Art Lindsley presents a multifaceted apologetic for seekers, agnostics, atheists, and nominal Christians, and does so by surveying the books of C. S. Lewis. Lindsley bookends each of his chapters with a hypothetical class on the life and writings of C. S. Lewis. The class participants include a Christian, an atheist, a New Age universalist, and a woman for whom religion is mostly an emotional experience. We get to eavesdrop on their thoughts about such topics as miracles and morality, rationalism and relativism, the problem of pain, and the relationship between myth and Christianity, before moving on to explore what Lewis had to say on these topics.
 by Art Lindsley InterVarsity Press 216 pp.; $16.00 |
This device keeps the apologetic arguments grounded in everyday life. The author also transitions smoothly and logically from one topic to the next.
But while Lindsley’s prose is simple and straightforward, it sometimes gets a bit simplistic. Likewise, most of his arguments could have been expanded. Lindsley chooses good passages to illustrate his points, but at times (especially when quoting Lewis’s fiction) he does not sufficiently explain them. I also wish his hypothetical class had included a Jew, a Muslim, and a Hindu. Still, Lindsley has brought together Lewis’s apologetic arguments in a winsome and readable package.
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Related Elsewhere:
C.S. Lewis’s Case for Christ is available from ChristianBook.com and other book retailers.
InterVarsity Press has more information about the book, including an excerpt.
