The BBC and C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis in a Time of War
The World War II Broadcasts That Riveted a Nation and Became the Classic Mere Christianity

This book by Phillips offers a behind-the-scenes look at the four BBC radio broadcasts during World War II that became Lewis’s classic Mere Christianity. I reecently read this book on a trip to London and found it absolutly facinating.

C. S. Lewis a ntoed scholar and author of the ever popular Chronicles of Narnia, childrens series became popular in another medium other than print. He continues to attract thousands of new readers all the time. How did Lewis first become a popular public figure? It was during World War II, Lewis was asked by the British Broadcasting Corporation's recently created Home Service to give radio addresses on Christianity to a nation at war. Lewis was asked to tackle this weighty subject and proved to be persuasive. These radio talks were eventually published as Mere Christianity, which now ranks as a great classics of religious literature.

Phillips has worked hard digging up correspndence from the BBC archives and weaves a rich story of how these talks originated and finally came to be broadcast. It was these bradcasts that made Lewis a very popular speaker and author in the publics eye. He became a trusted name due to these broadcasts and others that followed.

C. S. Lewis in a Time of War is a wonderful read on how hesee talks were created and the enthusiastic response they generated at a time when bombing in London was a nightly occurance and the only source of news was the radio broadcasts. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Lewis and loves the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The author, Justin Phillips was a radio journalist for the BBC for over twenty years. He worked in the World Service and was deputy editor of The World Tonight. He was an elder at his local church and a frequent speaker and preacher about Christianity, the media, and the relationship between the two. Phillips died in 2000, just before his fiftieth birthday, soon after submitting this finished manuscript. His oldest daughter, Laura Treneer, acted as his editor and brought the manuscript forward to publication.