Product Description

Selected from sermons delivered by C. S. Lewis during World War II, these nine addresses offer guidance and inspiration in a time of great doubt. These are ardent and lucid sermons that provide a compassionate vision of Christianity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5614 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03
• Released on: 2001-03-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060653200
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Lewis combines a novelist's insights into motives with a profound religious understanding." -- The New York Times Book Review

From the Back Cover
Selected from sermons delivered by C. S. Lewis during World War II, these nine addresses show the beloved author and theologian bringing hope and courage in a time of great doubt. "The Weight of Glory," considered by many to be Lewis’s finest sermon of all, is an incomparable explication of virtue, goodness, desire, and glory. Also included are "Transposition," "On Forgiveness," "Why I Am Not a Pacifist," and "Learning in War-Time," in which Lewis presents his compassionate vision of Christianity in language that is both lucid and compelling.

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 good collection but not the best
Lewis's shorter works were generally originally composed as speeches or as articles for periodicals. Various sets of them were collected and published in book form both during his life and after his death. Trying to determine what works are in what collections is difficult - most works appear in more than one collection, some works appear under more than one title, and some collections appear under more than one title.

To aid readers, in this review I've listed the works in this collection, with notes indicating other collections they have appeared in.

Table of Contents:

"The Weight of Glory" (1), (2), (3), (4)

"Learning in War-Time" (1), (4), (5)

"Why I am Not a Pacifist" (4), (6), (7)

"Transposition" (1), (2), (3), (4)

"Is Theology Poetry?" (2), (3), (4)

"The Inner Ring" (1), (2), (3), (4)

"Membership" (1), (4), (5)

"On Forgiveness" (4), (5)

"A Slip of the Tongue" (2), (3), (4)

Notes:

(1) The original, 1949 version of this work included only these works. The other works were added in the 1980 edition. Also, the 1949 version was published in the U. K. under the title "Transposition and Other Addresses".

(2) also published in "They Asked for a Paper"

(3) also published in "Screwtape Proposes a Toast and Other Pieces"

(4) also published in "Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces"

(5) also published in "Fern-Seed and Elephants and Other Essays"

(6) also published in "Timeless at Heart: Essays on Theology"

(7) also published in "Compelling Reason"

Recommendations:

If you are interested in Lewis's shorter works, my best advice is to get "Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces", which, as of the time of this writing, is available from Amazon UK but not Amazon US. That collection consists of about 130 short works by Lewis. The works in that collection are mostly, but not exclusively, Christian.

If your interest in Lewis's shorter works is restricted to those on Christianity, and your budget or enthusiasm does not run to "Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces", then my second-best advice is to get any or all of the following (they don't overlap significantly, and between them they include most of Lewis's shorter Christian writings):

"God in the Dock - Essays on Theology and Ethics"*

"The World's Last Night and Other Essays"

"Christian Reflections"

"The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses"

* Be careful - there is a UK Fontana paperback lurking about called "God in the Dock - Essays on Theology" that is substantially shorter than the "God in the Dock - Essays on Theology and Ethics" collection. A full version of "God in the Dock - Essays on Theology and Ethics" was published in the UK under the title "Undeceptions - Essays on Theology and Ethics".

Enlightening addresses
Lewis is at his best in this collection. As the preface mentions, the sermon "the Weight of Glory," deserves to be placed on the level of the Church Fathers' writings because of its elegance and insightfulness. In this sermon Lewis looks at the afterlife, which we get glimpses of while on earth. He makes some excellent observations, and I was left thinking, "Of course!" and "Why didn't I see that before?" One of the unqiue observations Lewis makes is that all humans are truly "immortals." Cultures and the earth are mortal, but your neighbor, children, etc, are all immortal, and we need to treat them as such. The other sermons are very good (though "The Weight of Glory" has to be the best). For instance "Is Theology Poetry?" examines a topic many of us probably have never thought of examining, i.e. is our theology poetry? The address "On forgiveness" separates forgiveness (which is totally undeserving) from excusing (which is where we did something wrong, but have some valid excuse) and goes from there. Overall the points Lewis makes are enlightening and useful to our everyday lives. These are some of the best sermons I have ever heard or read.

Stopped Me in My Tracks
After reading this essay, I was convicted beyond imagination as to my responsibility as a school teacher. As Lewis says, there are no ordinary people, everyone I come in contact with is a eternal being who is on the path to either heaven or hell. Everything I do in the classroom is pointing my students either towards God or away from Him. And that, as Lewis states, is the Weight of Glory.

Lewis describes glory as not in being noticed by others and seeking their approval, but being noticed by God. To hear that blessed phrase "Well done my good and faithful servant". Not just in seeing God's beauty, but passing into it and being a part of it. The weight of it is my responsibility to bear witness of that glory to others and help to bring them into it. Their salvation is my weight, my burden to bear. Isn't that the reason why believers are on this earth? To honor God, and to serve Him?

Lewis is the master of imagery. He brings his readers to an either/or proposition. Either I am going to take responsibility for my neighbors salvation, or I am not. And once he gets you to that point, there is really no decision to make. Your neighbor's soul is your responsibility.

This essay, more than anything I have read to date, has brought me to the realization as to what my responsibility as a Believer is. I need to read this at least once a month to remind me of how I should be living my life before others. No Christian should go without experiencing this challenge to holiness.