Tag Archives: theology

“Small” and “Little”, a Literary Experiment on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit with Sparrow Alden

Posted on April 1, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Originally posted on words that you were saying:
Finally! Thanks to the Rev. Dr. Dickieson over at A Pilgrim in Narnia, I have gotten un-stuck from the word which has held me in thrall since October. I hope this is…

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Digital Humanities, J.R.R. Tolkien, Northwind Seminary, Sparrow Alden, The Hobbit, theology, theology and literature, Theology of Culture | 10 Comments

The Other Reasons I Became a C.S. Lewis Scholar

Posted on March 30, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

An intriguing, fun, and occasionally perverse part of being a scholar in areas where there is a lively fandom is that I am often asked to tell my “encounter” story. This can be a bit strange in that in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged academic writing, C.S. Lewis, Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, culture, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, literature, Mere Christianity, Miroslav Volf, N.T. Wright, PhD Research, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Sallie McFague, theology, Ursula K. Le Guin | 6 Comments

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

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 | 12 Comments

Studying Online with Regent College

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

Hi friends. As some of you know, I do a lot of teaching online. I have been a “distance education instructor” in a variety of forms for 16 years now. Continuing a series from earlier in the year, I want … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Bible, graduate school, Iain Provan, Regent College, seminary, theology | 1 Comment

Naturally Holy: Some Thoughts on Till We Have Faces, A Guest Post by Katie Stevenson

Posted on May 19, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

C.S. Lewis is well known to revere nature in his writings, including vivid pictures in The Narnia series, Perelandra (from his space trilogy), and The Great Divorce. His imagery of purity and wonderful holiness often takes hold of his characters’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Blogs | Tagged C.S. Lewis, heaven, Holiness, paganism, theology, Till We Have Faces | 11 Comments

The Grand Miracle, Or Easter in Everyday Life with C.S. Lewis (75th Anniversary)

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

On this Holy week near the close of WWII, C.S. Lewis preached a sermon called “The Grand Miracle” at St. Jude on the Hill Church in London. The talk was published two weeks later in The Guardian–following the last episode … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Christmas, dive, Easter, Galatians 2:20, Miracles, self-death, spiritual theology, St. Jude on the Hill, surrender, The Grand Miracle, The Great Divorce, The Guardian, theology | 10 Comments

Celebrations of Life: 30 Years, 4 Years, Today

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

Today is the 30th anniversary of the death of my father and baby brother. I saw them perish in a fire when I was a boy–an event that has shaped not just my family life, but my entire understanding of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Death, heaven, Remembering Heaven, theology, Theology of Culture | 21 Comments

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

Posted on November 28, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

Bellwethers of a New American Christianity? Sallie McFague, Rob Bell, and Evangelical (Re)Vision

Posted on November 20, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

Following news of Sallie McFague’s death last week, I gave a little tribute to how she had stimulated my thinking. I decided to release this paper I wrote in conversation with her work. Some of the bibliography is five years out … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Alister E. McGrath, Bebbington’s Quadrilateral, Billy Graham, Christianity Today, egalitarianism, environmentalism, feminism, George Marsden, John G. Stackhouse, Love Wins, Metaphorical Theology, Miroslav Volf, R. Albert Mohler, Rob Bell, Sallie McFague, Stanley J. Grenz, theology, Wayne Grudem | 9 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 →