On C.S. Lewis

One of the major themes in That Hideous Strength is the confusion of language, recalling the title's allusion to the Tower of Babel. This theme gets its first outing in the Fellows' meeting in college about the sale of Bragdon Wood, which is rife with doublespeak. In this episode, we unpack that passage and look at its startling relevance for today.

One of the major themes in That Hideous Strength is the confusion of language, recalling the title's allusion to the Tower of Babel. This theme gets its first outing in the Fellows' meeting in college about the sale of Bragdon Wood, which is rife with doublespeak. In this episode, we unpack that passage and look at its startling relevance for today.

Following up our discussion of the Preface and first part of Chapter 1, we delve into the nefarious doings of the Fellows of Bracton College and explore Lewis's framing of Beauty and Truth and Goodness as he sets the foundation of this story.

Following up our discussion of the Preface and first part of Chapter 1, we delve into the nefarious doings of the Fellows of Bracton College and explore Lewis's framing of Beauty and Truth and Goodness as he sets the foundation of this story.

After a recap of the main themes of The Abolition of Man, we move on to set the stage for That Hideous Strength, looking at the cosmology of Deep Heaven, the characters who appear in the first chapter of the book, and some themes from The Abolition of Man that begin to emerge even in the first chapter of the last of the Ransom trilogy, including an exploration of Lewis's under-appreciated essay, "...

After a recap of the main themes of The Abolition of Man, we move on to set the stage for That Hideous Strength, looking at the cosmology of Deep Heaven, the characters who appear in the first chapter of the book, and some themes from The Abolition of Man that begin to emerge even in the first chapter of the last of the Ransom trilogy, including an exploration of Lewis's under-appreciated essay, "...

After a review of the main themes of each chapter in The Abolition of Man and some comments on its continuing relevance, this episode explores the origins of the Ransom Trilogy and That Hideous Strength, with an overview of the cosmology of Deep Heaven and a summary of Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra.

After a review of the main themes of each chapter in The Abolition of Man and some comments on its continuing relevance, this episode explores the origins of the Ransom Trilogy and That Hideous Strength, with an overview of the cosmology of Deep Heaven and a summary of Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra.

Following a review of Lewis's argument in the first two chapters, this week we delved into the eponymous third chapter, where Lewis expounds how what we call Man’s power over Nature turns out to be a power exercised by some men over others with Nature as its instrument. "Human nature will be the last part of Nature to surrender to Man. The battle will indeed be won--but who precisely will have won...

Episode 6: Not as Unwise but as Wise: Reflections from C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man and That Hideous Strength This week we look at how some of Lewis's predictions in "Men Without Chests" about the results of the loss of objective value were fulfilled in the 20th century by the work of Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault, which has spawned a cultural revolution in academia. We also begin our j...

One of the beauties of this book is the way that Lewis marshals evidence for his argument from sources as diverse as Shelley's Aeolian harp to Plato's Republic. In this episode, we unpack some of that imagery and also take a look through a parallel lens at the way that Lewis expresses this same argument in the first section of Mere Christianity, "Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Uni...

"Men Without Chests" focuses on the concept and critical importance of objectivity of value. In this episode, we explore that concept through some thematic analysis and through looking at the Tao of sentiment, with a quick trip to Narnia to look at Eustace Scrubb and Experiment House.

"Men Without Chests" is the first chapter in The Abolition of Man; Lewis focuses on what he views as a dangerous assumption about feelings as opposed to objective value as reflected in educational materials. In this episode we look at Gaius and Titius and The Green Book and discuss Lewis's use of the image of the waterfall as a sort of proxy for the beauty of Natural Law.

In The Abolition of Man, Lewis addresses some developments of grave concern in the area of education. As background for understanding Lewis's points, in this episode we will look at the history of the liberal arts tradition, the contributions of St. Augustine and his idea of rightly-ordered loves to education, the historic role of the Church in education, the importance of the study of philosophy,...

The Abolition of Man has been named by the National Review as one of the ten most important books of the 20th century, and Lewis expressed the same tenets fictionally in That Hideous Strength. In this episode, we will explore how C.S. Lewis came to write these two books, what was the context at the time, and how the two books are connected. In this series. we will seek to unpack the meaning of Lew...

Lewis concludes Book 4 with a polemic on the difference between "being nice" and being redeemed, as well as the necessity of losing oneself in order to find real Life in Christ: Give up your self, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every f...

Lewis continues his reflections on what it means to the believer to have Christ's life within and transforming priorities and understandings, and these chapters contain some of his most memorable analogies for understanding that we are being remade into the image of God. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM2yUH3E4JA&list=RDOM2yUH3E4JA&start_radio=1&rv=OM2yUH3E4JA&t=107

These chapters of Book 4 focus on how the begotten spiritual life of God is given to us through the wondrous miracle of the Incarnation, and how that new life can be lived into by beginning to practice those qualities and habits that are commanded in the Scriptures regardless of whether we "feel" them at the moment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KvrbYZB2vY Latin text O magnum mysterium, et admi...