The plot is of Out of the Silent Planet is fairly complex.  It tells how two evil men kidnap a third man and travel to Mars to hand the third man over as a victim to one of the three races there, the Sorns.  The hero, named Ransom, escapes from them on Mars and encounters one of the other races, the Hrossa.  He is a specialist in language development and finds that the Hrossa are friendly and can speak.  He accompanies the strange creature to its village, where he stays for several months and learns their language and culture.  Ransom finds that all the 3 races on Mars are ruled by a spiritual being called the Oyarsa, and Ransom is summoned to meet this ruler, who can be thought of as an archangel.  He delays responding, and as a result, Hyoi, the Hross who found him, is shot and killed by Weston.  Ransom then goes to the Oyarsa and they have a long discussion about Mars and Earth.  The Oyarsa has the Hrossa capture the two villains and bring them to him so that he can speak with them also.  He finds that they are completely evil and compels them to take their ship and return to Earth, never to come back to Mars.  Ransom reluctantly goes with them.  When the spaceship lands,  the villains and Ransom abandon it, for it disintegrates as Oyarsa has promised.

Lewis seems to want to make three points in his story.  First, that the universe is not empty but full of life, light and spiritual beings.  Second, that three utterly different races can live together in harmony.  Finally, Lewis uses this story to repudiate the idea that humanity has the right to travel to other planets and colonize them, displacing the planet’s inhabitants if they are at a lower stage of cultural development.

In Jack’s vision of Hell, the devils can feed upon the outraged personalities of the souls that are sent there.  Screwtape’s theme is that modern society is now turning out souls that are, for the most part, failed humans.  They are hardly fit to be dammed to Hell.  While this may be disappointing to the devils from a gastronomical view, overall it is a good thing for Hell, and Screwtape goes on to explain why it is good and how this feat was accomplished.

This essay is really an attack on modern education and mass culture.  It is a companion piece to “The Abolition of Man”, and “That Hideous Strength”, both written by Lewis.

In this podcast we take a look at three of the major subjects that Lewis covers, temptation, church, and prayer.  More show notes for this podcast can be found by clicking here.

This book was written during WW II.  There are 31 letters in all,  and they were originally published one a week in an Anglican magazine.  They were so popular that they were re-published as a book in 1942, and have remained popular ever since.  The letters are short, direct, and written in the same informal style as “Mere Christianity” .  Jack covers the man’s conversion, the temptations that Wormwood uses,  why Hell wants humans, the devil’s view of war and suffering, and the man’s falling in love (among other things).  No matter how often you re-read the letters, you’ll learn something new.

Currently there is a play based on “The Screwtape Letters” touring the country after a successfu l off-Broadway run.  It’s a one-an play, basically, starring Max MacClean, and has r eceived excellent reviews wherever it has run.  You can find out more informati on by following the link below.

http://www.screwtapeonstage.com

Here’s the link to this show’s podcast.

Link To More Show Notes

This podcast covers one of C S Lewis’ most import books, “Miracles“.

His book is sub-titled “A Preliminary Study” and is intended to help the reader objectively evaluate whether or not miracles, especially those recorded in the Bible, did or did not occur.  It covers some of the same issues and makes some of the same arguments as found in “Mere Christianity” but this book is a more academic and philosophical work both in tone and approach.

Lewis points out that we must settle some basic philosophical questions about miracles in general before we review the evidence for any particular miracle.  If we don’t we will always conclude that the miracle did not happen, for that will be our belief going into the review.

Therefore, most of the book answers the three most common objections to miracles.

1. They are impossible
2. They are improbable
3. They are improper for a divine Being

Having addressed these questions in detail, Lewis then looks at some of the miracles recorded in the New Testament as to what we can learn from them about our world and about God’s nature.

This podcast is intended as an introduction to the book, not as a thorough study and  I hope it leads you to read “Miracles” for yourself.  This book has been an important element in my faith journey and perhaps it will also assist you.

In this podcast we look at The Narnia Code, a very interesting book and companion DVD that describes the overall plan or logic that C. S. Lewis may have used when he wrote “The Chronicles of Narnia“.  I used the word “may” because not all Lewis scholars are in agreement with the findings of this book.  However, it’s theory seems to solve at least two literary problems in the Chronicles and has considerable evidence to back it up.  In addition, studying the book and applying its principles to the stories in the Chronicles will significantly increase your enjoyment and understanding of the depth of Jack’s work.

Briefly stated, Michael Ward, the author of The Narnia Code (and also the larger volume Planet Narnia) believes that he has found the plan to Chronicles, a plan that was deliberately hidden by Jack as a prank or practical joke.  Lewis was a medieval scholar for all of his life, and he knew and appreciated the medieval view of the cosmos.  In this view, there are seven heavenly bodies that circle around the earth, and each body has certain characteristics or spirits that influence life on earth.  Each of the books in the Chronicles were written to illustrate the influences or spirits of one of the medieval heavenly bodies.  They are as follows:

1. Jupiter, the King of the planets – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2. Mars, the bringer of war – Prince Caspian
3. The Sun, the source of light – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
4. Venus – The Magician’s Nephew
5. Mercury, the messenger – The Horse and His Boy
6. The Moon – The Silver Chair
7. Saturn – The Last Battle

More information can be found at the Narnia Code website

The Narnia Code

This show covers God in the Dock, a collection of essays and letters by C.. S. Lewis.  The title (God in the Dock) is taken from one of the essays and refers to the place where the defendant stands in the English court system.  The essays cover a wide range of topics and show the scope of Jack’s work.

There are essays on theological topics, such as miracles, essays on ethics and essays on what the editor calls “semi-theological topics”.  For example, the essay God in the Dock describes the difficulties that Lewis had (and the we still have) in presenting the Good News of the Christian religion to an audience of unbelievers.  There are also interviews as well as some letters that Lewis wrote in response to questions and criticisms of his writings.  All of them are very good, and you are sure to find several essays that appeal especially to you.

Since there is no theme or development in the book, we cover three of the essays in order to give you a sample of what they are like and what subjects they cover.  We cover “God in the Dock”, as well as “Miracles” and “Work and Prayer”.   You are sure to find others that appeal to you as you read the book.

This is  the second podcast in a three-part series on one of C S Lewis’ most important books, Mere Christianity.  In this section we cover Christian morality, how Christians ought to behave.  (Of course this may be different from how they actually behave).  Jack (C S Lewis was known as Jack) argued for the truth of Christianity in the previous sections, and now he assumes that Christianity is true and asks the question what implications that has for us.

Jack has organized this section as follows.  First he defines the scope of morality or Christian behavior, and illustrates its three parts by the use of an image of ships in convoy.  Next he looks at four principles or virtues that almost all people everywhere recognize as valid:  They are

• Prudence = common sense
• Temperance = moderation in all our pleasures
• Justice = honesty and fairness
• Fortitude = courage

This done, Lewis addresses some controversial topics.

• Sex and marriage
• Politics and morality
• Christianity’s relationship to psychoanalysis
• Forgiving our enemies

Next, we look at the sin of Pride and the virtue of Humility, and finally Jack reviews the virtues of faith, hope and charity.

Although this is intended for a Christian audience, it can be read with profit by folks from a variety of faith backgrounds, including those who have no faith at all.

This show can only give an overview of these topics, and I strongly recommend that you read the book yourself to get the complete picture.

The book is divided into four sections as follows

(1) Right and Wrong as a clue to the meaning on the universe

(2) What Christians Believe

(3) Christian Behavior

(4) Beyond Personality

We will cover the first two sections in this podcast.  As always, I recommend reading the book to get the full force of Jack’s arguments.

Jack and Joy at the Kilns in Oxford

Today’s show tells the lovely (and tragic story) of C S Lewis’ marriage to Joy Gresham.   Jack did not marry until he was 58 years old and after three years of happiness he lost his wife to cancer.  His wife was named Helen Joy Davidman at birth but went by Joy all her life.  She was of Jewish background, a poet and a writer with a razor-sharp wit and a love for books.  Early in her life she became a Communist and wrote articles and edited the poetry column for one of their publications.  She married a fellow communist, Bill Gresham, who was handsome, charming and a writer, but who was rootless and a philosophical drifter.   They had two sons, David and Douglas, early in their marriage.

Joy Davidman in 1951

Although they both made a journey from Communism to Christianity, Bill soon retrogressed.  His repeated unfaithfulness caused the marriage to break up.  Joy corresponded with C S Lewis about some of the problems she was having with her faith and a real friendship developed.  She traveled to England so that she could speak to Lewis in person.  When a divorce was inevitable, she moved to England with her two sons and began to see more of Lewis.   She fell in love with him, and he with her, partly because of her courage in battling cancer.  They were married at her bedside in the hospital and she experience a remarkable remission of the cancer.  They were able to have 3 happy years together before the cancer returned and Joy died.

Inscription For Joy's marker

This story is told in a very appealing visual manner in the movie “Shadowlands”, with Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger.   The material we cover in this podcast comes from three books.

“Jack; A Life of C S Lewis”  by George Sayer

“Through The Shadowlands” by Brian Sibley

“A Grief Observed” by C S Lewis