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 | 7 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 →