{"id":209,"date":"2007-02-01T17:44:57","date_gmt":"2007-02-02T00:44:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbcbeacon.wordpress.com\/?p=209"},"modified":"2007-02-01T17:44:57","modified_gmt":"2007-02-02T00:44:57","slug":"book-review-god-in-the-dock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/2007\/02\/01\/book-review-god-in-the-dock\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: God in the Dock"},"content":{"rendered":"

Book by C.S. Lewis<\/em><\/p>\n

Review by Stephen Rodgers<\/em><\/p>\n

Although it has been more than two decades since I first opened my copy of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe<\/em>, I can still remember the excitement I had in following the adventures of Peter, Lucy, the Professor, Aslan and the rest. \u201cGive me just a little time,\u201d the book seemed to say to me. \u201cGive me just part of an evening, and I will show you a world of wonder.\u201d<\/p>\n

In God in the Dock, Lewis has wandered far afield from his fictional accounts of the world of Narnia. Rather the book is a collection of 48 short essays and 12 letters, divided into four major sections that deal with a multitude of issues and questions that confronted both the Christians and skeptics of his time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lewis is at his best in his role of \u201capostle to the skeptics\u201d in this book. His trademark grandfatherly style simply builds reasonableness upon reasonableness, rather than coming out guns blazing in some sort of theological polemic. While he characterized himself as merely \u201ca layman writing to other laymen,\u201d Lewis\u2019 brilliance and intellectual prowess is evident throughout the book. Although the truths he espouses are always presented with clarity and simplicity, the reader cannot help but note that the author is writing in the scholarly tradition. When Lewis humbly remarks in one essay that he \u201cknows a little about this subject\u201d (referring to literature of the ancient world), the reader is advised to take a large step back to avoid the crushing weight of sources and citations that Lewis brings to bear. Fail to do so, and you just might lose a toe or two.<\/span><\/p>\n

While it should at least be noted that as a member of the Church of England, Lewis\u2019 theology would be considered less rigorous than that of other writers in the Reformed tradition, the simple yet fundamental ideas that Lewis treats in this book do not contradict, oppose, or undermine any Biblical truths. Rather, in his exploration of such topics as \u201cEvil and God,\u201d \u201cMiracles,\u201d \u201cMyth Became Fact,\u201d and \u201cWork and Prayer\u201d Lewis consistently, patiently, and implacably lays out thoughtful and persuasive rationales that fall directly in line with Scripture.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the essay that the book is named for, Lewis lays out the fundamental truth that carries through the entire work: the depravity of modern man in approaching God as something that must be validated by human terms and experience. In direct, simple, and unrelenting fashion Lewis exposes this \u201creversal of conscience\u201d and directs the reader to understand the consequences of such a sin, letting them know in no uncertain terms, as we have so often heard, that \u201clife is not about you.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

It is remarkable that more than twenty years later, Lewis\u2019 writings still evoke in me that same sense of wonder and joy that I experienced as a child. Even though I have grown up, and my interests have matured (somewhat at least), it is of no small comfort to know that Lewis\u2019 work stands the test of time, still able to edify in the pursuit of loving my God with all my mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although it has been more than two decades since I first opened my copy of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, I can still remember the excitement I had in following the adventures of Peter, Lucy, the Professor, Aslan and the rest. \u201cGive me just a little time,\u201d the book seemed to say to me. \u201cGive me just part of an evening, and I will show you a world of wonder.\u201d<\/div>\n
In God in the Dock, Lewis has wandered far afield from his fictional accounts of the world of Narnia. Rather the book is a collection of 48 short essays and 12 letters, divided into four major sections that deal with a multitude of issues and questions that confronted both the Christians and skeptics of his time.<\/div>\n
Lewis is at his best in his role of \u201capostle to the skeptics\u201d in this book. His trademark grandfatherly style simply builds reasonableness upon reasonableness, rather than coming out guns blazing in some sort of theological polemic. While he characterized himself as merely \u201ca layman writing to other laymen,\u201d Lewis\u2019 brilliance and intellectual prowess is evident throughout the book. Although the truths he espouses are always presented with clarity and simplicity, the reader cannot help but note that the author is writing in the scholarly tradition. When Lewis humbly remarks in one essay that he \u201cknows a little about this subject\u201d (referring to literature of the ancient world), the reader is advised to take a large step back to avoid the crushing weight of sources and citations that Lewis brings to bear. Fail to do so, and you just might lose a toe or two.<\/div>\n
While it should at least be noted that as a member of the Church of England, Lewis\u2019 theology would be considered less rigorous than that of other writers in the Reformed tradition, the simple yet fundamental ideas that Lewis treats in this book do not contradict, oppose, or undermine any Biblical truths. Rather, in his exploration of such topics as \u201cEvil and God,\u201d \u201cMiracles,\u201d \u201cMyth Became Fact,\u201d and \u201cWork and Prayer\u201d Lewis consistently, patiently, and implacably lays out thoughtful and persuasive rationales that fall directly in line with Scripture.<\/div>\n
In the essay that the book is named for, Lewis lays out the fundamental truth that carries through the entire work: the depravity of modern man in approaching God as something that must be validated by human terms and experience. In direct, simple, and unrelenting fashion Lewis exposes this \u201creversal of conscience\u201d and directs the reader to understand the consequences of such a sin, letting them know in no uncertain terms, as we have so often heard, that \u201clife is not about you.\u201d<\/div>\n
It is remarkable that more than twenty years later, Lewis\u2019 writings still evoke in me that same sense of wonder and joy that I experienced as a child. Even though I have grown up, and my interests have matured (somewhat at least), it is of no small comfort to know that Lewis\u2019 work stands the test of time, still able to edify in the pursuit of loving my God with all my mind.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Book by C.S. Lewis Review by Stephen Rodgers Although it has been more than two decades since I first opened my copy of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, I can still remember the excitement I had in following the adventures of Peter, Lucy, the Professor, Aslan and the rest. \u201cGive me just a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/469"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}