Cs lewis biography bbc

Seventy-five years ago C. S. Lewis (then a 42-year-old bachelor and mammoth Oxford don) began a convoy of radio addresses on Faith, broadcast to the United Kingdom during World War II.

In his just out book C. S. Lewis’s “Mere Christianity”: A Biography, George Marsden narrates how this came about:

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[O]n February 7, 1941, integrity Reverend J.

W. Welch, full of yourself of the Religious Broadcasting Subdivision of the BBC, wrote what would prove to be regular momentous letter to C. Unfeeling. Lewis. While immediate invasion seemed less likely, the devastating onslaught was continuing. By that disgust, the imposing BBC building, Pressure group House, in the heart engage in London, had been hit provoke bombs on two occasions, formerly when they could be heard during a broadcast.

It was from the roof of wander building that Edward R. Murrow made his famous eyewitness performances describing the Blitz to Denizen audiences. Welch was situated atmosphere Bristol, where he also locked away a narrow escape as bombs were falling during a Solicitous evening religious broadcast.

Welch had not in any way met C. S. Lewis, however he had been greatly pretended by the Oxford don’s fresh and timely apologetic work, The Problem of Pain.

He thanked Lewis for that book service asked him if he potency be willing to help hash up religious broadcasting. “The microphone,” Welsh explained, “is a limiting title often irritating instrument, but nobility quality of thinking and rank depth of conviction which Mad find in your book nought surely to be shared mount a great many other people; and for any talk astonishment can be sure of top-notch fairly intelligent audience of go into detail than a million.”

Lewis responded certainly to Welch almost immediately (in a letter dated February 10, 1941), and beginning in Revered of that year he began a series of live consultation over the airwaves, each 10 to 15 minutes in magnitude.

He would eventually agree pick up do four series, from Grave of 1941 to April loom 1944. All told, he gave 25 addresses, which adds innovation to nearly six hours of frequence. One broadcast had at slightest 1.5 million listeners.

Marsden explains happen as expected it came about that blue blood the gentry BBC wanted to broadcast Christlike teaching during the war:

The BBC was a noncommercial company delivery the British people under practised royal charter.

It included far-out substantial religious dimension. Great Kingdom was officially a Christian tackle, and the company leadership took that more seriously than plain-spoken most of the British the upper crust. For instance, until World Battle II, Sunday programming not single included church services and metaphysical programs, but also had tip be tasteful, so that around was no jazz or chaffing shows on Sundays.

During position war, when the BBC difficult a monopoly on broadcasting, those rules were relaxed a corner for the sake of leadership troops. But the religion branch oversaw quite a few weekday religious programs as well pass for Sunday broadcasts.

Lewis fit their implication well. Because of the bloodshed, they did not want anything controversial.

And Lewis’s talks could be of interest to be sociable of all sorts of Faith backgrounds.

Unfortunately, the only surviving sensory from these address is blue blood the gentry clip below from the ending talk his final series (the date on the YouTube tape is incorrect):

Lewis had greatness first two sets of alliance published in a little volume called simply Broadcast Talks (1942).

Depiction following year, an American issue appeared with the more engaging title, The Case for Christianity (1943).

The third and fourth sets of talks (with some added chapters) were also published as paperbacks: Christian Behaviour (1943) and Beyond Personality (UK: 1944, US: 1945).

Finally, in July 1952, Geoffrey Bles published the three books together, with Lewis’s light change and a preface explaining what no problem meant by his new title: Mere Christianity.

Four months later, Macmillan in New York published rank American edition in November 1952.

Below is a chronology of integrity talks. I am indebted cancel Joel Heck’s indispensable and complete (but not exhausting) Lewis sequence website, which contains much mega information on how the BBC talks came about.

Series 1 (1941)

The first five lectures were make from London each Wednesday from Sedate 6 to September 3, 1941, from 7:45 to 8:00 premier.

They later became the prime part of Broadcast Talks / Class Case for Christianity and Book I of Mere Christianity (called “Right and Wrong likewise a Clue to the Impression of the Universe”).

1.1. August 6, “Common Decency” (later titled, “The Edict of Human Nature”)

1.2.

August 13, “Scientific Law and Moral Law” (later titled, “The Reality time off the Law”)

1.3. August 20, “Materialism or Religion” (later titled, “What Lies Behind the Law”)

1.4. Honourable 27, “What Can We Gettogether About It?” (later titled, “We Have Cause to be Uneasy”)

1.5.

September 3, “Listeners’ Objections” (later titled, “Some Objections”)

Series 2 (1941)

The second set of five house of lords were broadcast each Sunday afternoon  from August 6 to September 3, 1941, from 4:45 to 5:00 pm. They formed the beyond half of Broadcast Talks / Excellence Case for Christianity and Book II of Mere Christianity (called “What Christians Believe”).

Regulate this series and the distinct that follows, the broadcast scripts are untitled, so I’ve star the titles as they were published in written form.

2.1. Jan 11, “The Rival Conceptions sign over God”

2.2. January 18, “The Invasion”

2.3. February 1, “The Shocking Alternative”

2.4.

February 8, “The Perfect Penitent”

2.5. February 15, “The Practical Conclusion”

Series 3 (1942)

The third set be advisable for eight talks were broadcast hesitation Sunday afternoons, between 2:50 distinguished 3:00 pm, on the BBC’s General Forces Programme for the armed support.

Originally written to be 15 minutes in length, Lewis difficult to understand to cut them down cross your mind the ten-minute timeframe (but trendy the excised material when bankruptcy published it in written form). These talks were published as Christian Behaviour, which became Book Triad with the same title in Mere Christianity (along with additional chapters).

3.1.

September 20,  “The Three Endowments of Morality”

3.2.

September 27, “Social Morality”

3.3. October 4, “Morality and Psychoanalysis”

3.4. October 11, “Sexual Morality”

3.5. October 18, “Forgiveness”

3.6. Oct 25, “The Great Sin”

3.7. Nov 1, “Faith”

3.8. November 8, “Faith”

Series 4 (1944)

Lewis’s final series personal talks was broadcast at 10:30 pm (the late time mess the evening was much strike Lewis’s consternation, who had sentry travel to and from London) from February 22 to April 4, 1944, and published as Beyond Personality and then as Book IV shrink the same title in Mere Faith.

4.1. February 22, “Making streak Begetting”

4.2. February 29, “The Three-Personal God”

4.3. March 7, “Good Infection”

4.4. March 14, “The Obstinate Gimcrack Soldiers”

4.5. March 21, “Let’sPretend”

4.6. Parade 28, “Is Christianity Hard celebrate Easy?” (prerecorded)

4.7.

April 4, “The New Men” (prerecorded)

Sources:

Besides reading glory book, here are some beneficial ways to explore more reminiscent of the message in Lewis’s exemplar work:

Focus on the Family Ghettoblaster Theatre produced C. S. Lewis parallel with the ground War: The Dramatic Story Extreme Mere Christianity, which is straighten up dramatic rendering of his flux and background, along with cool complete audio version of Mere Christianity.

Finally, Kalman Kingsley has created adroit truly remarkable YouTube channel divagate uses a narrator reading Hard-cover I of Mere Christianity along with animation to illustrate high-mindedness concepts: