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C.S.Lewis today focuses on Till We Have Faces, The Hope of Glory and The Inner Ring. These three lesser known works of C.S.Lewis contain profound treasures of wisdom and insight which can greatly enrich our lives today. I also introduce a book I have written, Beauty From Ashes, which has emerged from the message contained in Till We Have Faces. The site is created by David Eastway, a retired minister of the Anglican Church of Australia, Sydney Diocese.  ( see personal profile for more information )

The purpose of this blog. 

1. Like most keen readers of C.S.Lewis, I have read and re read over the years his most popular and well known books such as The Chronicles of Narnia, Surprised by Joy, Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, Miracles and The Four Loves. In recent years, as I have read biographies about his life, I have discovered several ‘hidden treasures’ which are not among his most widely read books and addresses.

The three ‘gems’ referred to above, have given me great insight into areas of life and faith which can be very complex. Each relates to a topic which touches human life at the deepest level. I hope through this blog to provide a point of reference, together with those already in existence, to these particular works and commend them with their relevance in today’s world, to those who are unfamiliar with them. I trust they will continue to be a means through which we can “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” ( Hebrews 10: 24 ) 

2. I am hoping to locate individuals or groups within Australia, who are also keen readers of C.S.Lewis. Do you know of groups which meet from time to time to discuss Lewis’ books and sermons? If you are aware of such groups please let me know by responding to this blog. Is there an Australian network of C.S.Lewis readers in existence?

Three hidden treasures with relevance for today’s world.

The paragraphs below provide an introduction to the three works mentioned above, but for convenience I have created separate posts in this blog for the complete articles I have written in reference to them.

The first ‘treasure’ is the book Till We Have Faces (1956) which contains in narrative style, Lewis’ analysis of the nature of human love and the way in which love can so easily become distorted and self centred – a theme which he expanded in analytical form in 1960 in his better known work The Four Loves. I was so impacted by Till We Have Faces that I wrote a 50 page booklet based on the story. Titled Beauty from Ashes, it contains an introduction to Lewis’ themes within the story, a précis of the story and a nine part Bible Study.   ( See more detail in the section,  Till We Have Faces.)

 

The other two ‘treasures’ I found in the book Transposition and other Addresses, first published in 1949. Both these lengthy addresses, while extremely powerful and poignant, have an academic style relevant in the 1940’s which could deter today’s reader. Rather than attempt to summarise Lewis’ message, I have sought to abridge the original by removing (what I considered) the ‘non essential content’ without changing any of the words which Lewis used. My hope is that by doing this, the powerful and significant message of these two addresses may be more accessible to the general reader today. Hopefully my abridged version will encourage people to locate and read the addresses in their entirety.

 

The first of these two addresses is a sermon titled The Weight of Glory, preached by Lewis in 1942 at the church of St. Mary the Virgin in Oxford. In this sermon Lewis rejoices in the truth that God in His amazing love provides for the believer through Jesus a glorious future hope. While we should look forward to this with a legitimate and eager desire, the ‘weight’ of knowing there are people who could be excluded from this ‘glory’ through their unbelief, should spur us on in the task of making Christ known.      ( See  post,  The Weight of Glory)

The other address is The Inner Ring. This address was The Memorial Oration at King’s College, the University of London, 1944. Lewis appeals to the university students he addresses, to resist the temptation and allurement they will surely face at some stage in their profession, to become part of an ‘inner ring’ of exclusive individuals. The consequential ‘privileges’ of being part of the ‘we’ or ‘the gang’ or ‘the set’, while seemingly advantageous to ones career, could in the long run, have temptations relating to prestige, power and personal gain, which if followed, could turn one into a ‘scoundrel’ (Lewis’ word). Lewis recognizes that there are and must be healthy ‘rings’ where good friendships exist and workers co-operate. Such healthy groups function with creative and positive results. However Lewis’ purpose is to urge his hearers to resist by “conscious and continuous effort”, that desire which could become “one of the chief motives of life”, the desire to become an “inner ringer”.    ( See post,  The Inner Ring )