C.S. Lewis: Worlds and Works

“Now the story of Christ is simply a true myth: a myth working on us the same way as the others, but with this tremendous difference that it really happened: and one must be content to accept it in the same way, remembering that it is God’s myth where the others are men’s myths: i.e., the Pagan stories are God expressing Himself through the minds of poets, using such images as He found there, while Christianity is God expressing Himself through what we call 'real things'” (C.S. Lewis, Letter to Arthur Greeves).

Students in this course will read seven of Lewis's most important works of both fiction and nonfiction, as well as three of his short stories. Through our discussion of these texts, students will be led to reflect more deeply on their faith, to think about ways of presenting that faith winsomely to the world, and encouraged to explore ways to integrate the life of faith and the life of the imagination. We will read and discuss:

• Week 1           “The Man Born Blind,” “The Shoddy Lands,” “Ministering Angels”
• Week 2           The Problem of Pain
• Week 3           Mere Christianity
• Week 4           The Great Divorce
• Week 5           Miracles
• Week 6           Reflections on the Psalms
• Week 7           The Four Loves
• Week 8           Till We Have Faces

Knowledge of the Chronicles of Narnia is not required, but is encouraged.

An adult version of this course is also offered, giving parents an opportunity to study alongside their child, all while having conversations of their own with their peers. For more information, visit https://academics.juniusjohnson.com/courses/cslewis/.