Planet Narnia

Author: Michael Ward
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199740933
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 655

Book Description
For over half a century, scholars have laboured to show that C. S. Lewis's famed but apparently disorganised Chronicles of Narnia have an underlying symbolic coherence, pointing to such possible unifying themes as the seven sacraments, the seven deadly sins, and the seven books of Spenser's Faerie Queene. None of these explanations has won general acceptance and the structure of Narnia's symbolism has remained a mystery. Michael Ward has finally solved the enigma. In Planet Narnia he demonstrates that medieval cosmology, a subject which fascinated Lewis throughout his life, provides the imaginative key to the seven novels. Drawing on the whole range of Lewis's writings (including previously unpublished drafts of the Chronicles), Ward reveals how the Narnia stories were designed to express the characteristics of the seven medieval planets - - Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Luna, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - - planets which Lewis described as "spiritual symbols of permanent value" and "especially worthwhile in our own generation". Using these seven symbols, Lewis secretly constructed the Chronicles so that in each book the plot-line, the ornamental details, and, most important, the portrayal of the Christ-figure of Aslan, all serve to communicate the governing planetary personality. The cosmological theme of each Chronicle is what Lewis called 'the kappa element in romance', the atmospheric essence of a story, everywhere present but nowhere explicit. The reader inhabits this atmosphere and thus imaginatively gains connaître knowledge of the spiritual character which the tale was created to embody. Planet Narnia is a ground-breaking study that will provoke a major revaluation not only of the Chronicles, but of Lewis's whole literary and theological outlook. Ward uncovers a much subtler writer and thinker than has previously been recognized, whose central interests were hiddenness, immanence, and knowledge by acquaintance.

The Narnia Code

Author: Michael Ward
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
ISBN: 1414346956
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Book Description
Millions of readers have been captivated by C. S. Lewis’s famed Chronicles of Narnia, but why? What is it about these seven books that makes them so appealing? For more than half a century, scholars have attempted to find the organizing key—the “secret code”—to the beloved series, but it has remained a mystery. Until now. In The Narnia Code, Michael Ward takes the reader through each of the seven Narnia books and reveals how each story embodies and expresses the characteristics of one of the seven planets of medieval cosmology—Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Luna, Mercury, Venus and Saturn—planets which Lewis described as “spiritual symbols of permanent value.” How does medieval cosmology relate to the Christian underpinnings of the series? How did it impact Lewis’s depiction of Aslan, the Christlike character at the heart of the books? And why did Lewis keep this planetary inspiration a secret? Originally a ground-breaking scholarly work called Planet Narnia, this more accessible adaptation will answer all the questions.

A Family Guide to Narnia

Author: Christin Ditchfield
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433516470
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 134

Book Description
Do you read The Chronicles of Narnia sensing that the stories are full of biblical parallels, even if you're not always sure what they are or where to find them? This user-friendly companion to The Chronicles of Narnia is written for C. S. Lewis readers like you who want to discover the books' biblical and Christian roots. Read it, and you'll find that this chapter-by-chapter, book-by-book examination of The Chronicles will widen your spiritual vision.

The Cambridge Companion to C. S. Lewis

Author: Robert MacSwain
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139828320
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description
A distinguished academic, influential Christian apologist, and best-selling author of children's literature, C. S. Lewis is a controversial and enigmatic figure who continues to fascinate, fifty years after his death. This Companion is a comprehensive single-volume study written by an international team of scholars to survey Lewis's career as a literary historian, popular theologian, and creative writer. Twenty-one expert voices from the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Princeton University, and Wheaton College, among many other places of learning, analyze Lewis's work from theological, philosophical, and literary perspectives. Some chapters consider his professional contribution to fields such as critical theory and intellectual history, while others assess his views on issues including moral knowledge, gender, prayer, war, love, suffering, and Scripture. The final chapters investigate his work as a writer of fiction and poetry. Original in its approach and unique in its scope, this Companion shows that C. S. Lewis was much more than merely the man behind Narnia.

In the Blink of an Eye

Author: Mia L Austin
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1543488900
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Book Description
My name is Mia Austin. I have locked-in syndrome after having a stroke at the age of twenty-one. This is a book like no other. Its short snippets of what I can remember of my journey from the night before my accident, through to each ward I was thrown into, and finally, my coming home and getting my life back. Expect laughs, amazement, and surprises. Warning: this girl has attitude!

Futureville

Author: Skye Jethani
Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM
ISBN: 1595554629
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Book Description
Want to see the future? It is brighter than you think. What we believe about tomorrow determines how we live today. As Christians debate how to faithfully engage with our rapidly changing world, our vision of the future has never been more important. But rather than providing a clear sense of purpose for our lives, popular Christian ideas about the future steal it from us by saying our work in the world, apart from ministry, has no eternal value. Is it any wonder why young adults are less interested in church, or why a culture desperate for meaning and hope dismisses our message? In Futureville, Skye Jethani offers us a vision-shifting glimpse of the world of tomorrow described in Scripture. He reveals how a biblical vision of the future can transform every person’s work with a sense of purpose and dignity today. Futureville is a smart, inspiring call to cultivate the order, beauty, and abundance that reflects the heart and vision of God for our world.

After Humanity

Author: Michael Ward
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781943243778
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
After Humanity is a guide to one of C.S. Lewis's most widely admired but least accessible works, The Abolition of Man, which originated as a series of lectures on ethics that he delivered during the Second World War. These lectures tackle the thorny question of whether moral value is objective or not. When we say something is right or wrong, are we recognizing a reality outside ourselves, or merely reporting a subjective sentiment? Lewis addresses the matter from a purely philosophical standpoint, leaving theological matters to one side. He makes a powerful case against subjectivism, issuing an intellectual warning that, in our "post-truth" twenty-first century, has even more relevance than when he originally presented it. Lewis characterized The Abolition of Man as "almost my favourite among my books," and his biographer Walter Hooper has called it "an all but indispensable introduction to the entire corpus of Lewisiana." In After Humanity, Michael Ward sheds much-needed light on this important but difficult work, explaining both its general academic context and the particular circumstances in Lewis's life that helped give rise to it, including his front-line service in the trenches of the First World War. After Humanity contains a detailed commentary clarifying the many allusions and quotations scattered throughout Lewis's argument. It shows how this resolutely philosophical thesis fits in with his other, more explicitly Christian works. It also includes a full-color photo gallery, displaying images of people, places, and documents that relate to The Abolition of Man, among them Lewis's original "blurb" for the book, which has never before been published.

The Narnian

Author: Alan Jacobs
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0060872691
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 370

Book Description
Grade level: 9, 10, 11, 12, e, i, s.

The Horse and His Boy

Author: C.S. Lewis
Publisher: Wyatt North Publishing, LLC
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 195

Book Description
C. S. Lewis was a British author, lay theologian, and contemporary of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Horse and His Boy is the fifth book in The Chronicles of Narnia series of seven books.

Boxen

Author: Clive Staples Lewis
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Book Description
SUMMARY: A collection of maps, histories, sketches, and stories created by C.S. Lewis as a child to describe his private fanyasy world, known as Animal-Land or Boxen. A scholarly introduction explains the stories in the context of Lewis's life.