C S Lewis And The Christian Worldview

C. S. Lewis is one of the most influential and beloved Christian writers of the past century, and interest in him continues to grow as books about his fantasy, fiction, and biography continue to appear. Although Lewis's personal journey was a deeply philosophical search for the most adequate worldview, the few extant books about his Christian philosophy focus on specific topics rather than his overall worldview. In this book, Michael Peterson develops a comprehensive framework for understanding Lewis's Christian worldview--from his arguments from reason, morality, and desire to his ideas about Incarnation, Trinity, and Atonement. All worldviews address fundamental questions about reality, knowledge, human nature, meaning, and so forth. Peterson therefore examines Lewis's Christian approach to these same questions in interaction with other worldviews. Accenting that the intellectual strength and existential relevance of Lewis's works rest on his philosophical acumen as well as his Christian orthodoxy--which he famously called "mere Christianity"--Peterson skillfully shows how Lewis's Christian thought engages a variety of important problems raised by believers and nonbelievers alike: the problem of evil and suffering, the problem of religious diversity, the problem of meaning, and others. Just as Lewis was gifted in communicating philosophical ideas and arguments in an accessible style, Peterson has crafted a major contribution to Lewis scholarship presented in a way that will interest scholars and benefit the general reader.

C. S. Lewis is one of the most influential and beloved Christian writers of the past century, and interest in him continues to grow as books about his fantasy, fiction, and biography continue to appear. Although Lewis's personal journey was a deeply philosophical search for the most adequate worldview, the few extant books about his Christian philosophy focus on specific topics rather than his overall worldview. In this book, Michael Peterson develops a comprehensive framework for understanding Lewis's Christian worldview--from his arguments from reason, morality, and desire to his ideas about Incarnation, Trinity, and Atonement. All worldviews address fundamental questions about reality, knowledge, human nature, meaning, and so forth. Peterson therefore examines Lewis's Christian approach to these same questions in interaction with other worldviews. Accenting that the intellectual strength and existential relevance of Lewis's works rest on his philosophical acumen as well as his Christian orthodoxy--which he famously called mere Christianity--Peterson skillfully shows how Lewis's Christian thought engages a variety of important problems raised by believers and nonbelievers alike: the problem of evil and suffering, the problem of religious diversity, the problem of meaning, and others. Just as Lewis was gifted in communicating philosophical ideas and arguments in an accessible style, Peterson has crafted a major contribution to Lewis scholarship presented in a way that will interest scholars and benefit the general reader.

This study provides a perceptive and illuminating guide to C.S. Lewis's writings. Kilby examines Lewis's Christian works one by one, compares them with each other and with books by other authors, and elucidates the themes that recur throughout the main body of Lewis's writings.

Everyone has a worldview. A worldview is the lens through which we interpret the cosmos and our lives in it. A worldview answers the big questions of life: What is our nature? What is our world? What is our problem? What is our End? As Anderson, Clark, and Naugle point out, our worldview cannot simply be reduced to a series of rational beliefs. We are creatures of story, and the kinds of stories we tell reveal important things about our worldview. Part of being a thoughtful Christian means being able to understand and express the Christian worldview as well as developing an awareness of the variety of worldviews. An Introduction to Christian Worldview takes you further into answering questions such as Why do worldviews matter? What characterizes a Christian worldview? How can we analyze and describe a worldview? What are the most common secular and religious worldviews? Well organized, clearly written, and featuring aids for learning, An Introduction to Christian Worldview is the essential text for either the classroom or for self-study.

The Christian Worldview Handbook features over 100 articles by notable Christian scholars to help Christians better understand the grand narrative and flow of Scripture within the biblical framework from which we are called to view reality and make sense of life and the world. Guided by general editors David S. Dockery and Trevin K. Wax, this handbook is an invaluable resource and study tool that will help you to discuss, defend, and clearly share with others the truth, hope, and practical compatibility of Christianity in everyday life. Contributors include: Jason K. Allen, Bruce Riley Ashford, Darrell L. Bock, Ted Cabal, Graham A. Cole, C. John Collins, Paul Copan, Choon Sam Fong, Gregory B. Forster, Timothy George, Douglas Groothuis, George H. Guthrie, Thomas S. Kidd, Steve Lemke, Jennifer A. Marshall, R. Albert Mohler Jr., Russell D. Moore, Christopher W. Morgan, David K. Naugle, Mark A. Noll, Karen Swallow Prior, Mary J. Sharp, Kevin Smith, Robert Smith Jr., John Stonestreet, Carl R. Trueman, Malcolm Yarnell III, Christopher Yuan, and more.

We find ourselves living today in very much a "post-Christian" world. Not only does the culture largely reject Christianity's claims, we find that long-held basic truths that people have embraced throughout history have been jettisoned—the belief in objective morality (right and wrong transcend each person's opinions and feelings), spiritual reality (the world contains more than what we see via our 5 senses – that God is real), that truth is objective and knowable (if something is true, my disagreeing with it or finding it unpleasant emotionally doesn't make it false). This presents a great difficulty for Christians trying to communicate the Christian message to people today. We can take nothing for granted if the message is to make any sense to the hearer. We must start with the most basic concepts. The question then arises—How do we make a start when the bedrock ideas are not only disbelieved but viewed with contempt by so many today? C. S. Lewis thought that he had found "a door" we could enter to "steal past the watchful dragons" of the modern person's reason by way of imaginative fiction. He sought to re-introduce Christian ideas clothed in mythological garb so that in time, after their affections had been stirred, the explicit message about Christ might be given a fair hearing. He engaged both the heart and the head. In this way, he "pre-evangelized" his audience. This book examines the grounds—both philosophically and theologically—upon which he did that. It explores Lewis's view of reality and the human imagination, surveying his Chronicles of Narnia and The Space Trilogy in particular, to demonstrate precisely how he carried out this strategy. We can learn from Lewis here, as we show both the beauty and the truthfulness of Christianity to people in a way that meets them where they are.

For more than thirty years, The Universe Next Door has set the standard for a clear, readable introduction to worldviews. In this new fifth edition James Sire offers additional student-friendly features to his concise, easily understood introductions to theism, deism, naturalism, Marxism, nihilism, existentialism, Eastern monism, New Age philosophy and postmodernism. Included in this expanded format are a new chapter on Islam and informative sidebars throughout.The book continues to build on Sire's refined definition of worldviews from the fourth edition and includes other updates as well, keeping this standard text fresh and useful. In a world of ever-increasing diversity, The Universe Next Door offers a unique resource for understanding the variety of worldviews that compete with Christianity for the allegiance of minds and hearts. The Universe Next Door has been translated into over a dozen languages and has been used as a text at over one hundred colleges and universities in courses ranging from apologetics and world religions to history and English literature. Sire's Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept provides a useful companion volume for those desiring a more in-depth discussion of the nature of a worldview.