Biography on C.S. Lewis

ABOUT THE BOOK

World famous author C.S. Lewis is best known for his numerous literary masterpieces and his role as a Christian apologist. Lewis’s career has touched people’s lives and attracted criticism in equal parts. From the stances he takes in his novellas to his approach to interpreting the Bible, much of Lewis's fame has come as a result of ruffling feathers with his incredible talent.

Anyone who reads will have heard of Lewis's most famous novels, The Chronicles of Narnia. The series of seven fantasy books is what earned Lewis his reputation as a talented author. However, critics have accused Lewis of conforming to gender and racial stereotypes in the series. Despite these controversies, some of the novels have made into successful films.

Aside from writing novels that appeal to children, Lewis also wrote a series of rather dark poems. As a far cry from his books that featured plucky heroes and heroines, Lewis's poems focused on morality and death. In “After Prayers, Lie Cold,” which opens with “Arise my body, my small body, we have striven,” Lewis addresses death and nature.

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

Lewis may be best known for The Chronicles of Narnia, but he also gained fame through publishing other fictional masterpieces. The Space Trilogy steps away from Lewis’ usual themes of myths and magic, and instead focuses on what life may be like on other planets. The series begins with Out of the Silent Planet, which is set on Mars. The main character, Elwin, discovers that Earth has been banished by all of the other planets, and exists in solitude within the solar system. This was then followed by Perelandra, which is primarily set on Venus, where humans have just begun to live. Finally, the series ends with The Hideous Strength, a book that features a battle against demons who want to lay waste to Earth. Throughout the books, the old solar system and cosmology are featured, as well as secret languages.

Lewis’ Mere Christianity is a series of radio interviews that Lewis gave on Christianity that were published as transcripts. In this book, Lewis attempts to argue for Christian morals. At the time of the interviews, Europe was battling against Hitler and Nazism, and Lewis used Hitler as a point of reference for what the majority of humans would perceive to be morally wrong. The book also tackles the rather controversial topic of how Jesus is depicted in the Bible. Lewis made notes of parts of the Bible where Jesus would apparently claim to be God, and tried to encourage Christians to question why he did this. By invoking heated debates on how Jesus Christ saw himself, Lewis attracted criticism from staunch religious theists. Finally, Lewis's arguments for Christianity placed a certain degree of focus on how Christians should lead their lives, including their approach to marriage, sex and sins such as pride.

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