C.S. Lewis: Revelation, Conversion, and Apologetics

by P H Brazier, Stephen R Holmes (Foreword by)

Overview

This is a series of books which have a common theme: the understanding of Christ, and therefore the revelation of God, in the work of C. S. Lewis. These books are a systematic study of Lewis's theology, Christology and doctrine of revelation; as such they draw on his life and work. They are written for academics and students, but also, crucially, for those people, ordinary Christians, without a theology degree who enjoy and gain sustenance from reading Lewis's work. www.cslewisandthechrist.net

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610977180
Publisher:	Pickwick Publications
Publication date:	07/18/2012
Series:	C. S. Lewis: Revelation and the Christ , #1
Pages:	316
Product dimensions:	9.80(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

P. H Brazier is an independent theologian and scholar living in London, UK. He is the author of Barth and Dostoevsky (2008), and editor of the late Colin E. Gunton's The Barth Lectures (2007) and Revelation and Reason (2009).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations xi

Foreword xiii

Acknowledgements xix

Introduction: C. S. Lewis-Revelation, Conversion, and Apologetics 1

Part 1 The Personal God of Salvation-Conversion and Acceptance

1 Conversion: God is God 19

2 Acceptance: God is God, in Christ 39

3 Helen Joy Davidman: Intellect and Imagination 51

4 C. S. Lewis and Karl Barth I: Religious Experience-Revelation and Modernity 65

5 C. S. Lewis and Karl Barth II: A Doctrinal Realization-God is God, in Christ 83

Part 2 C. S. Lewis-Theologian and "Mere" Christian

6 C. S. Lewis the Classical Philosopher Theologian I: Witness and Method-"Mere" Christianity 103

7 C. S. Lewis the Classical Philosopher Theologian II: praeparatio evangelica-A Catholic-Evangelical 119

8 C. S. Lewis the Classical Philosopher Theologian III: Orthodoxy and Heresy-The Pittenger-Lewis Debate 133

Part 3 C. S. Lewis-Apologist, Broadcaster, and Public Figure

9 Apologist and Defender of the Faith I: Revelation and Christology, 1931-44-The Early Works 149

10 Apologist and Defender of the Faith II: Revelation and Christology, 1941-47-The Middle Works 177

11 Apologist and Defender of the Faith III: Revelation and Christology, 1948-63-The Later Works: Mere Christology 205

12 Apologist and Defender of the Faith IV: Revelation and Christology, 1948-63-The Later Works: Christlikeness 227

Conclusion. Apologist and Defender of the Faith 261

Select Bibliography 265

Indexes 273

Sectional Contents 287

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The importance of C. S. Lewis as an apologist for 'mere Christianity' remains undiminished nearly fifty years after his death. The intensification of questions about the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and the significance of his life and work has if anything made him more important. Paul Brazier has done the church and the academy a great service in this . . . serious and accessible study of Lewis."
—The Very Rev. Dr. Justyn Terry
Dean, President, and Associate Professor of Systematic Theology
Trinity School for Ministry, Ambridge, Pennsylvania

"Comments and publications on C. S. Lewis have become increasingly sterile since his death in 1963—mere footnotes to the champion of 'mere Christianity.' So what a joy it is to find, as we do in this first volume of Paul Brazier's painstaking study of Lewis's thought, a genuine work of scholarship that is not only worthy of the great man but also provides for us what Lewis never did himself: a systematic philosophical theology of his religious method and beliefs."
—Dr. Andrew Walker
Emeritus Professor of Theology, Religion & Culture
King's College, University of London

"C. S. Lewis's writings reflect a profound and coherent theological vision. This series is the most ambitious systematic account ever offered of this vision, and will help raise Lewis scholarship to a new level."
—Dr. Judith Wolfe
Supernumerary Teaching Fellow in Theology
St. John's College, University of Oxford

"Paul Brazier's new book performs two functions: it reveals the strength and depth of C. S. Lewis's contribution to modern Christianity, and it demonstrates the desirability of the art of apologetics in the contemporary world. As always, the writing is clear and direct, and the author has the ability to convey complex ideas and information to the non-specialist reader without surrendering any intellectual rigor."
—Dr. Brian Horne
Retired Lecturer in Systematic Theology
King's College, University of London

"Serious investigations into the theology of C. S. Lewis have been long in coming. . . . [T]he fact that Lewis was not a professional theologian has led to him being overlooked by those who were most able to engage critically and creatively with his writings. Fortunately . . . a new generation of scholars has taken up the task. Paul Brazier's latest contribution to this is a most welcomed accomplishment that will leave an indelible impression on our understanding of-and appreciation for-Lewis' remarkable theological contributions."
—Dr. Grayson Carter
Associate Professor of Church History
Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California
Editor of Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

"In this rigorous and searching study of the theology of C. S. Lewis, Paul Brazier locates Lewis within the wider context of theological scholarship and shows him to be a theologian to be reckoned with in his own right, rather than simply a popularizer of Christian faith. This most welcome volume in a proposed three-volume series will surely prove invaluable in the assessment of Lewis's legacy."
—Dr. Murray Rae
Professor and Head of the Department of Theology and Religion
University of Otago, New Zealand

Editorial Reviews

"The importance of C. S. Lewis as an apologist for 'mere Christianity' remains undiminished nearly fifty years after his death. The intensification of questions about the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and the significance of his life and work has if anything made him more important. Paul Brazier has done the church and the academy a great service in this . . . serious and accessible study of Lewis."
—The Very Rev. Dr. Justyn Terry
Dean, President, and Associate Professor of Systematic Theology
Trinity School for Ministry, Ambridge, Pennsylvania

"Comments and publications on C. S. Lewis have become increasingly sterile since his death in 1963—mere footnotes to the champion of 'mere Christianity.' So what a joy it is to find, as we do in this first volume of Paul Brazier's painstaking study of Lewis's thought, a genuine work of scholarship that is not only worthy of the great man but also provides for us what Lewis never did himself: a systematic philosophical theology of his religious method and beliefs."
—Dr. Andrew Walker
Emeritus Professor of Theology, Religion & Culture
King's College, University of London

"C. S. Lewis's writings reflect a profound and coherent theological vision. This series is the most ambitious systematic account ever offered of this vision, and will help raise Lewis scholarship to a new level."
—Dr. Judith Wolfe
Supernumerary Teaching Fellow in Theology
St. John's College, University of Oxford

"Paul Brazier's new book performs two functions: it reveals the strength and depth of C. S. Lewis's contribution to modern Christianity, and it demonstrates the desirability of the art of apologetics in the contemporary world. As always, the writing is clear and direct, and the author has the ability to convey complex ideas and information to the non-specialist reader without surrendering any intellectual rigor."
—Dr. Brian Horne
Retired Lecturer in Systematic Theology
King's College, University of London

"Serious investigations into the theology of C. S. Lewis have been long in coming. . . . [T]he fact that Lewis was not a professional theologian has led to him being overlooked by those who were most able to engage critically and creatively with his writings. Fortunately . . . a new generation of scholars has taken up the task. Paul Brazier's latest contribution to this is a most welcomed accomplishment that will leave an indelible impression on our understanding of-and appreciation for-Lewis' remarkable theological contributions."
—Dr. Grayson Carter
Associate Professor of Church History
Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California
Editor of Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

"In this rigorous and searching study of the theology of C. S. Lewis, Paul Brazier locates Lewis within the wider context of theological scholarship and shows him to be a theologian to be reckoned with in his own right, rather than simply a popularizer of Christian faith. This most welcome volume in a proposed three-volume series will surely prove invaluable in the assessment of Lewis's legacy."
—Dr. Murray Rae
Professor and Head of the Department of Theology and Religion
University of Otago, New Zealand

From the Publisher