2 of 3

Though there may be people at the college (past or present) who don't think these mystical, hard-drinking, high-church scribblers deserve a place on Billy Graham's turf, all of the Wheaton people I know are proud to have the Wade collection. These papers, portraits, and artifacts are genius by association, but they also represent an institutional ideal. On the other side of campus, buildings named after missionary martyrs Jim Elliot and Nate Saint inspire students to commit their lives to serving God through evangelism. The Wade Center can inspire the same level of commitment to serving God through the life of the mind. Lewis would approve.

Elesha Coffman is managing editor of Christian History magazine.

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

The Wade Center's Web site describes the facility's many collections, but at last check it still said it was closed.

The Chicago Tribune also noted the Wade Center's reopening.

The Christian Science Monitor profiled the Wade Center in 1999.

Christian History profiled Lewis for its issue on "The 10 Most Influential Christians of the Twentieth Century" and quoted Dorothy Sayers in its recent Dante issue.

Books and Culture, another Christianity Today sister publication, recently looked at C. S. Lewis among the postmodernists.

If it's Lewis you're interested in, Into the Wardrobe should fill your every desire.

The Discovery Institute's C.S. Lewis and Public Life site is another wonderful resource of papers about and by Lewis.

Previous Christianity Today articles on C.S. Lewis include:

Aslan Is Still on the Move | There's too little evidence to prove that anyone is 'de-Christianizing' C.S. Lewis. (July 31, 2001)

Mere Marketing? | Publisher, estate under fire for handling of C.S. Lewis's identity. (July 31, 2001)

Myth Matters | C. S. Lewis bequeathed us a method and a language for sharing the gospel with the modern and postmodern world. (April 17, 2001)

Walking Where Lewis Walked | My reluctant entry into the world of pilgrimage. (Feb. 7, 2000)

Still Surprised by Lewis | Why this nonevangelical Oxford don has become our patron saint" (Sept. 7, 1998)

Jack Is Back | The search for the historical Lewis (Feb. 3, 1997)

Christian History Corner appears every Friday at ChristianityToday.com. Previous editions include:

Raiders of the Lost R | Documentary on School skips religious history, giving a skewed account of American education. (Sept. 7, 2001)

Explaining the Ineffable | In Heaven Below, a former Pentecostal argues that his ancestors were neither as outlandish as they seemed nor as otherworldly as they wish to seem. (Aug. 31, 2001)

Eyewitness to a Massacre | The bloodbath that started on August 24, 1572, left thousands of corpses and dozens of disturbing questions. (Aug. 24, 2001)

Live Long and Prosper | Though a recent survey raises questions, the health benefits of faith have been documented for centuries. (Aug. 17, 2001)

Divided by Communion | What a church does in remembrance of Christ says a lot about its history and identity. (Aug. 10, 2001)

Thrills, Chills, Architecture? | The most exciting adventure at St. Paul's Cathedral would be a time-traveling jaunt through its history. (August 3, 2001)

Deep and Wide| A dive into Reformation imagery yields striking new insights, while a drive-by church history overview largely disappoints. (July 27, 2001)

Shelling the Salvation Army | If William Booth's church could handle sticks and stones in the 1880s, it should withstand the recent barrage of hateful words. (July 20, 2001)

Historical Hogwash | Two books—one new, one newly reissued—debunk false claims about the "real" Jesus. (July 13, 2001)

Ghosts of the Temple | Soon after Jerusalem fell, the Roman Colosseum went up. Coincidence? (July 6, 2001)

Endangered History | The National Trust's list of imperiled places gives unnoticed gems a chance to shine. (June 29, 2001)

The Communion Test | How a "Humble Inquiry" into the nature of the church cost Jonathan Edwards his job. (June 22, 2001)

next page... |  2 of 3

share this page

September (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45