C. S. Lewis}}}s "Mere Christianity": A Biography [Hardcover]

Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis's eloquent and winsome defense of the Christian faith, originated as a series of BBC radio talks broadcast during the dark days of World War Two. Here is the story of the extraordinary life and afterlife of this influential and much-beloved book.

George Marsden describes how Lewis gradually went from being an atheist to a committed Anglicanfamously converting to Christianity in 1931 after conversing into the night with his friends J. R. R. Tolkien and Hugh Dysonand how Lewis delivered his wartime talks to a traumatized British nation in the midst of an all-out war for survival. Marsden recounts how versions of those talks were collected together in 1952 under the titleMere Christianity, and how the book went on to become one of the most widely read presentations of essential Christianity ever published, particularly among American evangelicals. He examines its role in the conversion experiences of such figures as Charles Colson, who read the book while facing arrest for his role in the Watergate scandal. Marsden explores its relationship with Lewis's Narnia books and other writings, and explains why Lewis's plainspoken case for Christianity continues to have its critics and ardent admirers to this day.

With uncommon clarity and grace, Marsden provides invaluable new insights into this modern spiritual classic.

George M. Marsdenis the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame. His books includeFundamentalism and American Culture,Jonathan Edwards: A Life,The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship, andThe Soul of the American University. He lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A clear and deeply informed account of a religious work that seems to have no expiration date. Admirers of Lewis as well as those interested in the origins of recent Christian thought will be happy to dive into this densely packed volume. Books on Lewis abounl3œ