Exploring the 1944 C. S. Lewis essay "Myth Became Fact" where Lewis defends Christianity against the de-mythologizing. He argues that the mythic nature of Christianity is essential and that what elevates it above all other myths is that this Myth actually became Fact. That is, it really happened. This was the idea that J. R. R. Tolkien argued with the non-Christian Lewis, which led to Lewis' conversion. Find Andrew Lazo at his own website or as a regular co-host on the Pints with Jack Podcast. A...
Dec 27, 2023•37 min•Season 3Ep. 17
This letter, written Sept 22, 1931 by a young C. S. Lewis to his closest friend Arthur Greeves, is uniquley timed. It was written during the week in-between the influential conversation Lewis had on Addison's Walk with friends Tolkien and Dyson, and the day of Lewis' conversion to Christ (what has become known as "Sidecar Day"). Not surprisingly, during this week and in this letter to Arthur, Lewis had Sensucht on his mind. Links — "They Stand Together" The Letters of C. S. Lewis to Arthur Greev...
Dec 13, 2023•44 min•Season 3Ep. 16
**SPOILER ALERT** Listen to this short story first here: "The Man Born Blind" Or find where you can read it at pintswithjack.com/essays We are back with Dr. Charlie W. Starr to talk about the theme of Sensucht in the short story "Light" and in the rest of Lewis' writings. It was Sensucht that alerted Lewis that there was more to this world than this world, and we find it the perfect theme to help us reflect through Advent. Check out Charlie's book on the subject, called "Ligh...
Dec 13, 2023•49 min•Season 3Ep. 15
To celebrate the first ever C. S. Lewis Reading Day today on Lewis' 125th Birthday, we have an unreleased clip from our earlier episode with Dr. Jerry Root (See "Is Theology Poetry?"). Here Jerry tells us about his life and the huge influence Lewis played in teaching him the faith, expanding his imagination, and pointing his desires towards Christ. Click here for more of Dr. Jerry Root. Find more #CSLewisReadingDay content at pintswithjack.com/reading-day Find the Live-Streamed Q&A Panel on...
Dec 13, 2023•18 min
**SPOILER ALERT** Listen to this short story first here: "The Man Born Blind" Or find where you can read it at pintswithjack.com/essays In this part of our conversation with Dr. Charlie W. Starr, we discuss one possible interpretation of "Light" as it pertains to "epistemology" or "how we come to know things". If this is the case, the short story helps us see how imagination and experiential knowing (which Lewis also calls "Looking Along") is as valid as rational "Looking At" ways o...
Nov 22, 2023•34 min•Season 3Ep. 14
**SPOILER ALERT** Because we are finally covering a short story by C. S. Lewis, we recommend to listen to this 11-minute short story first, becuase it has a twist ending we will spoil in the epiosde: Find it on YouTube here: "The Man Born Blind" Or find where you can read it at pintswithjack.com/essays Lewis wrote two slightly different versions of this story, one goes by the title "Light" and the other "The Man Born Blind", but they are very similar and only have small changes to them....
Nov 15, 2023•31 min•Season 3Ep. 13
In this 1944 essay "The Funeral of a Great Myth" C. S. Lewis continues the thought he began in "Is Theology Poetry?" about how the scientific theory of evolution has been hijacked by scientism to become an all-encompasing cosmic theory about improvement or development or progress. In Lewis' perspective, it is time to put this "mythic" to death. Dr. Bethany Sollereder, lecturer in Science & Religion, joins us to discuss how this myth is still prevalent in our world today and the differences b...
Nov 08, 2023•38 min•Season 3Ep. 12
In this 1944 essay "The Funeral of a Great Myth" C. S. Lewis continues the thought he began in "Is Theology Poetry?" about how the scientific theory of evolution has been hijacked by scientism to become an all-encompasing cosmic theory about improvement or development or progress. In Lewis' perspective, it is time to put this "mythic" to death. Dr. Bethany Sollereder, lecturer in Science & Religion, joins us to discuss how Lewis was right on the money — and where parts of his argument do not...
Nov 01, 2023•34 min•Season 3Ep. 11
In Case You Missed It - We were recently guests on The Lamp-Post Listener with Daniel and Phil to talk about why we all love Lewis, especially his essay! Check out The Lamp-Post Listener Podcast and online here at The Lamp-Post Listener. Find more Lesser-Known Lewis — Online: pintswithjack.com/lesser-known-lewis Patreon: patreon.com/lesserknownlewis Instagram: @lesserknownlewis Facebook: Lesser-Known Lewis Podcast...
Oct 11, 2023•43 min
In "G. A. L. Burgeon" C. S. Lewis reviews his friend and fellow Inkling Owen Barfield's book This Ever Diverse Pair . Joined by Barfield's grandson, also named Owen, here we encounter how Lewis applies some of his thinking on metaphor and imagination to a novel written by Owen Barfield - the friend from whom Lewis derived much of his thinking about thinking, imagination, and metaphor. Find more on Owen Barfield at owenbarfield.org You may want to check out the entries that explain Barfield's t...
Sep 27, 2023•36 min•Season 3Ep. 10
In "Who gaf me drink?" C. S. Lewis reviews his friend and fellow Inkling Owen Barfield's book Romanticism Comes of Age . Joined by Barfield's grandson, also named Owen, here we encounter how Lewis applies some of his thinking on metaphor and imagination to a book largely about imagination written by Owen Barfield - the friend from whom Lewis derived much of his thinking about thinking, imagination, and metaphor. Find more on Owen Barfield at owenbarfield.org You may want to check out the entries...
Sep 20, 2023•50 min•Season 3Ep. 9
In the second part of his 1936 essay, "Bluspels and Flalansferes: A Semantic Nightmare" C. S. Lewis, once again, is defending metaphors as valid, useful, valuable, even necessary ways of speaking about reality. He concludes it is actually those who are best at creating metaphors who are "masters of meaning" rather than those who try to avoid metaphors and stick to the literal. We cannot have just one or the other for, while reason is the organ of truth, "imagination is the organ of meaning." C. ...
Sep 13, 2023•33 min•Season 3Ep. 8
In his 1936 essay, "Bluspels and Flalansferes: A Semantic Nightmare" C. S. Lewis, once again, is defending metaphors as valid, useful, valuable, even necessary ways of speaking about reality. He introduces the idea of a "Master's Metaphor" and a "Pupils Metaphor" to explain how metaphors can be tied to our understanding of a concept, but that this is not always the case. The Eudo Podcast: "Bluspels & Flalansferes" C. S. Lewis' essays can be located at pintswithjack.com/essays Find more...
Sep 06, 2023•36 min•Season 3Ep. 7
In the second part of this 1960 essay, "The Language of Religion," C. S. Lewis once again defends the ordinary and poetic nature of most of our language within and about Christianity from those who would want it to be more scientific, literal, or quantitative. There is a use for this language, says Lewis, and even Christians sometimes need language like this when doing theology. However, if this was the only way we talked about things, there would be "some death in it." There is always a need an...
Aug 30, 2023•38 min•Season 3Ep. 6
In this 1960 essay, "The Language of Religion," C. S. Lewis once again defends the ordinary and poetic nature of most of our language within and about Christianity from those who would want it to be more scientific, literal, or quantitative. There is a use for this language, says Lewis, and even Christians sometimes need language like this when doing theology. However, if this was the only way we talked about things, there would be "some death in it." There is always a need and a value for poeti...
Aug 23, 2023•40 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Exploring C. S. Lewis' 1944 essay "Is Theology Poetry?" where he defends the Christian belief against the accusation that we believe it merely because it is imaginatively appealing. There may often be aesthetic enjoyment of the truths of Christianity; it may be poetic, narrative, mythic, and metaphoric at times. And these are all valid ways of coming to know truth, but they not the only reasons we have to believe Christian claims are true. Click here for more of Dr. Jerry Root . C. S. Lewis' ...
Aug 16, 2023•34 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Exploring C. S. Lewis' 1944 essay "Is Theology Poetry?" where he defends the Christian belief against the accusation that we believe it merely because it is imaginatively appealing. There may often be aesthetic enjoyment of the truths of Christianity; it may be poetic, narrative, mythic, and metaphoric at times. And these are all valid ways of coming to know truth, but they not the only reasons we have to believe Christian claims are true. Click here for more of Dr. Jerry Root . The Treachery of...
Aug 09, 2023•33 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Myth was important to C. S. Lewis. He thought it should be important to everyone, especially Christians. Before we get to Lewis' essays "On Metaphor and Myth" this season, we check in with Dr. Charlie W. Starr, author of "The Faun's Bookshelf: C. S. Lewis on Why Myth Matters" , to ask just that question — why does myth matter? For more on Charlie W. Starr — His Books His Blogs The C. S. Lewis Retreat 2023 Hear Charlie discuss The Faun's Bookshelf His Contribution on The Abolition of Man ...
Aug 02, 2023•43 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Myth was important to C. S. Lewis. He thought it should be important to everyone, especially Christians. Before we get to Lewis' essays "On Metaphor and Myth" this season, we check in with Dr. Charlie W. Starr, author of "The Faun's Bookshelf: C. S. Lewis on Why Myth Matters" , to try and get an overview on what Myth is to Lewis. In short, Myth is a way of languaging, of communicating concrete realities to people so they can know them by experience through their imagination. Or, to quote Charlie...
Jul 26, 2023•45 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In Case You Missed It - Jordan took the guest spot on The Inklings Variety Hour to discuss the essay "Religion and Rocketry" with host Chris Pipkin. We cover everything from the question of aliens, to government conspiracies, to apologetics, to Richard Dawkins, Elon Musk, and James Cameron. Contact Chris Pipkin at inklingsvarietyhour@gmail.com Find more Lesser-Known Lewis — Online: pintswithjack.com/lesser-known-lewis Patreon: patreon.com/lesserknownlewis...
Jul 12, 2023•1 hr 28 min
In Case You Missed It - We were recently guests on Pints with Jack’s After Hours episode. We talk with David Bates about our show, and looking at the connections between C. S. Lewis' “Religion and Rocketry,” “The Seeing Eye,” and Out of the Silent Planet . Check out Pints with Jack's podcast and online at pintswithjack.com . Find more Lesser-Known Lewis — Online: pintswithjack.com/lesser-known-lewis Patreon: patreon.com/lesserknownlewis Instagram: ...
Jul 05, 2023•1 hr 4 min
This clip is from our upcoming episodes with Dr. Charlie W. "Indiana Jones" Starr . Here he tells us about his unique role in C. S. Lewis studies and how he came to discover Lewis' only attempt at writing an Archangel Letter as a sequel to The Screwtape Letters . Find more Lesser-Known Lewis — Online: pintswithjack.com/lesser-known-lewis Patreon: patreon.com/lesserknownlewis Instagram: @lesserknownlewis Facebook: Lesser-Known Lewis P...
Jun 28, 2023•17 min
In celebration of our first year on the air (yes, a whole year, and we're as surprised as you are), we have a casual conversation to tell you about — What is Lesser-Known Lewis? Who are we? What have we been doing so far? Why do we do what we do? Why do we do the podcast the way we do it? What would we like to do next? How would we like to grow? How can the listener get more involved? Follow along with the essays — Audible Version - "C. S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces" In Print...
Jun 07, 2023•42 min
This week's episode is a short teaching Jordan was invited by Sean to share at Eston College. Jordan takes what we have been learning from C. S. Lewis on prayer this season and looks to The Chronicles of Narnia to see where we might see the same thing, and reflect on how the simple yet beautiful observations Lewis makes about prayer that should strengthen all of our prayer lives. Find more Lesser-Known Lewis — Online: pintswithjack.com/lesser-known-lewis Patreon: patreon.com...
May 31, 2023•45 min
To wrap up our Second Season, where C. S. Lewis served as a guide to the Christian life, we sit down with Rev. Dr. Bryan Hollon to talk about what we can learn from C. S. Lewis on how to use Scripture personally, and in the ways we communicate the Gospel. The C. S. Lewis Institute Ten Commandments in an Age of Moral Confusion, Conference at Christ Church, Plano, TX. The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy Find more Lesser-Known Lewis — Online: pintswithjack.com/lesser-known-lewis...
May 24, 2023•49 min•Season 2Ep. 24
Exploring the second part of C. S. Lewis' 1940 essay "Dangers of National Repentance." This time David helps us think through what we should do about collective guilt, the difference between repentance and penitence, looking at others with charity. We also consider what the sins of our own age might be — what is the long in our own eye? Consider attending the Common Roots Conference June 8-10, 2023, put on by David at the Robert E. Webber Center. Check out Rev. Dr. David Ney's writing at Th...
May 17, 2023•47 min•Season 2Ep. 23
Exploring C. S. Lewis' 1940 essay "Dangers of National Repentance," where Lewis challenges the young people of his day on their impulse to repent of the acts of past generations. He thinks we ought to be careful when repenting of collective guilt because in order to do this you risk a few dangers. Dangers Jesus confronted when he challenged us to look at the log in our own eye. Dr. Ney helps us reflect on Lewis’ challenge and how it might apply to “woke” culture, cancel culture, and thinking thr...
May 10, 2023•49 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Exploring the second part of C. S. Lewis' 1947 essay "On Forgiveness." Here Lewis turns our attention to how we can accept forgiveness from God and how we can (and ought to) forgive others when they sin against us. As we wrestle with how this challenges and encourages us in our own lives, William provides some good perspective and advice from his experience in the world of counseling on how to go about the process of forgiveness. Since, as Lewis says, "to be a Christian means to forgive the inex...
Mar 29, 2023•48 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Exploring C. S. Lewis' 1947 essay "On Forgiveness." You'll never guess what it's about ;) In this first part, Lewis leads us to reflect on how we approach God when we ask for forgiveness. He helps us see the important difference between forgiving and excusing and after reminding us that confession and repentance are important regular activities of the Christian life, he challenges us to consider whether our confession and repentance with God is true repentance asking for true forgiveness, or whe...
Mar 22, 2023•45 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Exploring the second part of the 1948 article by C. S. Lewis, "The Trouble with 'X'" where Lewis explores the all too relatable problem of what to do when we encounter people whose "fatal flaw" shipwreck all our best plans. Here he turns the whole complaint on its head and with a few parables Lewis helps us see that God sees one more person with fatal flaws that we don't see, the only person we are able to change, the only person we are responsible to change — ourselves. Lewis helps us take seri...
Mar 15, 2023•51 min•Season 2Ep. 19
