Lewis for the Soul in the 21st Century

Last updated on: June 5, 2018 at 8:00 am by Coyle Neal

Lewis for the Soul in the 21st Century 2018-06-05T07:43:41-06:00 Coyle Neal

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Anyone writing about C.S. Lewis is always going to be at a disadvantage, because whatever they write will never be as good as most things written by Lewis himself. Which means that in a sense Joe Rigney’s contribution to the “Theologians on the Christian Life” series, Lewis on the Christian Life: Becoming Truly Human in the Presence of God, has a mark against it to begin with.

As a side note, this isn’t exactly a problem any of the other books in this series have had. Many of the books are dealing with authors who didn’t write originally in English, and so however fantastic a writer they may have been in their native tongue, they are at the mercy of their translators at best. Which means that Gerald Bray can write a masterpiece in its own right without having to compete with Augustine’s native prose. Of the theologians in the series who did write in English, they’re better known as theologians than they are as literary figures (with all due respect to Francis Schaeffer and Jonathan Edwards, both of whom I respect very much!).

Which is to say, there are many times while reading Lewis on the Christian Life that you’ll find yourself thinking “I wish I were reading C.S. Lewis right now instead.” The good news is that I don’t think Joe Rigney will hold it against you.

Image Source: Crossway

As with the other books in this series, this volume takes Lewis’ various writings and synthesizes them into a sort-of practical systematic theology for life which is intended simultaneously to inspire you to go back and read the original author and to have a deeper view of what the Bible has to say to us in the 21st Century. Rigney walks us through various subjects of Lewis’ thought, including (but not limited to): God, predestination, free will, imagination, reason, heaven, hell, pride, humility, etc, etc etc. He draws on Lewis’ fiction and non-fiction alike, exactly as Lewis would have wanted us to do.

I think last that point is especially an important one for modern Americans. In a time when we are judging truth and reality by the strength and enthusiasm of the assertion rather than by an objective standard, a Lewisian approach to reason and the imagination is especially important. Properly balanced faculties that use both fiction and non-fiction and yet can still distinguish between them are necessary for living the Christian–indeed, for living the truly human–life. Our faculties have been imbalanced by various internal and external forces and Lewis’ call to return to sanity and reality in light of the revelation of God is more necessary than ever.

If you’ve read enough Lewis, you know that there are occasional… hitches in his theology. A major strength of this book is that Rigney does not hesitate to tackle the problems with Lewis’ writings and theology head-on. Where Lewis is weak in his theology (with, for example, the doctrine of Purgatory), Rigney offers a context and a explanation for the source of the error without offering an apology for it.

This critical eye does not, however, mean a critical distance. Rigney clearly (and rightly, I think) loves Lewis and gains much by reading him. Reading Lewis on the Christian Life will help you do so too.

Dr. Coyle Neal is co-host of the City of Man Podcast and an Associate Professor of Political Science at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO

Previous Post

June 1, 2018

What does C.S. Lewis have to say about politics?

Next Post

June 8, 2018 Hereditary Is One of the Best Movies You’ll Never Want to See Again

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Action AFI Top 100 Animation Best Picture Winner BFI Top 250 Biography Biopic Books Childrens Christian Classics Classics Comedy Crime Documentary Drama Editor's Choice Family Fantasy Fantasy Films Foreign Historical Historical Fiction History Horror Horror IMDB Top 250 Indie Memoir Modern Novel Musical Mystery Non-Fiction Oscars Philosophy Poetry Popular Literature Reading and Writing Reality Romance Science Fiction Science Fiction Silent Sports Thriller TV Show Uncategorized Western Westerns Young Adult

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 June 2017 January 2017 December 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house. What building is being reconstructed?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The temple The city wall The palace The whole of Jerusalem