Product Description

In this collection selected by C. S. Lewis are 365 selections from MacDonald’s inspiring and challenging writings.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #287624 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03
• Released on: 2001-03-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From the Back Cover
George MacDonald (1824-1905) was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Briefly a clergyman, then a professor of English literature at Bedford and King’s College in London, he was a popular lecturer and published poetry, stories, novels, and fairy tales. In this collection selected by C. S. Lewis, we are offered 365 selections from MacDonald’s inspiring and useful writings.

C. S. Lewis wrote the following about George Macdonald, "I know hardly any other writer who seems to be closer, or more continually close, to the Spirit of Christ Himself!" Lewis offers 365 selections from MacDonald’s work, ranging from "Inexorable Love" to "The Torment of Death." These wise words will instruct, uplift, and provide indispensable help toward the very acceptance of Christian faith.

About the Author
C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English literature at Oxford University until 1954 when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. His major contributions in literary criticism, children’s literature, fantasy literature, and popular theology brought him international renown and acclaim. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include The Chronicles of Narnia, Out of the Silent Planet, The Four Loves, The Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity.

Customer Reviews

A great introduction to George MacDonald's work
MacDonald was a master Christian apologist of the late 1800s, and an enormous influence on CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, WH Auden, and Charles Williams, to name a few. His fantasy novels and sermons have been a source of inspiration for every generation of Christian apologists and fantasy novelists since his death. MacDonald's writings, however, inspiring though they are, are often laborious and difficult to read. Additionally, much of MacDonald's writing phases in and out of print regularly, and is sometimes not easy to find. It is for these reasons that CS Lewis, who called MacDonald "my master," compiled this `anthology' of MacDonald's theology.

In this little volume are 365 "readings," short quotes from MacDonald's sermons, novels, or stories. Actually, more than 2/3 of this material comes from his sermons. Several of these quotations are uplifting and thought-provoking, and all bear the mark of a man who devoted his life to Christian apology through fantasy. An anthology like this is a good place to be introduced to MacDonald's thinking and writing, and also a large step in understanding such later apologists as CS Lewis. These readings, though sometimes taken slightly out of context, are a great look into the work of George MacDonald.

Wonderful!!
This is pretty much my favorite book (except the Bible). His thoughts are luminous -- no dry wisdom, but truth in the best sense, which he really lived out. Real food for anyone with a heart for truth, and a decent starting place for anyone else. you gotta read it! : ) It even has a few poems of his -- but check out "Diary of an Old Soul" for a whole book of them. The more I read of George MacDonald's the better I feel like I understand God and His Word-- he ties things together delightfully so they make sense. It's vivid. It is infused with that shining quality that CS Lewis aptly called "holiness" -- but not as we've imagined holiness!

Worth a Read
I wouldn't say that this book inspired me to want to read all of George MacDonald's works, but it was worth the money I spent on it. This book gave me some new perspectives on faith and the importance of understand and doing what God wants me to do. I don't agree with all of it, but I was helped by most of it.

A few quick samples: "Oh the folly of any mind that would explain God before obeying Him! That would map out the character of God instead of crying, Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do?"

"Thy hand be on the latch to open the door at His first knock. Shouldst thou open the door and not see Him, do not say He did not knock, but understand that He is there, and wants thee to go out to Him. It may be He has something for thee to do for Him. Go and do it, and perhaps thou wilt return with a new prayer, to find a new window in thy soul."

"A man my sink by such slow degrees that, long after he is a devil, he may go on being a good churchman or a good dissenter and thinking himself a good Christian."

"Every one of us is something that the other is not, and therefore knows something - it may be without knowing that he knows it - which no one else knows: and... it is everyone's business, as one of the kingdom of light and inheritor in it all, to give his portion to the rest."