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Spiritual Influencers of C. S. Lewis

by Libby O'Neil

August 30, 2012

@shostagirl

Reading From the Library of C. S. Lewis: Selections from Writers Who Influenced His Spiritual Journey (A Writers' Palette Book) cover to cover is not the ideal way to use this book. I did enjoy the exposure to many different works that influences Lewis and especially appreciated the footnotes about the various authors and connection to Lewis. I was expecting this to be more of an annotated bibliography. It covers 18 different categories: God's Love, Our Love of God, The Life and Sacrifice of Christ, Knowing God, Community and Loving Others, Self and the Soul, Sin and Temptation, Grace and Redemption, Suffering, Prayer and Contemplation, Faith, Living a Devout Life, Obedience and Will, Humility, Truth Apologetics and Christianity, Fantasy and Imagination, Creation Poetry and Writers, and Heave Death and Immortality. Each topic features excerpts from different influential authors, preachers and theologians that influenced Lewis. If you are looking for a list of Lewis' library, this is not it. If you are looking to get exposed to primary influencers on Lewis' theology this is definitely the book for you. I will use this as a resource as I read Lewis. I am currently reading The Problem of Pain with my friend Heather and am looking forward to getting back into that using the section on suffering as additional research.

I liked that I got to read pieces of influences. I did not like that they were quite short. Few were over two pages which did not get much room for context. All in all I would recommend it if you are interested in a taste of C. S. Lewis' theological influences. Be prepared to add many books to your "to read" pile.