My Time with C.S. Lewis

First let me say that my time with C.S. Lewis was not time with him personally, as we normally tend to think about it. My time with him has been time with his writings, specifically his space fantasy novels, Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength.

I read the first two of these novels over Christmas this year and am glad I did. It was a difficult read for me because many of the modern conventions of writing were missing. Plus, his understanding of space and space travel is considerably off-base (the heat of space as opposed to the cold of space is one example.)

By using fantasy, C.S. Lewis, as he did with the allegory of Narnia, is able to get us to re-digest Biblical principle and process it in a light where we don't bring our pre-conceptions and biases to the discussion. The stories are delightful, but my biggest takeaway was renewed thought and energy about Biblical events and principles.

If you're not up for an entire book right now, you could read one of his short stories. I just finished presenting orally, The Man Born Blind, and can't help thinking about the implications of what Lewis was trying to say. If interested you can read the entire short story here.