Christian Reflections [Paperback]

C. S. Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1994

This collection contains fourteen of Lewis's theological papers on subjects such as Christianity and literaure, Christianity and culture, ethics, futility, church music, modern theology and biblical criticism, the Psalms, and petitionary prayer. Common to all of these varied essays are Lewis's uniquely effective style and his tireless concern to relate basic Christianity to all of life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'If you have never read it let me urge you strongly to purchase a copy.' Kieron Moore, The Universe --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 190 pages
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (October 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802808697
• ISBN-13: 978-0802808691
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #364,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 72 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A good collection, but not the best September 2, 2001

By Bowen Simmons

Format:Paperback

Lewis's shorter works were generally originally composed as speeches or as articles for periodicals. Various sets of them were collected and published in book form both during his life and after his death. Trying to determine what works are in what collections is difficult - most works appear in more than one collection, some works appear under more than one title, and some collections appear under more than one title.

To aid readers, in this review I've listed the works in this collection, with notes indicating other collections they have appeared in. Where a work has appeared under more than one title, I give both titles separated by a slash.

Table of Contents:

Preface, by Walter Hooper (4)

"Christianity and Literature" (1), (2), (4)

"Christianity and Culture" (2), (4)

"Religion: Reality or Substitute" (2), (4)

"On Ethics" (2), (4)

"De Futilitate" (2), (4)

"The Poison of Subjectivism" (2), (4)

"The Funeral of a Great Myth" (2), (4)

"On Church Music" (2)

"Historicism" (2), (3), (4)

"The Psalms" (2), (4)

"The Language of Religion" (2), (4)

"Petitionary Prayer: A Problem Without an Answer" (2), (4)

"Fern-Seed and Elephants" / "Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism" (2), (3), (4)

"The Seeing Eye" / "Onward Christian Spacemen" (2), (4)

Notes:

(1) also published in "Rehabilitations and Other Essays"

(2) also published in "Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces"

(3) also published in "Fern-Seed and Elephants and Other Essays"

(4) also published in "The Seeing Eye and Other Selected Essays from Christian Reflections"

Recommendations:

If you are interested in Lewis's shorter works, my best advice is to get "Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces", which, as of the time of this writing, is available from Amazon UK but not Amazon US. That collection consists of about 130 short works by Lewis. The works in that collection are mostly, but not exclusively, Christian.

If your interest in Lewis's shorter works is restricted to those on Christianity, and your budget or enthusiasm does not run to "Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces", then my second-best advice is to get any or all of the following (they don't overlap significantly, and between them they include most of Lewis's shorter Christian writings):

"God in the Dock - Essays on Theology and Ethics"*

"The World's Last Night and Other Essays"

"Christian Reflections"

"The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses"

* Be careful - there is a UK Fontana paperback lurking about called "God in the Dock - Essays on Theology" that is substantially shorter than the "God in the Dock - Essays on Theology and Ethics" collection. A full version of "God in the Dock - Essays on Theology and Ethics" was published in the UK under the title "Undeceptions - Essays on Theology and Ethics".

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 14 engaging C.S. Lewis essays June 18, 1998

By David Graham

Format:Paperback

These fourteen essays (with an introduction by Walter Hooper) are about a variety of topics related to Christianity, but not necessarily ABOUT Christianity. My favorite of the bunch is "Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism", a thumping rejoinder to those whose misapplication of form and redaction criticism (e.g. Bultmann or Schweitzer or Dibelius) to the gospels prevents them from making sound judgments about the life of Christ. His essay "Petitionary Prayer: A Problem Without an Answer" is brutally honest, ending as it does in a questioning uncertainty about the matter, while his essay "The Psalms" is helpful in guiding the reader to an understanding of how to view that portion of scripture. Some essays may strike one reader's fancy less than another's, but there is plenty here for most people to find AT LEAST one or two they greatly enjoy. I liked all of them and found most of them very helpful to my own reflections on life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Essays, but too advanced for most readers February 24, 2012

By Jeremy Myers

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love everything by C. S. Lewis, and am trying to read through everything he has ever written (that I can find, anyway). This is a book of collected philosophical and theological essays, most of which appear to be transcripts or manuscripts from lectures and talks he gave at various places and various times during his career.

The essays range from the place of Christianity within literature and culture, all the way to talking about Lewis' distaste for church music and 20th Century European Historical Criticism.

Most of these essays were more technical than other essays from Lewis, and most readers will probably find the content and ideas a little too advanced for their taste. I got bored by several of the essays, especially since the questions which were being asked during the life of C. S. Lewis are not really being asked any longer.

Nevertheless, I did find his essays on Church Music, the Psalms, Petitionary Prayer, Biblical Criticism, and The Seeing Eye (about the possibility of aliens on other planets) to be insightful and "classic C. S. Lewis."