I had the most marvelous opportunity a couple of weekends ago to read “C.S. Lewis –Latter-day Truths in Narnia,” and I loved every minute of it. I’ve been a fan of Lewis’s since I was ten, when I first picked up “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” and was amazed to discover that Aslan was a type of Christ. I remember running in to my mom and telling her, “This is just like Jesus.” She didn’t humor me by letting me think I’d discovered it on my own—instead, she said, “I know”—but that didn’t diminish my discovery. I read every single one of the Narnia books that summer, and as an adult have loved Lewis’s other offerings, most specifically, “The Screwtape Letters.”
“C.S. Lewis – Latter-day Truths in Narnia” goes through the Narnia series and outlines which books teach most specifically about which principles of Christianity, and I have to admit, I didn’t pick up on some of them the first time I read them. Reading this book helped bring it all into focus for me and I was more able to fully appreciate the scope of Lewis’s insight and spirituality reading it again in this context. Not only did the authors draw the comparisons between the fiction books and the nonfiction truths, but they gave us references to times when Lewis has been quoted by our own general authorities, and I was impressed to learn that Lewis has been quoted more often from our pulpit than any other nonmember speaker or writer.
In addition to learning more about Lewis’s writings, I enjoyed reading about his life. He was a thoughtful man, one who knew he had faults but wasn’t adverse to admitting it. One has to wonder if he would have been baptized if he’d ever had the chance. He did correspond at least briefly with a woman from Salt Lake and told her he didn’t think any religion could be true that didn’t allow its members to drink, but I tend to think that was an off-the-cuff answer and that perhaps he would listen to the gospel on the other side. That’s really here nor there, but suffice it to say, this book was a well-researched, intelligent, and inspirational volume that will keep a place of honor on my reference shelf for years to come.
(This book was published in 2008 by Cedar Fort.)
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