Lewis, C.S.

The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics

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C.S. Lewis is a great writer
complete c.s. lewis signature classics
Excellent reading for mind and soul
Get a feel for Lewis's style
Best Buy on the Market for C.S. Lewis's Works

The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics
C. S. Lewis
Manufacturer: HarperSanFrancisco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Four Loves
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ASIN: 0061208493
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Book Description

Seven Spiritual Masterworks by C. S. Lewis </p>

This classic collection includes C. S. Lewis's most important spiritual works: </p> <blockquote>

Mere Christianity
The Screwtape Letters
The Great Divorce
The Problem of Pain
Miracles
A Grief Observed
The Abolition of Man </p> </blockquote>

Customer Reviews:

C.S. Lewis is a great writer.......2007-05-13

While many may scoff at the readings of Mr. Lweis, due to non-Christian views, one truly is seized by the sheer verocity of the depth of his works; only to come away amazed by the depth of a true Christian soul.

complete c.s. lewis signature classics.......2007-05-12

I'm a big fan of "Jack" not only for his writing but on a personal note. This signature edition is a great value and a nice coffee table book. It's a little big to carry on a plane or to read in bed.

Excellent reading for mind and soul.......2007-05-08

CS Lewis is consistantly interesting and insightful. His works are straight forward and avoid belabored, technical theology. Excellent food for thought for the Christian. Excellent food for thought for the non-Christian. If you have even a mild interest in Christian thought, this anthology is a great starting point. The price is unbeatable because even if you end up disliking the theology, The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce are entertaining enough on their own and worth nearly the price of the anthology!

Get a feel for Lewis's style.......2007-05-08

Reading this compilation of Lewis classics is a great way to introduce yourself to C. S. Lewis. Although it is not "complete" by any means, it does help to present his world view from several different angles. Each work is short and easy to read. Wrestling with the issues personally is the real challenge in Lewis' literature. He uses lots of concrete earthly examples of the spiritual concepts and themes presented. Delicious food for thought to anyone who enjoys exploring spiritual relms.

Best Buy on the Market for C.S. Lewis's Works.......2007-04-24

This book actually rates a 4.5 stars with me. Five stars for what is in the book, and four for the book's actual physical quality. My copy, at least, was poorly bound, though bought new from Amazon. The works in the book are superb. I'd all but given up finding a place to get all of Lewis's works in one place until this book came out. I only wish I'd put out the additional ten bucks or so and gotten the hardcover version.

C.S. Lewis, had he been a Roman Catholic rather than an Anglican, would have been canonized a long time ago. As a Roman Catholic myself, I consider this Protestant bretheren to be the most important Christian apologist of the 20th century. There is no current Christian writer who can hold a candle to him, and he writes for believers and non-believers alike. When I have moments of depression or doubt, simply turning to this book lifts my spirit and sets me back on the true course. What a treasure C.S. Lewis was to all Christians, and what a treasure he continues to be.

This book contains all his major long works of nonfiction. It is an outstanding compilation, well laid-out, easy to read. Again, my only fault is with the poor quality of the binding. For $25.00, a book should be bound well, not glued irregularly.
Still, a treasure. Get the hardback.

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Foundational work for apologetics - the defense of the faith
Clear, Logical, and to the Point
The Rationale For Righteousness
Liar, Lunatic, or God
A Good Primer to Christian Doctrine and Apologetics

Mere Christianity
C. S. Lewis
Manufacturer: HarperSanFrancisco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Screwtape Letters
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ASIN: 0060652926
Release Date: 2001-02-05

Book Description

A forceful and accessible discussion of Christian belief that has become one of the most popular introductions to Christianity and one of the most popular of Lewis’s books. Uncovers common ground upon which all Christians can stand together.

Customer Reviews:

Foundational work for apologetics - the defense of the faith.......2007-06-26

Where to begin with one of the great classics of the Christian faith? Well, from the beginning, it must be noted that Mere Christianity truly is a must-read for all Christians and that is exactly the intent of the author himself. Lewis set out to write or at least describe the fundamentals of the faith - actually to the truth - to which he himself had been called to almost against his own preferences. Christianity, to Lewis, isn't a mental asset to some sort of religious dogma or doctrine, rather it truly is a confrontation with the greatest truth known to man - that the person of Jesus Christ truly is the Son of the Living God, and only by the redeeming work of Christ can man be restored to a right relationship with our Creator. Mere Christianity is an attempt, and a very good one at that, to describe the concept of how God has woven this inextricable truth into the hearts and minds of mankind. Lewis argues this concept by stating two universal truths that he defends throughout the book:

1. That human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot get rid of it.
2. That they do not in fact behave in that they.

Lewis is describing the concept of natural law, or the "Law of Nature" which puts forth the concept that God created man with eternity set in their hearts and that man's own sinfulness acts as a veil shrouding this truth, but now fully, so that man knows right from wrong, but is enslaved by sin nature to a life of unrighteousness. The chapters of Mere Christianity are arranged in various arguments that address this universal truth, and the final conclusion, once Lewis has demonstrated his premise, is that if true, this argument demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that man is indeed created by an Intelligent Designer who has revealed Himself to mankind through general and specific revelations.

Lewis' concept of Christianity is really very simple - the problem really is that man complicates things, either by mistake or on purpose. But Lewis' concept of Christianity can be summarized by the Creation-Fall-Redemption model. Christianity is a simple, straight-forward explanation for the world not only as we know it and experience it, but also as it was intended to be and what when wrong with it. God's creation is perfect; man's corruption of that original nature is the problem with the world - and now, we live in what Lewis calls "enemy-occupied territory" where the "rightful king has landed" and is working through the church (individual Christians) to take back what is rightfully His. Amazingly, as you read through Mere Christianity, you can see so much of the creative imagery that Lewis brings to life in his wonderful Chronicles of Narnia series.

Lewis also argues that to live the Christian life one must follow the example set by Christ - they must die. Living the Christian life is not a matter of daily ritual or routine, but rather daily sacrifice and surrender. To truly live out the ideals of Christianity one must surrender themselves to the greater authority of the Christian walk - Christ Himself. If we are created for His purposes and for His glory, then we must realize that our understanding of His ways are lower and pale in comparison - the Christian life is not about raising our standards of living, but rather about us dying to self and being made alive in Him. Of course, Lewis then writes about seven "virtues" by which one can measure their Christian life, not in an attempt to live more righteously on our own accord, but rather for the world to measure our surrender to our God - literally for others to see the nature of God transcribed on our lives as we live out who He is before a watching and listening world.

Lewis' concept of Christianity is a very positive approach - it is not a set of rules and standards that a person compares themselves to - rather the Christian life is an appreciation for the ideal, and a pursuit of that ideal through the grace and work of Christ in and through the life of each and every believer. To Lewis the greatest sin is pride - a concept that man, by his own regard and on his own strength, could live a life worthy of God's calling. "Pride," writes Lewis, "is spiritual cancer; it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense."

Christianity, while "easy" to explain for Lewis is not easy to live. Christianity takes work, hard work, and Lewis sets before each reader a pretty stout challenge at the end of Mere Christianity to truly live out this transformed life worthy of our calling as a follower of Christ. He contends that there is nothing ordinary about the Christian life - and, just as men have been great tyrants or great saints, to Lewis the concept of Christianity should force men into thoughts of greatness - not for themselves, but to represent the greatness of the One Whom they serve and represent.

A great read for every Christian, Mere Christianity is simply a classic to be read and reread time and time again.

Clear, Logical, and to the Point.......2007-06-24

This is another great book by C.S. Lewis. I actually read this book a few times before becoming a Christain and each time I got to the end I felt like, "Yeah! I TOTALLY agree!" But then I found I coulnd't explain the logical progressing from non-believer to beliver to anyone else and so I fell back to my fuzzy-state of semi-belief. However, it is a very good book for putting cracks of hope into non-believers hard protective shell. It certainly placed a few fractures into mine!

The Rationale For Righteousness .......2007-06-22

If 'because the Bible says so!' is not enough of a motivation for you then Mere Christianity is the book for you.

Mere Christianity proposes a reasonable and rational argument on behalf of
Biblical principles. Lewis' grasp of morality and human nature support the sovereignty of Godly ideals by showing how they apply outside of a purely Christian context into everyones everyday life and character.

If you wish to understand the nature of goodness and the many 'whys' behind it Lewis pieces answers together with supreme simplicity, reason and logic. It will equip you to defend the Gospel, deepen your understanding of morality and familiarize you with Jesus teachings without the fire-breathing rhetoric of dogma.

Get it!

Liar, Lunatic, or God.......2007-06-18

Mere Christianity is a book that should be read by all Christians. It is a great exploration of the basis for the faith.

C.S. Lewis examines numerous arguments about the existence of God, the basis for natural law, and a system of morality. In addition, he explores several questions that trouble many who are searching for answers such as why God would allow evil to exist, the nature of God, and many more.

It also contains excellent analysis of issues such as the personhood of God, the trinity, and the issue of free will.

Lewis is a master of using analogies to explain issues that may be difficult. Those who are believers already will especially appreciate these parts.

Although this book may not convince atheists or agnostics about the existence of God, it will surely provide much food for thought for those who are genuinely seeking as well as solidifying the views of Christians.

The author does a great job addressing issues such as whether or not Jesus was just a great moral teacher. He leaves the reader with no doubt that is not a possibility. His arguments that Christ is either a liar, a lunatic, or God is very compelling.

I have read this book about three times over the last 20 years or so. It is excellent and I continue to find new nuggets each time. Highly recommended.

A Good Primer to Christian Doctrine and Apologetics.......2007-06-13

I've spent the better part of my adult life trying to convince people to accept my client's positions. If I've learned one thing from the experience, it's that people will believe what they want to believe, regardless of the weight of the evidence. All any of us can do is give them a reason to believe or doubt what they want. Therefore, more interesting than the question of what someone believes is the question about of why they beleive. This is where the literature of C.S. Lewis is its most profound.

The only people with truly open minds are those who are completely uninformed, neither a virtue nor a common state among people who read books, especially a book of this nature. This book gives people who want to believe, a reason to believe. I've also spoken to (and read the reviews of) skeptics who do not find the book persuasive. Okay, if you're looking for persuasive, this may not be your book. But aside from reinforcing your faith if you want to believe, this book goes a step further and hints at why you may believe or not, and what is the ultimate source of that faith. It's very easy to read for a rather dry subject. While not as entertaining as Lewis's fiction, it still flows with an almost story like quality that will keep the average reader interested enough to get to the end.

Thus, it acts as a good primer to Christian ethics, apologetics, and spirituality. After reading it, anyone interested in spirituality should pick up Lewis's Screwtape Letters; For ethics, try Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Cost of Discipleship and Ethics (imagine that). Be forewarned, however, that Bonhoeffer is not light reading the way Lewis is. Finally for a serious look at apologetics, there are a number of good works out there, but Josh McDowell's books, especially Evidence that Demands a Verdict, are very comprehensive.

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Still grieving
Most Tender Courage of a Grief Examined
Tender and Awful
Fantastic!
A Powerful Exploration of Grief

A Grief Observed
C. S. Lewis
Manufacturer: HarperSanFrancisco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060652381
Release Date: 2001-02-05

Amazon.com

C.S. Lewis joined the human race when his wife, Joy Gresham, died of cancer. Lewis, the Oxford don whose Christian apologetics make it seem like he's got an answer for everything, experienced crushing doubt for the first time after his wife's tragic death. A Grief Observed contains his epigrammatic reflections on that period: "Your bid--for God or no God, for a good God or the Cosmic Sadist, for eternal life or nonentity--will not be serious if nothing much is staked on it. And you will never discover how serious it was until the stakes are raised horribly high," Lewis writes. "Nothing will shake a man--or at any rate a man like me--out of his merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has to be knocked silly before he comes to his senses. Only torture will bring out the truth. Only under torture does he discover it himself." This is the book that inspired the film Shadowlands, but it is more wrenching, more revelatory, and more real than the movie. It is a beautiful and unflinchingly honest record of how even a stalwart believer can lose all sense of meaning in the universe, and how he can gradually regain his bearings. --Michael Joseph Gross

Book Description

In this classic trial of faith, C. S. Lewis probes the fundamental issues of life and death, and summons those who grieve to honest mourning and hope in the midst of loss.

Customer Reviews:

Still grieving.......2007-05-14

The book is hard to read. Jumps a little too much but does come up with some great ideas.

Most Tender Courage of a Grief Examined.......2007-04-19

"A Grief Observed" is just that, an observation by immersion, recorded in a journal by C.S. Lewis with the great courage it requires to open one's heart in complete vulnerability when in its most raw state. It begins with a listing of physical symptoms of grief - the sense of fear, or something much like fear, in the pit of the stomach, the yawning of an expanding void, the constant swallowing, as if trying to digest and wash away this immense emotion so difficult to process. From the physical, Lewis moves in closer and with more intimate observation on this thing called grief, struggling to cope and understand. Struggling to survive. Struggling to be transformed and healed.

To understand this particular struggle, one must understand the love Lewis has lost in the death of his wife. Theirs was a short but meaningful union, one begun as a friendship that only later, after the vows were taken, moved into a love known only by true partners. Rather than modern day reversals - in which lust is too often mistaken for love, and a friendship often does not enter the union at all, and so quickly crumbling without basis to build upon - this couple has the order right. Only true friends can blossom into love. Love grows from the intimacy of knowledge of another being, and this is what this couple has enjoyed, why the one left behind now knows such immense grief. Lewis's grief is deep and now resonates for the remainder of his own life as a constant companion where his wife once was.

Few can express in words so well what, in some variation, all of us feel. Lewis is a master with words. His bring healing - to himself, and to those of us who many years later are still graced with his words in our own struggles of loss.

"The act of living is different all through. Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything. But no, that is not quite accurate. There is one place where her absence comes locally home to me, and it is a place I can't avoid. I mean my own body. It had such a different importance while it was the body of H's lover. Now it's like an empty house."

Lewis talks of favorite places, visiting them again, but now without her, and finds his ache does not increase or diminish with place; he aches everywhere. His wife was like a lens through which all places, and all life, was processed for him. He talks of his loneliness, and yet simultaneously, his inability and often lack of desire, to communicate with others about his grief. And still, he says, he longs for the company and comfort of others. If only, he writes, they would go on about their own business and their own conversations around him without directly including him. Just be near him.

A large part of Lewis's struggle, as a man with a deep Christian faith, is his need to understand death and God's role in it. Indeed, much of this slim journal is about a man nearly losing his faith, or walking away from it, and then not only returning to it, but returning to a faith strengthened by its testing.

"Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him, so happy that you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be - or so it seems - welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you feel? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside...

"Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him..."

Who of us have not asked such questions in times of suffering? Lewis articulates all our doubts, surely. During any kind of pain or loss, and not just in terms of death, it is human nature to cry out to God and shake a fist at the heavens, daring, wondering, questioning, demanding, even threatening, crying out for answers and response, often feeling like we get none. Lewis describes what answers he does find, what responses he eventually feels, once he is ready for it, over the coming days of his observed and processed grief.

Yet one can never return to what was. Rant and carry on as one must, but there is no return. The dead remain dead, the living, still living. "Did you ever know, dear, how much you took away with you when you left? You have stripped me even of my past, even of the things we never shared. I was wrong to say the stump was recovering from the pain of amputation. I was deceived because it has so many ways to hurt me that I discover them only one by one. Still, there are the two enormous gains... turned to God, my mind no longer meets that locked door; turned to H., it no longer meets that vacuum..."

Change is gradual, Lewis writes, and subtle in its progression and healing. One day, you notice you are coping better. Not quite sure when the transition happened, but it has. He is connected with both love and God in a new and changed way, faith restored, and he makes it clear that he will from now on be a man "with an amputated limb" where his wife once was, forever crippled by her loss, yet he has (re)new(ed) reason to live. In terms of his faith, he has come to realize that one cannot be a Christian in order to be reunited with one's loved ones after death, for faith does not work that way. Faith is about union with God, first and foremost. Have an ulterior motive of reunion with family, and the connection with God instantly crumbles. Yet through his grief, Lewis acknowledges another life lesson learned, and thus a new intimacy with God. And it is in reaching this new place of peace that he realizes, remembers, the peace he witnessed in his loved wife's eyes in dying. It is, in the end, his greatest act of love, then, to let her go, and to go on.

Tender and Awful.......2007-03-27

Following Lewis' journey of grief after the death of his wife Joy is a tender, awful, experience. No writer in my memory is more exact in capturing and explaining our humanity. Nearly the whole work is quotable, but two I chose that stood out to me:

"To make an organism which is also a spirit; to make that terrible oxymoron, a 'spiritual animal.' To take a poor primate, a beast with nerve-endings all over it, a creature with a stomach that wants to be filled, a breeding animal that wants its mate, and say, 'Now get on with it. Become a god.'"

"When I lay these questions before God I get no answer. But a rather special sort of 'No answer.' It is not the locked door. It is more like a silent, certainly not uncompassionate, gaze. As though He shook His head not in refusal but waiving the question. Like, 'Peace, child; you don't understand.' Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable. How many hours are there in a mile? Is yellow square or round? Probably half the questions we ask -- half our great theological and metaphysical problems -- are like that."

As with all Lewis' writings, you can't fly through this. Get comfortable, settle in, and savor the English language and one of the greatest minds ever to use it.

Fantastic!.......2007-01-10

A must-read for anyone mourning the death of a spouse or partner. What a privilege to gain such intimate insight into the mind and heart of this great author, and to have the consolation of his companionship on one's grief journey.

A Powerful Exploration of Grief.......2007-01-04

This book explores the tough questions on grief with candor and humanity. It confronts the tough issues surrounding loss and provides an approach to going forward. Worth reading more than once.

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Wonderful, even for the Seasoned Christian!
temp
An unforgetable little book
Even Non-Believers Have to Respect This Book and Its Author
Entertaining and thoughtful

The Great Divorce
C. S. Lewis
Manufacturer: HarperSanFrancisco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Screwtape Letters
The Problem of Pain
Mere Christianity
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ASIN: 0060652950
Release Date: 2001-02-05

Amazon.com

The Great Divorce is C.S. Lewis's Divine Comedy: the narrator bears strong resemblance to Lewis (by way of Dante); his Virgil is the fantasy writer George MacDonald; and upon boarding a bus in a nondescript neighborhood, the narrator is taken to Heaven and Hell. The book's primary message is presented with almost oblique tidiness--"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'" However, the narrator's descriptions of sin and temptation will hit quite close to home for many readers. Lewis has a genius for describing the intricacies of vanity and self-deception, and this book is tremendously persistent in forcing its reader to consider the ultimate consequences of everyday pettiness. --Michael Joseph Gross

Book Description

C. S. Lewis takes us on a profound journey through both heaven and hell in this engaging allegorical tale. Using his extraordinary descriptive powers, Lewis introduces us to supernatural beings who will change the way we think about good and evil.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful, even for the Seasoned Christian!.......2007-06-24

An excellent book. I read this even before I became a Christian and it really spoke to me. "The Great Divorce" is pretty much the story about a group of people in hell taking a one day vacation to the "entrance" of heaven. In it, Lewis paints a vivid image of what the "truth" of heaven would look like from the point of view of the weak and faiding souls who are too scared to leave the pitiful "comforts" of hell. Lewis, as always, gives deep insight and clear understanding of the various tactics and lies we use daily to "protect ourselves" from hearing, seeing, and believing the Lord's Truth.

temp.......2007-06-14

This is just what I needed and it works great.

An unforgetable little book.......2007-05-25

This is one of the little known but POWERFUL books by CS Lewis. He has a way of making you really think about your life and what you're letting control you. As he points out in this book, amazingly things that annoy and torment us we tend to cling to and keep around. Hmmmm, why do we do that? You will ponder this book and its message for years to come.

Even Non-Believers Have to Respect This Book and Its Author.......2007-05-18

I'm not a Christian. In fact, I'm a fairly resolute atheist, and I bear a particular grudge against Christianity.

That said, no author has ever made me wonder about the possible truth to Christianity, nor appreciate the religion as a potentially beautiful thing, more than C.S. Lewis.

In this book, The Great Divorce, and in his non-fiction Mere Christianity, Lewis presents a Christianity that is both sensible and moral. The Great Divorce brilliantly answers a non-believer's moral objections to Christianity. How can a moral God condemn man to Hell? He doesn't; instead, God invites all to come to Heaven--it is man who chooses Hell, despite God's repeated invitations. Lewis shows portraits of people that most atheists and agnostics usually feel are "harmless," and certainly not deserving of Hell... and then he shows how they are not harmless at all. In short, he makes an excellent case for Christian ethics. All of Lewis' many character portraits here have the ring of truth to them. The plot, having some lost souls take a trip from Hell to Heaven, is a wonderful device.

This is a highly charged and profound philosophical read. As such, it's probably best for those who have a philosophical bent; it's not the same kind of fiction as Lewis' Narnia, etc.

While this book didn't "convert" me, I must confess that no one but Lewis has come closer. And even though it didn't change my belief system, it did give me some insight into and new found respect for views that I do not share. A wonderful read. My highest recommendation.

Incidentally, regarding the other reviewer who complained about "Purgatory" being in this novel, it isn't. Instead, Lewis postulates that even those in Hell have choices, and opportunities to be saved, and that those who finally graduate from Hell to Heaven will feel that the place they came from--Hell--was actually Purgatory. Lewis is making the case that what we label Heaven and Hell depends a lot on our perspective. Besides being insightful and sophisticated in its own measure, this is Lewis' way of presenting an ecumenical Christianity, without trying to force one sectarian view down peoples' throats. Lewis feels that the important part is bringing people to Christ... not promoting one particular view on, say, the existence or absence of Purgatory. Whether Christian, or atheist, or whatever you are, reading this book well requires an open mind.

Entertaining and thoughtful.......2007-04-11

C.S. Lewis had a knack of titling his works with either extreme modesty or with seemingly unrelated terms. This is the case with "The Great Divorce," which sounds like a romance novel, but is meant to reveal the separate nature of the two realms of Heaven and Hell, yet speaks very little to the actual content of the work.

The short fictional piece is a fantastic journey through, what at first could be taken as any dreary British town, complete with gray architecture and quarreling citizens. Until the point when the bus on which these citizens are riding is lifted off the ground, the reader may take the setting to be home. The setting is definitely not home, but the personalities are the same. The characters throughout are used as a way to illustrate good and bad behavior and that which would get you in to the grand and beautiful Heaven or leave you in the small, pointless, and gray Hell.

Lewis is entertaining and thoughtful and once again comes up with brilliant points about human nature and the moral law, including Christianity (though this is but a subtle underlying theme). One interesting point Lewis makes that people will relate to is that given the clear choice between going to Heaven or Hell based on their beliefs, people will insist on maintaining their irrational beliefs and actually choose a pointless and brutal, yet familiar, Hell.

This is a great one-day read and part of a collection of Lewis' work that cannot be overestimated.

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Three kinds of love and how to sanctify them with a Fourth
Listen to Lewis
"For news of the fully waking world you must go to my betters": But Lewis is a Great Place to Start
Loves are beautiful, but 'the greatest of these is charity'
A Spiritual Intuitive's View

The Four Loves
C.S. Lewis
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Problem of Pain
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Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life

ASIN: 0156329301

Amazon.com

The Four Loves summarizes four kinds of human love--affection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. Masterful without being magisterial, this book's wise, gentle, candid reflections on the virtues and dangers of love draw on sources from Jane Austen to St. Augustine. The chapter on charity (love of God) may be the best thing Lewis ever wrote about Christianity. Consider his reflection on Augustine's teaching that one must love only God, because only God is eternal, and all earthly love will someday pass away: <blockquote> Who could conceivably begin to love God on such a prudential ground--because the security (so to speak) is better? Who could even include it among the grounds for loving? Would you choose a wife or a Friend--if it comes to that, would you choose a dog--in this spirit? One must be outside the world of love, of all loves, before one thus calculates. </blockquote> His description of Christianity here is no less forceful and opinionated than in Mere Christianity or The Problem of Pain, but it is far less anxious about its reader's response--and therefore more persuasive than any of his apologetics. When he begins to describe the nature of faith, Lewis writes: "Take it as one man's reverie, almost one man's myth. If anything in it is useful to you, use it; if anything is not, never give it a second thought." --Michael Joseph Gross

Book Description

A candid, wise, and warmly personal book in which Lewis explores the possibilities and problems of the four basic kinds of human love- affection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. “Immensely worthwhile for its simplicity...a rare and memorable book” (Sydney J. Harris).

Customer Reviews:

Three kinds of love and how to sanctify them with a Fourth.......2007-06-24

In the introduction, Lewis discusses the differences between Gift-love and Need-love. He explains that although our Need-loves may be demanding and greedy, they are good and necessary because there is little danger that they can be made into gods. They are not near enough to God, by likeness, to be twisted like that. The highest does not exist without the lowest and a plant has roots below as well as sunlight above.

Chapter 2: Likings And Loves For The Sub-Human, is a discussion of Pleasures of Need versus Pleasures of Appreciation. The types of love explored here include patriotism and love of nature. The next chapter: Affection, deals with the humblest love as Lewis calls it. He refers to literary works like The Wind In The Willows, Tristram Shandy, Emma and others to demonstrate the good and the bad manifestations of this kind of love.

Friendship is explored in Chapter 4, again with reference to literature, including inter alia Ralph Waldo Emerson. This section includes an interesting discussion of the word "spiritual" - which is nowadays often used as substitute for "religious". Lewis reminds us that there is spiritual evil as well as spiritual good. The next chapter deals with Eros and he points out its aspects of glory and its playfullness, with reference to books like Anna Karenina and 1984, and certain passages from scripture.

The final chapter is titled Charity and includes an interesting view of a passage from the Confessions by St Augustine. Lewis notes that the Gift-loves are natural images of God whilst the Need-loves are correlatives (not opposites) of the love that God is. When God is admitted to the human heart, He transforms our Gift-love and our Need-love. Conversion is necessary for our natural loves to enter the heavenly life.

The main lesson of the book is the importance of Charity. Without it, all three of the aforementioned types of love may become distorted and even dangerous. Although this little book provides great insight, I have not found it to be as accessible as his masterpiece Mere Christianity or his comforting book titled The Problem of Pain.

Sometimes his arguments are hard to follow and his views and examples of certain types of love are coloured by the English culture of the period in which he lived, thus not always universally applicable. The book would also have been a better reference source if an index had been provided. Besides these minor comlaints, The Four Loves is still a great read that provides valuable insight into the human condition.

Listen to Lewis.......2007-06-06

If you have only read "The Four Loves," you haven't heard all that Lewis had to say on the subject. The audio version, read by Lewis himself is shorter than the print version of this book, but it includes material not in print. It takes a few minutes to get used to Lewis' voice, but soon you feel that you are sitting in a room with him as he tells stories and talks about what he has learned from his experiences of the four loves.

"For news of the fully waking world you must go to my betters": But Lewis is a Great Place to Start.......2007-05-29

C.S. Lewis's short _The Four Loves_, published near the end of the author's life in 1960, is worthy companion for a long afternoon or evening of reading and meditation. Lewis discusses in both an enlightening and light tone the four forms of love in ascending order: affection, friendship, eros, and charity. As a preliminary to this discussion, Lewis also describes likings and loves for "sub-human" (that is, loving a cup of tea or loving nature). The work is a philosophy of love that draws upon Lewis's own day-to-day observations, the writings of well-known and lesser known philosophers, and the works of artists. All of these types of love lead to an insight that these natural loves--that is, the loves that make up our daily lives--intimate a much large love, that of God for humankind. For Lewis, these natural loves are themselves not enough. Lewis describes a form of Christian love based on Jesus's own sacrifice and the unknowable mystery of God's love. This is the majesty of charity.

One basic principle of Lewis's work is the distinction between Need-love and Gift-love. The Need-love has to do, for Lewis, with "a craving to be loved," which is akin to a child's longing for the love of his parents'. Instead of disparaging this type of love as wholely selfish, Lewis describes how this type of love, while limited, is "the accurate reflection in consciousness of our actual nature." Lewis writes that "we need others physically, emotionally, intellectually; we need them if we are to know anything, even ourselves." Lewis acknowledges the human condition sympathetically. Gift-love, by contrast, has its ultimate expression in Christ's death on the cross. This is an active, selfless love. Lewis characterizes Gift-love in its ordinary expression as "that love which moves a man to work and plan and save for the future well-being of his family which he will die without sharing or seeing."

Lewis's book is filled with wise observations. The chapters on affection and friendship, which are the least religious in nature, are superb. The comments about divine love are engaging, as well. For example, in describing human beings' craving for God's help, he writes, "Man approaches God most nearly when he is in one sense least like God." Here, Lewis points out that often humans turn to God or spirituality in type of deepest despair or wretchedness. Later, he quotes a line of verse, "The Devil was sick, the Devil a monk would be" to highlight how in need people will search for god, not out of sincerity per se, but in a desperate longing to be saved. In chapter one, Lewis draws an analogy between a traveler's journey being not always straight in path and the journey toward God. For example, a traveler who is near to a village in physical proximity, say staring down on the rooftops from a mountain crag that he can almost touch with his hands, may need to follow a path that takes him much further from town before bringing him closer to it (for instance, as the path winds slowly down the hill).

Most of Lewis's observations about love speak to all religious traditions as does, arguably, the recognition that human love longs for more than its natural forms. The final chapter "Charity" is the most explicitly Christian in worldview, and it is the most difficult to grasp. Lewis admits the possible imperfection of his own knowledge and that what he writes about are imagined experiences rather than real ones. He reflects, "Those like myself whose imagination far exceeds their obedience are subject to a just penalty; we easily imagine conditions far higher than any we have actually reached."

Lewis's _Four Loves_ brims with human insights about love. This is a short work, written in the style of a kind, wise friend sharing his thoughts on a walk or over an evening.

Loves are beautiful, but 'the greatest of these is charity'.......2007-05-29

An illuminating view on affection, the so-called 'the most humble', friendship, 'the least natural and the most independent', eros, 'the most natural' and charity, 'the noblest' of all loves, treated in terms of the so-called 'need love', 'gift love' and 'appreciative love'. The beauty and potential danger of distortion and abuse of each love is also covered excellently. C.S. Lewis is both a psychologist and a philosopher, a brilliant one. His treatment on this subject of love is important for every one to know; some that I personally learn and thought to be beautiful, are:

- That we ought to love with decency and common sense;
- The reward of the accomplishment of a gift-love is its abdication, when it is no longer needed.
- When love becomes a god, it turns into a demon;
- The calculating love is no love at all which leads to the beauty and mark of eros, where calculations are irrelevant, and when it is in us, we "had rather share unhappiness with the Beloved than be happy on any other terms", and finally...

- The excellence of charity, confirmed in the Scriptures, something Jonathan Edwards calls 'the sum of all virtues', where Lewis exhorted to love God who will never pass away, "Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose. If love is to be a blessing, not a misery, it must be for the only Beloved who will never pass away."

- The gracious call to risk and forego for the greatest good. Speaking of Christ, Lewis says, "... His teaching was never meant to confirm my congenital preference for safe investments and limited liabilities... And who could conceivably begin to love God on such a prudential ground -- because the security is better? ...Christ did not teach and suffer that we might become ... more careful of our own happiness... We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent to all loves, but by accepting them and offering them to Him; throwing away all defensive armour. If our hearts need to be broken and if He chooses this as the way in which they should break, so be it."

Get this book, friends, and learn that "loves" are beautiful, when handled properly, but 'the greatest of these is charity'.

A Spiritual Intuitive's View.......2007-05-16

It was wonderful to actually hear Clive's actual voice and put a little more of the man behind all his words.
I was left with the impression of an ascetic academic. Little of the passion and spirit of Christ was conveyed. For me, at least, there is an overriding feeling of fire in my heart which precludes and is present in my connections with people and when I'm in an Agape connection there is a world of spirtual and physical cues that flow.
But the classification is useful and confirms that the greeks had figured this stuff out long ago.
4 out of 5.

Average customer rating:

Beyond the scope of my intelligence
Find in it what you like...
A Book You'll Never Forget
A Great Novel
Masterly retelling of the legend of Psyche

Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold
C.S. Lewis
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0156904365

Book Description

This tale of two princesses - one beautiful and one unattractive - and of the struggle between sacred and profane love is Lewis’s reworking of the myth of Cupid and Psyche and one of his most enduring works.

Customer Reviews:

Beyond the scope of my intelligence.......2007-06-19

I can't resist stopping by to review this because it is one of the best works of fiction I have ever read. It is in my top 3 and, sadly, I don't have the words to describe why except to say it's lean yet full, rich and interesting, deep with meaning and even funny... It is truly a masterpiece.

Find in it what you like..........2007-06-16

I had not been familiar with the myth of Psyche nor with the writing of C.S. Lewis prior to picking this book up, so I walked into this story with no preconceived notions at all. I really enjoyed the plot and characters, especially for the first half or so. Then, the book became quite bizarre and abstract, and I personally became less engaged. It wasn't until the last 20 pages or so that I once again was pulled back in. Lewis helps the reader gain perspective and insight into what we have read, and this is what helped make the story worthwhile. I am not sure I would read other Lewis novels -- not being a fan of fantasy or a particularly religious person -- but I am glad that I read this one.

A Book You'll Never Forget.......2007-05-25

Wow, this book strongly affected me in a positive way. The first 50 pages were okay, because period pieces are not always my favorite. I hung in there since C.S. Lewis is my favorite author. I'm so glad I did because I got hooked. By page 50 I was so engrossed I couldn't put it down. By the last 50 pages I finally understood what the book was REALLY about and finished the book sobbing at 4 in the morning. It's been over ten years since I first read it and I think of it often. It makes you think about your own life and if you are having an impact on those around you for good. Why are we here and what are we doing about it?

A Great Novel.......2007-05-02

This is one of my favorite novels. It is everything a novel should be: compelling characters, beautiful writing, well plotted. Lewis has written his novel from the point of view of a minor character (the jealous step-sister) in the well known myth of Cupid and Psyche. In this, Lewis prefigured an approach to novel writing that later writers have adopted (e.g., Wicked, Wide Sargasso Sea, etc.)

"Till We Have Faces" is not, as some reviewers have suggested, "just a fairy tale," although it is hard to imagine that Lewis would have rejected that appellation, given that other great writer of fairy tales, George MacDonald. Also, it is very much a work with a Christian viewpoint and themes. The fact that so many reviewers have said otherwise should indicate that it not didactic or entirely unsubtle. The characters are pagans, but the theme is undeniably Christian. It is almost an allegory, but that would imply that the meaning is buried beneath a layer of representation, which it is not. In any event, the Christian theme is easy to understand if one recrognizes that Cupid is the God of love, and there is only one true God.

Masterly retelling of the legend of Psyche.......2007-03-23

C.S. Lewis was of course the author of the "Narnia" children's stories, the moral comedy "The Screwtape letters" and a number of other novels and books about religion, most of them told from a more or less openly Christian perspective.

This brilliant retelling of the legend of Psyche and Cupid is unusual for C.S. Lewis in that it considers the relationship between human and divine while stepping outside his Christian perspective. It is also possibly his best novel.

The story reads as a memoir written in her old age by Queen Orual of Glome, who had been eldest of the three daughters of the previous King. Orual herself is wise but ugly, and loves her beautiful younger sister Psyche in a way which is genuine but fierce and also jealous.

During a famine, The priests advise the King that there is a curse on the land and to lift it he must leave his daughter Psyche chained in the wilderness as a sacrifice to the gods. Orual is frantic and offers herself as the sacrifice instead but neither the King nor the priests will hear of it. Psyche is left chained in the wilderness, and when she is not there the following morning everyone assumes she has been killed. Instead, however, Cupid the God of Love takes her as his wife, refusing to let her see his face.

In the original legend, Psyche is allowed to receive a visit from her two sisters, who are consumed with envy at the sight of the luxurious home which the God has given Psyche, and trick her into shining a light on her husband while he sleeps. Furious at this disobedience, the god condemns her to wander the earth in great misery.

This version is similar, but with two key differences: the first is that Orual cannot see the beautiful house which Psyche believes she is living in. To Orual's senses Psyche is living in the open air and dressed in rags. Orual's motives in persuading Psyche to shine the lamp on her sleeping husband are far more complex and less unequivocally evil.

The second difference is that, where in the original legend the Gods cause the malicious sisters of Psyche to die soon after their betrayal of their sister, in Lewis's version Orual survives her father and becomes Queen. Indeed, Orual's struggle to rescue her country from the mess in which her father left it provides some of the most powerful scenes in the book. (I'm not giving away anything here: the narrator introduces herself in the first pages of the book as Queen of Glome and makes quite clear that she is describing the events of her youth from the perspective of old age.)

When she starts the narrative, Queen Orual is writing it as a complaint against the Gods who have mistreated her and slandered her. By the end of the book Orual's perspective has changed.

This is a magnificent and deeply moving story. If you like the Narnia books, think of it as Narnia for grown-ups.

Average customer rating:

Awesome Audio Book Set
Great Find
Great audiobooks!
Childhood wonder - Adult enjoyment
Audio CDs [Unabridged] Review

The Chronicles of Narnia CD Box Set
C. S. Lewis
Manufacturer: HarperChildrensAudio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0694524751
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Book Description

The Chronicles of Narnia - at long last, all seven timeless tales are presented the way they were meant to be - unabridged in one CD box set.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome Audio Book Set.......2007-01-18

I am so pleased with the book set on CD's. I don't care to read very often & since I am a home health nurse I'm in my car alot. Books on CD are very entertaining for us folks on the road. I'd recommend this set to everyone! I saw the movie before I got this set which is what perked my interest in Narnia. I'm 35y/o & I loved it! I'm finishing up the last book now. I'm sad that it's ending though it's kept me entertained for over a month. (I did have a little trouble following the directions to my patients houses because I was so into the stories, oops!).

Great Find.......2007-01-10

We really enjoyed the different readers for each of the seven stories. I'll never get used to people re-arranging them into chronological order, but that is easly fixed. The only real issue I have is Patrick Stewart reading "The Last Battle". I kept thinking that Aslan was going to beam them up. Otherwise, they are great fun and especially good for long car rides.

Great audiobooks!.......2006-11-21

My husband and I absolutely LOVE this set of The Chronicles of Narnia audiobooks. The stories are all read by actors who do an amazing job of giving special voices to the characters and who paint pictures of what is happening in the stories by the way they read the books. I can't imagine that I could like a movie rendition, or even an audio dramatized version of these stories more than these audio books that are simply read in their entirety. They're captivating! I really like that you get the REAL story - it hasn't been changed and nothing has been deleted for the sake of filming or making it dramatic. And you still get to use your imagination to create the scenes in your mind. We don't have any children yet, but when we do, we will definitely listen to these with our kids.

Childhood wonder - Adult enjoyment.......2006-11-06

I decided to get these for long road trips. After reading the different reviews I bought this set. We live with our daughter and her family in a large house, so altogether there are 10 of us. Our grandchildren love this series (ages 9 yrs to 9 months). They have listened to them over and over. Our 18 yr son has listened to them too. The vote is that this is the best ones yet and we've had a few. C. S. Lewis can weave a story like no one else. It's cause me (56 yrs old) to go back and re-read this series. I think it's a wonderful gift for grandchildren and grandparents.

Audio CDs [Unabridged] Review.......2006-08-31

Audio CDs [Unabridged] Review.

There are 7 books with several CDs in each book (31 total CDs that play for about 1 hour per CD). There are several nice illustrations on the book pages and on the CDs. The audio quality is very good.

A different narrator reads each book and they are all very good at story telling. I was pleasantly surprised to find that switching narrators between books did not take away from the experience at all.

I listened to the books in chronological order (book 1, book 2, etc.) and found it to be very enjoyable.

Over all it's a great value for some very entertaining stories.

Average customer rating:

A HUGE Eye-Opener!
Great Book
An everyday challenge
Excellent
Funny and enlightening

The Screwtape Letters
C. S. Lewis
Manufacturer: HarperSanFrancisco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060652934
Release Date: 2001-02-05

Amazon.com

Who among us has never wondered if there might not really be a tempter sitting on our shoulders or dogging our steps? C.S. Lewis dispels all doubts. In The Screwtape Letters, one of his bestselling works, we are made privy to the instructional correspondence between a senior demon, Screwtape, and his wannabe diabolical nephew Wormwood. As mentor, Screwtape coaches Wormwood in the finer points, tempting his "patient" away from God.

Each letter is a masterpiece of reverse theology, giving the reader an inside look at the thinking and means of temptation. Tempters, according to Lewis, have two motives: the first is fear of punishment, the second a hunger to consume or dominate other beings. On the other hand, the goal of the Creator is to woo us unto himself or to transform us through his love from "tools into servants and servants into sons." It is the dichotomy between being consumed and subsumed completely into another's identity or being liberated to be utterly ourselves that Lewis explores with his razor-sharp insight and wit.

The most brilliant feature of The Screwtape Letters may be likening hell to a bureaucracy in which "everyone is perpetually concerned about his own dignity and advancement, where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives the deadly serious passions of envy, self-importance, and resentment." We all understand bureaucracies, be it the Department of Motor Vehicles, the IRS, or one of our own making. So we each understand the temptations that slowly lure us into hell. If you've never read Lewis, The Screwtape Letters is a great place to start. And if you know Lewis, but haven't read this, you've missed one of his core writings. --Patricia Klein

Amazon.com Audiobook Review

This adaptation of C.S. Lewis's biting satire received a 1999 Grammy nomination for best spoken-word performance, and it's easy to see why--the story fits the format perfectly. It's relatively brief (the unabridged reading takes a mere four hours), and contains only one character--the demon Screwtape, who writes letters to his novice nephew Wormwood, instructing him on how to best tempt his "patient" (a wayward soul on earth) into the bosom of "our Lord below."

Obviously, the book wasn't written with former Monty Python John Cleese in mind, but it's hard to imagine a better Screwtape. Cleese's voice provides the perfect vehicle for Lewis's dry, razor-edged wit. His uncanny comic timing and ability to milk each phrase for maximum effect betray an infectious enthusiasm for the story. It's clear that he's having a great time reading, and it's impossible not to laugh along with him. This inspired pairing of two of the 20th century's greatest wits makes for a meditation on the dark side of spiritual guidance that's as relevant and funny today as it was in Lewis's war-torn England. (Running time: 4 hours, 3 cassettes) --Andrew Neiland

Book Description

In this humorous and perceptive exchange between two devils, C. S. Lewis delves into moral questions about good vs. evil, temptation, repentance, and grace. Through this wonderful tale, the reader emerges with a better understanding of what it means to live a faithful life.

Customer Reviews:

A HUGE Eye-Opener!.......2007-06-24

"The Screwtape Letters" is perhaps my most favorite C.S. Lewis book. In it we read a series of letters from a "senior" demon to his "junior" temptor. And in it we learn all about the fine and subtle tricks that demons play on us. What makes this book so amazing (and quite honestly frightening!) is that as you read you begin to mentally check off each trick that you've encountered in your OWN life! By the time I finished this book, I was so convinced of its truthfulness that I started telling all my friends and family to read it (and read it carefully!) Read it yourself -- you'll be shocked, but you won't be disappointed.

Great Book.......2007-05-25

This is a masterpiece. People just don't write like this anymore. If anyone told you not to get this book they are crazy.

An everyday challenge.......2007-05-15

Mr. Lewis' great achievement here is that he manages to succeed where literally thousands of fire-and-brimstone sermons have failed -- this book forces you to analyze your life against the Christian ideal. At the same time, it is carried forward by an inherent sense of hope and optimism -- Mr. Lewis doesn't fall into Milton's trap of admiring Screwtape. It also serves as a great spiritual pep-talk: you are given the secrets, if you will, of how the Enemy works...and strategies to foil him are freely confessed.

Some letters are more entertaining than others, but each finds its mark (and each found at least one mark within me, to be sure).

A friend of mine (a professed agnostic) once described this book as the most compelling case for Christianity he ever came across. I would have to agree.

This book does contain the essay "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," but it lacks the wonderful introduction (by Mr. Lewis himself) that I found in another paperback (which I have since lost). Still, it is hard to argue with _any_ version of this work.

Excellent.......2007-05-13

I have not found a book by C.S. Lewis to be anything other than EXCELLENT and this is no exception!!!!

Funny and enlightening.......2007-05-03

Lewis' famed series of letters from high-ranking demon Screwtape to his novice nephew Wormwood might seem to be his most accessible Christian work, yet it is strangely off-putting initially. I think it may be that because Lewis writes so well on bright, joyful subjects, managing to be pious without seeming self-righteous or stuffy, it's somehow a disappointment to read him playing a diabolical and uncharitable character--however cleverly he may do it. In the short preface included for "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," Lewis confirms this impression by noting that the writing was easy but not enjoyable: "Though I had never written anything more easily, I never wrote with less enjoyment. . . . [Although] it was easy to twist one's mind into the diabolical attitude, it was not fun, or not for long. The strain produced a sort of spiritual cramp" (183).

That said, the book makes extremely good use of the device as it unfolds, providing Lewis with a platform to discuss the many chinks and weak spots in the spiritual armor of the new Christian without sounding paranoid or harassing. The story revolves around the efforts of an inexperienced tempter to assail the soul of a newly converted young man; in this enterprise he is advised by his uncle, who knows all the demonic tricks. Pride of one sort or another is especially worth encouraging, says Screwtape, even the pride of being a good Christian, as it leads to moral complacency, haughtiness, or flippancy about spiritual matters. Such "advice" can get old really fast if the writer takes himself too seriously, but of course Lewis is disarmingly humorous: in one especially funny scene Screwtape gets so mad at Wormwood he inadvertently transforms into a centipede.

A quick read and a fun one, that also happens to be quite instructive.

Included in the same book as The Screwtape Letters is the short follow-up, "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," an especially fascinating speech given by the demon at a dinner of the "Tempters' Training College for young Devils." Working from ideas in the larger work, those in attendance at this dinner are eating souls, and Screwtape is both regretful of the lack of really tasty sinners to feast on and full of hope and encouragement at the greater number of sinners finding their way to Hell. This opens a fascinating discussion of mediocrity and education. Here Lewis' predictions about the dangers of conformity and the undervaluing of individualism seem scarily accurate. Quite different in tone to the letters, yet still of a piece with them.

Average customer rating:

Problem of Pain
The Problem of Pain in its Right Context
Absolutely Amazing Tackling of the Issue
Excellent
More great insight by a brilliant man

The Problem of Pain
C. S. Lewis
Manufacturer: HarperSanFrancisco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060652969
Release Date: 2001-02-05

Amazon.com

The Problem of Pain answers the universal question, "Why would an all-loving, all-knowing God allow people to experience pain and suffering?" Master Christian apologist C.S. Lewis asserts that pain is a problem because our finite, human minds selfishly believe that pain-free lives would prove that God loves us. In truth, by asking for this, we want God to love us less, not more than he does. "Love, in its own nature, demands the perfecting of the beloved; that the mere 'kindness' which tolerates anything except suffering in its object is, in that respect at the opposite pole from Love." In addressing "Divine Omnipotence," "Human Wickedness," "Human Pain," and "Heaven," Lewis succeeds in lifting the reader from his frame of reference by artfully capitulating these topics into a conversational tone, which makes his assertions easy to swallow and even easier to digest. Lewis is straightforward in aim as well as honest about his impediments, saying, "I am not arguing that pain is not painful. Pain hurts. I am only trying to show that the old Christian doctrine that being made perfect through suffering is not incredible. To prove it palatable is beyond my design." The mind is expanded, God is magnified, and the reader is reminded that he is not the center of the universe as Lewis carefully rolls through the dissertation that suffering is God's will in preparing the believer for heaven and for the full weight of glory that awaits him there. While many of us naively wish that God had designed a "less glorious and less arduous destiny" for his children, the fortune lies in Lewis's inclination to set us straight with his charming wit and pious mind. --Jill Heatherly

Book Description

Why must humanity suffer? In this elegant and thoughtful work, C. S. Lewis questions the pain and suffering that occur everyday and how this contrasts with the notion of a God that is both omnipotent and good. An answer to this critical theological problem is found within these pages.

Customer Reviews:

Problem of Pain.......2007-05-30

Excellent book by C. S. Lewis. Used for adult Bible Study discussion group.

The Problem of Pain in its Right Context.......2007-05-01

Pain is real, just as sorrow, death, and wickedness. Your becoming a Christian will not encapsulate you away from it. Christ did not promise that in the first place. But there are reasons why pain happens, as much to Christians as non Christians, and we should reach a better understanding of the circumstances in which we live, so that we can apprehend the promises that are envolved through that pain. Everyone is to pick up a cross at childbirth, but whether you follow Christ with it depends only on you.

This book won't be the treat that 'Mere Christianity' was. It's more philosophical; it assumes the reader is a Christian and has some knowledge of Scripture. But nevertheless, everyone can follow his thinking and it will all make sense. About 160 pages, it has chapters of between 10 and 20 pages, and frames the problem in its right context before reaching his conclusion at the end of the book. This is not a make-you-feel-good (dumb) self-help book. It's a make you understand book.

Absolutely Amazing Tackling of the Issue.......2007-04-15

The first book of CS Lewis I read was "Mere Christianity" and I was profoundly stunned by how effective and witty he could be in his explanation of Christianity and Christian doctrine. So it was with eagerness that I devoted myself to the reading of this book.

And I was not disappointed in the least. The problem of pain is tightly linked with that of evil, in a world supposedly created and led by God. This is one of the most common, and most important, issues in theology, and I dare say, in everybody's life, provided they're somewhat curious about the world they live in. Justifying God on the counts of evil and pain is called theodicy, if I'm not mistaken, and that is what Lewis does in this book, but he does much more.

He deals with the basic problem I just mentioned, how could there be a good God when we live in such a wretched world, but he goes further and treats the human nature as "fallen", and that in a very interesting manner, not your silly Adam & Eve story taken literally (and by "silly" I don't mean the actual myth of Adam & Eve, just the literal taking of it).

Lewis tackles even such a complicated issue as animal pain and the condition of animals in Christianity. That shows quite some bravery.

One chapter is devoted to Hell, and another to Heaven, and either are really amazing prowess of theology. I'm no specialist of theology, but Lewis has a true gift in explaining of all this in a very clear fashion. He truly makes theology a thrilling matter!

After having read "Mere Christianity" and "The Problem of Pain", I'm absolutely convinced that I will get to read everything he wrote on theology, Christianity, and the likes. Regardless of your actual faith or lack thereof, you will find this book (or these books) worth your while. If you're interested in such things, please do yourself a favour and purchase those profoundly marvelous books.

Excellent.......2007-03-26

In this classic by C.S. Lewis, the writer's brilliance really shows. Aside from his somewhat speculative approach to applying Eden to evolution and the way he treated Heaven and Hell as the final destinations rather than resurrection with New Heavens/New Earth, this book is excellent. I was inspired, challenged and strengthened by the reading, and will certainly read it again sometime down the road.

More great insight by a brilliant man.......2007-03-22

According to the Author, Lewis took up the daunting task of trying to understand why pain exists if a good God exists too on a suggestion from a colleague. He notes in the book that figuring the problem of pain out started out as a duty, then quickly became an immense pleasure. Reading the book may give the reader the same progression of feelings. One may feel the urge to confront the deep question of pain and how that impacts one's faith is an obligation to be met grudgingly against one's will. However, while delving into the work, one will find it extremely pleasurable as the author reveals that there really isn't a problem of pain. The question eventually evolves from why, in a world created by a good and all-powerful God, is there pain and suffering to why, in some instances, is there a lack of pain.

Lewis illustrates his resolution of this problem eloquently and sufficiently, though concisely. The book could be much longer and still not fulfill every but, though, or what if created by these major life concepts.

I recommend "Mere Christianity" over this book, but suggest that this is a great supplement. While some ideas overlap, there is much to be learned by each book.

C. S. Lewis Signature Classics: Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, A Grief Observed, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, and The Great Divorce (Boxed Set)

Average customer rating:

Great way to get (almost) all of Lewis' classics
Classics!
Not "Letters," but a great set nevertheless
Good Set
CS Lewis Essentials - Perfect Pack

C. S. Lewis Signature Classics: Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, A Grief Observed, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, and The Great Divorce (Boxed Set)
C. S. Lewis
Manufacturer: HarperSanFrancisco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060653027
Release Date: 2001-02-19

Book Description

Includes six titles: Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, A Grief Observed, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, and The Great Divorce.

Customer Reviews:

Great way to get (almost) all of Lewis' classics.......2007-03-23

I love that many of my favorite books by Lewis are availible in a convenient package. While I would have liked to have The Four Loves in here as well, I think this is a great collection that I am happy to own.

Classics!.......2007-02-15

What can i say, CS Lewis truly thinks on a different plane, the first of the post modern Christians and truly biblical thinking. His many books takes you on many journeys. However books are intense with the use of the english language. Screwtape letters and Mere Christianity are two greats and the Four loves the hardest to read. However definitely a worthwhile collection to have.

Not "Letters," but a great set nevertheless.......2006-08-21

This "Six Essential Volume" set includes Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, Miracles and A Grief Observed. The other reviews confirm that everyone else has received the same six books, so it isn't that I was sent the wrong order. Nowhere on the boxed set does it say "Collected Letters," and this isn't his Letters.

If you're looking for C.S. Lewis's Collected Letters, you'll need to keep looking. But if you're looking for a great collection of C.S. Lewis works, this is what you want. These works should be in every Christian's library.

Good Set.......2006-02-05

I'm new to CS Lewis and was told this collection was a good place to start. The Screwtape Letter is opening my mind to alot of new things.

CS Lewis Essentials - Perfect Pack.......2005-10-24

This boxed set is perfect for anyone who enjoys CS Lewis or just great reading on spiritual topics. Lewis has an amazing way of presenting the hard to understand subjects of the bible in beautifully constructed stories & analogies. An amazing writer - These are the essentials of CS Lewis and Christian Literature.

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