- The following is my first book review on The Soul of C.S. Lewis by Wayne Martindale, Jerry Root, and Linda Washington
First, let me start by saying how excited I am to be writing this review on behalf of Tyndale House Publishers. Upon visiting their site, I knew this was the perfect book for me. I really did not know very much about C.S. Lewis outside of The Chronicles of Narnia and his testimony. I wanted to gain a better understanding of his work and to see how he paralleled Christianity throughout his stories. From the moment I opened this book, I could not put it down. I could not wait to see what new insight the authors would bring to this man of God and what he offered his readers.
When they note this to be a meditative journey, they mean just that. It is set up somewhat like a devotional, so you can actually read a section at a time and reflect upon it. Each section outlines different areas of his work—starting with Pilgrimage on through Words of Grace. My main interest was in The Chronicles of Narnia which proved to teach me a great lesson. Before reading this material, I had trouble understanding how stories like these were truly Christian in nature. Though I had not seen the movies, my family had; I dismissed them as sorcery and discounted their validity.
I could see Lewis was a Christian but simply did not agree with his method in reaching others through this type of writing. My first journey into the books with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader quickly changed this view. As soon as you turn the page, you recognize his heart and purpose. The story of Eustace’s transformation from the heart of a dragon is vividly brought to life through his becoming a real dragon in Narnia with Aslan (the Christ figure) alone, being the very one to scrape away the layers of his flesh. It then moves you from test to testimony as he shares his experience with Edmund. What a beautiful picture of submission and humility. Needless to say, I have now seen the movies and hope to see this on film as well.
In Prince Caspian we see a bigger God who leads us effortlessly to the path of forgiveness by simply fixing our eyes upon Him.
“Aslan . . . you’re bigger.” “That is because you are older, little one, ” answered he. “Not because you are?” “I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.” Chap. 10, p. 141
“Lucy went first, biting her lip and trying not to say all the things she thought of saying to Susan. But she forgot them when she fixed her eyes on Aslan.” Chap. 11, p.149
For a deeper read, The Screwtape Letters outline spiritual warfare from emotions, to inner happiness, to recognizing whose we are.
“And all the time the joke is that the word ‘mine’ in its fully possessive sense cannot be uttered by a human being about anything.” Chap. 21, p. 114
In That Hideous Strength we see marriage through the light of obedience.
“You do not fail in obedience through lack of love, but have lost love because you never attempted obedience.” Chap. 7, 11 p. 178— Powerful!
Perhaps my greatest lesson can be found through reading An Experiment in Criticism and The Discarded Image where my heart, as listed above, receives correction.
“In coming to understand anything we are rejecting the facts as they are for us in favour of the facts as they are.” An Experiment In Criticism, Epilogue, p. 138
This continues through The Great Divorce where he grips you with the thought that, what is, is not—as we seek what is to come (also seen in The Last Battle through our view of heaven). It outlines choice and our action of free will.
“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.” Chap. 9, p. 156
“If you asked twenty good men to-day what they thought they highest of virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you had asked any of the great Christians of old, he would have replied, Love.
Sounds almost prophetic, doesn’t it?
“Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Cor. 13:13—even hope is eternal!
We see this further outlined in “The Weight of Glory” where he speaks of longing in itself and our true desire—a testament to his life’s work.
“These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking down the hearts of their worshippers.” p. 29
In closing, I leave you with A Grief Observed—Lewis’s personal journey through loss—the loss of his wife to cancer.
“[G]o to Him when your need is desperate . . . and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside.” Chap. 1, p. 6
“I cry to you, O God, but you don’t anwer. I stand before you, but you don’t even look.” Job 30:20
We know how the story ends. . .
*This review is on behalf of Tyndale House Publishers who provided a complimentary copy of this book.
