Further, when the bus travels from hell to heaven, it seems to go far up into the air. In the great divorce, lewis conjures for us a lovely fantasy, but he makes it clear that it is a fantasy. Lewis has a few things to say about heaven and hell. Lewis aldous huxley paperback may 16, 2008 by peter kreeft author visit amazons peter kreeft page. Lewis work entitled the great divorce is an allegory of the way that lewis himself views heaven and hell. The demand of the loveless and the selfimprisoned that they should be allowed to blackmail the universe. In his works of fiction he created several striking descriptions of what heaven and, in less. He meets a host of supernatural beings far removed from his expectations, and comes to some significant realizations about the nature of good and evil. Lewis elsewhere as saying that, hell does not have veto power over heaven. Lewis s classic vision of the afterworld, the narrator boards a bus on a drizzly english afternoon and embarks on an incredible voyage through heaven and hell. Just recently, i followed, with rapt attention, a book that i had read many years ago. Lewis undertakes the task of redefining the relationship between heaven and hell for the purpose of dispelling the belief that mere development or adjustment or refinement will somehow turn evil into good.
The amazing opportunity is that anyone who wants to stay in heaven, can. Ive completed my first book in the 2018 book reading challenge. Lewis the great divorce made me think brenda renee. The first chapter of the book develops the image of the grey, raining, and dismal town that the narrator has left behind for the reader. Lewis is certainly not immune to being coopted by this group or that. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. And every state of mind, left to itself, every shutting up of the creature within the dungeon of its own mind is, in the end, hell. This is the starting point for an extraordinary meditation upon good and evil, grace and judgment. In this book, lewis scholar wayne martindale uses some of lewis s bestloved fiction as an. The great divorce between heaven and hell looking at c. It is a remarkable and fascinating story that recounts a day trip from hell to heaven by a diverse group of people in a london bus. Although i had made use of quotations from the great divorce in my writing, i had never read the book. Whether reading his science fiction, fantasy, or his imaginative meditations on our lord, heaven, hell and the christian life, i find each replete with gentle humor and cleareyed truths. In the great divorce, lewis describes heaven and hell with vivid clarity.
The deeper meaning of the great divorce a pilgrim in narnia. Combining logical argument and literary imagination, kreefts apologetic standard offers informed thinkingand good drama. Lewis aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Lewis is known throughout the world for his ability to tuck theology into fantasy. I love the lewis writes, his absolute mastery of the english language, and that you can read this many times and can always find something new. You dont find out it is a dream until the last chapter. Lewis is how he makes my mind imagine that the afterlife will actually be something tangible. Lewis looked squarely at the questions of heaven and hell in the last of the narnia books, the last battle, but spelled these ideas out in a. Lewis is just as tentative in his suggestions about heaven and hell. Hes the author of many books such as the chronicles of narnia, the screwtape letters and mere christianity.
Lewis s most creative works, but it remains also one of his lesser known books. How then does lewis explain the idea, or doctrine, of hell. Lewiss dazzling allegory about heaven and hell and the chasm fixed between them is one of his most brilliantly imaginative tales, as he takes issue with. In it, lewis reacts to moral relativism the marriage of heaven and hell by suggesting that you cannot take all luggage. Seeing hell through the reason and imagination of c. As a semiretired pastor, having preached on hell from time to time, i distrust any preacher or writer who seems to enjoy giving his people a steady diet of brimstone. Hell is a state of mind ye never said a truer word. Lewis, the joyful christian indeed the safest road to hell is the gradual onethe gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,your affectionate uncle, screwtape. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Godrejecters might be as miserable in heaven as in hell. Lewis looked squarely at the questions of heaven and hell in the last of the narnia books, the last battle, but spelled these ideas out in a fascinating work of imaginative fiction called the great divorce. Lewis addressed both in one of his earliest christian books, the problem of. It deals with the ideas of heaven and hell and why people end up in hell. On november 22, 1963, three great men died within a few hours of each other.
Lewis, published in 1945, and based on a theological dream vision of his in which he reflects on the christian conceptions of heaven and hell. For many, reading his books helps in forming a more vivid understanding of heaven and hell. In his works of fiction he created several striking descriptions of what heaven. Lewis quotes quotable quote there are only two kinds of people in the end. This really gives a different spin on most concepts of heaven and hell. I really enjoyed the contrasting themes within the book. He begins by presenting and refuting common misconceptions about heaven through lewis nonfiction, then part two refutes the same misconceptions with his fiction. You see those people from hell as phantoms as opposed to those bright solid people from heaven. He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg or else he would be the devil of hell. The only place outside heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is hell. This is a relatively small book and can be read in 3 or 4 hours, but is well worth your time. This is the setting for peter kreefts socratic dialogue, between heaven and hell.
He includes important discussions of the pains of animals and heaven and hell in this book. Lewis undertakes the task of redefining the relationship between heaven and hell for the purpose of dispelling the belief that mere development or adjustment or refinement will somehow turn evil into good without. Lewis january 1, 1998 uncategorized original article. Lewis the great divorce is a classic christian allegorical tale about a bus ride from hell to heaven.
Read this book, and you will see afresh the wonder of what lies beyond the shadowlands. The writer finds himself in hell boarding a bus bound for heaven. Like a funeral, heaven and hell can be nothing more than the pleasant or notsopleasant afterthoughts of our christian life. It does this through a fictional story of a bus ride from hell to heaven. Most of what he says appears in the eighth chapter of the problem of pain, the book. Lewis s fiction is rich with reflections on the afterli. The great divorce is a novel by the british author c. But the most important books by lewis on the subject are the great divorce, two chapters, heaven and hell in the problem of pain, the screwtape letters, paralandra, that hideous strength, and maybe mere christianity. The bible seems to talk a lot about the pouring out of gods wrath and yet what lewis is talking about is something we do for ourselves. I thought of the place in the book of revelation where it says that the smoke of. Lewis the chronicles of narnia and aldous huxley brave new world meeting in purgatory and engaging in a philosophical discussion on faith.
Heaven and hell were prominent themes to much of his writings. Jack lewis went by the nickname of jack then discusses the nature of a world where persons with free will can make choices and the functions of pain in such a world. In spite of its brevity, the great divorce has several theological implications, especially with respect to heaven, hell, and the nature of sin. Gain fresh insights on what lies beyond the shadowlands. He is not recounting a vision given him by god nor preaching a new doctrine.
Lewis is commemorated on 22 november in the church calendar of the episcopal church. While the concepts of heaven and hell are very real to most of us on a theological level, we are typically hard pressed to live with the eternal perspective that we will spend eternity in one of these places. Cs lewis is an inexhaustible source of wisdom for me. Those who know lewis s work will enjoy martindales thorough examination of the powerful images of heaven and hell found in lewis s fiction, and all readers can appreciate martindales scholarly yet accessible tone. Lewis s fiction is rich with reflections on the afterlife. This coincidence was the inspiration for peter kreefts book between heaven and hell. Lewis explains heaven and hell in a unique and enlightening way throughout his fictional and nonfiction works. Gods eternal remedy to the problem of evil and suffering video audio. They are truths from the bible that he teases out in his work. Using some of lewis s bestloved fiction as an imaginative complement to his discussion on eternity, scholar martindale offers a thorough, accessible examination of lewis s powerful images of heaven and hell and what he believed. In his nonfiction prose he frequently discussed the nature of heaven and, less frequently, the nature of hell and explained how to take part in it.
In this message randy alcorn consults lewis on gods eternal solution to the problem of evil and suffering. And, what makes lewis inviting is his use of imagination and his avoidance, one could say, of a systemized theology. Lewis affirmed that hell is retributed wrath, but tended to accent almost in everything he wrote the more selfinflicted side with statements like hell is locked from the inside. A readers guide to the great divorce 9781936294091. Lewis again employs his formidable talent for fable and allegory. Lewis, himself, in his preface to the book, calls the great divorce a small book. Lewis to represent orthodox christianity, aldous huxley for a kind of eastern pantheism, and john f kennedy as an emblem of secular humanism. Buy a cheap copy of between heaven and hell book by peter kreeft.
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