Table of Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. Lewis's Intellectual Framework

2. Worldview Engagement

3. Joy and the Meaning of Life

4. Mind, Miracle, and Nature

5. Moral Law and the Structure of Personal Reality

6. Humanity and the Incarnation

7. The Social God and the Relational Creation

8. Pain, Suffering, and Death

9. Science, Scientism, and Evolution

10. Salvation and Persons Outside the Faith

11. Prayer and Providence

12. Heaven, Hell, and the Trajectory of Finite Personality

Appendix A: Timeline of Lewis's Journey

Appendix B: The Lewis - Van Osdall Correspondence

Glossary

References

Notes

Index

About the Author

Michael L. Peterson is Professor of Philosophy at Asbury Theological Seminary. His books include Science, Evolution, and Religion, God and Evil, and With All Your Mind. He is managing editor of the scholarly journal Faith and Philosophy.

Reviews

a unique and insightful account of the ongoing development of Lewis's processes of thought.
*CHOICE*

An overall successful philosophical analysis of the main ideas of one of the most influential Christian thinkers of the twentieth century ... the author succeeds in shedding new light on the well-known and putting forward his witty arguments quite convincingly. In sum, a systematic and easy-to-read overview the study of which will benefit familiar and new readers of Lewis also as a reference book.
*Fabian F. Grassl, European Journal of Theology*

Superb ... a valuable resource for Lewis scholars, philosophers, and college students, especially.
*J. Scott Jackson, The Living Church*

I have found Michael Peterson's new book on Lewis...surprisingly accessible, given the depth of the matters it deals with...Just as Lewis was gifted in communicating philosophical ideas and arguments in an accessible style, Peterson's lucid and graceful prose in this book can be seen as reflecting a Lewisian accessibility.
*Yuxiao Su, The Glass*

This is one of the most lively, systematic engagements with Lewis's thinking-from his early years to his mature, powerful thought that marked him as one of the most gifted and imaginative Christian thinkers of the twentieth century.
*Charles Taliaferro, Oscar and Gertrude Boe Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, St. Olaf College*

Gleaning principles from the vast corpus of C. S. Lewis's variegated writings, philosopher Michael Peterson has marshaled them into a clear, cogent, and cohering Weltanschauung, providing an engaging framework from which to understand the romantic and reasonable beliefs of the celebrated Oxford (and Cambridge) don. This engrossing work is essential for anyone seeking to wrestle with the core ideas of Western civilization from an orthodox Christian perspective.
*Terry Lindvall, author of Surprised by Laughter: The Comic World of C. S. Lewis and God Mocks: A History of Religious Satire from the Hebrew Prophets through Stephen Colbert.*

How wonderful it would be to have an account of the Christian worldview, drawing on the voluminous writings of C. S. Lewis, Lewis's critics and commentators, and classical and contemporary philosophical viewpoints - and, now we do! Michael L. Peterson has done a masterful job presenting just such an account, with the bonus of hitherto unpublished correspondence. This is a tremendous feat; its difficulty only belied by the clarity and gracefulness of Peterson's prose. C. S. Lewis and the Christian Worldview is the ideal work for reflecting on life's most significant questions and the way Christianity addresses them.
*David Werther, co-editor of C. S. Lewis's List: The Ten Books That Influenced Him Most and Philosophy and the Christian Worldview: Analysis, Assessment and Development.*