February 10, 2021
Modeled after John Bunyan’s famous "Pilgrim’s Progress" (Part 1, 1678; Part II, 1684), C. S. Lewis’s "The Pilgrim’s Regress" (1933) represents a number of firsts for Lewis-the first book he wrote after his conversion to Christianity, his first book of fiction, and the first book he published under his own name. It is, in a sense, the record of Lewis’s own search for meaning and spiritual satisfaction-a search that eventually led him to Christianity.
This insightful video includes a fascinating Powerpoint presentation with Dan Hamilton on the remarkable history of the book and discusses its story of the pilgrim John and his odyssey to an enchanting island that creates in him an intense longing-a mysterious, sweet desire. John’s pursuit of this desire takes him through adventures with such people as Mr. Enlightenment, Mr. Mammon, Mother Kirk, and Mr. Sensible and through such cities as Thrill and Eschropolis-and through the Valley of Humiliation.
Though the dragons and giants here are different from those in Bunyan’s "Pilgrim’s Progress," Lewis’s allegory performs the same function of enabling the author to say with fantasy and simplicity what would otherwise have demanded a full-length philosophy of religion. It remains a witty satire on cultural fads, a vivid account of spiritual dangers, and an illuminating tale for generations of pilgrims old and new. In Lewis’s skillful hands this fable becomes as effective a Christian apologia as Bunyan’s.
WATCH PART TWO:
• The Book That Made Our...
BUY THE BOOK:
"The Pilgrim’s Regress: Wade Annotated Edition," by C.S. Lewis, edited and introduced by David C. Downing
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ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:
Mark E. Hofman is the Pastor of Alameda Christian Reformed Church in Alameda, California. A graduate of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI, Rev. Hofman received his Master of Divinity degree from Calvin Theological Seminary where he majored in ancient Near Eastern and biblical languages, literature and linguistics. He is a Board Member of the C.S. Lewis Society of California and former Minister of Discipleship at Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Manhattan, MT.
R. Dan Hamilton is Co-founder of the C. S. Lewis and Friends Society at Taylor University and a Member of the Steering Committee for the Central Indiana C. S. Lewis Society. He has edited numerous George MacDonald novels, is co-author of "In Pursuit of C.S. Lewis: Adventures in Collecting His Works" (with Edwin W. Brown), and has written his own fantasy trilogy, "Tales of the Forgotten God."
David C. Downing is Co-Director of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College. He received his Ph.D. in English from UCLA, and he is the author of "C.S. Lewis: Planets in Peril" (1992), a critical study of the Lewis's "Space Trilogy"; "The Most Reluctant Convert" (2002), an examination of Lewis's journey to faith; "Into the Wardrobe" (2005), an in-depth overview of the Narnia Chronicles; and "Into the Region of Awe (2205), a study of how Lewis's wide reading in Christian mysticism enhanced his own faith and enriched his imaginative writing. Dr. Downing also provided critical introductions and over 400 explanatory notes to both the "'The Pilgrim’s Regress' by C. S. Lewis: The Wade Annotated Edition" and the "The Wade Annotated Edition of C. S. Lewis’s 'Dymer'."
ABOUT THE BOOK AUTHOR:
In its November 7, 2005 issue, "Time" magazine noted the following about the world-renowned Oxford/Cambridge scholar and best-selling Christian author and intellectual C.S. Lewis:
“In 1947, a 'Time' cover story hailed Lewis as ‘one of the most influential spokesmen for Christianity in the English-speaking world.’ Now, 58 years later (and 42 years after his death, in 1963), he could arguably be called the hottest theologian.”
Indeed, Lewis’s books sell at an astounding rate worldwide, and in his extensive and immensely popular work, he very effectively champions objective truth, goodness, natural law, literary excellence, reason, science, individual liberty, personal responsibility, and Christian faith. In his professional writings, Lewis was a scholar, literary critic, novelist, poet, essayist, and man of letters. His work captures a grandeur, precision, wit, imagination and insight seldom matched by others, and in the process, he articulately critiques the materialism, secularism, reductionism, scientism, collectivism, nihilism, statism, and de-humanization of the modern era.
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19 май 2021
