Following up the success of the acclaimed movie on C. S. Lewis Shadowlands, this book is the ideal volume for those who want to know more about Lewis and the writings of this great Christian author. Peter Kreeft, a best-selling author in his own right--and one who acknowledges a great personal debt to Lewis--selects and introduces some of Lewis' best-loved works.
Having studied, written about and taught Lewis' writings for years, Kreeft has been able to select and introduce the best of Lewis' vast and varied writings for the benefit of the reader. Kreeft has edited and organized Lewis' writings around the central themes of the movie: Earth (the shadow-lands), Joy (the mysterious longing), Heaven (the land from whih the shadows fall), the Golden Key (how to reach the land of light), and the Problem of Pain. Kreeft also includes the fantasy of George MacDonald (Lewis' acknowledged master) from which the idea of Shadow-lands was derived. For Lewis-lovers, and those who are curious about the man behind the movie, this book will be illuminating and inspiring.
Clive Staples Lewis was born in Ireland, in Belfast on 29 November 1898. His mother was a devout Christian and made efforts to influence his beliefs. When she died in his early youth her influence waned and Lewis was subject to the musings and mutterings of his friends who were decidedly agnostic and atheistic. It would not be until later, in a moment of clear rationality that he first came to a belief in God and later became a Christian.
C. S. Lewis volunteered for the army in 1917 and was wounded in the trenches in World War I. After the war, he attended university at Oxford. Soon, he found himself on the faculty of Magdalen College where he taught Mediaeval and Renaissance English.
Throughout his academic career he wrote clearly on the topic of religion. His most famous works include the Screwtape Letters and the Chronicles of Narnia. The atmosphere at Oxford and Cambridge tended to skepticism. Lewis used this skepticism as a foil. He intelligently saw Christianity as a necessary fact that could be seen clearly in science.
"Surprised by Joy" is Lewis's autobiography chronicling his reluctant conversion from atheism to Christianity in 1931.
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