Centre for Public Christianity (November 2023)

Among other items, the Centre for Public Christianity has posted a ‘Life and Faith’ interview (here) with Denis Alexander on a new book which ‘tells the stories of people whose encounters with New Atheism set them on the path to Christianity’, an older episode (here) on C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, and an interview (here) with clinical psychologist Leisa Aitken on the psychology of hope.

Evangelical Review of Theology 47, 1 (February 2023)

The latest Evangelical Review of Theology, published by The World Evangelical Alliance, is now online and available in its entirety as a pdf here.

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More Great Reading from the WEA

Evert Van de Poll

Towards a Recognition of the ‘Jewish Church’: the Messianic Jewish Movement and Christianity in Dialogue

The Messianic Jewish movement presents unique theological and diplomatic challenges not just to the Jews whom they hope will come to honour Jesus Christ but to other Christian groups as well. This summary of a July 2022 conference clarifies the issues in a dispassionate, definitive way.

James R. Edwards

The Significance of the Reformation for the Global Church Today

We are all indebted to the 16th-century Reformation for its recovery of the biblical norms of faith and church. However, this message (delivered at a global conference last October) argues that today’s church must fully recover the biblical norms of mission and evangelism to complete the Reformation vision of the church.

Andrew Messmer

A History of Biblical Textual Criticism

Textual criticism of the Bible is not a new science. It has been used by Jews and Christians for over 2,000 years, as a natural outworking of their belief in divine inspiration: if God has inspired a text to teach us about salvation, then we should preserve it as carefully as possible and restore it whenever necessary. This article surveys the history of biblical textual criticism, primarily in the Patristic and Modern periods. The Patristic period contains instructive examples of early textual criticism in practice, whereas modern textual criticism has relied heavily on published editions of both Testaments.

Alan J. Pihringer

C.S. Lewis’ Use of Myth to Convey a Christian Worldview

This article insightfully analyses the apologetic strategy inherent in Lewis’ fiction, including his intent to appeal to the imagination as well as to rational argument and his method of embedding opposing worldviews in his stories so that he could critique them. Lewis’ approach carries lasting value for our efforts to communicate the gospel to our postmodern and entertainment-oriented culture.

Richard L. Smith

The Gospel in Three Dimensions

This study of 1 Thessalonians 1:9–10 reveals that the passage presents the Christian life in simple three-point fashion, in terms of repentance, service to God and others, and our ultimate eschatological hope. These three points can be linked to God’s work on three levels—personal, corporate (within the body of Christ), and cosmic, respectively.

Prabo Mihindukulasuriya

Towards a Theology of Race and Ethnicity

Contemporary confrontations on ethnic identity, racial justice, and the challenges of life in multicultural societies make it imperative for Christians to examine how Scripture teaches us to view race and ethnicity. This article identifies fundamental theological orientations that can help us live faithfully as disciples of Christ amidst the conflicting winds of polarization, ethno-religious nationalism, systemic racism, and hyper-sensitive political correctness.

Book Reviews

Christian History Magazine on C.S. Lewis

The latest issue of Christian History Magazine is devoted to the topic of ‘Jack at Home: C.S. Lewis and those who knew him best’.

Here’s the issue blurb:

‘Why are we still so fascinated with C.S. Lewis? The list of reasons is long: he is one of the most famous fantasy authors of the 20th century; he was an accomplished scholar, a prominent Christian, and a gifted apologist. His books remain bestsellers, and movies have been based on his life and works. For many, C.S. Lewis is larger than life. But sometimes his fame gets in the way of us seeing him as a person. In this new issue on Lewis, CH shows you the man behind the fame: not just as an apologist, fantasy author, and scholar, but as a son, brother, friend, mentor, student, teacher, husband, and stepfather. Meet his ancestors, family, and many of his friends – all of whom were as fascinating as he. Discover C.S. Lewis in a new light, or meet him for the first time in this latest issue of Christian History.”

The whole magazine is available as a 16.1 MB pdf here.

On Learning to Lament

The below is an excerpt from an email written for the congregation where I am one of the pastors.

How could God allow that to happen? If God is good, why is there so much suffering in the world? Why doesn’t he just fix everything?

Perhaps you’ve been asked questions like those. Perhaps you’ve asked them yourself, possibly even over the last few weeks.

How we respond depends, at least in part, on whether the questions are being asked from the perspective of an ‘armchair’ or a ‘wheelchair’. In some cases, the issue of suffering is little more than an intellectual challenge to the existence of God, and is asked from the relative comfort of a conversation between friends or in a radio phone-in discussion. In other cases, the questions are heartfelt cries from those who are themselves in agony, broken, and completely bewildered with the misery of pain, evil, and injustice in a messed-up world.

The contrast between philosophical and personal engagements with suffering can be seen in the writings of C.S. Lewis. As a university don, he wrote a book called The Problem of Pain, in which he argues from a theological and philosophical perspective that human pain, animal pain, and hell are not sufficient reasons to reject belief in a loving and all-powerful God. But, as a devoted husband, he wrote a book called A Grief Observed, reflecting on his experience of bereavement following the death of his wife from cancer. Which book is more helpful? Which is more truthful? Which is more authentic? Both, at different times of life? Each in its own way?

It’s in the pain of bereavement that Lewis writes: ‘Meanwhile, where is God? ... Go to him when your need is desperate, when all other help is in vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence.’

Some of us might be able to relate to that. Certainly the psalmists could.

Would it surprise you to learn that laments are the largest category of prayers in the book of Psalms? Take a moment to reflect on that: what might it mean that the Holy Spirit has so overseen the writing of Scripture such that over a third of the Psalms bring a troubled situation to the Lord – not in a cold, detached way but from a place of deep agony? What does that say about our own expectations of the way things should go? How are such prayers to shape our own prayer life?

In every case, these psalms allow an honest response to God in prayer from the depths of the broken hearts of his hurting people, even to ask those challenging questions: Where are you, Lord? How long, Lord? They provide a way to pray through a period of crisis, grief, or despair. They give us the words to express our brokenness, our need, our longing for justice. Most importantly of all – and contrary to what we might think at first – they demonstrate trust in God, because they’re addressed to the only one who really does hold all things in his hands.

Knowing and Doing (Spring 2020)

The Spring 2020 edition of Knowing & Doing – ‘A Teaching Quarterly for Discipleship of Heart and Mind’ – from the C.S. Lewis Institute is now available online (from here), and contains the following articles:

Joel Woodruff

President’s Letter: The Older Testament is Good News Too

In his President’s Letter, Joel Woodruff makes the case for the regular reading, teaching, and preaching from what is commonly referred to as the ‘Old Testament’ – Jesus’s Bible which was quoted and read by Jesus and His disciples as God’s authoritative Word.

Bill Kynes

How to Read the Bible, Part 4: How is the Bible Useful?

In this last of his series of four articles written to help people read God’s Word with profit, Bill Kynes considers the questions: What can we expect the Bible to do for us? What is it for? He explains that the end or goal of the wisdom the Bible gives us is our ‘salvation’, and offers practical advice for how to read the Bible with this in mind

Chris Morris

The Importance of Childlike Faith in the Workplace

According to Chris Morris, childlike faith is relevant not only to mature believers in their walk with the Lord, but also in the workplace, especially in terms of how we lead, interact with others, and make decisions. In this article, he explains that exhibiting the attributes of a childlike faith can not only lead to effectiveness in the workplace, but also serve as an effective witness to our faith.

William Fullilove

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Career Choices

According to William Fullilove, one of the joys of the past twenty years has been seeing a renewed emphasis on the doctrine of vocation in many Protestant churches – the understanding that God is pleased when each man and woman pursues his or her calling, whether that is to religious or ‘secular’ work. He argues, however, that this has led to some unintended consequences. In this article, Fullilove considers Joseph’s story in Genesis 37-50, which he argues is a useful corrective.

Lynne Marie Kohm

Sexuality as an Apologetic

Lynne Kohm asks, ‘How does your sexuality affect your witness as a Christian?’ In this article, she argues that living and communicating a genuinely biblical view of sexuality is a most powerful apologetic today.

Thomas A. Tarrants, III

The Transformation of our Heart’s Desires

In this article, Tom Tarrants considers the question, ‘How do we navigate around the seductions of this fallen world and faithfully follow Jesus in daily life?’ He argues that the key is in and with our heart’s desires.

Mary Amendolia Gardner

Five Ways to Start Gospel Conversations

Mary Gardner observes that as Jesus’s disciples, we are commanded at the end of Matthew 28 to ‘go therefore and make disciples of all nations.’ In this article, Gardner identifies five practical things that, building on a foundation of prayer, will help cultivate gospel conversations.

John Milton (1608-1674)

Poem: Sonnet 19 – When I consider how my light is spent

C.S. Lewis loved poetry and wished he could be remembered most for his poems. They grab us in different ways than stories or prose. In each issue we feature a poem. We have selected one from John Milton.

W.E. Sangster (1900-1959)

Sermon: What if Calamity Comes?

An inspiring classic sermon from the pulpit of William E. Sangster that we hope will be a blessing to you.

Knowing and Doing (Winter 2019)

The Winter 2019 edition of Knowing & Doing – ‘A Teaching Quarterly for Discipleship of Heart and Mind’ – from the C.S. Lewis Institute is now available online (from here), and contains the following articles:

Joel Woodruff

Is It True That “God’s Work, Done God’s Way, Will Never Lack God’s Supply?” The Test Case of Mary and Joseph

In this issue’s President’s letter, Joel Woodruff looks at the Christmas story as told in the Gospels and wonders how Joseph and Mary’s experience fits with the often-quoted maxim, “God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s resources.” He suggests that things may be a bit more complicated than that.

Bill Kynes

How to Read the Bible, Part 3: The Bible’s Center is Jesus Christ

Bill Kynes continues his series on how to read the Bible by zeroing in on the task of interpretation. He rightly reminds us that Jesus is the center of all of Scripture and any effort to interpret a part of the Bible without remembering that bigger picture is doomed to failure.

Jana Harmon

Surprised by God: Reaching the Resistant

Jana Harmon interviewed fifty former atheists who had come to saving faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. She tells us what she learned in the process, both from what her conversations partners said and how they told their remarkable stories.

Dan Osborn

Thoughts on Why People Drift from the Faith

Dan Osborn dares to wonder why some prominent Christians don’t persevere. As painful as the topic is, he rightly warns us not to ignore it. He also shares biblical insights as to how we can avoid the same tragic mistakes.

Randy Newman

A Multifaceted Gospel for Multifaceted People

Randy Newman shares an excerpt from his recent book Unlikely Converts: Improbable Stories of Faith and What They Teach Us About Evangelism that emphasizes the many ways Scripture talks about the Gospel. It’s not just about forgiveness (although that certainly is central and non-negotiable).

Thomas A. Tarrants

Biblical Meditation

Tom Tarrants considers how three influential leaders from Church history taught about biblical meditation. He challenges us to slow down in our busy world and allow God’s Word to penetrate our entire beings with its powerful, transforming truths.

Stuart McAlpine

Poem: To Joseph

C.S. Lewis loved poetry and wished he could be remembered most for his poems. They grab us in different ways than stories or prose. In each issue we feature a poem. We have selected one from Stuart McAlpine’s The Advent Overture: Meditations and Poems for the Christmas Season.

C.H. Spurgeon

Sermon – Songs in the Night

An inspiring classic sermon from the pulpit of C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) that we hope will be a blessing to you.

Knowing and Doing (Fall 2019)

The Fall 2019 edition of Knowing & Doing – ‘A Teaching Quarterly for Discipleship of Heart and Mind’ – from the C.S. Lewis Institute is now available online (from here), and contains the following articles:

Joel Woodruff

Discipleship is Messy Business

In this issue’s President’s letter, Joel Woodruff reminds us that discipleship would be easy if we just didn’t have to deal with people. But the reality is that, just as Jesus had to deal with his disciples’s humanity, so do we. Discipleship can be messy. But it’s also glorious.

Thomas A. Tarrants III

Is Spiritual Transformation Really Possible?

Tom Tarrants shares his dramatic story of coming to saving faith out of a life of prejudice, hatred, and self-righteousness. In fact, those adjectives don’t paint the picture as bad as it really was. Tom’s story is inspiring as well as challenging. And it illustrates just how powerful and transformational the gospel can be.

Bill Smith

C.S. Lewis on Miracles: Why They are Possible and Significant

Bill Smith examines C.S. Lewis’s writing about miracles and helps us see how we can weave those insights into conversations we might have today with people who deny the possibility of miracles. This article weaves together Lewis’s thought with Biblical teaching in ways that help us understand a difficult topic in anti-supernatural times.

Andy Bannister

Beast or Masterpiece: What Does It Mean to Be Human?

Andy Bannister challenges the prevailing naturalistic worldview around us that insists that people are merely animals. The wide gap between our Biblical perspective – that people are unique, eternally valuable, and created in the image of God – and the dehumanizing trends in our world today are shown to be as dramatic as can be.

Tom Schwanda

Knowing God with Head and Heart: The Dynamics of Christian Experience

Tom Schwanda completes his three part series on “Growing in Intimacy with God” by digging into the role that experience plays in that process. The tension between knowing and doing, sometimes polarized to unhealthy extremes, is examined with an appreciation for both head and heart, doctrine and experience, thought and emotion.

Randy Newman

Having a Conversation about the Conversation: A Strategy for Pre-Evangelism in an Antagonistic Age

Randy Newman proposes the notion that we may need some pre-evangelistic conversations before we have evangelistic presentations. In a time when many people start from a hostile attitude toward Christians, God, and the gospel, we may need to pave the way for defused discussions with a “conversation about the conversation.”

Ruth Lovejoy

Challenging the Gospel of Efficiency

Ruth Lovejoy, a Fellow in our C.S. Lewis Institute Fellows program, shares how seeing the gospel and the goodness of God more worshipfully can set us free from our love for and idolatry of efficiency. With one eye on the scripture’s story about Mary and Martha and another eye on her to-do list, Ruth helps liberate us from the tyranny of the urgent.

John Donne

Poem: O Death

C.S. Lewis loved poetry and wished he could be remembered most for his poems. They grab us in different ways than stories or prose. In each issue we feature a poem. John Donne’s offering tilts our hearts toward obedience and joy.

Dwight L. Moody

Sermon – What Think Ye of Christ? An Excerpt from The Gospel Awakening

An inspiring classic sermon from the pulpit of one of the great evangelists and preachers, D.L. Moody, that we hope will be a blessing to you.

Southeastern Theological Review 10, 1 (Spring 2019)

The most-recent issue of the Southeastern Theological Review is online, containing the below essays, available as a pdf here.

Benjamin L. Merkle

Introduction 

David G. Firth

Some Reflections on Current Narrative Research on the Book of Samuel

The development of narrative criticism as a discipline within Old Testament studies and study of the books of Samuel are integrally related. This essay examines the significance of Samuel for the ways in which narrative criticism has developed, arguing that it is the narrative poetics of Samuel that have come to be largely definitive for our understanding of the poetics of narrative within the Old Testament. At the same time, the developing understanding of narrative criticism has shaped the ways in which Samuel is interpreted, with narrative criticism becoming a dominant model. This development is explored through major studies of Samuel published as and since this shift took place, showing the fruitfulness of this approach for contemporary study, while also showing that issues left unaddressed in the rise of narrative criticism leave important questions about their interpretation unresolved.

David Seal

Communication in the Lukan Birth Narrative (Luke 2:1–20)

The Gospel of Luke was written in an oral culture and it documents events that transpired in the same first-century Mediterranean world. This is apparent in chapter 2 where there are references to various means of information being transmitted that were typical of an oral society. First, the chapter opens by recounting a decree issued by Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1–3). Second, the declaration by an angel that a Savior has been born (2:11) was also proclaimed to the shepherds by word of mouth. Third, the victory acclamation recited by the divine army (2:13–14) mimics acclamations vocalized by the Roman army. Finally, the narration by the shepherds of their experience visiting the Christ child and of the angel’s message was conveyed to others by word of mouth (2:17–18). This essay will explore each of these modes of communication and discuss their implications for understanding the birth narrative. 

Alexander E. Stewart and Jacob D. Ott

Show Me the Money: Pedagogy, Numismatics, and the New Testament

Roman imperial and provincial coins are important for understanding religion, politics, and culture in the first century. They are also able to make a unique and valuable pedagogical contribution to classroom teaching in both the academy and the church. In an effort to promote this pedagogical use of ancient coins, this article will (1) provide a brief introduction to biblically relevant coins from the Old Testament, intertestamental, and New Testament periods; (2) briefly illustrate the relevance of numismatics for New Testament studies; and (3) provide practical guidance for the acquisition and pedagogical use of ancient coins.

David Moss

Infinitive Tense-Form Choice: Ephesians as a Test Cast

Verbal aspect and its involvement in the Greek verbal system has been intensely debated since Stanley Porter and Buist Fanning published their dissertations after independently researching the role verbal aspect plays in the Greek verbal system. This essay seeks to take the research done in verbal aspect studies over the past three decades and apply it to a particular test case, namely Paul’s use of infinitives in Ephesians. Greek, like most languages, makes distinctions that do not directly translate well into English. Since the Greek infinitive mostly occurs in the Present and Aorist tense-forms, an author has a choice in which to use. However, the choice is not purely subjective but has contextual, lexical, and aspectual influences. This essay explores these influences and shows their exegetical significance in the book of Ephesians.

Jesse Payne

An Uneasy Ecclesiology: Carl F.H. Henry’s Doctrine of the Church 

This article evaluates Carl F.H. Henry’s ecclesiology and argues that he highlighted regenerate church membership and mission while he downplayed the local aspects of the church (such as polity and the ordinances). The accent of Henry’s ecclesiology was always placed over the wide swath of churches in the Reformation tradition, rather than a particular stream located therein. This was due to Henry’s unique historical context and calling. This article both affirms and expands upon Russell Moore’s previous work on the topic. The strengths of Henry’s approach lie in the value of a unified evangelical voice in the face of encroaching secularism. The weaknesses lie in the neglect of denominational riches and the possible minimization of God’s ordained vehicle for Christian discipleship: the local church.

Zachary Breitenbach

An Epistemically-Focused Interpretation of C.S. Lewis’s Moral Argument in Mere Christianity and an Assessment of Its Apologetic Force

C.S. Lewis’s moral argument in Mere Christianity is rightly lauded as an influential contribution to moral apologetics. Yet its structure, which Lewis never formalizes, is often misunderstood. I will first defend an interpretation of Lewis’s argument that views it as centering on moral epistemology. Although moral ontology plays a key role in his argument insofar as it affirms the reality of objective morality and a transcendent communicator of the moral law, many wrongly view it as making the further ontological claim that God must ground objective morality. I emphasize how Lewis’s primary aim is to show that a mind-like Guide is needed for humans to know the moral law. My other key objective is to evaluate the apologetic effectiveness of this understanding of the argument. Although I will show how he could have strengthened his argument—and his conclusion, which stops short of arguing for classical theism—in significant ways, I will contend that Lewis does offer a sound argument that carries much apologetic force.

Book Reviews

Knowing and Doing (Summer 2019)

The Summer 2019 edition of Knowing & Doing – ‘A Teaching Quarterly for Discipleship of Heart and Mind’ – from the C.S. Lewis Institute is now available online (from here), and contains the following articles:

Joel Woodruff

President’s Letter: The Loving, Long Reach of the Lord for the Lost

In his President’s Letter, Joel Woodruff shares the story about how a young woman in Singapore found the C.S. Lewis Institute website and, by God’s grace, found Jesus Christ, in part by reading through the resources on our website and then connecting with Institute staff through the “Follow Jesus” page. He rejoices, “This makes it all worth it!”, and encourages readers to join him in praying that the Lord will continue to use the website and other discipleship resources of the C.S. Lewis Institute to reach lost men and women around the world.

Andy Bannister

Old Truths from Oxford: C.S. Lewis and the New Atheists

Andy Bannister argues that in considering how to deal with what has been termed the “New Atheism,” we can learn much from looking at C.S. Lewis’s atheism in his early life, “and his journey from it to Christ, as he engaged with the very kinds of arguments that the New Atheists are recycling today.”

Bill Kynes

How to Read the Bible, Part 2: The Science and Art of Interpretation

Bill Kynes asks: “So you want to read the Bible, but you’re not sure how to do it well. What does it really mean? How is the Bible understood?” As he addresses these questions in this article, Kynes emphasizes that “[t]o read the Bible rightly, one must submit to the Master, who alone holds the key to meaning. Jesus Christ and His gospel must guide our understanding of the Bible, even as our reading of the Bible will refine our understanding of Jesus and His work.”

Tom Schwanda

Cultivating Attentiveness to God’s Presence

In this second part of a three-part series on “Growing in Intimacy with God”, Tom Schwanda discusses the biblical truth that God is always with us, and how we can become more aware of His presence in our lives.

Jim Phillips

Great Books as Great Bridges to Great Conversations

In this article, Jim Phillips discusses studying classic Western literature, and how knowledge of the classics can open up opportunities for gospel discussions.

Thomas A. Tarrants III

Greatness in God’s Kingdom

In this article, Tom Tarrants presents a case study, from the Bible, of a group of ambitious men who sought human greatness long ago and how they discovered kingdom greatness. According to Tarrants, their experience has lessons for us today.

George Herbert

Poem – The Windows

C.S. Lewis loved poetry and wished he could be remembered most for his poems. They grab us in different ways than stories or prose. In each issue we feature a poem. In this poem Herbert is saying practise what you preach, but with rather more elegance.

Richard Baxter

Sermon – Four Aids to Heavenly Contemplation

An inspiring classic sermon from the pulpit of Richard Baxter that we hope will be a blessing to you.

Knowing and Doing (Spring 2019)

The Spring 2019 edition of Knowing & Doing – ‘A Teaching Quarterly for Discipleship of Heart and Mind’ – from the C.S. Lewis Institute is now available online (from here), and contains the following articles:

Joel Woodruff

President’s Letter: It’s About Transformation in Community, not Information in Isolation

Joel Woodruff challenges us to resist the tide of individualism and seek spiritual growth in community. Rather than pursuing “information in isolation,” the C.S. Lewis Institute President urges us to learn from and challenge others as we grow in Christ.

Thomas A. Tarrants, III

Persecution and Suffering for Jesus Christ

Looking at the process of discipleship from the opposite side of most discussions, Tom Tarrants raises the important, albeit disturbing, topic of persecution for the sake of the gospel. Jesus warned many times that his disciples would face specific trials that come from following him. This article helps us prepare for those inevitable trials.

Tom Schwanda

Biblical Foundations for Growing in Intimacy with God

Tom Schwanda steps back from practical considerations about discipleship and begins to explore the Biblical foundations for spiritual growth. This is the first of a three part series that reflects deeply on why we need intimacy with Christ, how scripture sets the platform for it, and then offers suggestions for pursuing that noble goal.

Bill Kynes

How to Read the Bible, Part 1: Introduction and Overview to the Bible

The role of the Bible in spiritual life is often assumed but not as often pursued the way it should be. Bill Kynes begins a four part series that considers how to read, study, and meditate on the Bible. He begins with a reminder that the Bible’s overall storyline must be the context in which we examine any specific passage.

Bryan Hollon

Catechesis and Christian Discipleship

Bryan Hollon points us to a topic that rarely is addressed in contemporary discussions of spiritual growth – the role of catechesis in spiritual formation. Many people don’t even know what that word means. Hollon defines, describes, and encourages systemic training in doctrine and theological reflection.

Joseph Loconte

War, Friendship, and Imagination: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918

Joe Loconte reveals to us some of the ways C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien found faith in some of the most unlikely settings – the battlefields of World War I. While many people lost faith in God because of the carnage they experienced during those dark days, Lewis and Tolkien were transformed for eternal beauty. And their friendship after those days encourages all of us in profound ways.

Aaron Welty

Modern Mythology Matters

Just as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien looked to mythology and story as ways to experience the storyline of the gospel, Aaron Welty shines a similar light on comic book heroes and the appeal they draw through today’s blockbuster movies. If Lewis could create Narnia and Tolkien could tell of Middle Earth, perhaps Superman and Marvel movies could point people to a better “savior.”

William Cowper (1731-1800)

Love Constraining to Obedience

C.S. Lewis loved poetry and wished he could be remembered most for his poems. They grab us in different ways than stories or prose. In each issue we feature a poem. William Cowper’s offering tilts our hearts toward obedience and joy.

Dwight L. Moody

Sermon – The Christian’s Warfare

The great evangelist and preacher Dwight L. Moody didn’t shy away from weighty topics. This sermon on spiritual warfare is a welcome reminder of the nature of our experience in a fallen world.

Knowing and Doing (Winter 2018)

The Winter 2018 edition of Knowing & Doing – ‘A Teaching Quarterly for Discipleship of Heart and Mind’ – from the C.S. Lewis Institute is now available online (from here), and contains the following articles:

Joel Woodruff

President’s Letter: Decluttering Christmas

In his President’s Letter, Joel Woodruff considers the question: What if we were to de-clutter the Christmas story and remove the extraneous additions that have become a part of our Christmas pageant experience and understanding? What would the story of the birth of Christ look like if it was based solely on the biblical test, and the non-essential additions to the story were removed?

Thomas A. Tarrants, III

Discovering God’s Purpose for Your Life

Are you confident that you know and are fulfilling God’s purpose for your life? Tom Tarrants observes that God’s purpose for our life has two major aspects: His purpose in the world to come, and His purpose in the present world. These are intricately intertwined, and it is important to approach our need for guidance in the pressing affairs of the present world, which seem so urgent, in the context of God’s larger, eternal purpose. Once we situate ourselves in this framework, we can more readily discern and embrace God’s particular plans in the unique circumstances of our lives.

Corey Latta

Lewis on Emotion

In this article, Corey Latta addresses how C.S. Lewis wrote about emotion, and shares about what Lewis’s books have meant to him in his life.

Ben Heim

Speaking to Skeptics

About once a month Ben Hein, an assistant pastor, spends an evening with a local community of religious skeptics, freethinkers and atheists. In this article, Hein shares three of the more important lessons he has learned from attending this group over the past two years, with the hope that it will equip you and your church to grow in their engagement with non-Christians in your local communities.

Randy Newman

Putting Together the Pieces of the Evangelism Puzzle

According to Randy Newman, evangelism could be viewed as slightly less difficult if we break it down into component parts. In this article, Newman breaks evangelism down to a few component skills: presenting a concise summary of the gospel, sharing your personal testimony, answering apologetic questions, asking stimulating questions and offering invitations.

David George Moore

An Encouragement to Read Augustine’s Big Book, The City of God

Augustine’s The City of God was written approximately 413-426 A.D. and is recognized as one of the most influential books in history. In this article, David George Moore provides background information about the life of Augustine and explains why, and how, we should read The City of God.

Gerard M Hopkins

Poem: Pied Beauty

In each issue of Knowing and Doing we include a poem as part of our desire to promote discipleship of the heart and mind. Poems stir affection, inspire devotion and stimulate emotions. No wonder the Scriptures contains so many of them! And by the way, C.S. Lewis loved poetry.

Bernard of Clairvaux

Sermon: How Earthly Things Can Never Satisfy, An Excerpt from the Christian Classic, On Loving God

An inspiring classic sermon from Bernard Clairvaux that we hope will be a blessing to you.

Aimee Riegert

Raising Aslan’s Kids: Discipling Tomorrow’s Church Today

Aimee Riegert observes that God asks Christian parents, grandparents and guardians to “disciple our children, modeling faith through our own lives.” While no single formula works for every family, there are some basic healthy habits that lay a strong foundation for fruitful daily life in a godly home. In this article, Riegert discusses four key steps, used in CSLI’s Aslan Academy Parents Guidebook, in living out our faith: pray, study, apply and step out.

Knowing and Doing (Fall 2018)

The Fall 2018 edition of Knowing & Doing – ‘A Teaching Quarterly for Discipleship of Heart and Mind’ – from the C.S. Lewis Institute is now available online (from here), and contains the following articles:

Joel Woodruff

President’s Letter: If the Bible is God’s Word to Jesus, Then it is God’s Word to Me

In his President’s Letter, Joel Woodruff reflects that many years ago he explored the question of the authority of the Bible by reading the Gospels. “I came to believe deeply that God’s Word as revealed in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Scriptures does have authority over me, my beliefs, my choices, and even my lifestyle.” he explains, once he understood the depth of Jesus’s commitment to the authority of Scripture.

Stephen Eyre

C.S. Lewis on Heaven and Hell

According to Stephen Eyre, the modern age in which we live, and with which C.S. Lewis contested throughout his writings, denies the supernatural. Lewis believed that a vigorous supernaturalism was essential to understanding Christianity. Central to Lewis’s supernaturalism was an unapologetic belief in heaven and hell. In this article, Eyre discusses heaven and hell in the writings of C.S Lewis.

Cameron McAllister

The Glamour of Atheism

In this article, Cameron McAllister makes the case that overlooking atheism’s appeal constitutes a serious strategic mistake for those of us who want to discuss the gospel with skeptics.

Mark R. Talbot

The Importance of Calling

In this second article in a two-part series addressing vocation and calling, Mark Talbot discusses the importance of a biblical view of calling and the importance of spending enough time each day in God’s written word.

Thomas A. Tarrants, III

Temptation and Testing

Tom Tarrants observes that we either obey God or disobey Him, there is no other option, and He holds us accountable for our choices. Temptation and testing are intimately bound up with these decisions. In this article, Tarrants looks at what the Bible teaches about the nature of temptation, its sources and consequences, and how to overcome it. He also looks at the closely related theme of testing. He explains that passing tests and overcoming temptations are significant means of growth in the Christian life.

Jim Phillips

Leaving a Legacy

Jim Phillips suggests that “now is the time” for us to record our thoughts for our family about how Jesus has been at work in our lives. He states that if you are a follower of Jesus, you have a story to tell.

Randy Newman

An Encouragement to Read and Prat through The Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett

Randy Newman believes there’s great benefit from praying old prayers, and encourages the reading of The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions.

Edmund Spenser (1552/1553-1599)

Poem: Most Glorious Lord of Life

In each issue of Knowing and Doing we include a poem as part of our desire to promote discipleship of the heart and mind. Poems stir affection, inspire devotion and stimulate emotions. No wonder the Scriptures contains so many of them! And by the way, C.S. Lewis loved poetry.

C.H. Spurgeon

How to Read the Bible

An inspiring classic sermon from the pulpit of C. H. Spurgeon that we hope will be a blessing to you.