Here are dozens of surprising aspects of the life and writings of C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald, and Dante. (George MacDonald loved the writings of Dante, and C. S. Lewis loved the writings of both Dante and MacDonald.) Contents range from the quick, surprising fun of "Who Is This Man?" to the practical, down-to-earth instruction of "C. S. Lewis's Free Advice to Hopeful Writers" and the adventurous scholarship of "Spring in Purgatory" and "Mining Dante".

A repackaged edition of the revered author’s spiritual memoir, in which he recounts the story of his divine journey and eventual conversion to Christianity. C. S. Lewis—the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and bestselling author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics—takes readers on a spiritual journey through his early life and eventual embrace of the Christian faith. Lewis begins with his childhood in Belfast, surveys his boarding school years and his youthful atheism in England, reflects on his experience in World War I, and ends at Oxford, where he became "the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England." As he recounts his lifelong search for joy, Lewis demonstrates its role in guiding him to find God.

This three-volume collection demonstrates the depth and breadth of evangelical Christians' consumption, critique, and creation of popular culture, and how evangelical Christians are both influenced by—and influence—mainstream popular culture, covering comic books to movies to social media. Evangelical Christians and Popular Culture: Pop Goes the Gospel addresses the full spectrum of evangelical media and popular culture offerings, even delving into lesser-known forms of evangelical popular culture such as comic books, video games, and theme parks. The chapters in this 3-volume work are written by over 50 authors who specialize in fields as diverse as history, theology, music, psychology, journalism, film and television studies, advertising, and public relations. Volume 1 examines film, radio and television, and the Internet; Volume 2 covers literature, music, popular art, and merchandise; and Volume 3 discusses public figures, popular press, places, and events. The work is intended for a scholarly audience but presents material in a student-friendly, accessible manner. Evangelical insiders will receive a fresh look at the wide variety of evangelical popular culture offerings, many of which will be unknown, while non-evangelical readers will benefit from a comprehensive introduction to the subject matter.

This book shows how Lewis was interested in the truths and falsehoods about human nature and how these conceptions manifest themselves in the public square.

The characters, plots, and potent language of C. S. Lewis's novels reveal everywhere the modern writer' admiration for Dante's Divine Comedy. Throughout his career Lewis drew on the structure, themes, and narrative details of Dante's medieval epic to present his characters as spiritual pilgrims growing toward God. Dante's portrayal of sin and sanctification, of human frailty and divine revelation, are evident in all of Lewis's best work. Readers will see how a modern author can make astonishingly creative use of a predecessor's material - in this case, the way Lewis imitated and adapted medieval ideas about spiritual life for the benefit of his modern audience. Nine chapters cover all of Lewis's novels, from Pilgrim's Regress and his science-fiction to The Chronicles of Narnia and Till We Have Faces. Readers will gain new insight into the sources of Lewis's literary imagination that represented theological and spiritual principles in his clever, compelling, humorous, and thoroughly human stories.

Features:• Wide chronological coverage of English literature, especially texts found in the Norton, Oxford, Blackwell and other standard anthologies• Short, punchy essays that engage with the texts, the critics, and literary and social issues• Background and survey articles• Glossaries of Bible themes, images and narratives• Annotated bibliography and questions for class discussion or personal reflection• Scholarly yet accessible, jargon-free approach – ideal for school and university students, book groups and general readersCreated for readers who may be unfamiliar with the Bible, church history or theological development, it offers an understanding of Christianity’s key concepts, themes, images and characters as they relate to English literature up to the present day.

David Kimbrough explains the history and practice of serpent-handling believers from the pserspective of a respectful and scholarly participant-ovserver.

C.S. Lewis's enlightened, foundational respect for the Jews as God's chosen people is a feature in much of his apologetic and theological writing. Although as a boy and young man Lewis reflected much of the implicit anti-Semitism inherent in the public-school-educated Edwardian establishment, this was replaced by deep respect when he became a Christian. Later on, Lewis's understanding was much enhanced by his wife, Joy Davidman (m. 1956); born to American Jewish parents, she was an adult convert to Yeshua Ha Mashiach - Jesus Christ - and Lewis referred to her as a Jewish Christian. A Hebraic Inkling examines in depth this Jewish-Hebrew influence in Lewis' life and works. Analysing some of his key writings in theology, philosophy, literature and apologetics, his rigorous stand against anti-Semitism and affinity for Jewish literature and culture is outlined, as well as his vision of how Christians are enfolded into the chosen people. This respect and affinity extended to Lewis' own family; when one of Joy's children sought to return to his mother's birth-faith, Lewis moved all to accommodate his wishes and raise him as a Jew, after Joy's untimely death.

This book provides students and other interested readers with a comprehensive survey of science fiction history and numerous essays addressing major science fiction topics, authors, works, and subgenres written by a distinguished scholar. This encyclopedia deals with written science fiction in all of its forms, not only novels and short stories but also mediums often ignored in other reference books, such as plays, poems, comic books, and graphic novels. Some science fiction films, television programs, and video games are also mentioned, particularly when they are relevant to written texts. Its focus is on science fiction in the English language, though due attention is given to international authors whose works have been frequently translated into English. Since science fiction became a recognized genre and greatly expanded in the 20th century, works published in the 20th and 21st centuries are most frequently discussed, though important earlier works are not neglected. The texts are designed to be helpful to numerous readers, ranging from students first encountering science fiction to experienced scholars in the field.

A collection of essays that reexamine literature through a feminist gaze from "one of our most versatile and gifted writers" (Joyce Carol Oates). "We think back through our mothers if we are women," wrote Virginia Woolf. In this groundbreaking series of essays, Sandra M. Gilbert explores how our literary mothers have influenced us in our writing and in life. She considers the effects of these literary mothers by examining her own history and the work of such luminaries as Charlotte Brontë, Emily Dickinson, and Sylvia Plath. In the course of the book, she charts her own development as a feminist, demonstrates ways of understanding the dynamics of gender and genre, and traces the redefinitions of maternity reflected in texts by authors such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning and George Eliot. Throughout, Gilbert asks major questions about feminism in the twentieth century: Why and how did its ideas become so necessary to women in the sixties and seventies? What have those feminist concepts come to mean in the new century? And above all, how have our intellectual mothers shaped our thoughts today?