C. S. Lewis: Defender of the Faith

by Cunningham, Richard B.

• ISBN13: 9781556359224
• ISBN10: 1556359225
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-06-02
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Pub

Summary

C. S. Lewis was a man of many talents: a literary critic, a Medieval and Renaissance scholar, a stimulating lecturer, a prolific writer, a perceptive critic of Western civilization, and the author of highly acclaimed children's books. But he is perhaps best known as the unorthodox defender of orthodoxy, the most popular and influential Christian apologist of his time. His literary skill, his brilliant and wide-ranging mind, and his multi-layered imagination made him a master of communication and gave him insight into what should be communicated. This study of his work inquires what it is about his faith, his view of the world, and his apologetic methods that strikes such a responsive chord in the hearts of unchurched people; and it shows how he made the old ideas of traditional Christianity glimmer and glow with simplicity and attractiveness.Lewis took up his apologetic pen because he felt that most theologians are talking jargon. Any fool can write learned language, he said. The vernacular is the real test. If you can't turn your faith into it, then either you don't understand it or you don't believe it. His books are unusual because he believed that reason is the organ of truth; imagination is the organ of meaning. In the infernal correspondence of Screwtape, the haunting myths of his trilogy of space fiction, and the allegories of the Narnia books, he tries to bring the reader suddenly face to face with transcendental values and existential questions. Richard Cunningham evaluates the different kinds of literature Lewis uses as apologetic instruments, studies the devices and techniques of debate he employs to communicate his faith to unbelievers, and deduces some pertinent principles to help others define and understand the Christian faith.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. 11
The Apologist	p. 13
The Nature and Purpose of Apologetics	p. 18
C. S. Lewis: The Man and the Author	p. 21
The Apologetic Scene	p. 33
The World as It Ought to Be	p. 33
Our Radical New Era	p. 36
The Areas of Change	p. 36
Chronological Snobbery	p. 38
Twentieth-Century Naturalism	p. 41
The Abolition of Man	p. 42
The Major Abolitionist: Modern Science	p. 45
Natural Science	p. 46
Psychology	p. 50
Philosophy	p. 53
The Present Stage of Abolition: Mass Conformity	p. 55
Education	p. 55
Government, Economics, and News Media	p. 57
Society	p. 59
The Post-Christian Era	p. 62
An Appraisal of Lewis' World View	p. 65
The Foundation of Apologetics	p. 67
Epistemology: The Problem of Knowledge	p. 67
The Origin and History of Language	p. 70
Imagination: The Organ of Meaning	p. 73
Mythology: Grasping the Nonconceptual	p. 74
Metaphor: Supplying the Tools of Reason	p. 75
Reason: The Organ of Truth	p. 77
Faith and Knowledge	p. 80
Hermeneutics: The Science of Biblical Interpretation	p. 84
General Principles	p. 84
Transposition	p. 84
Revelation	p. 87
Inspiration	p. 88
Biblical Criticism	p. 91
Biblical Mythology and Metaphorical Language	p. 94
Theology: The Formulation of Faith	p. 102
The Doctrine of God	p. 103
Time and Eternity	p. 106
The Doctrine of the Trinity	p. 107
The Person and Work of Christ	p. 109
Man and Sin	p. 111
Salvation	p. 114
The Church and the Sacraments	p. 116
The Christian Life	p. 118
Eschatology	p. 124
Devils and Angels	p. 124
Hell	p. 125
Heaven	p. 127
Purgatory	p. 128
The Resurrection of the Body	p. 129
The Second Coming	p. 130
Communication: The Mastery of a Difficult Art	p. 131
The Apologetic Method	p. 141
The Literary Forms of Apologetic	p. 143
Mythologies	p. 143
Children's Stories	p. 151
Allegory	p. 156
Satire	p. 159
Fantasy	p. 162
Didactic Writings	p. 164
Sermons and Essays	p. 175
Autobiography	p. 178
Devices and Techniques of Debate	p. 179
The Attack	p. 180
Not Strictly Logical	p. 180
Nonlogical Factors in Unbelief	p. 183
The Apologist and His Opponent	p. 187
The Arena of Logic	p. 188
The Defense	p. 191
The Use of Reason	p. 192
The Use of Imagination	p. 194
The Gospel	p. 196
An Evaluation	p. 200
Notes	p. 207
Bibliography	p. 219
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