The Pilgrim's Guide: C. S. Lewis and the Art of Witness [Hardcover]

David Mills (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1998

Published in the centenary year of C.S. Lewis's birth, "The Pilgrim Guide" offers a study of Lewis's witness to the truth of Christianity, especially in his works of fiction and popular anthologies.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The centennial of C.S. Lewis's birth is upon us, and it is not surprising that a slew of publications mark this milestone, as his popularity continues unabated. In fact, more than 1.5 million copies of his works are sold annually. Lewis (1898-1963) was a professor of English at Oxford and Cambridge, and he made significant contributions in that subject. A Christian apologist who used popular essays and literature to justify belief in Christianity and clarify the elements of belief, he is best known for his children's books (especially the Chronicles of Narnia, begun in 1950 with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) and his space trilogy, as well as from the recent movie Shadowlands, which portrays his relationship with Joy Davidman, whom he married and soon lost to cancer. The C.S. Lewis Readers' Encyclopedia contains more information about Lewis?than most of us would want to know?good news in the case of all cult figures, for there are those who want to know everything. Major entries on Lewis's chief works, relatives, and acquaintances and lesser entries on almost everything else associated with Lewis?every letter to the editor, every poem, receives its own entry?are arranged alphabetically. All but the briefest articles include a bibliography. Also included are a brief biography; an appendix listing Lewis resources, including web pages, bookstores, centers, and the like; and a chronology of his life. With a perspective influenced by their experience in political science, editors Schultz (coeditor of The Encyclopedia of the Republican Party/The Encyclopedia of the Democratic Party, LJ 11/1/96) and West (The Politics of Revelation and Reason, Univ. Pr. of Kansas, 1996) present articles on those who influenced Lewis (e.g., Aristotle and Aquinas) and on his ideas (e.g., "Friendship," "Prayer," and "Natural Law"). This welcome approach helps to elucidate his thought. This is sure to become an essential reference for students of Lewis's works. The Pilgrim's Guide, concerned specifically with Lewis's Christian beliefs, collects 17 articles by authors who are all committed Christians of a conservative bent. They make no bones about their faith and for the most part agree with Lewis on certain moral issues such as abortion and homosexuality. Some of the essays examine the origins of his thought, others look at his method of apologetics, and still others consider his critique of contemporary Christianity. While this book discusses his children's literature and his space trilogy, it does so in terms of the theology behind them. A fine bibliographical essay by Diana Pavlac Glyer on books and other resources, as well as a Lewis time line, complement the essays. Those who agree with Lewis, and serious students, will find much to like in this collection. In C.S. Lewis: Memories and Reflections, Lawlor (English, emeritus, Univ. of Keele, Great Britain) offers insights into Lewis's personality and little-known details about already-known incidents through this memoir of his friendship with Lewis. (He was Lewis's student, friend, and professional colleague.) Enhanced by the inclusion of previously unpublished correspondence and a previously unpublished photo of Lewis just returned from World War II, this work provides a weighty assessment of Lewis's scholarship and, like the others, defends Lewis from his critics?in this case the literary critics. This makes a welcome addition to Lewis biography. Also for the serious reader, Branches to Heaven looks at Lewis's work for the purpose of examining the inner man and finds an unsettled convert. Como (editor of C.S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table and Other Reminiscences, Harvest: Harcourt, 1992) quotes extensively from the few sermons extant. Like Lawlor, he adds interesting tidbits to the Lewis biography and defends him from his critics. Como generally reexamines Lewis's writing and his life from the perspective of rhetoric and in doing so adds some good insights into Lewis the man.?Augustine J. Curley, O.S.B., Newark Abbey, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 297 pages
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802837778
• ISBN-13: 978-0802837776
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,660,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Growing up in a New England college town -- his father, a conservationist, taught part time at the university -- David always wanted to write for a living, but expected to be writing about politics, not religion. He was fascinated by the ins and outs of electoral politics, but an interest in pursuing the fundamental questions led him to think much more seriously about God and Christianity, and to find Christian doctrine even more interesting than politics.

Asked to edit a small Episcopal magazine, he began writing on the subject as he could, and achieved some small fame in that very small pond. While working both freelance jobs and a part-time job at a public housing agency in Boston, in 1988 he was called to work at an Episcopal seminary near Pittsburgh, which completed his move from political to religious work.

He currently writes a biweekly column called "Catholic Sense" for The Pittsburgh Catholic, the diocesan newspaper of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, as well as columns for Lay Witness magazine and the Inside Catholic website. He also writes regularly for the National Catholic Register, Our Sunday Visitor, the New Oxford Review, and other Catholic publications. The Pilgrim's Guide: C. S. Lewis and the Art Witness (Eerdmans), a collection of scholarly and popular essays he edited, appeared in 1998, and his Knowing the Real Jesus (Servant), a kind of "Church Fathers for Dummies," in 2001. Richard John Neuhaus called the latter "A lesson in theology for those who are not theologians and a lesson in writing for those who are."

David, his wife, and their chidren were received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in 2001, while he was still teaching at the Episcopal seminary. To his surprise, he was not sacked, partly because he taught writing and not theology, and partly because he edited the dean's writing. He left the seminary in 2003 to edit Touchstone, an ecumenical magazine that under his editorshop won the Associated Church Press's best journal award all five years it was a member. In 2008 he returned to writing and editing.

Married for 26 years, David and his wife have four children. Their eldest just graduated from college and is a Haverford Fellow working for a local foods group in Philadelphia, the second is a sophomore in college, and the youngest two, 16 and 11, are homeschooled and active in 4-H and local historical societies. The family have two dogs (both mutts from the Humane Society), two guinea pigs (one from the Humane Society), and three gerbils (store bought). They also spend some time protecting their chipmunks from the local cats.

They live north of Pittsburgh, which David refers to as "living in exile in the Midwest." This annoys the natives. They attend St. Joseph's Church in Coraopolis.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED addition to your CS Lewis library!, April 27, 2001

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Tierra (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pilgrim's Guide: C. S. Lewis and the Art of Witness (Paperback)

Although there are a lot of books about CS Lewis out there, I found this one to be much better than I had anticipated. Rather than being a series of merely academic essays about his work, the authors of these essays do what good critics should do--help one understand the original text on a deeper level. Reading these essays not only helped increase my understanding of Lewis' theology but also deepened my enjoyment of his fictional works. The essay by Root entitled "Tools Inadequate and Incomplete: C.S. Lewis and the Great Religions" was particularly enlightening in articulating how Lewis' perspective on Christianity acknowledges commonalities with the great world religions yet still preserves the unique contribution of Christianity as well. In all, the essays do a great job of synthesizing broad themes (including hell, scientism, language, gnosticism, and grace) across many of C.S. Lewis works, fictional and nonfiction, and have personally helped me in my own journey of faith.