Recently, David J. Theroux (Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of The Independent Institute and Publisher of The Independent Review, and Founder and President of the C.S. Lewis Society of California) posted a three part blog concerning C.S. Lewis’s political and moral philosophy. Drawing from a substantial number of Lewis’s works, Theroux addresses topics such as utilitarianism, the welfare state, and a variety of other topics. All three of his articles are linked below.
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Please note that the content and viewpoints of Mr. Theroux are his own and are not necessarily those of the C.S. Lewis Foundation.
Tags: C.S. Lewis, David J. Theroux, Moral Philosophy, Politics
www.narnia.com, the official website of the film production just released the first trailer for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Watch it below and then add a comment to tell us what you think.
Tags: Books and Film, C.S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia, Narnia films, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Walden Media
Dear Readers,
Well, I am still waiting for that annoying alarm clock tone to wake me up from this fantastic dream I’ve been living in for the past few months. Never would I have guessed that I would be here, living in C. S. Lewis’ house, walking through his Narnian forest of Shotover, reading first editions of his books, and meeting some of his scholars and even those who actually knew him and called him friend!
Even if it wasn’t too great a task already, it has become a simply hopeless one to pay God back for all the blessings He keeps heaping upon me. I find myself usually speechless, overwhelmed, and at a complete loss for how to respond adequately on days such as these.
I’ve started an attempt at jogging through Shotover in the mornings to counter my intake of all these wonderful English creams, cheeses, and pies. This morning I woke up early, groggily put on my running shoes, half-heartedly attempted to touch my toes, and then stepped outside The Kiln’s Tradesman entrance to a glorious sunshiny day full of birdsong.
As I made my way up the path through the C. S. Lewis Nature Reserve, I noted how different the forest looks each time I go through it, even at the same times of the day. There really is something magical about these woods. The sunlight filters differently through the leaves each day just like snowflakes are never quite the same as any other snowflake. There are two tall trees that stand guard on either side of the path just before you come to the top of the reserve and the kissing gate. I call them the Gatekeepers. Every time I walk between them, I feel a little thrill of excitement inside and wonder what treasures await me today.
Tags: C.S. Lewis, C.S. Lewis Society, C.S. Lewis Study Centre, Mary Pearce, The Kilns, Walter Hooper
The Kilns
Dear Readers,
Greetings from Oxford, England! I am absolutely thrilled to be the acting warden here at The Kilns this spring. God is so good, and He never fails to surprise me with this fact. The series of events that led me here could have happened in no other way than through God’s omnipotent guidance and plan.
A little about myself: I am a graduate of California Baptist University in Riverside, California with a BA in English and Communication Arts with an emphasis in Theatre. I also have an extensive background in dance of many kinds and a huge heart for the art of story and its ability to inspire hearts and point them to Jesus.
Since graduation, I have been apart of the camping ministry in northern California, where I have seen so many miracles of God that it is a wonder I still worry about the future sometimes! I am still not sure what my plans will be after this fantastic chapter of my life comes to a close at the end of June, but I am keeping the memories of all of His wonderful past blessings and moments of guidance close to my heart as I journey on.
I have been a great admirer of C. S. Lewis ever since I read the entire Chronicles of Narnia to my little brother before he went to sleep each night, doing all the voices and being just as enraptured by the great lion who was not tame, but good and of those most fortunate of children who found their way from our world into a magical world full of wonder and adventure. During college and beyond I have often lost myself to this world in his other works of fiction, thrilled on what he had to say about the written word, and been challenged in my walk with Christ in his books such as The Four Loves and Mere Christianity.
And then I discovered that one of his own greatest inspirations had been George McDonald, an author I had actually found at quite a young age and held dear to my own heart for the writing of what is still to this day my favorite fairy tale of all time, “The Light Princes.” This made me love C. S. Lewis even more. However, I had never actually read a biography on him and knew very little about his actual life. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: C.S. Lewis, Mary Peace, The Kilns
The first novel in the series, entitled Here, There Be Dragons
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien are deservedly well known for their fiction. Tolkien’s mythology is almost unparalleled in level of detail and The Lord of the Rings set the standard for fantasy literature, while Lewis’s novels have inspired countless readers. We are very familiar with them as writers, but what about as action heroes?
This is the role that the two play (along with many other British authors, including fellow Inkling Charles Williams) in the fantasy series The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica. These are a series of novels, written by James A. Owen, that depict the Inklings and a few of their countrymen (such as Rudyard Kipling and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) taking part in mythological journeys–searching for the Holy Grail, fairy dust, and even Plato’s cave. The books are currently in the process of adaptation for at least two movies. Here is the original announcement of the project.
Naturally, this kind of use of famous authors as characters will upset some, though it might also please others. Here is a reaction from the National Catholic Register, addressing how (the author thinks) Lewis and Tolkien would have reacted to such a story.
Interestingly, this literary borrowing of people for fiction is not altogether uncommon. Lewis himself took part in it with his novel The Great Divorce–which features George Macdonald as the protagonist’s guide–and Till We Have Faces–which is Lewis’s retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth. And then, of course, there are classical examples: such as Dante borrowing from Virgil (who in turn derived much from Homer).
Not to irreverently compare The Divine Comedy or The Aeneid to this fantasy series, but such things have been done before.
What do you think about using Lewis and Tolkien in novels like this? Do you think it’s harmless and all in good fun? Or is it simply exploitative? Please comment below!
Tags: C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Inklings, J.R.R. Tolkien, James A. Owen, National Catholic Register, Steven D. Greydanus
