I don’t know how I missed out on reading C.S. Lewis my whole life. I feel really, really behind in posting this but I must. I am hoping there are others that are not familiar with him and his books in introducing him a bit. He lived in England until the 1960s as an author and faculty member at Oxford and considered himself an atheist until his early 30s. You will probably recognize The Chronicles of Narnia before you recognize any of his other works.
I had often seen and liked quotes from C.S. Lewis on Twitter, Facebook and even in other books so when Pioneer Woman had it on her recommended list at Joseph Beth’s during her signing, it seemed like the right thing to buy it.
I can’t begin to tell you how much I liked this book. Lewis is witty and plain-spoken and easy to understand and even funny. In a nutshell it is a Christian theology book walking the reader from understanding that there is higher power all the way to talking about a new life in Christ. He talks about prayer and divorce and drinking and war and so many things that I think Christians mull over. He seems to have a way of explaining them I think the way Christ would (and did). He uses many metaphors and stories to explain his point in a way that turns on a light to the truth. In some cases he has no answers and has no problem with admitting that and relying on faith to answer them one day. He doesn’t push his point on the reader but simply offers them as a help and even suggests that they be thrown aside if they do not.
I particularly liked the chapter about Time. If you read my two posts on Prayer and Predestination you will know why it meant so much. In it, it seems we asked the same question and then he chooses as well to use a book to answer. It was like this confirmation for me that I wasn’t off my rocker in my answer to my own question and I wanted to say, hey, we must be talking to the same God! It was a very uplifting moment finishing the chapter. I wanted to give a high-five to Lewis knowing all the while that God was and is the one that had revealed these answers to us. He is so faithful to us with inquiring minds.
This book certainly goes down in my Top 10 favorite books of all time and I’m looking forward to reading more of his works.
So there, I am at least caught up to 1960.