Biography

C. S. Lewis & Mere Christianity: The Crisis That Created A Classic by Paul McCusker

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Have you, as I have, been blessed by the classic Mere Christianity? Probably the greatest apologetic book I know of, and certainly grist for the mill for your deepest thoughts, the story of the series of events that precipitated this volume is fascinating.

Can you imagine what this book proposal must have looked like laying on the publisher’s desk? A book not about the whole of C. S. Lewis’s life, but just the the particular years when this classic was birthed, as well as the horrors of war in the blitz on London. The background of the BBC is heavily worked into the story too. Believe it or not, this improbable volume works.

In short, Lewis gave several sets of talks on the BBC during the worst of the war in England that captured the attention of listeners at a time when religious broadcasting as a whole fell on bad times. In no time at all, Lewis had more correspondence than he could handle. Here were writings (broadcasts) that went beyond the trivial or any of the hokum that was simply insufficient in the carnage of war. It resonated in a time of great need.

Beyond the confluence of factors that made Mere Christianity so influential, this volume works on the level of biography as well. There is the war, its agonies, and impact on lives that is well described. Then there is C.S. Lewis the man: his industrious output, his tenderness, his family issues, and his humility. You like him better, even if, as me, he has a few beliefs you could not follow.

This book is a pleasant, worthwhile read!

em>I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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Tyndale by David Teems

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You always assumed, I’m sure, that William Tyndale was an important man in Christian history. This book shows just how amazingly important he was. You knew about his first English translation of the New Testament, perhaps you even knew he died as a martyr. Did you know, though, that he had a great effect on our English language? He is credited with many words in our language coming from his pen. If you are a lover of the KJV as I am, you will be shocked as I was to learn that many of the most memorable lines of the KJV came over unchanged from Tyndale. Consider:

Let not your hearts be troubled..
The Lord bless thee and keep thee.
The Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be merciful unto thee.
…for whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou dwellest, there I will dwell.

There are many others that Mr. Teems shares with us. You leave this book convinced that Tyndale has had the greatest influence of all on the Word of God in English. There really is no close second.

You are impressed too as you read of Tyndale’s simple faith and dogged determination to translate the Bible into English. It was his driving passion from which he never wavered. Mr. Teems quotes Tyndale in regards to his translation work:

…that I never altered one syllable of God’s word against my conscience, nor would do this day, if all that is in the earth, whether it be honour, pleasure, or riches, might be given me.

Though Mr. Teems didn’t exactly word it this way, it is obvious that Tyndale was especially gifted by God for his great work. It was his life’s work, one that cost him greatly, living and running as a fugitive with loneliness and danger always staring him in the face.

Mr. Teems has done us great service in this volume. He is handy with a pen. His own literary skill makes him able to demonstrate how deep Tyndale’s talents really go. He holds Tyndale up beside the great literary figures and even mentions where Shakespeare used Tyndale. I finished this book thinking that more than a heroic man, Tyndale was one of the really great ones. Perhaps he hasn’t had his due, but Mr. Teems while fairly showing his faults, accurately presents us with “Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God an English Voice.”

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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