The Abolition of Man (Lewis), 51, 77–78, 158, 166–67, 180
The Allegory of Love (Lewis), 15
America, Christianity in. See evangelicals, American; mainline Protestants in America; responses to Lewis in America
America (Jesuit magazine), 70, 71
American Ecclesiastical Review, 71–72
analogy, Lewis’s use of, 42, 47, 55, 56, 144, 172, 176–78, 180, 185
Anglican faith: of British literary figures, 11; British membership as of 1940, 26, 201n13; of Dorothy Sayers, 50; of Lewis, 13, 93, 94; of Lewis’s confessor, 45, 164; of Lewis’s upbringing, 6; mediating spirit of, 183; modern scholarship and, 62; radio talks checked with clergyman of, 40–41
Anglican Theological Journal, 73
Anscombe, Elizabeth, 87–89, 90, 213n7, 214n9
Aquinas, Thomas, 126, 161. See also neo-Thomism; Thomism
argument from desire, 171–72, 231n8, 234n27
Ascension, 53
atheism: of Alister McGrath’s early life, 123; in British public, 201n11; of Francis Collins’s early life, 121; of the Freethinker, 58–59; Lewis’s argument against, 89–90; of Lewis’s early life, 6, 8, 9, 16, 154, 170; Lewis’s journey from, 12, 114 (see also Lewis’s conversion to Christianity); of protesters against BBC, 26; Reppert on Lewis’s use of reason and, 142; trilemma and, 147, 149
Atlantic Monthly, 78
Augustine: idealism and, 241n43; popularity among American evangelicals, 124; as a source for Lewis, 63, 139, 233n17; trilemma traced back to, 145
The Average Man: Broadcast Talk (Wright), 49
Babbage, Stuart Barton, 31, 32
Barfield, Owen: on chronological snobbery, 10, 154; Lewis’s charitable donations and, 39, 164, 239n18; on Lewis’s self-knowledge, 164; on Lewis’s sense of the universe, 180; Marion E. Wade Center and, 113; meeting with The Inklings, 15; told by Lewis that his fame would quickly pass, 107–8
Basic Christianity (Stott), 107
Battle of Britain, 31. See also the Blitz; Royal Air Force (RAF); World War II
BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation): banning pacifists after fall of France, 26; censor of, 34; challenge of religious broadcasting on, 23–27; Dorothy Sayers’s radio play on, 50; The Listener published by, 40, 57, 207nn50–51. See also radio talks for BBC
Beckwith, Francis, 129
Between Heaven and Hell (Kreeft), 128, 148
Beversluis, John, 140–43, 144, 148, 169, 230n6, 230nn2–3, 231n8
“Beyond Personality” (fourth set of talks), 52–57; audience reaction to, 57, 207n51; Fenn’s response to, 238n8; surviving recording of, 56, 138
Beyond Personality (third paperback), 50, 56; American Catholic reviews of, 71–72; American edition of, 66; American evangelical reviews of, 76–77; becoming part of Mere Christianity, 90–91, 96; British Catholic view of, 61, 71, 208n8; latest printing as separate volume, 215n1; modern Christian critique of, 64; preface to, 93; reviewed by NYTBR, 68; reviewed by TLS, 60; reviewed in New York Herald Tribune Book Review, 210n28; ridiculed by Orwell, 59
biblical inerrancy: conservative evangelicals and, 112, 115; fundamentalist belief in, 99, 100, 105; not held by Lewis, 83, 99, 105, 112, 220n34; Packer’s affirmation of, 107; progressive Protestants alarmed about, 62–63
biblical scholarship: Lewis’s lack of interest in, 63–64, 102–3, 112, 146; modern standards of, 62–64, 102–3, 146; of N. T. Wright, 122; trilemma and, 146; working-class people’s skepticism and, 33
Bles, Geoffrey, 40, 49, 90, 215n1
the Blitz, 19–21, 23, 34. See also Battle of Britain; Royal Air Force (RAF)
Bob Jones University, 129, 217n13
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, 124, 185
Bono, 149
born again, 119
Born Again (Colson), 119
Bright, Bill, 219n30
Britain, Christianity in: competing beliefs and, 32–33; evangelicals and, 106–7, 121–22, 123, 170; largely nominal, 24–25, 26, 28–29; membership of major denominations in 1940, 201n13; moral sensibilities despite lack of, 34; revival of religious interest in 1950s, 98–99. See also Anglican faith; responses to Lewis in Britain
Broadcast Talks (first paperback), 40, 49; American evangelicals and, 76; American title for, 65; becoming part of Mere Christianity, 90–91; modern Christian critique of, 64; passage eliminated from Mere Christianity, 89–90; predicted decline of interest in, 109; preface to, 93; reviewed in TLS, 60. See also Case for Christianity (Lewis)
C. S. Lewis: A Biography (Wilson), 231n10
C. S. Lewis: A Critical Essay (Kreeft), 128
C. S. Lewis: Apostle to the Skeptics (Walsh), 82–83
C. S. Lewis: The Shape of His Faith and Thought (Holmer), 110–11
C. S. Lewis and the Church of Rome (Derrick), 130
C. S. Lewis and the Search for Rational Religion (Beversluis), 140
C. S. Lewis Foundation, 133
C. S. Lewis’s Dangerous Idea (Reppert), 142–43
C. S. Lewis societies, 133
A Call to the Unconverted (Baxter), 92
Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, 107
Cambridge University: Billy Graham’s campaign at, 101, 107; Lewis’s professorship at, 98
Campus Crusade for Christ, 219n30. See also college students
canon law, on reading theology, 71–72
cardinal virtues, 48
Carter, Jimmy, 119
The Case for Christianity (Lewis), 49–50, 65; American Catholic reviews of, 70–71; American evangelicals’ response to, 75, 76, 104–5, 113–14; American Protestant reviews of, 72–73; as American title for Broadcast Talks, 65; becoming part of Mere Christianity, 214n13; changes to, in combined edition, 95; Holmer’s reference to, 110;
preface to, 93; published as separate volume in 1996, 215n1; Quaker theologian Trueblood on, 79; Universalist pastor’s review of, 210n28. See also Broadcast Talks
Catholic Church. See Roman Catholic Church
chastity: Lewis on, 47, 95–96; Lewis’s early life and, 8; working-class understanding of, 33. See also sexual morality, Lewis on
Cheshire, Leonard, 126
Chesterton, G. K., 11, 113, 127, 145
Chimes, Larry, 235n31
Christian Behaviour (second paperback), 48, 50; Alistair Cooke’s criticism of, 69–70, 73; American edition of, 65–66; American evangelical reviews of, 75, 76; American mainline Protestant reviews of, 73; argument from desire in, 171–72; becoming part of Mere Christianity, 90–91; changes to, in combined edition, 95–96; latest printing as separate volume, 215n1; NYTBR review of, 67–68; on psychoanalysis, 156; on social morality, 159–60; successful sales of, 62; Time review of, 66–67
“Christian Behaviour” (third set of talks), 43–44, 45–49
Christian Century, 72, 73–74, 101–3, 105–6, 110, 216n11
Christian Herald, 72
Christianity and the Social Order (Temple), 27
Christianity Today, 1, 105, 106–7, 115, 219n32
The Christian World of C. S. Lewis (Kilby), 112
chronological snobbery, 10–11, 154
Churchill, R. C., 64
Church of England. See Anglican faith
Coghill, Nevill, 15
Cohen, Chapmen, 59
college students: attitudes of, during 1960s, 109; campus evangelism and, 76, 107, 219n30; chaplains to, 100; Mere Christianity assigned to, 116. See also InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Collins publishers, 98, 109–10, 215n1
Colson, Chuck, 117–19, 149, 225n35
common human nature, 111, 144, 160–68
Commonweal, 71
confession, Lewis’s weekly, 45, 126, 164
conversions to Christianity: of Lewis’s brother Warnie, 17; Mere Christianity’s role in, 116–21, 221n8; of prominent British literary figures, 11. See also Lewis’s conversion to Christianity
Cromwell, Oliver, 92
The Daily Mirror, 47
Davidman, Joy, 99, 137, 151, 152, 231n8
Derrick, Christopher, 130, 230n3
Derrick, Stephanie, 49, 136, 205n34
desire, argument from, 171–72, 231n8, 234n27
Devil: Lewis’s argument for reality of, 64. See also Screwtape Letters
dissenters, 40
divinity of Christ: fundamentalists’ praise for Lewis and, 75; Lewis’s early disbelief in, 13; modernist Christian critics of Lewis and, 63–65; Stott’s basic apologetic on, 107. See also Incarnation; Jesus as God
Dorsett, Lyle, 153
Dowell, Joseph, 40
Dunkirk, 21
Eastern Europe, 134–35, 227nn41–42
Eastern Orthodox Christians, 131, 134
ecumenism, 130, 132, 181, 182–83. See also nonsectarianism of Lewis
Edwards, Jonathan, 222n12, 241n43
Eliot, T. S., 11, 80, 81, 97–98
Elliott, Elisabeth, 128
The Emperor’s Clothes (Nott), 97–98, 215n2
English Literature in the Seventeenth Century, Excluding Drama (Lewis), 155, 161
evangelicals: building international networks, 106–7; influenced by Lewis’s writings, 121–24. See also fundamentalists
evangelicals, American: making a comeback by later 1950s, 100–101; nondenominational tendencies of, 182–83; responses to Lewis, 74–77, 104–5, 111–15. See also Graham, Billy
evangelicals, British, 106–7, 121–22, 123, 170
Evangelical Theological Society, 129
evangelistic appeal of last broadcast, 56–57
The Everlasting Man (Chesterton), 11, 145
evil, 37. See also Devil; Problem of Pain (Lewis); Screwtape Letters (Lewis)
evolution, biological, 83, 105
An Experiment in Criticism (Lewis), 162
faith, Christian: Chinese reader’s comment on, 136; in “Christian Behaviour” talks, 47, 48; Lewis on work of an apologist and, 85; salvation and, 185
Fenn, Eric: first set of talks and, 30, 34, 35; fourth set of talks and, 51–54; on Lewis’s individualistic approach, 238n8; one-time broadcast suggestions of, 52; recruiting Dorothy Sayers, 50; responses to Lewis’s talks and, 58; second set of talks and, 38–39, 40, 41–42, 43; theological background of, 30; third set of talks and, 43, 46, 47
Ferry, Patrick T., 184
Fiddes, Paul, 242n56
Flewett, Jill, 45
forgiveness: Lewis on, 28, 47; of sins by Jesus, 95
Forman, Henry James, 68
Fremantle, Anne, 71
Freud, Sigmund, 156
Fryling, Bob, 114
Fundamentalism and the Word of God (Packer), 107
fundamentalists: American conservative evangelicals designated as, 75, 101; BBC policy excluding, 26; biblical literalism and, 83, 99, 100, 105 (see also biblical inerrancy); Lewis compared with, 82, 83, 100; Nott’s critique of Lewis and Sayers as, 98; welcoming Lewis as an ally, 100, 114–15, 217n13; Wheaton College and, 104–5. See also evangelicals
gender and women, 48, 149–52, 237n41
Gibbon, Edward, 12
God, Lewis on belief in, 22, 89–90
God and the Reach of Reason (Wielenberg), 232n13
God in the Dock (Lewis), 110
God Is Not Great (Hitchens), 136–37
Golden, Edward A., 66
The Golden Bough (Frazer), 6, 59
Graham, Billy, 98–99, 100–102; building international evangelical networks, 106–7; in launch of Christianity Today, 105; Lewis’s encounter with, 101, 107, 217n14; Lewis’s perceived link to, 98–99, 101–2; Tom Phillips’s conversion and, 117; Wheaton College and, 104, 113
The Great Divorce (Lewis), 77–78, 213n2
Great Sin of pride: Christian Behavior on, 47, 117–18; Chuck Colson’s conversion and, 118; giving up the self and, 186; Lewis’s comment about women and, 150; Monaghan’s life changed by passage on, 127; Mormons’ in harmony with Lewis on, 133; punk rocker Larry Chimes and, 235n31
Greeves, Arthur, 13–14, 20, 30, 50, 143, 200n14
A Grief Observed (Lewis), 151
Griffiths, Dom Bede, 41
guilt, Lewis’s effort to cultivate, 28, 166, 168
Hamilton, Clive, 7
Hannay, Margaret P., 139
HarperOne, 177
He, Guanghu, 135
Henry, Carl F. H., 105, 106, 217n14
Henry, Leland B., 212n46
Holmer, Paul, 110–11, 169–70, 243n58
Holmes, John Haynes, 210n28
Home Guard, 22; compulsory church parades for, 207n51
Hopkins, Anthony, 137
Horner, David A., 148
Howard, Thomas, 128
humanism: Lewis’s rejection of, 14, 74; Nott’s defense of, 97–98
human nature, Lewis’s sense of, 111, 144, 160–68
Huxley, Aldous, 128
Huxley, T. H., 59
Iceland, and the war effort, 30
idealist philosophy, 12, 14, 241n43
imagination: Lewis on modern limitations of, 179–80; Mere Christianity appealing to, 168–71, 175, 176
imagination of Lewis: about people unlike himself, 33, 163; discovery of George MacDonald and, 10; Narnia books and, 89, 163; to picture diverse radio audience, 33; role in his life and apologetics, 143, 144–45, 163, 180–81. See also poetry
Incarnation, 43, 52, 55, 60, 143. See also divinity of Christ; Jesus as God; trilemma
The Incarnation of the Word of God (Saint Athanasius), 91
individualistic message, Lewis criticized for, 99, 159, 238n8
inerrancy of Scripture. See biblical inerrancy
inference to the best explanation, 172
The Intellectual World of C. S. Lewis (McGrath), 123, 234n18
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, 76, 113–14, 124
Jack, 5. See also Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples)
Jacobs, Alan, 88–89, 151, 214n9
Jesuits, American, 70–72, 76, 77
Jesus: Lewis on giving up the self and, 162–63, 186–87; Sayers’s radio play on life of, 50
Jesus as God: Chinese reader’s comment on, 135–36; Lewis on salvation and, 37; Lewis’s argument for, 42–43, 64–65 (see also trilemma); Lewis’s coming to believe in, 13–14; Pittenger on Lewis’s argument for, 103. See also divinity of Christ; Incarnation
Jesus as great moral teacher but not God: Colson’s rejection of, 118; Lewis’s argument against, 42–43, 95; Lewis’s early belief in, 13; modern Christian assertion of, 65; Trueblood’s rejection of, 79. See also trilemma
Joeckel, Stanley, 233n17
John Paul II, Pope, 129
Johnson, Samuel, 161
Jones, Bob, II, 217n13
Joy: Lewis’s quest for, 10, 14. See also Surprised by Joy (Lewis)
Judd, Daniel K., 226n37
Kennedy, John F., 128
Kenney, Anthony, 234n27
Kerr, Ian, 130
Kilby, Clyde, 104, 105–6, 112–13, 128, 222n12
Kirkpatrick, William Thompson, 6, 170
Kreeft, Peter, 110, 127–28, 140, 148, 230n2
The Language of God (Collins), 121
lasting vitality of Mere Christianity, 1–4, 139, 153–54; cheap grace and, 185–87; common human nature and, 160–68; context of reason and, 168–76; luminosity of Gospel message and, 187–88; mere Christianity and, 181–85; poetic qualities and, 176–81; timeless truths and, 154–60
Law of Nature, 28, 36–37. See also right and wrong, objective; Tao
“Learning in Wartime” (Lewis), 155, 159, 160
Lee, E. George, 62
letters from listeners and readers: in America, 99; as burden, 39–40, 50, 84–85, 163; sent to The Listener, 57, 207n51; willingness to answer, 163
Lewis, Albert James (father), 5–6, 8
Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples): biography of, 5–18 (see also Lewis’s conversion to Christianity); donating fees to charity, 39, 164, 239n18; end of writing popular apologetics, 84–86, 87, 89, 105; expecting his work to be forgotten, 107–8, 137, 153; as formidable debater, 88, 103; later Christian writings of, 108; lecturing for the RAF, 31–32, 40, 51, 55, 84; marriage of, 99 (see also Davidman, Joy); and Military Intelligence, 30; military service of, 6–7, 22; as poet, 7, 9–10, 180; predictions of declining reputation of, 107–10, 218n23; relationship with Minto, 7–9, 17, 44–45, 86–87; self-reflection of, 163–64, 168. See also imagination of Lewis; letters from listeners and readers; literary scholarship of Lewis; Oxford University, Lewis at; rhetoric of Lewis
Lewis, Flora Hamilton (mother), 5, 8
Lewis, Jack, 5. See also Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples)
Lewis, Warnie (brother), 5, 15, 17, 39, 44–45
Lewis’s conversion to Christianity, 9–14; imagination and, 143; mentioned in radio talk, 41; Minto’s resentment of, 8; Screwtape Letters and, 29
liberal theologies: Americans who were discontent with, 100; Lewis’s critiques of, 78, 83, 112. See also modern Christians of Lewis’s time
Lindsay, D. Michael, 124
Lindsell, Harold, 115
Lindskoog, Kathryn, 237n41
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Lewis), 13, 87, 113
The Listener, 40, 57, 207nn50–51
literary scholarship of Lewis: assumptions of different eras and, 155; Cambridge appointment based on, 98; Christian writers analyzed in, 12; respected by colleagues, 80–81; tutoring of students and, 15; understanding common human experience and, 111, 160–62, 165; wide study in, 10. See also analogy, Lewis’s use of; metaphor, Lewis’s use of
logic: Beversluis’s criticism of Lewis based on, 140–41, 143, 230n6; Lewis’s skill in, 88; Wielenberg on Lewis’s arguments and, 232n13. See also reason
Longenecker, Dwight D., 128–29, 130–31
Lord Haw-Haw, 34
The Lord of the Rings (Tolkien), 15, 51, 137
Los Angeles Times, 81
Lowell, Virginia, 212n39
Luce, Henry, 80
Lu Xun, 135
Macmillan (American publisher), 49–50, 65–66, 90, 215n1
The Magician’s Nephew (Lewis), 173
mainline Protestants, American: battled by fundamentalists, 75; fundamentalist embrace of Lewis and, 114–15; Holmer’s late interest in Lewis, 110–11; “new evangelicals” seeking cooperation with, 101; Pittenger’s response to Lewis in 1950s, 101–6, 216n11; responses to Lewis in 1940s, 72–74, 82. See also liberal theologies; modern Christians of Lewis’s time
making vs. begetting, 77, 242n56
“The Man Born to Be King” (Sayers), 50
Marion E. Wade Center, 113, 120, 153
marriage, Lewis’s chapter on, 48, 95–96, 149–50
materialism, 12, 32, 75, 89, 170–71, 173
Maudlin, Mickey, 177–78, 184–85
McDowell, Josh, 235n30
McGrath, Alister, 123, 147–48, 150–51, 171–72, 234n18
Meconi, David, 186
Mere Apologetics (McGrath), 123
mere Christianity: Catholic resistance to, 132, 224n28; double meaning of, 181–82; Kreeft’s exposition of, 128; lasting vitality of Mere Christianity and, 181–85; Lewis on meaning of, 40–41, 91–93; meaning unity despite differences, 131–32, 225n35; not minimal Christianity, 185. See also traditional Christianity of Lewis
Mere Christianity (Lewis): Beversluis’s sustained attack on, 139–43, 144, 148, 169, 230n6, 230nn2–3, 231n8; changes compared to original three books, 95–96, 189–91; conversions influenced by, 116–21, 221n8; editions and printings of, 90–91, 97, 98–99, 215n1, 219n32; influence among evangelicals, 111–12, 114, 115; italics for emphasis removed from, 70; on moral principles common to cultures, 167; new preface to, 91, 93–95, 111; nonsectarian message of, 125, 182, 184; Pittenger’s progressive critique of, 102–3; The Problem of Pain as anticipation of, 16–17; as repackaging of three earlier books, 2, 90–91; roadblocks to, for postmoderns, 237n2; sales of, 1, 2, 97, 108, 116, 135, 215n1, 217n19, 220n1; Stott’s praise for, 107; translations of, 1, 134–36, 227n42; unobtrusive among author’s works, 97. See also lasting vitality of Mere Christianity; responses to Lewis in America; responses to Lewis in Britain
metaphor, Lewis’s use of, 176, 178, 179, 180, 186, 242n56
Millet, Robert, 133
Mind of the Maker (Sayers), 50
Minto (Janie Moore), 7–9, 17, 44–45, 86–87
Miracles (Lewis), 78, 85–86, 88–89, 90, 172, 231n8
modern Christians of Lewis’s time: beliefs of, 13; Lewis’s stance in relation to, 83, 91–92; reacting to the radio talks, 61, 62–65. See also liberal theologies; mainline Protestants, American
modern thought: of Lewis’s radio audience, 165–66; subverted hopes of, 157. See also science
modern thought, Lewis’s critique of, 154–55; loss of imagination and, 179–80; materialism and, 75, 89, 170–71, 172–73; moral education and, 51, 158; worldliness and, 174
Monaghan, Thomas S., 127
Moody Monthly, 75
Moore, Janie. See Minto (Janie Moore)
moral principles: Abolition of Man and, 51, 78, 158, 166–67; in “Christian Behaviour” radio talks, 46–48; of Quaker Trueblood, 79; sensibilities of radio audience and, 34. See also right and wrong, objective; sexual morality, Lewis on
More Christianity (Longenecker), 131
Mormon interest in Lewis, 132–33, 226nn37–38
Morrison, Charles Clayton, 72
Morrison, Terry, 114
Moyle, Marsh, 227n41
Muggeridge, Malcolm, 161
Murrow, Edward R., 23
Myers, Edward D., 73
Narnia books: Anscombe debate and, 214n9; as argument against naturalism, 89; confrontation with guilt in, 168; imagination and, 163; Lewis’s reputation and, 108, 137; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, 13, 87, 113; modern scientific assumptions and, 173; Pittenger’s mention of, 102; reality of evil and, 37; writing of, 86–87
Narnia films, 137
National Association of Evangelicals, 77
naturalism: biblical scholarship and, 146; dominating contemporary thought, 157; Lewis’s critique of, 156, 234n27; Lewis’s early uncritical acceptance of, 11; Lewis’s supernaturalism and, 86, 88, 112; Narnia books as argument against, 89; trust in reason and, 231n8. See also science; supernaturalism of Lewis
NBC, presenting one radio talk, 55–56
neo-Thomism, 82
new evangelicals, 101, 105. See also Graham, Billy
New Statesman and Nation, 99
New Testament: historicity of, 112; Wright’s scholarship on, 122. See also biblical inerrancy
New York Times Book Review (NYTBR): on Beyond Personality, 68; on Christian Behaviour, 67–68; on mid-twentieth century religious writing, 81; on Screwtape Letters, 66
Niebuhr, Reinhold, 74
Nixon, Richard, 117
nonsectarianism of Lewis, 105, 125, 182, 184; Catholic criticism of, 130–31. See also ecumenism
Olford, Stephen F., 120, 221n8
Out of the Silent Planet (Lewis), 15–16, 29, 34, 65, 156
Oxford History of English Literature (OHEL), 84, 86, 155, 161
Oxford University, Lewis at: elected don, 7; as popular lecturer, 15, 30; resentments among colleagues of, 51, 86; scorn among colleagues of, 58, 80–81, 98, 157; as student, 6–7; workload at, 29, 86
Packer, J. I., 106–7, 121, 170
Paradise Lost (Milton), 51, 52
Pauline writings, 63
Penelope, Sister, 32, 33–34, 44, 45, 86, 91
Percy, Walker, 126
Perelandra (Lewis), 51, 67, 70, 156
“The Personal Heresy in Criticism” (Lewis), 187
Phantastes (MacDonald), 10
Phillips, Justin, 35
Pilgrim’s Progress (Bunyan), 14, 161
The Pilgrim’s Regress (Lewis), 14, 22, 161
Piper, John, 222n12
Pittenger, Norman, 101–6, 216n11
Planet Narnia (Ward), 89, 214n9
poetry: Lewis on loss of sensibilities of, 180; Lewis on personal heresy in criticism of, 187; Lewis’s apologetic style and, 176, 178; published by Lewis, 7, 180; written by Lewis during World War I, 9–10
politics: Lewis’s attitude toward, 27, 158–60, 238n7; Orwell’s critique of Lewis’s talks and, 59–60; religious programming on BBC and, 27. See also individualistic message; social morality
prayer: of evangelical commitment, 118; Lewis on, 40, 56, 95
preconditionalism, 233n17
A Preface to Paradise Lost (Lewis), 51
pride. See Great Sin of pride
The Problem of Pain (Lewis), 16–17; American edition of, 65; Beversluis’s criticism of, 231n8; personal remarks in, 8, 16; sales of, 217n19; Welch’s response to, 23, 27
progress: myth of, exploded by war, 10; scientism and, 78, 155
Protestants, American. See evangelicals, American; mainline Protestants, American
Protestants, British: response to radio talks, 61–65
Purgatory, 126
Quaker theologian Trueblood, 79
radio talks for BBC, 2; charitable donations of fees from, 39, 164; final series of, 52–57; first series of, 35–38; initial arrangements for, 23, 27–28, 30; number of listeners for, 48–49, 205n33; preparing for the audience of, 32–34; of religious broadcasters other then Lewis, 49; second series of, 38, 40–43; third series of, 43–44, 45–49
rationalism: college students of 1960s and, 109; Lewis’s early conflicts about, 11, 170–71; Orwell’s critique of Beyond Personality and, 59. See also reason; science
reality: Lewis’s use of metaphor and, 178, 242n56; modern disenchantment of, 172–73, 174, 179; spiritual, 11, 173
reason: Beversluis’s criticism of Lewis based on, 140–41, 143; consensus on Lewis’s use of, 143–44; context of, 168–76; criticism of Lewis’s view of, 90, 233n17; faith and, 85, 136; Lewis’s conversion based on, 14; Lewis’s rhetoric and, 64, 149, 176. See also rationalism
The Reason for God (Keller), 123
Reith, John, 24
responses to Lewis in America, 136
responses to Lewis in America of 1940s, 65–83; Alistair Cooke’s denunciation, 68–70, 73; by Catholic publications, 70–72; by conservative evangelicals, 74–77; by mainline Protestants, 72–74, 82; in mainstream press, 65–68, 77–83, 210n28; not polarized as in Great Britain, 81–82; by Quaker theologian Trueblood, 79
responses to Lewis in America of 1950s, 99–107
responses to Lewis in America of 1960s and beyond, 108–15
responses to Lewis in Britain, 136–38; of 1940s, 39–40, 47, 48–50, 57, 58–65; of 1950s, 97–99
revivalism: in America of 1940s, 75; of Billy Graham, 98, 101; Lewis and, 104, 105
rhetoric of Lewis: reason and, 64, 149, 176; skill in, 88, 141, 144
right and wrong, objective, 28, 36–37, 38, 141–42, 166–68. See also moral principles
Roman Catholic Church: American Protestants with prejudices against, 82; Bob Jones University’s opposition to, 129; British population belonging to, 26, 201n13; Lewis’s sending drafts to representative of, 40–41; Lewis’s theological difference from, 61, 208n8
Roman Catholics: American admirers of Lewis among, 100; Colson’s initiative between evangelicals and, 225n35; converts influenced by Lewis, 125–29; criticism of Mere Christianity by, 130–31, 132, 224n28, 225n30; influenced by Lewis, 125–31; Lewis’s friendships with, 183–84; literary figures influencing Lewis, 11; reviews of Lewis’s work in 1940s by, 61, 70–72, 76, 77. See also Kreeft, Peter; Tolkien, J. R. R.
Royal Air Force (RAF): Leonard Cheshire of, 126; traveling lectures for, 31–32, 40, 51, 55, 84
Russell, Bertrand, 59
The Saints’ Everlasting Rest (Baxter), 92
salvation: Lewis’s doctrine not the Catholic view of, 61, 208n8; Lewis’s early view of, 13; in Lewis’s individualistic message, 99; Lewis’s use of analogy about, 185; Stott on, 107
Sayers, Dorothy: American evangelical embrace of, 113; becoming friend of Lewis, 50; on controversial reputation of Lewis, 65; Lewis’s domestic issues and, 45; Lewis’s RAF lectures and, 32; on Lewis’s views about women, 150; as religious writer, 50, 81, 97–98; suggesting the writing of Miracles, 85
Sayers, George, 36
schools, British, Lewis’s cultural critique of, 78, 158, 166–67, 180
Schumacher, E. F., 126
science: anti-Christian elements in the press and, 59; blinding people to moral realities, 168; British public’s rejection of Christianity and, 29; humanism and cultivation of, 98. See also modern thought; naturalism
science, Lewis’s disillusionment with, 156–57; “Great Myth” of modernity and, 154–55; after his conversion, 14; as not capturing meaningful experience, 178–79; as roadblock to spiritual reality, 11, 173; after World War I, 10, 16
scientism: Lewis’s criticism of, 78, 83; Lewis’s novelistic critique of, 15–16, 156
Scopes “Monkey Trial,” 101
The Screwtape Letters (Lewis): American evangelicals and, 75, 104, 212n39; charitable donation of payments for, 39; complimented by Dorothy Sayers, 50; conception and publication of, 29–30; Driberg’s critique citing, 99; first American edition of, 65; lauded by American mainstream press, 66; Lewis’s personal struggles and, 163–64; Lewis typically known as author of, 97; “mere Christianity” mentioned in, 91; modern Christian critique of, 64; moral rationalizations and, 168; motion picture rights for, 66, 209n20; partisan politics tied to religion and, 158, 238n7; Quaker theologian Trueblood on, 79; sales of, 67, 108, 116, 210n21, 217n19; science and scientism in, 156–57; success of, 49, 50, 61–62
A Severe Mercy (Vanauken), 126
sexual morality, Lewis on: Cooke’s criticism of, 70; in Mere Christianity, 95–96, 190–91; in radio broadcast, 47, 49. See also chastity
Shaw, George Bernard, 12
Simply Christian (Wright), 122
sin: Lewis’s image of “rats in the cellar” and, 226n37; Mormon interest in Lewis and, 133, 226n37; radio audience’s absence of sense of, 33, 34. See also Great Sin of pride
social morality, 47, 159–60. See also individualistic message; politics
Socratic Club at Oxford, 88
Stott, John R., 107
supernaturalism of Lewis, 79, 86, 88, 105, 112. See also Miracles (Lewis)
Surprised by Joy (Lewis), 9, 12, 86
A Sword between the Sexes? (Van Leeuwen), 152
That Hideous Strength (Lewis), 156
Theology Today, 73
Thomas, Gene, 113
Thomism, Lewis associated with, 109
Times Literary Supplement (TLS), 60–61, 161
Tolkien, J. R. R.: American evangelical embrace of, 113; in The Inklings, 15; on Lewis’s attitude toward Catholicism, 125–26; Lewis’s conversion and, 11–12, 13, 143, 183; Lewis’s reputation enhanced by association with, 137; Lord of the Rings by, 15, 51, 137; wishing a professorship for Lewis, 86
Toynbee, Arnold, 81
traditional Christianity of Lewis: in radio talks, 37; types of people attracted to, 61–62, 100. See also mere Christianity
translations of Mere Christianity, 1, 134–36, 227n42
translator, apologist as, 33, 85, 104, 165, 216n11
Tribune, Orwell’s column in, 59
trilemma, 145–49, 235nn30–31; Beversluis’s argument against, 142; Campus Crusade for Christ and, 219n30; Kenney’s dismissal of, 234n27; Kreeft’s presentation of, 128; Wilson’s argument against, 231n10. See also divinity of Christ; Incarnation; Jesus as God
Trinity: Lewis on being drawn into the life of, 186, 242n56; Lewis’s “Beyond Personality” on, 52, 55, 60, 96; Pittenger’s critique of Lewis on, 103–4
Trueblood, Elton, 79
United Evangelical Action, 77
Vanauken, Sheldon, 126
Van Leeuwen, Mary Stewart, 152
Van Til, Cornelius, 77
Voltaire, 12
The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader” (Lewis), 168
Wade Center at Wheaton College, 113, 120, 153
Walker, Andrew, 131
Walsh, Chad, 78, 80, 82–83, 99–100, 108–9, 114–15, 178
Ward, Michael, 89, 143–45, 169, 176–77, 178, 214n9
Ware, Kallistos, 131
“The Weight of Glory” (Lewis), 163, 173–74
Welch, James W.: asking Lewis to appear on BBC, 23, 27, 30, 52; challenges of BBC programming and, 24–26; recruiting Dorothy Sayers, 50
Westminster Abbey, 138
Westminster Theological Journal, 76–77
Westminster Theological Seminary, 76, 77
“What Christians Believe” (second set of talks), 38, 40–43, 60
Wheaton College, 104–5, 112–13. See also Kilby, Clyde; Marion E. Wade Center
Wielenberg, Erik J., 232n13
Williams, Charles, 15, 81, 113
Williams, Donald T., 148
Wilson, A. N., 231n10
Wilson, P. W., 68
Winger, Debra, 175
Winner, Lauren, 237n2
women and gender, 48, 149–52, 237n41
Wood, Ralph, 233n17
Woolley, Paul, 76
World War I: Lewis’s experience of, 7–8, 9–10, 16
World War II: effect on Lewis, 21–22; entered by England and France, 17–18; fighting for Christian civilization and, 28, 38; traumatic to the British people, 19–22; United States drawn into, 44. See also Battle of Britain; the Blitz