CS Lewis Index [Paperback]

Product Details

Paperback: 680 pages
Publisher: Crossway Books (June 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0891079807
ISBN-13: 978-0891079804
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds

Customer Reviews

Mr. Merkel finds that Goffar takes "academic liberty" in applying some of Lewis's words to topics that he did not address. So far as it goes, this is a perfectly legitimate concern. He further believes that this constitutes the "propogation of a personal agenda", which is an interesting position given the quotes which she has selected under this heading.
It is, I think, a mis-reading of the Index to imply that all seven entries under "abortion" suggest that Lewis would have supported a pro-abortion position. Certainly some of the entries make such a suggestion (or at least lean in that direction), but others suggest the opposite (the references to God's view that birth is important, that death is an evil, that many sins also harm others and should thus be illegal).
In my view, all but one of the entries under the heading of Abortion were reasonably placed. They do not directly address the topic, and Goffar makes that very clear, both by the notation, and by parenthetical references to what Lewis _was_ writing about. The reader would never get the idea that Lewis had been actually writing about abortion, but does see some ideas of Lewis's that may shed light on the abortion controversy, which is the value of such entries.
On a topic about which Lewis wrote in volume, such as the nature of Christ, there is no need to extrapolate his ideas. On a topic about which he did not write at all, however, such extrapolation gives an idea as to how he might see the issue, or general concerns which might apply to one position or another.
As a final note, should the reader wish to read only those remarks of Lewis which directly address the topic at hand, this is easily done, as the others are conspicuously marked. No "close inspection" is required.

As an indivual who likes to read and quote C.S. Lewis, I have often thought about tackling the task that Janine Goffar has accomplished with this volume. Organized alphabecially, like a concordance, usually with a brief quote on the topic at hand, the reader is referred to one or more works by Lewis where the subject is covered in more detail. This volume would be a welcome addition to the collection of any serious reader (or quoter) of the theological works of Lewis, who introduced many to the concept of "mere Christianity."