|
The Great Divorce (Audio CD)
by C. S. Lewis
| Category:
Heaven and Hell, Fable |
| Market price: ¥ 238.00
MSL price:
¥ 228.00
[ Shop incentives ]
|
| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
|
|
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
This amazing little book explores the difficult subjects of heaven and hell and salvation and damnation with a depth that will enlarge your vision, shrink your ego, and strip away all your excuses for living lives of pretense. |
| If you want us to help you with the right titles you're looking for, or to make reading recommendations based on your needs, please contact our consultants. |
|
| |
AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 16 items |
|
|
Robert W. Kellemen (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
In some ways one could compare "The Great Divorce" to Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Both are allegories speaking to the consequences of earth choices. Or more properly, the consequence, singular. Or even more properly, the eternal consequence of life's one major earthly choice.
As the title indicates, Lewis sees a great divorce, or a great divide between all people of all time: there are those who choose for Christ and there are those who choose against Christ. The title also highlights the relationality of our choice: we either choose to accept the marriage proposal of Christ our Worthy Groom, or we choose to divorce ourselves from the final Marriage Super of the Lamb.
Choice made, Lewis, as only he could do, takes us on a bus ride to heaven and hell illustrating the types of choices we make, the moral peril our choices place us in, and the end result of a life time of choices that confirm us either in good or evil.
Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Soul Physicians," "Spiritual Friends," and the forthcoming "Beyond the Suffering: The Story of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction."
|
|
|
P. M Simon (MSL quote), New Mexico
<2007-01-25 00:00>
If you haven't yet read any theology or Christian apologetics, this novella is a fine place to start. If you already read such, then you know that you just HAVE to read this classic.
C.S. Lewis uses a dream device, ala not only Dante and Bunyan, but also echoing of Isaiah and John, to give us a keyhole glimpse of the afterlife, albeit in more modern terms.
Hell is an endless, shabby, grey city in the rain, where the quarrelsome and disputatious residents are given a chance for a bus ride to Heaven. There they must confront their sins and foibles and make the ultimate choice. Even faced with the reality of God, many are still unable to free themselves from the shackles of vanity, uncertainty, and pride!
Lewis clearly is intending The Great Divorce as a metaphor, for the notion of the damned being given "another chance" and a bit of a day-excursion to Heaven is, of course, not in accord with any Christian doctrine. However, he uses the metaphor to illustrate many telling points of Christian theology, starting with God being the Great `I AM.' The bus ride itself, and the relative sizes of things are also evocative of the extra-spatial nature of the Godhead.
In summary, Divorce is a short, brilliantly-written tract and a wake-up call for many: A thought-provoking read for anyone and worth multiple readings! Get it.
|
|
|
Lissiehoya (MSL quote), CA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
This week in class we read The Great Divorce. It's a great book and if you haven't read it... just... go read it.
The book is about a bus that goes from hell to heaven. People from hell can get on the bus and go to heaven where people are waiting to greet them and convince them to let go of their sins and follow them to the mountains. The people who come from hell, however, are like ghosts against the landscape of heaven which is very hard. It is more real (hello, Plato!). Anyway, the narrator is met by George MacDonald, the Christian writer whose writing helped to convert/inspire C.S. Lewis.
The thing about C.S. Lewis' view of hell is that it is essentially a hell of your own choosing. He takes human freedom so seriously that God's grace can ultimately do nothing about it.
The interesting thing, which can be seen in other works by Lewis, is that all of the sins that keep people from hell are the deep sins that take a person over. Each person is very consumed by themselves. My personal favorite character is the Episcopal theologian who is so obsessed with the questioning and the prestige that he can get from coming up with new questions and theories that he forgets that the questioning should lead to answers.
Interestingly, the one person who made it from hell to heaven was the person who had the sin of lust. The thing that I found interesting about all that is that if you looked at the media or even just what the Church focuses on, you would think that lust is the WORST SIN POSSIBLE. But, it is not all consuming like some of the other sins and, as I said, ultimately the person with the sin of lust is the only person who makes it to heaven.
This is one of my personal C.S. Lewis favorites, the other being "The Screwtape Letters". If you like Lewis, you'll love these and if you haven't read anything by him, "The Great Divorce is a perfect place to start.
|
|
|
Yosemite Sam (MSL quote), Reno-Tahoe
<2007-01-25 00:00>
This book had a profound impact on me when I read it for a class in college. It seems a more believable vision of heaven and hell than the traditional fire n' brimstone/pearly gates and harps version. When you think about it, what could be worse than forever wallowing in old resentments, temporary schools of thoughts, or the should have, could haves of life?
I think Lewis' central message is that we all have the means to our own salvation-for some it is a seamless process, but for others it's a struggle involving "fear and trembling". The benefits of reading this book is that it puts the things in life that seem such a big deal into a perspective of is spending time on this going to hinder my spiritual progress or not? It reminds you to "render unto Caesar, the things that are Caesar's" and keep your focus on becoming selfless and not letting anything get in the way of your spiritual growth.....even if you believe that what you are doing will benefit your own brand of religion. This book never ceases to shock my thinking because any of us can identify with the characters he depicts in hell....how they refuse to shed their fears, hatreds, pettiness, trendy thinking, whatever. This book is a wake up call for everyone regardless of their religion. It quite frankly offers a better way to live.
|
|
|
Neil R. Roberts (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
Upon finishing a 2nd reading of this book, I don't know where to begin. It takes some time to get a reasonable hold of the world and methodology Lewis is employing, but once you do, the book is fascinating. In keeping with custom, Lewis is tremendously skilled here in discussing an idea indirectly, either through metaphor, fiction, etc. While this book is enjoyable to read, it's deadly serious, and one must pay close attention to every detail. The images, actions, and dialogues are dripping with import, and one would be hard pressed not to see at least of bit of himself in the characters. Lewis' thesis of heaven/hell being extensions or thresholds of earth is just brilliant. While I'm not sure if I agree with every facet of Lewis' tale, I cannot deny how penetrating this work is. From the perspective of eternity, we are forced to examine our notions our love, loyalty, joy, goodness, morality, and life itself. This is yet another of Lewis' works that alternately leaves you chuckling to yourself (as he sheds light on the absurd manner in which we often live our lives), and then sitting back, looking up, dropping your pencil, and then thinking - often disturbed - about the implications of what he suggests. [Speaking of pencils, I would recommend reading this with one.] I cannot overstate that although this book is "nice to read", the topic is of chilling importance, as our very lives and souls hang in the balance.
|
|
|
Arthem (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
It has come as a surprise to me how few people have read "the Great Divorce" in comparison with "The Screwtape Letters." Nevertheless, I consider the former to be Lewis' masterpiece, given the obscurity of the subject matter and the sublimity with which he handles it.
The Great Divorce is pure conjecture, and Lewis makes it clear that no-one should take his imagery of heaven & hell to be informative. But it is in the way that Lewis grapples with the central tenet of Christianity that stands out above all else.
It is one thing to cite the commandments, or paint an image of man beset by temptations and personified evil. It is another to address apologetically the reasons for accepting Christianity and Christ. But Lewis' genius in The Great Divorce is to make it clear what "Love of God" really means - in its many forms.
It is almost impossible in our conceptions of the afterlife to put aside our sole plane of reference - ourselves. The very concept of communion is alien to us. Our linkages with other people, no matter how profound the relationships, are shallow compared with the depth of divine Love. And yet Lewis manages to catch hold of the edge of the beatific vision, perhaps in his metaphor of substantiality.
The Great Divorce is thus one of those books that ought to be read once a year - perhaps a few days after Easter Sunday, for a reminder of what we ought to value above all else.
|
|
|
Olivia Lin (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
Reading "The Great Divorce" was formative for me the first time I came across it (some years ago); and with each re-reading, I'm reminded of just how apt are Lewis' descriptions of human interaction and the often blurry lines between what he terms "brass" and "gold" -- that which we might otherwise accept as a "natural" virtue, and that which is of everlasting, divine makeup.
Of all the books CS Lewis wrote, I think "The Great Divorce" is the most often passed over- regrettably so. I don't know why that's the case, but I do know that those who are introduced to "The Great Divorce" after having read other Lewis classics (such as "Mere Christianity" or "Screwtape") are often left with a new favorite in their Lewis collection. That was certainly true of me.
What I find most powerful about "The Great Divorce" is Lewis' ability to distill examples of human conversations that reflect some of the most basic realities of our engagement with each other and the divine. That gift of Lewis' is what made the Narnia Chronicles so popular; with equal imagination here, he draws out even more subtle theological precepts. I often use the vignettes from this text as illustrations for not only those who ask for a thoughtful consideration of Christianity, but also a thoughtful consideration of human nature.
|
|
|
Gandalf the White (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
This book is absolutely amazing. It says in imagery and dialogue what I wish I could in a sermon. It shows the fundamental divorce between those that know God and those that don't. Those who have in the final analysis given up their selfishness indeed become "solid" people who are able to "journey into the mountains" for eternity, transformed and glorious. Those that retain their selfishness stay entrapped in an smokish, empty hell due to their own obstinacy and refusal to come to the truth.
In response to another reviewer, CS Lewis absolutely smokes William Blake when it comes to representing Christianity. Blake simply conjures up his own religion in his book "Marriage of Heaven and Hell." For example, he dialogues with the Biblical prophets Isaiah and Ezekial, and makes them say things that are simply heretical.
CS Lewis' objective, on the other hand, was not simply to make up a fantasy based on his own shoddy metaphysics and obscure philosophies, but was, in response to Blake, to illuminate orthodox theology in an imaginative way, hoping to lead people to truth.
Blake's writings are dangerous if you aren't familiar with Christian teachings, and I would discourage anyone looking for God to look at William Blake. They amount to not much more than the primacy and fulfillment of the natural self, whereas Lewis (and in fact the Christian premise) turns on the ultimate denial of self, in order to find the reality of the kingdom of heaven.
I would encourage everyone to read The Great Divorce by CS Lewis as a visionary book. Though fiction, it gives us some helpful pictures to think about what in fact may be going on in eternity.
|
|
|
Robert W. Moore (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
The Great Divorce is remarkable for being a book by C. S. Lewis that is as likely to be criticized by Christians as by non-Christians. While Mere Christianity is an apology for traditional Christianity, The Problem of Pain an attempt to deal with problems in theodicy, and The Screwtape Letters a help for analyzing psychological dimensions of temptation, The Great Divorce can best be described as speculative theology. This is not the only place where Lewis allows himself to speculate on matters theological. For instance, he elsewhere suggests that pets and other animals who have interacted with humans will go to heaven, while wild animals will not, because these animals have gained a personality through human contact. In this work, Lewis speculates about the nature of the afterlife.
Inevitably, Lewis's work will unfairly be compared to Dante, who like Lewis is granted a visit to the afterlife. It is unfair because Dante's DIVINE COMEDY is without debate one or the two or three greatest masterpieces in the history of world literature. The Great Divorce is not even one of Lewis's best works. Still, as long as one does not force Lewis's work to compare favorably to Dante's work, the comparison is not uninstructive. Like Dante, Lewis finds a guide. While Dante is shown through Hell and Purgatory by Virgil and through heaven by Beatrice, Lewis's guide is the Scottish theologian and fantasy writer George MacDonald. This is not inappropriate for a couple of reasons. What Lewis is suggesting about heaven and hell in The Great Divorce is not precisely orthodox, and MacDonald himself, while devoutly religious, was somewhat heterodox in his advocacy of universalism, i.e., the belief that all humans will be redeemed, and not only Christian believers.
In The Great Divorce Lewis tries to take a midpoint between universalism and a traditional belief in eternal damnation in hell of unbelievers. Lewis is hardly the first to attempt this. Origen, the brilliant if eccentric father of the early church, among other things toyed with the idea that being sent to hell might not be a permanent state. Lewis attempts to preserve the notion of the punishment of sins, but shifts the agent of that punishment from God to the individual involved. Basically, people place themselves in hell and prevent themselves from ascending to heaven. All one need do is surrender one's will to God, and cease insisting on one's own conception of things. In a sense, the primary thing an individual can do to receive grace, even in the next world, is to humble oneself.
The great negative to Lewis's view is that it doesn't correspond terribly well with either the views of the New Testament or to traditional Church teaching. The great advantage is that it absolves God of any complicity in sending people to hell. A host of factors will determine whether one will find one or either of these views desirable. Like George MacDonald, I tend to be quite orthodox on most Christian doctrines, but somewhat heterodox on the issue of the damnation of the unsaved. I personally am quite drawn to Lewis's views on the afterlife, and while I concede that they don't mesh well with the Bible's teachings on hell, I believe they mesh well with the Bible's teachings on the loving nature of God. It solves some key issues at the heart of theodicy, or to paraphrase Milton, it justifies the ways of God to men.
Regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with Lewis, this marvelous book raises some important theological questions. It also complicates the normal picture of Lewis as a staunch defender of traditionalism. We find in it that Lewis was also a bit of a theological rebel.
|
|
|
Evan Wearne (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
The Great Divorce is an enlightening novel. I began the book thinking it would be something like Dante. However, after the first thirty or forty pages I could tell it was different, but only near the end did I realize how different it was from Dante. The difference stems from the difference in their viewpoints of hell. I believe that Lewis sees hell as a separation from God while Dante sees hell as a place of torment for nonbelievers. Lewis, therefore, deals with reasons why some people will be separated from God. The narrator in the novel overhears conversations between people from hell visiting with souls from Heaven. The Great Divorce attempts to show why "good" people may end up in hell. The people the narrator overhears are not the stereotypical "bad" people who we "know" are going to hell. He attempts to show the pride, bitterness, or sin of the "good" people who most assume do not deserve hell. I enjoyed this novel. A common objection to the Christian Faith: Why a loving God would send good people to hell. Lewis attempts to show why. I recommend buying this novel, and I have already given my copy to a friend. |
|
|
|
1 2 | Total 2 pages 16 items |
|
|
|
|
|
|
