An excellent article about Jack! Glad to see there are other Lewis enthusiasts on substack! His ability to communicate truth in so many ways made him one of the best writers of the 20th century.
Rene Girard. He had a similar experience converting as an adult and running into resistance in academic circles. I think he was the most important Christian thinker to immediately follow Lewis in the ‘60s
Jack is one of my very favorite authors, indeed very favorite people, because he and I traveled along parallal paths, to a degree. I was raised in strong religion, left it at age 20, became a spiritual seeker, and then suddenly began feeling the inexplicable call of Christ, the steady pace of the hound of heaven. I read Lewis in my "seeking" phase and was already a fan of his by the time I knelt before the bishop and entered the Church --- the sect I was raised in rejects the Trinity, so I consider this my conversion to Christianity -- but I have grown fonder and fonder of him with every passing year. I re-read two of his books every year (Screwtape Letters at Advent, Surprised by Joy during Lent), frequently re-read his other works off-schedule (I've read The Four Loves five times now), and have consumed his biographies and letters, and through them joined him and the fellows at the pub, or gone on walks with him and Warnie.
Quite possibly the best short essay on C.S. Lewis I've ever read - and for the last 25 years I've read everything by and about C.S. Lewis that I've come across. Posting this to my Notes.
After I finished college I set out to read every book by CS Lewis. I've never regretted it. Even now decades later I'm drawn to many of the lessons I learned from reading his work. I don't consider myself religious anymore, but still connect with so much of his writing. The only other writer I've done such a deep dive with is Steinbeck. I'd recommend that deep dive to anyone as well.
I ended my deep dive with East of Eden and couldn't have been happier. I still think it's my favorite novel of all time. I read it Journal of A Novel at the same time, which is notes to his best friend/editor as he wrote East of Eden. HIGHLY recommend if you haven't read it. The big picture I took away after reading all his books is that while he has a very serious vein, Steinbeck also had a hilarious sense of humor and was not nearly so serious as I'd taken him to be from highschool readings of Of Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath. He had a ton of wit and charming sense of humor too. Most definitely one of my favorite writers of all time. But I also still have a lot of reading to do in life...
An excellent article about Jack! Glad to see there are other Lewis enthusiasts on substack! His ability to communicate truth in so many ways made him one of the best writers of the 20th century.
Thanks! I couldn't agree more. Nice to make your acquaintance!
Love this article , and like you C.S. Is by far my favorite author. He continues to provide a doorway to Narnia just when I need it!
Indeed he does!
I love him so much I named my son after him!!
Clive or Jack?
Jack Lewis. I wasn’t brave enough for “Clive.”
Now you can just have another boy with a name ready to go! 🤣
😂
Thank you is not enough for your insightful thoughts, but it is enough in Him.
Rene Girard. He had a similar experience converting as an adult and running into resistance in academic circles. I think he was the most important Christian thinker to immediately follow Lewis in the ‘60s
Jack is one of my very favorite authors, indeed very favorite people, because he and I traveled along parallal paths, to a degree. I was raised in strong religion, left it at age 20, became a spiritual seeker, and then suddenly began feeling the inexplicable call of Christ, the steady pace of the hound of heaven. I read Lewis in my "seeking" phase and was already a fan of his by the time I knelt before the bishop and entered the Church --- the sect I was raised in rejects the Trinity, so I consider this my conversion to Christianity -- but I have grown fonder and fonder of him with every passing year. I re-read two of his books every year (Screwtape Letters at Advent, Surprised by Joy during Lent), frequently re-read his other works off-schedule (I've read The Four Loves five times now), and have consumed his biographies and letters, and through them joined him and the fellows at the pub, or gone on walks with him and Warnie.
Fantastic! Praise God for your story brother!
Quite possibly the best short essay on C.S. Lewis I've ever read - and for the last 25 years I've read everything by and about C.S. Lewis that I've come across. Posting this to my Notes.
That’s a very generous appraisal, but I thank you for it!
Wonderful post, brother. You know that I am with you in having Lewis as my mentor.
A few other “Lewis studies” books that are worthwhile:
**Harry Lee Poe’s three volume biography of Lewis. I am about to finish volume 3.
**Chad Walsh’s “Apostle to the Skeptics”
**Walter Hooper’s “C. S. Lewis: A Complete Guide to His Life & Works”
**Michael Ward’s “Planet Narnia”
**Christiana Hale’s “Deeper Heaven” (a study on the Ransom Trilogy)
**Jason Baxter’s “The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis”
Also, I haven’t read it yet (because it isn’t out) but I can’t wait to read Simon Horobin’s “C. S. Lewis’s Oxford”
After I finished college I set out to read every book by CS Lewis. I've never regretted it. Even now decades later I'm drawn to many of the lessons I learned from reading his work. I don't consider myself religious anymore, but still connect with so much of his writing. The only other writer I've done such a deep dive with is Steinbeck. I'd recommend that deep dive to anyone as well.
I’ve only ever read what most people have read by Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men. I may get around to more eventually. I own East of Eden.
I ended my deep dive with East of Eden and couldn't have been happier. I still think it's my favorite novel of all time. I read it Journal of A Novel at the same time, which is notes to his best friend/editor as he wrote East of Eden. HIGHLY recommend if you haven't read it. The big picture I took away after reading all his books is that while he has a very serious vein, Steinbeck also had a hilarious sense of humor and was not nearly so serious as I'd taken him to be from highschool readings of Of Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath. He had a ton of wit and charming sense of humor too. Most definitely one of my favorite writers of all time. But I also still have a lot of reading to do in life...