Erudition Series – The Accomplishments of Erudition: Books Written

This is the first of four posts on the question: What did C.S. Lewis accomplish with his erudition”.

I begin with a review of Lewis’ writings–including books and compilations of shorter works. Over the course of three decades, he wrote the 32 books, including:

• 9 books on apologetics, theology, and philosophy
• 11 books of fiction (science fiction, faerie, myth)
• 9 books on literature and literary matters
• 3 books of a biographical nature

In addition, twenty others categorized as “Lewis books” are actually collections of his shorter writings compiled for him by other people. This includes:

• 10 collections of shorter writings (mostly by Walter Hooper)
• 8 collections of letters (mostly by his brother, Warnie Lewis)
• 2 books of diary entries

Here is a fact about C.S. Lewis that I consider to be truly astounding: he authored books in as many as twenty-two different literary genres.

These genres are depicted on the accompanying graphic. To be clear, I am not saying he was the greatest writer in every genre (or any of them), but he did produce highly respected works in each class, with the arguable exception of poetry.

For example, George Orwell is thought to be the greatest writer of satire ever, but Lewis’ Screwtape Letters ranks among the best books of satire. Similarly, J.R.R. Tolkien is widely considered to be the greatest author in the Faerie genre of any writer in history. But Lewis is among the top four. Moreover, while Tolkien had success only in one genre, Lewis produced works in twenty-two different literary genres. Has any other author in literary history ever done that?

Lewis’ output includes books considered by many to be masterworks. I ask you to reflect upon the breadth and impact of these ten works:

• SCHOLARLY WORK – The Allegory of Love . . . Lewis’ first scholarly work published in 1938 was about allegorical form in Medieval love poetry. This book firmly established his reputation (begrudgingly) among Oxford dons as a great scholar. While most books penned by professors go out of print a few years after their death, this work is still in print and remains a standard in the field.
• SCIENCE FICTION – The Cosmic Trilogy . . . Few people realize that C.S. Lewis was one of the early writers of “scienti-fiction.” Lewis wrote about celestial beings—there is very little science or technology in his works. Beginning with Out of the Silent Planet in 1938, Lewis rebelled against the portrayal of extraterrestrial beings as enemies of humanity. His depiction of alien life forms as peaceful and spiritual had an impact on science fiction, and likely influenced Arthur C. Clark’s famous 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Cosmic Trilogy was Lewis’ first attempt to smuggle Christian themes into fiction—a technique validated by the fact that of sixty literary reviewers, only two of them even noticed the Christian themes.
• THEODICY – The Problem of Pain . . . Lewis’ first work of apologetics is not, technically speaking, a defense of Christianity. It is a “theodicy” better understood as a confutation of the “Argument from Pain and Evil”. Here Lewis introduces his fascinating take on the Fall of Man, his “Argument from Numinous Awe” a profound insight into the origin of religion, and his enchanting description of Heaven. This book launched Lewis’ public career and led to his being invited to do the BBC Broadcasts during the war years. Professor Peter Kreeft deems it the greatest “theodicy” ever written. High praise, indeed.
• SERMONS – The Weight of Glory . . . A magnificent collection of Lewis’ sermons coupled with several other important essays. Lewis preached only six sermons, but all were masterpieces, and the “Weight of Glory” sermon delivered in June of 1941 was his magnum opus. In my recent survey of Lewis exemplars (available on the C.S. Lewis Forum) this sermon was ranked far and away his most popular shorter writing. This collection also includes “Transposition” which is said to be Lewis’ greatest contribution to Christian theology. Most Lewis readers consider this the best collection of his shorter works. I certainly do.
• SATIRE – The Screwtape Letters . . . This was Lewis’ first work to receive international acclaim. It is a Christian apologetic novel written in a satirical, epistolary style (31 letters). The book is the compilation of a series published in an Anglican periodical, The Guardian, in 1941. While it is fictional in format, the plot and characters address Christian theological issues, primarily temptation and the resistance to it. It is a classic masterpiece of religious satire that is “at once, wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original.”
• PHILOSOPHICAL FALLACIES – The Abolition of Man . . . This book began as three Riddell Memorial Lectures at the University of Durham in February of 1943. It is not a defense of Christian belief, but a defense of “objective morality” and the Natural Law, both of which undergird the faith while not being expressly Christian. Here, Lewis thoroughly debunks the philosophical fallacies of subjectivism and scientism so deeply embedded in the prevailing climate of post-modernism of the 21st Century. This book is compelling philosophically, but it has little to do with theology, and nothing at all to do with Christianity. It is a prophetic work, written nearly 80 years ago, relevant to his day, but never truer than it is today. The book’s only flaw is its brevity.
• RELIGION – Mere Christianity . . . This book was adapted from a series of short BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944. One of Lewis’ three most renowned works, it is universally considered a classic of Christian apologetics– due in large measure to its introduction of the “Argument from Morality”, the “Argument from Desire” and “the Trilemma”. I see Mere Christianity more as an exposition on original Patristic Christianity than a defense of it. As a result of these radio broadcasts, Lewis’ voice became nearly as recognizable as that of Winston Churchill during World War II. The book has since become one of the most popular evangelical works in existence. It has profoundly influenced the faith journey of countless people, including: Chuck Colson, Josh MacDowell, Tom Monahan (Domino’s Pizza), Ross Douthat (New York Times), J.I. Packer, Peter Kreeft, Alister McGrath, N.T. Wright, Os Guinness, Phillip Yancy, John Piper and Timothy Keller. I was pleased to learn that it is also inspired rock musician Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues.
• FAERIE – The Chronicles of Narnia . . . This series of seven faerie novels is quite likely C.S. Lewis most well-known work as millions of parents around the world have read these stories to their children. Originally published between 1950 and 1956, the Chronicles of Narnia has been adapted for radio, television, the stage, film, and video games. Despite strident condemnation by his friend J.R.R. Tolkien, the series has been hugely successful in book and movie form. It is considered a classic of children’s literature and ranks as Lewis’s best-selling work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages
• LITERARY HISTORY – English Literature in the Sixteenth Century . . . This massive tome is widely thought to be the best of the Oxford History of English Literature series. Lewis’ challenge lay in the sheer immensity of the task, which entailed surveying, with impeccable scholarship, a full century of the richest literature in the world. It is said that Lewis read every book of English literature published in the sixteenth century, perhaps 5,000 to 6,500 books. On the strength of English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, there can be no doubt of his greatness as a literary historian. Many believe this is Lewis single greatest literary work. It is also his least read work.
• GREEK PHILOSOPHY – The Four Loves . . . This book, written in 1960, explores the nature of love from a Christian and philosophical perspective. The book was based on a set of radio talks from 1958 produced by the Episcopal Radio-TV Foundation. It is one of the few opportunities Lewis aficionados have to hear the great man’s voice. The Four Loves was reported to have been the second favorite book of Pope John-Paul II, after only The Four Gospels. High praise, indeed.

Literary Recognition for Oxford’s “Prophet Without Honor”

This thoroughly “dissed” Oxford don finally won the respect he deserved from Cambridge University . . . and also accolades from some of England’s most prestigious literary institutions. Consider the following honors:

• The September 8, 1947, issue of Time Magazine featured Lewis’ face on the cover–triggered by the resounding success of The Screwtape Letters. This annoyed his fellow Oxford dons greatly.
• In 1948, Lewis was elected to Britain’s most esteemed Society of Literature.
• In 1955, Lewis was elected Fellow of the British Academy, the ultimate distinction in his field, for English Literature in the Sixteenth Century.
• In 1956, Lewis was awarded the prestigious Carnegie Medal in Fiction for The Last Battle, which as British Writers say is “the one we want to win”.
• In 1999, National Review ranked the 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of the 20th Century listing as #7 The Abolition of Man and as #26 Mere Christianity.
• In 2008, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was voted the #1 children’s book of all time by Booktrust.
• In 2014, The Intercollegiate Studies Institute ranked The Abolition of Man as the second-best book of the 20th century.
• Since 2000, Christianity Today honored Mere Christianity as the #1 Christian book of the 20th century.
• Christianity Today has also honored as the books with the greatest spiritual influence: #1 Mere Christianity, #2 The Screwtape Letters and #3 The Chronicles of Narnia.
• Christianity Today polling has also determined the “most personally influential” Christian writer to be C.S. Lewis–surprisingly for both general readers and scholars alike

And then there are these two incommensurable honors . . .

1. In late 1951 C.S. Lewis received a letter from Prime Minister Winston Churchill offering to recommend him for a C.B.E. (Commander of the British Empire), to be presented by King George VI. It is an extremely coveted honor, and evidently it was offered to Lewis for his public service for writing and broadcasting during the war. Lewis was well aware this would be the greatest of all possible annoyances to his fellow Oxford dons, so he turned it down.
2. On November 22, 2013, fifty years after his death, C.S. Lewis was honored with a memorial placed in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey, thereby taking his place beside the greatest names in English literature. Though Lewis was not known for poetry, his stone is ironically inscribed with lines from his essay: “Is Theology Poetry.” “I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen. Not only because I can see it but because by it I can see everything else.”

The Continuing Impact of Lewis’ Literary Works

Interest In deceased academics usually wanes quickly and book sales fall precipitously; but this Is not so with Lewis. Today, nearly all 32 of Lewis’ books remain in print, with many now as eBooks or audiobooks.

Posthumous sales of Lewis books continue to rise and are approaching 350 million copies. New books and television documentaries about him are released regularly. His late in life romance with Joy has been the subject of a play, two films and five books. His faith journey is the subject of a play, and a spectacular new movie “Most Reluctant Convert” produced by Max McLean.

By any measure, Lewis’ books are evidence of an exceptional productivity and impact stemming from his erudition. Whether C.S. Lewis is the most erudite person in history or not, his impact on the world through his books is a great blessing.

Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25
Erudition Series Index