Today’s book is The World’s Last Night and Other Essays. It is a collection of seven essays from later in C S Lewis’ life, after he was 50 years of age. They were written during a of some significant changes in his life. For one thing, he switched universities, going from Oxford to Cambridge. For another, Lewis met and married his wife, Joy Davidman Gresham. (You might remember this story from the excellent move Shadowlands). These essays give us a good picture of Jack’s thoughts and beliefs at this time and provide us with some good material for our own reflection and learning.
We cover three of the essays in this podcast and leave the rest for your reading pleasure.
The first piece we cover is entitled “The Efficacy of Prayer” and reviews what it means to ask “Does prayer work”.
The second essay in the podcast is “Screwtape Proposes a Toast” and is a biting commentary on the modern educational system and its unfortunate results in society. It is presented as a speech a senior devil in Hell gives to graduates of Hell’s Tempters College and is well worth reading.
The final selection is “The World’s Last Night” and it addresses the idea of the Second Return of Christ, the sudden end of the world when God steps onto the stage. It is considered one of Jack’s best essays and needs careful reading and refelction.
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