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The C. S. Lewis Society Update
1. Unpublished C.S. Lewis Manuscript Discovered:
According to Steven Beebe, Regents’ Professor at Texas State University, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were involved in an incomplete book project, Language and Human Nature. “What is exciting,” said Beebe, “is that the manuscript includes some of Lewis’s best and most precise statements about the nature of language and meaning. Both Lewis and Tolkien wrote separately about language, communication, and meaning, but they published nothing collaboratively.” Professor Beebe claims to have discovered the first pages of the unpublished manuscript for the book in the Oxford University Bodleian Library, and his article, “Language and Human Nature Manuscript Fragment Found: C. S. Lewis On Language and Meaning,” will appear next year in the journal, Seven: An Anglo-American Literary Review.
2. Articles, Books, and Debate Videos:
A selection of recommended publications of interest.
A. Articles:
- "Caritas in Veritate: Why Truth Matters," by Samuel Gregg (Acton Institute, July 8, 2009)
- "Conceptual Fiction: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis," by Ted Gioia (Blogcritics, July 2, 2009)
- "A Grief Observed: Remembering Carol," by John W. Whitehead (Rutherford Institute, July 13, 2009)
- "How God and Science Mix," by Stephen M. Barr (First Things, July 15, 2009)
- "Jefferson’s support for intelligent design," by Stephen C. Meyer (Boston Globe, July 15, 2009)
- "President gets one right: Excellent NIH choice doesn't play God," by Cal Thomas (syndicated column, July 16, 2009)
- "Q & A: Francis Collins: The former director of the Human Genome Project hopes to show compatibility between Christianity and science," by Daniel Burke (Christianity Today, April 30, 2009)
- "Welcome Aboard, Now Shut Up: An outspoken Christian will lead the National Institutes of Health," (Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2009)
- "Why Do We Rape, Kill and Sleep Around? The fault, dear Darwin, lies not in our ancestors, but in ourselves," by Sharon Begley (Newsweek, June 20, 2009) and "Human Nature Today," by David Brooks (New York Times, June 25, 2009). As with its determinist predecessors (e.g., behaviorism, Freudianism, etc.), evolutionary psychology is hopefully on the way out.
B. Books:
- The Believing Primate: Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Reflections on the Origin of Religion, edited by Jeffrey Schloss and Michael Murray (Oxford University Press, 2009)
- C.S. Lewis: A Philosophy of Education, by Steven Loomis and Jacob Rodriguez (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009)
- C. S. Lewis & Philosophy as a Way of Life, by Adam Barkman (Zossima Press, 2009)
- C.S. Lewis on the Final Frontier: Science and the Supernatural in the Space Trilogy, by Sanford Schwartz (Oxford University Press, 2009)
- A Fine-Tuned Universe: The Quest for God in Science and Theology, by Alister E. McGrath (Westminster John Knox, 2009)
- Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths about Science and Religion, edited by Ronald L. Numbers (Harvard University Press, 2009)
- God's Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science, by James Hannam (Icon Books, 2009)
- Out of My Bone: The Letters of Joy Davidman, edited by Don W. King (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009)
- Race and Liberty in America: The Essential Reader, edited by Jonathan Bean (University Press of Kentucky and The Independent Institute, 2009)
- Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, by Stephen C. Meyer (HarperOne, 2009)
C. Debate Videos:
3. Upcoming C.S. Lewis Society Events:
A. C.S. Lewis Society Bay Area Book and Film Club (See year-long schedule here)
Meets bi-weekly Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
The upcoming meeting will be held at:
11990 Skyline Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94619
RSVP: 510-635-6892 phone; info@lewissociety.org
Refreshments served
July 22 and August 5: Discussion: leader/moderator, Suzanne Cartmell
And God Came In: The Extraordinary Story of Joy Davidman: Her Life and Marriage to C. S. Lewis, by Lyle W. Dorsett
In this definitive biography of Joy Davidman, we read of her real love story with C.S. Lewis that neither the International Emmy and British Academy Award-winning BBC production, C.S. Lewis Through the Shadowlands, nor the major motion picture, Shadowlands, could tell. Lyle Dorsett reveals Davidman's profound influence on Lewis's life and writings. Davidman (1915-1960) was an influential American poet and writer, a radical communist, and an atheist until her conversion to Christianity and rejection of communism in the late 1940s.
Davidman's first husband was the writer William Lindsay Gresham, also a communist, who Joy separated from because of his philandering and physical abuse of her. Having been converted to Christianity by reading Lewis's work, she then moved to England in 1954 with her two sons, David and Douglas Gresham. Lewis at first regarded her as an agreeable intellectual companion and personal friend, and it was at least overtly on this level that he agreed to enter into a civil marriage contract with her so that she could continue to live in the U.K. It then became clear that she had terminal bone cancer, and the relationship developed to the point that they sought a Christian marriage in 1956. She miraculously recovered for three years, but eventually succumbed to cancer, and Lewis wrote A Grief Observed in response to her death.
Who was the outspoken, dynamic woman named Joy Davidman who became C. S. Lewis's wife? And God Came In tells the story, not only about the marriage between the erudite and accomplished Lewis and Joy Davidman, but also of the famously vivid and assertive woman herself.
- And God Came In is available in hardcover.
August 19 and September 2: Discussion: leader/moderator, Eric Rauscher
 On Fairy Stories, by J.R.R. Tolkien (in The Tolkien Reader)
On Fairy Stories is the eloquent and comprehensive study and defense of "fairy stories," by the Christian, fantasy-genre master J.R.R. Tolkien (author of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings) and first presented by in 1938 as the Andrew Lang Lecture at the University of St. Andrews. It was originally published in 1947 in Essays Presented to Charles Williams, edited by C.S. Lewis. Later, it was published in conjunction with the short story, "Leaf by Niggle," as Tree and Leaf, and in paperback as part of The Tolkien Reader.
In the essay, Tolkien explores what fairy-stories are and are not, their origins, and their use, and discusses such key concepts as "joy," "sub-creation," and "eucatastrophe" (poetic justice). One of the more noteworthy sections in On Fairy Stories is Tolkien's discussion that fairy-stories are not “stories for children,” as they appeal as much to adults.
As a central theme of his work, Tolkien believed that Christianity fulfills the overarching metaphysical nature of the universe:
"I would venture to say that approaching the Christian story from this perspective, it has long been my feeling (a joyous feeling) that God redeemed the corrupt making-creatures, men, in a way fitting to this aspect, as to others, of their strange nature. The Gospels contain a fairy-story, or a story of a larger kind which embraces all the essence of fairy-stories. . . . and among its marvels is the greatest and most complete conceivable eucatastrophe. The Birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of Man's history. The Resurrection is the eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation."
- On Fairy-Stories, by J.R.R. Tolkien (Wikipedia)
- "On Fairy Stories" an in-depth overview (Tolkien Online)
- "Faith Seeking Fantasy: Tolkien on Fairy Stories," by Tony Kelly
- The Tolkien Reader is available in paperback. On Fairy-Stories is available free online.
4. Other Events:
A. "All Things Considered"
Sponsored by the New York C.S. Lewis Society, this seminar commemorates its 40th Anniversary.
Featuring:
- James Como, Professor of Rhetoric, York College CUNY; Author, C. S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table, Branches to Heaven: The Geniuses of C. S. Lewis, and Why I Believe in Narnia: 33 Reviews and Essays on the Life and Works of C. S. Lewis
- Joseph Koterski, S.J., Professor of Philosophy, Fordham University; Editor-in-Chief, International Philosophical Quarterly
- Christopher Mitchell, Wade Professor of Christian Thought and Director, Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College
- Joseph Pearce, Writer in Residence and Professor of Literature, Ave Maria University; Author, C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church, Wisdom and Innocents: A Life of G. K. Chesterton, Tolkien: Man and Myth, Literary Converts, Literary Giants, Literary Catholics, and Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc
When: August 7-9, 2009
Where: Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston, Queens, NY
Registration:
C.S. Lewis Foundation
Attn: Registrar, P.O. Box 8008, Redlands, CA 92375
Email: info@cslewis.org; Phone: 866-334-2267; Online
B. "2009 Summer Seminars-in-Residence at The Kilns"
Sponsored by C.S. Lewis Foundation
Featuring:
- Don W. King, Professor of English, Montreat College; Editor, Christian Scholar’s Review
- Kim Gilnett, Marketing Associate for the School of Fine and Performing Arts, Seattle Pacific University
When: July 19-25, August 1-7, 2009
Where: The Kilns, Oxford, England
Registration:
C.S. Lewis Foundation
Attn: Registrar, P.O. Box 8008, Redlands, CA 92375
Email: info@cslewis.org; Phone: 866-334-2267; Online
C. "C.S. Lewis on the Vital Signs of the Christian Life"
Sponsored by the Southern California C.S. Lewis Society
Featuring:
When: July 21-24, 2009
Where: Master Dolorosa Retreat Center, 7600 N. Sunnyside Avenue, Sierra Madre, CA 91024
Registration:
Southern California C.S. Lewis Society
P. O. Box 2232, Irwindale, CA 91706
Email: marshwiggler@mac.com; Phone: 760-333-0070
D. "The Theological Imagination of C.S. Lewis" and "The Ethics of Filmmaking"
Sponsored by Regent College
Featuring:
When: July 27-31, 2009
Where: Regent College, 5800 University Boulevard, Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6T 2E4
Registration: Form
E. "The Company We Keep: Creativity & Community with C.S. Lewis & the Inklings"
Sponsored by C.S. Lewis Foundation
Featuring:
- Diana Pavlac Glyer, Professor of English, Azusa Pacific University; author, The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community
- In the intimate woodland setting of the Camp Allen Conference Center, be refreshed by Ad Deum Dance Company and the music of Kemper Crabb. Explore the theme in breakout sessions with Joel Heck, George Musacchio, Andrew Lazo and Don Wood. Worship with Rev. Skip Ryan and Rev. Scott Irwin. And engage in stimulating discussion and fellowship with other conferees.
When: October 30 - November 1, 2009
Where: Camp Allen Retreat and Conference Center, Navasota, Texas
Registration:
C.S. Lewis Foundation
Attn: Registrar
P.O. Box 8008, Redlands, CA 92375
Email: info@cslewis.org; Phone: 866-334-2267; Online
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Logos is made possible by the generous contributions of Members of the C.S. Lewis Society. If you enjoy Logos, please join with us a Member by making a donation to the C.S. Lewis Society. Click here for details on the C.S. Lewis Society Membership program, or contact us by phone at 510-635-6892, email at info@lewissociety.org, or by snail mail to C. S. Lewis Society of California, 100 Swan Way, Suite 200, Oakland, CA 94621-1428. All contributions are tax-deductible. Thank you!
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