The Relevance of C.S. Lewis

By Anonymous -
Has cultural change, especially the emergence of post-modernism, reduced the relevance and usefulness of C.S. Lewis’s work and example? What is the secret of Lewis’s enduring popularity and why is he relevant today? Philip Vander Elst, author of C.S. Lewis: Thinker of our Time, recently lectured on the importance C.S. Lewis brings to the table when critiquing what some might call the "post-Christian" or ever-growing secular culture. Jack, as Lewis liked to be called, not only offered strong apologetic arguments through propositional truth; he also communicated and engaged the imagination through story and infatuation. This diversity and incredible talent translates exceptionally well to a culture of skeptics and cynics for the increase in skepticism brings about a surge in atheists and wondering "spiritual seekers," which can ultimately only be quenched with the Truth, Christianity.

Philip Vander Elst begins his opening remarks by saying, "It is difficult to exaggerate the importance and impact of C.S. Lewis. Although he died in 1963, most of his books are still in print and have sold around 200 million copies in more than thirty languages. During the 1998 C.S. Lewis centenary celebrations, the American magazine, Christianity Today, described Lewis as the Aquinas, the Augustine and the Aesop of contemporary evangelism, whilst the British Post Office – the Royal Mail – issued a special commemorative stamp featuring The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (the first of Lewis’s Narnia books), as part of its new ‘Magical worlds’ series. According to Professor Adrian Hastings’s classic History of Christianity in England, C.S. Lewis composed almost single-handedly 'the popular religious apologetic of modern Britain.'"

The lecture can be downloaded by clicking here. On the otherhand, if you wish to read the shorthand notes when listening, click here.

Cross-blogged at Apologia Christi

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