Customer Reviews

C.S. Lewis's Case for Christian Faith

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"C. S. 'Jack' Lewis was merciless in debates. At Oxford University
Jack Lewis was much feared by opponents. Some feared him so much -
like the geneticist and avowed atheist J. B. S. Haldane - that they
fled an encounter with Jack. In fact he had a photographic memory, a
mind trained in logic that raced far ahead of his usual opposition and
a deep, booming voice. Jack's fights for truth were utterly sincere.
In his early days his only acceptable companions were those who could
give him a good scrap. They not only had to defend their opinions with
logic, but with feeling. Yet, even brilliant, passionate dialectics
was not enough; any who showed flippancy or cynicism Jack dismissed as
lightweights" (Wellman). And author Dr. Richard Purtill is no
lightweight! (Professor Emeritus in Philosophy at WWU is the author of
twenty books, including "J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality, and Religion"
and this gem: "C.S. Lewis' Case for the Christian Faith").

Dr. Purtill utilizes the work of C.S. Lewis' and delivers a vibrant
and wide-ranging exposition of Lewis' defense of Christian truth. He
surveys Lewis' theological and apologetic thought as he discusses God,
Jesus Christ, miracles, and the reality of death. "C.S. Lewis' Case
for the Christian Faith" is a winsome and enlightening overview of
Lewis' work.

Chapters include:
- Reasons for Lewis' success
- Reasons for belief in God
- Who is Christ?
- Miracles in history
- Faith and Reason
- Rivals of Christianity
- And more!

Purtill states: "I read a lot of C.S. Lewis' nonfiction and
apologetics before I read his well-known fantasies, The Chronicles of
Narnia. Somewhere along the line I read his science fiction trilogy."
He adds: "C.S. Lewis has been called "the apostle to the skeptics."
He's probably the best apologist of the twentieth century. He's a key
figure in apologetics, which means, showing people the rational basis
for Christianity, and that you don't need to simply say, `it's just a
matter of faith.'"

Dr. Purtill is a fine apologist, a cogent reviewer, and a compelling
writer of fantasy. He writes: "One thing we could say about the
possibility of the universe simply coming into existence from nothing
is to declare that "nothing comes from nothing." There is not just a
factual impossibility involved ... but a kind of logical impossibility."

I concur with C.S. Lewis' observation that "ancient man approached God
... as the accused person approaches his judge. For modern man the roles
are reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock. ... The trial many
even end in God's acquittal. But the important thing is that man is on
the bench and God is in the dock." Moreover Lewis' observation that "I
believe in God as I believe in the Sun; not so much that I see the
Sun, it's more like without the Sun, I cannot see anything at all"
builds upon Augustine as he helps build my faith.

Dr. Purtill does some of his best work in demonstrating that
accounting for reason, ideas, and knowledge require a theistic view as
Lewis argues. I enjoy Purtill's work, and this may be one of his
finest efforts. If you are a fan of Lewis or Purtill, I encourage you
to purchase this volume.
"Unless thought is valid we have no reason to believe in the real
universe" (C.S. Lewis).
Truth, Knowledge and the Reason for God: The Defense of the Rational Assurance of Christianity

Like many C.S. Lewis books the typical "easy read" turns out to be a short book with a long corridor of thought content. I need to learn what I am in for with C.S. Lewis and,in this case, those who write books about him.

The author, a university philosophy professor, probably Christian, looks at the collective writings of C.S. Lewis through the looking glass of a discipline other than theology. I have to be honest- I read this book some time ago as part of my daily train commute reading program.

What sticks out is the paragraph on Lewis' view of the Trinity. The paragraph is in a neat graphic schematic form and can be used as useful apologetics for the numerous Trinity scoffers one runs into in street witnessing...Muslims in particular.

Worth reading... but avoid the long interuptions that broke my concentration. The book is well thought out and deserves long concentrated sittings and sequenced thought.
Pathway to the stars