The Great Courses Season 2

November. 20,2006

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5.5

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Trailer Synopsis

What is it about British literary scholar and author C. S. Lewis—the Oxbridge don and self-described "very ordinary layman of the Church of England"—that touches millions of readers so deeply, making him the most widely read Christian spokesman of our time? In these lectures you will cover Lewis's spiritual autobiography and other creative works, as well as his scholarly writings that reflect on pain and grief, love and friendship, prophecy and miracles, and education and mythology.

Episode 12 : Suffering unto Wisdom-Till We Have Faces and A Grief Observed

November. 20,2006

Lewis's last novel, Till We Have Faces, beautifully reworks the classical myth of Cupid and Psyche. The heroine is patterned on Joy Gresham Lewis. His later memoir, A Grief Observed, is an equally mature and profound study of the despair he felt over her death, and his own long and painful road back to faith.

Episode 11 : The Beginning and the End-The Chronicles of Narnia 3

November. 20,2006

The final two Chronicles, The Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle, relate the creation and destruction of Narnia. What separates the good from the evil characters in Lewis's vision?

Episode 10 : Journeys of Faith-The Chronicles of Narnia 2

November. 20,2006

Here the middle three "Chronicles of Narnia"—The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Horse and His Boy—are illuminated more deeply through reflections on key passages that reveal Lewis's beliefs and concerns.

Episode 9 : Smuggled Theology-The Chronicles of Narnia 1

November. 20,2006

Lewis is perhaps best known and loved for his seven "Chronicles of Narnia," fantasy tales for children of all ages that conjure a world of magic and wonder. Here you consider the first two Chronicles: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian.

Episode 8 : Temptation, Struggle, and Choice-The Space Trilogy 2

November. 20,2006

Watch a master intellect and storyteller at work as Lewis re-enacts the drama of temptation and choice, first on the unfallen world of Perelandra and then in a corner of our own fallen Earth.

Episode 7 : Paradise Regained-The Space Trilogy 1

November. 20,2006

Lewis not only argued for the beauty and truth of older ideas, but sought to manifest that beauty and truth in his fiction. In Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, he beckons you on a journey through a living universe to two still-Edenic planets, raising searching questions about modern man's urge for immortality.

Episode 6 : Lewis the Scholar-Apologist for the Past

November. 20,2006

In addition to being a popular writer, Lewis is a major figure in the academic study of literature. In his scholarly work, Lewis sought to challenge common modern prejudices and to bring to light the views held by people in past ages.

Episode 5 : Heaven and Hell-The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce

November. 20,2006

Lewis used his imagination to explore not merely the theology but also the psychology of sin: the process by which sinners, through persistent selfishness, finally efface not only their God-given potential but their very humanity. Heaven, by contrast, is the fulfillment of our humanity.

Episode 4 : Nature and Supernature-Miracles and the Problem of Pain

November. 20,2006

Lewis's book on miracles and his book on pain may seem unrelated, but in fact they have a close and vital connection. To grasp just what that is, you'll want to witness this lecture.

Episode 3 : Ethics and the Tao-Mere Christianity and The Abolition of Man

November. 20,2006

In an age of relativism and skepticism, Lewis not only defended the idea that ethics are objective, but also suggested that morality at its highest points beyond itself to the divine.

Episode 2 : Argument by Desire-Surprised by Joy and The Pilgrim's Regress

November. 20,2006

Lewis's "real" biography is the story of his spiritual pilgrimage. Why did he see his movement toward Christianity in terms of joy and desire? How did this influence his apologetics?

Episode 1 : The Legacy of C.S. Lewis

November. 20,2006

Why has Lewis had such a profound impact on 20th-century readers? What is distinctive about his method of speaking for Christian beliefs? What shaped his thought and works?