C.S. Lewis’s Christian Works
By Duncan Rize

C.S. Lewis is one of the most respected Christian authors of the 20th century. This literature scholar has an exceptional knack for translating complicated philosophical and religious concepts into simpler, more understandable terms that the common man can relate to.

His writing style is very conversational, which effortlessly puts his reader at ease. He has tackled different topics involving religion and Christianity, addressing subjects that most Christians mull over, such as love, prayers, the existence of suffering, the essence of Christianity and the reasons for living a Christian life, among others.

His first published work was The Pilgrim’s Regress: An Allegorical Apology for Christianity, Reason, and Romanticism. This work, published in 1933, is similar in theme to John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Both works explore man’s spiritual journey. But here, Lewis reversed the journey. His hero, John, must unlearn most of what he learned and go back to his original state. This book serves as an autobiographical account of Lewis’s life, as he, like John, turned out to find joy and truth in religious faith. Lewis wrote this after he converted to Christianity from atheism.

Another philosophical work, The Problem of Pain (1940), tackled the issue of suffering, and why a good and all-powerful God allows his creations to go through pain. Lewis argued in this work that God could surely give us a world free from evil, but that would mean doing without free will as well. And without free will, real love and real goodness will not be possible. Some 21 years later, he would write a follow up to this book, A Grief Observed, which is a more personal account of his own suffering when he lost his wife to cancer.

One of his most popular works is Mere Christianity, which began as a series of talks aired over BBC Radio. In this work, which consists of four books, Lewis wrote of fundamental Christian beliefs, basics of morality, the goal of Christian living, and the reasonableness of the faith.

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life is another spiritual biography, which chronicles Lewis’s journey from Christianity to atheism and back to Christianity. The Great Divorce, meanwhile, is a work of fiction about the afterlife, exhibiting Lewis’s great insight of human nature.

During the 1950s, Lewis got caught up in what would be his most famous work, a series of magical stories for children entitled The Chronicles of Narnia. He first came out with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, which tells of four English schoolchildren who happened to discover the magical world of Narnia. The series, which included Prince Caspian, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and his Boy, The Magician’s Nephew, and The Last Battle also have Christian undertones, leaving many to understand them as Christian allegory.





Duncan Rize loves the writings of C.S. Lewis and works with the marketing group at www.LearningByGrace.org. Learning by Grace manages of a number of internationally known online K-12 academies including www.TheGraceAcademy.org, www.TheJubileeAcademy.org, www.TheMorningStarAcademy.org and www.TheNarniaAcademy.org . This article is © 2005 ELRN, Inc. and may be quoted in whole or part as long as the author (Duncan Rize) and source (www.TheNarniaAcademy.org) are credited.