Today is the 42nd anniversary of the death of C.S. Lewis:
Lewis died on November 22, 1963, at the Oxford home he shared with his brother, Warren. He is buried in the Headington Quarry Churchyard, Oxford, England. Media coverage of his death was overshadowed by news of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which occurred on the same day, as did the death of author Aldous Huxley. (This coincidence was the inspiration for Peter Kreeft’s book Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialog Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C.S. Lewis & Aldous Huxley. In this philosophical work, the three men meet in a limbo before the afterlife, and debate the divinity of Jesus Christ, contrasting the differences in their personalities and world views – humanism, Christianity, and pantheism.)
Contratimes and Ocular Fusion both have commemorative posts.
I’ve been listening a lot lately to the free lectures by Peter Kreeft, available here, and they are quite remarkable. Kreeft is a Roman Catholic convert from Protestantism, a professor of philosophy at Boston College, and a devotee of C.S. Lewis. His lectures are clear and simple, yet deep and intellectually challenging. I’ve marveled at how (and he mentions this same point in one of the lectures) he often has more in common with a “fundamentalist” than he does with his fellow Roman Catholics. Listening to his lectures makes me think I often have more in common with him and with Lewis than I do with some who have come from the Restorationist tradition.
So, whether you’ve already read everything C.S. Lewis wrote twice or never heard of him, check out some of Kreeft’s lectures on Lewis’ work. It will be time well spent.
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Flannery O’Connor was another Catholic writer who often remarked that she shared more common ground with fundamentalist Protestants than with many from her own communion.
It does my heart good to see Christians putting aside sectarian and doctrinal differences to focus on the things they share in common. I’m pretty sure Jesus feels the same way.
Extremist (and Mike),
I am one of those tweeners, half-Protestant, half-Catholic, and one-third agnostic (that’s a Seinfeldism). I am pleased that you’ve made reference to Peter Kreeft, and I am glad that you are enjoying his lectures. I had the privilege of having him as a philosophy prof. The second I entered his class, I was transformed, and transfixed. I continue to work through the many things he passed my way.
I recall that he was not particularly loved by all students. He was memorably disrespected by the most strident Reformed/Calvinist/Westminster student in the philosophy program. But I found him to be a blast of fresh air at a moment when I was losing my faith in both faith and reason. He helped reconnect my brain to the world around me.
Peace to you,
Bill
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