.M. Montgomery

Posted on May 21, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

There is a stunning moment in L.M. Montgomery’s Rainbow Valley that continues to itch at my mind. I know that Anne of Green Gables is so filled with life and light that it is hard to ignore, and that Montgomery‘s Emily of New … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged A Grief Observed, Anne of Green Gables, Arend Smilde, C.S. Lewis, John Keats, Keats, L.M. Montgomery, Rainbow Valley, The Problem of Pain, theodicy | 20 Comments

The Living Lie, But Dead Men Tell the Truth: The Screwtape Letters and Ivan Ilych

Posted on April 1, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

In Leo Tolstoy’s brilliant novella, The Death of Ivan Ilych (1886), there is a curious pun in the English translation I use (Aylmer Maude): “The dead man lay, as dead men always lie” (96). As the title suggests, The Death of Ivan … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Ars moriendi, C.S. Lewis, cruciformity, Death, Leo Tolstoy, Memento Mori, Nicholas Lezard, The Art of Dying Well, The Death of Ivan Ilych, The Problem of Pain, The Screwtape Letters | 18 Comments

The Deeper Meaning of “The Great Divorce” (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

Last year I introduced an occasional feature I call “Throwback Thursday.” This is where I find a blog post from the past–raiding either my own blog-hoard or someone else’s–and throw it back out into the digital world. This might be … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, controversy, Dante, Galatians 2:20, George MacDonald, heaven, hell, Love Wins, Narnia, Rob Bell, self-death, The Great Divorce, The Last Battle, The Problem of Pain, theology | 49 Comments

A Grief Observed: A Talk on the Anniversary of My Parents’ Deaths, with C.S. Lewis

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

Here is a little piece I did this time last year. This past week had that frightful cold snap once again–experienced throughout our entire continent–and the cold has finally broken. But on this day, February 4th, it is hard not … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged A Grief Observed, academics, C.S. Lewis, Death, fatherhood, Frederick Buechner, grief, love, mourning, orpan tales, parenting, Teaching, The Problem of Pain, The Shape of Water | 25 Comments

A Miraculous Find: C.S. Lewis First Editions

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

Well, admittedly, that’s an overly dramatic title. But my son is turning fourteen and I have been working on Dad jokes, and bad puns fall well with that range (as this one will). And I can’t leave out cool forty-something … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | Tagged A Preface to Paradise Lost, book collecting, books, C.S. Lewis, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, Miracles, Spenser's Images of Life, Surprised by Joy, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, The Screwtape Letters, WWII | 30 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 | 10 Comments

Idea-Seeds in C.S. Lewis’ Letters (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on August 9, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

This summer I introduced an occasional feature I call “Throwback Thursday.” This is where I find a blog post from the past–raiding either my own vault or someone else’s–and throw it back out into the digital world. This might be an … Continue reading →

Posted in Letters, Memorable Quotes, Throwback Thursdays | Tagged books, C.S. Lewis, Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, ideas, J.R.R. Tolkien, letters, literature, Out of the Silent Planet, Ransom Trilogy, The Problem of Pain, writing | 35 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 →