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neilrcoulter's review against another edition
4.0
There’s no shortage of books about C. S. Lewis. Every year brings more. A few become essential classics (Planet Narnia and The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis, for example); others are adequate but don’t add anything particularly new to the understanding of the author, his works, and his context.
Into that mix comes this book that sounds almost like it would be a parody: The C. S. Lewis Bible. It isn’t a joke, and it isn’t a comprehensive book about Lewis. It is, in fact, the Bible, with excerpts of Lewis’s writing interspersed in appropriate places throughout the text. I love the Bible, and I love Lewis, but I was skeptical of this combination. Lewis, after all, was not a Bible scholar or a theologian by training (he himself would have freely admitted that), and he didn’t write books intended as commentaries on particular sections of the Bible (even Reflections on the Psalms is a look at some of the major themes in the Psalms, rather than explications of specific Psalms). Is this edition of the Bible a good idea?
I suspect Jack himself would raise an eyebrow at the idea. I can’t imagine he’d love this mix of selections of his own writings attached to parts of the Bible that they weren’t explicitly intended to comment on. At least the publishers used the NRSV translation, which is not far from the RSV the Lewis would have heard regularly. Had they paired Lewis’s writing with the NLT . . . that would’ve been very strange.
I’ve now read the whole book, cover to cover, including all of the Lewis excerpts, and I can say that it is sometimes quite interesting. Though Lewis’s writing isn’t usually keyed to the specific passage in which it appears, it does often give me something intriguing to ponder—though sometimes I’m left thinking more about what Lewis wrote and less about how it relates to that part of the Bible. The weakness of this project is that it can feel like every second or third Lewis excerpt is from Mere Christianity (I’m pretty sure I’ve read the whole book, in disconnected parts, while reading the Lewis Bible). It’s actually not my favorite book Lewis wrote, possibly because it has become so very familiar through over-quotation. So turning a page of the Bible and finding yet another excerpt of Mere Christianity was not the best for me. Other oft-cited books in this Bible are Miracles, Reflections on the Psalms, Letters to Malcolm , and essays from The Weight of Glory. Along with these major influences, the editors have excerpted a number of Lewis’s letters, and those are the parts that most interested me, as they tend to be less familiar to me.
Overall, it was an interesting time using this Bible as my daily reading text. It’s not a Bible I’ll return to often, due to the randomness of finding whichever Lewis excerpts the editors chose to include in various places. But it’s not a bad way to read through the Bible, especially for readers with basic familiarity of Lewis already (enough familiarity, that is, to understand a little of the bigger context of the selected excerpts).
Into that mix comes this book that sounds almost like it would be a parody: The C. S. Lewis Bible. It isn’t a joke, and it isn’t a comprehensive book about Lewis. It is, in fact, the Bible, with excerpts of Lewis’s writing interspersed in appropriate places throughout the text. I love the Bible, and I love Lewis, but I was skeptical of this combination. Lewis, after all, was not a Bible scholar or a theologian by training (he himself would have freely admitted that), and he didn’t write books intended as commentaries on particular sections of the Bible (even Reflections on the Psalms is a look at some of the major themes in the Psalms, rather than explications of specific Psalms). Is this edition of the Bible a good idea?
I suspect Jack himself would raise an eyebrow at the idea. I can’t imagine he’d love this mix of selections of his own writings attached to parts of the Bible that they weren’t explicitly intended to comment on. At least the publishers used the NRSV translation, which is not far from the RSV the Lewis would have heard regularly. Had they paired Lewis’s writing with the NLT . . . that would’ve been very strange.
I’ve now read the whole book, cover to cover, including all of the Lewis excerpts, and I can say that it is sometimes quite interesting. Though Lewis’s writing isn’t usually keyed to the specific passage in which it appears, it does often give me something intriguing to ponder—though sometimes I’m left thinking more about what Lewis wrote and less about how it relates to that part of the Bible. The weakness of this project is that it can feel like every second or third Lewis excerpt is from Mere Christianity (I’m pretty sure I’ve read the whole book, in disconnected parts, while reading the Lewis Bible). It’s actually not my favorite book Lewis wrote, possibly because it has become so very familiar through over-quotation. So turning a page of the Bible and finding yet another excerpt of Mere Christianity was not the best for me. Other oft-cited books in this Bible are Miracles, Reflections on the Psalms, Letters to Malcolm , and essays from The Weight of Glory. Along with these major influences, the editors have excerpted a number of Lewis’s letters, and those are the parts that most interested me, as they tend to be less familiar to me.
Overall, it was an interesting time using this Bible as my daily reading text. It’s not a Bible I’ll return to often, due to the randomness of finding whichever Lewis excerpts the editors chose to include in various places. But it’s not a bad way to read through the Bible, especially for readers with basic familiarity of Lewis already (enough familiarity, that is, to understand a little of the bigger context of the selected excerpts).
bickleyhouse's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
How, exactly, does one go about reviewing The Bible? I suppose skeptics could do a review from their point of view. Fair enough.
This review is not so much about the text of The Bible as it is this particular edition. In The C.S. Lewis Bible, editors got together and selected many snippets and excerpts from the writings of C.S. Lewis. There are excerpts from Mere Christianity (probably more of those than anything else), The Abolition of Man, his collected letters, Letters to Malcom: Chiefly on Prayer, Miracles, even some from his Space Trilogy, The Screwtape Letters, and The Chronicles of Narnia. There are also a few of his poems presented, as well.
These are given to us in multiple ways. Most of them are at the bottom of a page, referencing a verse or passage on that page (or one immediately preceding or following it). Sometimes, they are inserted in the middle of the text. There is always a note letting us know which Scripture passage or verse is being referenced.
I read this book straight through, cover to cover, beginning on January 1. I found it to be quite delightful and helpful, stopping to reflect on how Lewis's writing enhanced the Scripture that I was reading at the time. I liked it so much that I gave a copy to a good friend of mine who is also a fan of C.S. Lewis.
So, yes, I give this edition of the Bible five stars, both for the NRSV translation and the added excerpts of the writings of a very important author from our time. This particular edition is well-crafted, with a lovely soft leather cover.
This review is not so much about the text of The Bible as it is this particular edition. In The C.S. Lewis Bible, editors got together and selected many snippets and excerpts from the writings of C.S. Lewis. There are excerpts from Mere Christianity (probably more of those than anything else), The Abolition of Man, his collected letters, Letters to Malcom: Chiefly on Prayer, Miracles, even some from his Space Trilogy, The Screwtape Letters, and The Chronicles of Narnia. There are also a few of his poems presented, as well.
These are given to us in multiple ways. Most of them are at the bottom of a page, referencing a verse or passage on that page (or one immediately preceding or following it). Sometimes, they are inserted in the middle of the text. There is always a note letting us know which Scripture passage or verse is being referenced.
I read this book straight through, cover to cover, beginning on January 1. I found it to be quite delightful and helpful, stopping to reflect on how Lewis's writing enhanced the Scripture that I was reading at the time. I liked it so much that I gave a copy to a good friend of mine who is also a fan of C.S. Lewis.
So, yes, I give this edition of the Bible five stars, both for the NRSV translation and the added excerpts of the writings of a very important author from our time. This particular edition is well-crafted, with a lovely soft leather cover.
yeshuach10's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
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