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Christian Living

ChurchWatch 11/19/10

The C. S. Lewis Bible

One of the most revered Christian thinkers of our time is the inimitable C. S. Lewis. Now some of his most profound writings are being offered as a companion guide for reflection, meditation, and study of Scripture in the new 'C. S. Lewis Bible'.

C. S. LewisThe C. S. Lewis Bible offers a unique way for readers to reflect upon important biblical passages,” say Mark Tauber of HarperOne Publishers. “By pairing Lewis’s writing with Scripture, this Bible offers readers the opportunity to gain fresh insight into Lewis’s writings, his own spiritual journey, and to the Scriptures themselves.”

Features include:

• More than 600 selections from C. S. Lewis for contemplation and devotional reading;
• Introductory essays on C. S. Lewis’s view of Scripture;
• Indexes to guide you to each reading from C. S. Lewis; and
• Double-column format, in a readable, classic design.

'The C. S. Lewis Bible' offers an unprecedented window into the Word of God and draws upon the distinctive wisdom and spiritual insight from one of the most thought-provoking and influential Christian writers of our time.


Order your copy of The C. S. Lewis Bible from ShopCBN.

Read the Introduction to The C. S. Lewis Bible by contributing editor Jerry Root

Read excerpts from The C. S. Lewis Bible on CBN.com 


How to Read The C. S. Lewis Bible (from Jerry Root, contributing editor)

Imagine if C. S. Lewis were your Oxford tutor or Bible teacher. What would he say, and how would he teach and inspire you? He’d ask the tough questions. He’d make you wrestle with Scripture. He wouldn’t let you get off easy. The C. S. Lewis Bible was developed in order to put his wisdom and insight side-by-side with the Scriptures so that readers might benefit from the years Lewis gave to close personal study of the Bible as it informed his own writing.

C. S. LewisIn over six hundred readings paired alongside relevant passages in the Bible, C. S. Lewis is offered as a companion and guide to a reader’s daily study of Scripture. As you come across one of these readings within the Bible text, imagine Lewis sitting alongside you, making observations on Scripture. As Lewis did in his daily study, wrestle with the Scriptures, allow his questions to make you dig deeper in the text to look for answers, and set aside time to pause and reflect.

One can deduce from Lewis’s own practices that there are many ways to read The C. S. Lewis Bible—or any other Bible, for that matter. It can, and perhaps ought to be, read cover to cover—as you might read any other book. In fact, the Bible can be read, at a speaking speed, in approximately eighty hours. This means it takes no more than thirteen minutes per day to read through the Bible from start to finish in a year; this is less time than is given over to commercials in one hour of television.

Another way is to study one book of the Bible per month, reading that book over and over, each day, in that given month, taking notes on it and exploring its context in greater depth.

Furthermore, the Bible could be read thematically. To do this, while reading it through from start to finish, follow a particular theme throughout. Mark down references as you note the frequency of the theme each time it is mentioned. Follow themes like the love of God, the promises of eternal life, our obligation to the poor, the sanctity of life, our responsibility for the environment, and other topics to keep you engaged with the text and to discover what God’s word says on that theme. Each read through the Bible will give you a topical reference tool for studying, in depth, God’s wisdom concerning that particular idea.

The Bible is the most important book ever written. If The C. S. Lewis Bible will encourage you to read it faithfully, then the work of the editors has been worthwhile. It has not been their design to give you more of Lewis any more than a person who puts a frame on a Rembrandt wants to give you more of a frame. The goal of the editors is that the readers of this Bible will become more enamored with the God of the Bible. Lewis is merely a tool to accomplish that end. The editors are convinced that Lewis himself would have had it no other way.

Praise for the C. S. Lewis Bible

“Again and again, Lewis makes you see new things in familiar texts. The freshness of his insights makes this study Bible a really distinctive, challenging and enriching resource. We are enabled to read the Bible in the company of one of the greatest and wisest of its modern readers.” — Archbishop Rowan Williams

The C. S. Lewis Bible is not a commentary in anything like the traditional sense. Rather it contains deeply penetrating insights into God and human life and then invites us to ponder Scripture anew in the light of these insights.” — Richard J. Foster, Author of various books including Celebration of Discipline and Streams of Living Water

The C.S. Lewis Bible is a unique, rich work by dedicated editors and scholars well-versed in Lewis’s works.… It is interspersed with carefully selected readings from Lewis’s works…and attempts to link Lewis’s “great gems of wisdom” which fill his works with their Biblical sources, sending the delighted reader back to re-read and enjoy the Biblical text.” — Salwa Khoddam, C.S. Lewis Inklings and Society

“Studded with hundreds of insightful gems from Bible student C.S. Lewis, this brilliantly executed edition of the NRSV, that most stylish modern translation, has a value that is truly unique.” — J. I. Packer, Professor of Theology, Regent College

“Our reading of the Bible is always enhanced when done in the company and in conversation with another. When the other is saturated in the Scriptures and gives evidence of having lived what is read, both our understanding and participation in what we read are increased. With this book in our hands many of us are going to relish having C.S. Lewis, who knew how to read his Bible, as a companion in our reading—and our living.” — Eugene H. Peterson, Translator of The Message

Order your copy of The C. S. Lewis Bible from ShopCBN.

Other C. S. Lewis Features on CBN.com

Jack: The Life, Legacy, and Literature of C. S. Lewis

Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Prince Caspian

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

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