Feb. 22: Life on the Silent Planet | Perelandra
On Sunday, Feb. 22, 4:00-5:30 p.m., we'll continue our discussion of Life on the Silent Planet: Essays on Christian Living from C. S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy.
On Feb. 22, we will discuss the three essays on Perelandra:
Enjoyment and Contemplation: The Green Lady, Self-Knowledge, and Growth in Maturity by Christiana Hale
The Devil Went Down to Venus: Lessons from the Un-man by Bethel McGrew
A Taste of Paradise: Naming, Restraining, and Embracing Pleasure on Perelandra by Rhys Laverty
A key insight from our January discussion is best stated by Colin Smothers in his essay Men Are From Mars: Masculinity in Out of the Silent Planet:
Lewis chose the planetary settings of Mars, and subsequently Venus and Earth, to remind the world of fundamental—even forgotten—truths about human nature, masculinity, femininity, and marriage that he saw eroding in the early 1940s (Life on the Silent Planet, 49).
On Sunday, March 22, we will pause our discussion of Life on the Silent Planet and instead hear a presentation by Joel Heck. Joel will speak to us about J. A. W. Bennett and F. P. Wilson, the former Lewis's successor in Cambridge as Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English and the latter Lewis's undergraduate Tutor in English Language and Literature in Oxford. We appreciate that—in the spirit of "No Ordinary People," Joel introduces us to lesser-known persons Lewis knew and in doing so brings new insights to Lewis.
Mercy, Passion & Joy: Lenten Devotions: Reflections on the Writings of C. S. Lewis is by Joel Heck. From the back cover: "The daily quotes, Scripture, reflections, and prayers lead the reader from contemplations on the mercy of Christ, the Passion he suffered on our behalf, to the astounding joy that is ours because of his great sacrifice for us." The devotional is available through Creative Communications. Ash Wednesday is February 18.
Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal, Volume 19.1 (2025) is now available through Digital Commons online and contains the article "Teaching The Abolition of Man" by Joel Heck, Rob Koons, and Josiah Peterson.
The Fellowship of Performing Arts will present C. S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters in Austin at the Bass Concert Hall on April 12, 2026. Screwtape will be in Cincinnati on March 21.
Central Texas C. S. Lewis is a reading group that meets in Austin, Texas.
For meeting details, please send a request through our Contact Form. Thank you.