Discovering C. S. Lewis’s Argument from Awe against Philosophical Naturalism

Although Clive Staples Lewis’s (1898–1963) works on the intersection of philosophy and religion were aimed at a broader readership and are indeed well-known among the general public, they are also valued among professional philosophers and theologians alike, especially those focusing on the relations between theism, atheism, and naturalism. His three most popular arguments against naturalism are the Argument from Reason, the Moral Argument, and the Argument from Desire. In that context, the present article aims to show that Lewis actually made use of a fourth type of argument against philosophical naturalism that has so far escaped identification. Since this argument refers to the experience of numinous awe described by Rudolf Otto (1869–1937), one might call it the “Argument from Awe.” Lewis referred to the notion of numinous awe when arguing against naturalistic ways of explaining the origins and essence of religion. And while it is true that he used this notion in many other contexts, it seems that in order to see the argument from awe as indeed a separate category, one ought to focus on Lewis’s work in that particular area

David A. Werther, C. S. Lewis and the Problem of God

A review of David A. Werther, C. S. Lewis and the Problem of God, Cambridge Elements: The Problems of God (Cambridge University Press, 2024). 67 pages. $22.00. ISBN 9781009283243

Teaching The Abolition of Man

The authors also hope that this article will help readers better understand The Abolition of Man and raise the level of interest in teaching this important book in schools, churches, and in many other venues and that many will find here helpful practical ideas for such teaching

Re-dating an Inklings Photograph

Perhaps the most delightful and helpful introductory biography of C. S. Lewis is Walter Hooper’s Through Joy and Beyond: A Pictorial Biography. Published in 1982, it was the first book I reviewed for an academic journal as a freshly minted PhD graduate. The lavish presence of photographs takes the reader into the world of Lewis from his earliest childhood until his death in 1963. Hooper probably knew more about Lewis and his works than any other person, but even Hooper had to make educated guesses from time to time, which very rarely proved wrong

David Baggett, Gary R. Habermas and Jerry L. Walls, eds., C. S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness and Beauty, 3rd ed.

A review of David Baggett, Gary R. Habermas and Jerry L. Walls, eds. C. S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness and Beauty, 3rd ed. (Houston, TX: High Bridge Books, 2024). 543 pages. $25.99. ISBN 9781962802116

The Past, Its Presence, Prelude to a Prayer

There I lay, floating on my back upon the blue Aegean, that same sea pressed against the sun-bathed sands of Serifos. I was suddenly thinking of the past, the blurred nature of its presence, and how— however blurred its áffect—the past presses so aggressively against . . . is it the chest? the throat

Aaron Blair, A Joyful Outpost: Exploring the Household Economy of the Beavers from The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe

A review of Aaron Blair, A Joyful Outpost: Exploring the Household Economy of the Beavers from The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe (Independently published, 2023). 125 pages. $12.99. ISBN 9798869938367

Leslie Baynes, Between Interpretation and Imagination: C. S. Lewis and the Bible

A review of Leslie Baynes, Between Interpretation and Imagination: C. S. Lewis and the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2025). viii + 343 pages. $38.99. ISBN 9780802874009

Dating the Undated Poems in Don King’s Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis: A Critical Edition

Don W. King made a monumental contribution to Lewis studies when he released his Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis: A Critical Edition. Prior to this volume, Lewis’s poetry was scattered among at least four books and much remained unpublished. King gathered all of Lewis’s poetry, apart from a few poetic fragments, into a single volume. Since the book’s publication in 2015, a handful of additional Lewis poems have been discovered. Nevertheless, the fact that the vast majority of Lewis’s poetry now exists in a single volume remains a huge step forward in Lewis scholarship and our ability to appreciate Lewis as poet. King’s approach was to publish the poems in chronological order, assigning dates based on a variety of factors including year of publication and the appearance of poems in dated letters. In some instances, King had to offer his best scholarly guess, giving “circa” dates to the poems, and in the case of forty-seven poems, King was able to provide no date at all. These poems he placed in a section at the back of the Critical Edition

Simon Horobin, C. S. Lewis’s Oxford

A review of Simon Horobin, C. S. Lewis’s Oxford (Oxford: Bodleian Library Publishing, 2024). 196 pages. $39.12. ISBN 9781851245642