What did C. S. Lewis believe about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, heaven, hell, creation, the Fall, the forgiveness of sins, marriage and divorce, war and peace, the church and sacraments, masculinity and femininity? Lewis was not a professional theologian, but anyone who has read his writings--whether fiction or nonfiction, essays or correspondence--knows that profoundly Christian convictions permeate them all. The more one reads, the more it becomes clear that Lewis could write with charity and simplicity while preserving theological accuracy because he was well informed and thoroughly grounded in the Christian faith. Will Vaus has masterfully brought together Lewis's thought from throughout his voluminous writings to provide us a full-orbed look into his beliefs on twenty-five Christian themes. This book gives us not only a comprehensive view of Lewis's theological convictions but also guidance and encouragement for our own spiritual journeys toward the God whom Lewis found so real, personal and present.

Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C. S. Lewis

History

Vaus, Will

Gresham, Douglas

World

IVP Academic

One of the most fascinating conversion stories of the 20th century, My Father Was a Gangster tells the dramatic life story of Jim Vaus, the former associate of crime syndicate boss Mickey Cohen. Rarely, if ever, has there been another story of a gangster who turned so radically from a life of organized crime to a life focused on leading others to Christ. In this book, son Will Vaus tells the inside story of his father’s nefarious life in the syndicate and describes how close his father came to being caught for devising a scheme that was later said to have been the inspiration for the movie, “The Sting”. Just before carrying out his plan, Jim Vaus was persuaded to drop into the famous Billy Graham tent meetings taking place in Los Angeles in 1949 and almost against his own will, found himself compelled to “walk the sawdust trail” to the front of the gathering and along with hundreds of others, give his life to Christ. The author then describes the dramatic transformation that took place in his father’s life as he makes amends for his many wrongs and sets his course on a new life that is honoring to God and that brings many others into the Kingdom. This story has been recounted in Time Magazine, Life Magazine and Reader’s Digest and was chronicled in a motion picture, “The Wiretapper.” Now it is told from a son’s perspective, a son who watched his father go on to live an exemplary life, dedicated to saving others from falling victim to the life of crime that had sought to destroy him.

My Father Was a Gangster: The Jim Vaus Story

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

Believe Books, LLC

For all fans of The Narnia Chronicles! "The Professor of Narnia" is a fascinating and historically accurate portrayal of one of the greatest Christian writers of all time. This biography of Lewis is a must-have for Christian schools and homes. It traces the intense spiritual journey and key friendships that eventually led C.S. Lewis to wholehearted faith in Jesus and interweaves the various themes from The Narnia Chronicles with the spiritual battles Lewis encountered in his own life.
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Have you ever wanted to meet the man behind the magical land of Narnia? Now you can! Let this book introduce you to C. S. Lewis, the Oxford tutor and Cambridge Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English Literature who wrote the seven books: The Chronicles of Narnia. Learn what made the creator of the most beloved fairy tales of the 20th century the man he was. 
Along the way you will visit all the important places of Lewis’s life: from Belfast, Northern Ireland to the trenches in France, from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge to the steps of the Parthenon in Greece. On this fascinating trip you will also meet some of Lewis’s family members: his father Albert, the police court lawyer, his brilliant mother Flora and his fun-loving brother Warren. You will be introduced to some of Lewis’s best friends and most important companions like J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and Joy Davidman Gresham, the poet and novelist whom Lewis married late in life.
Our sources of transportation for this journey will be varied. Mainly we will be using a good bit of “historical imagination”. As we do so we will join Jack in a horse-drawn carriage as he goes off to boarding school for the first time. We will travel with the Lewis brothers numerous times by steamship across the Irish Sea, back and forth to England where they were educated. We will join Jack atop a red, double-decker bus where he meets, of all people, God. And we will bump along in Warren’s side-car as he takes his brother Jack to Whipsnade Zoo, the place where Jack will begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Last but not least, we will even fly with Jack and Joy on an airplane to Greece where they will climb to the top of the Acropolis in Athens only months before Joy’s death.
As we journey through C. S. “Jack” Lewis’s 65 years of life on planet earth, from 1898 to 1963 (he died the same day as JFK) we will see how Jack dealt with many painful experiences:
· the loss of his mother to cancer at age 9
· separation from his home when he was sent to boarding school the same year
· being wounded in the trenches of France during World War I
· caring for the elderly mother of a schoolmate who died in the First World War
· the loss of his best friend at the end of World War II
· his brother Warren’s alcoholism
· his late in life marriage to Joy and her subsequent death from cancer just four years later
Learn about Jack’s vast reading of all the great literature of the western tradition, from the Iliad of Homer down to the fairy tales of George MacDonald. Discover how Lewis’s mind-boggling knowledge of mythic literature influenced the writing of the Narnia books. Find out how C. S. Lewis wrote over 40 books during his lifetime, carried on a full time job as a professor, lectured widely on Christianity, took care of his family and still had time for his friends!
Join Jack on a spiritual journey from his Ulster Protestant roots in Belfast to the adopted atheism of his school days and back to Christianity after he settled into his 30-year home in Oxford, England. Ask the big questions of faith along with Jack and uncover the answers he found through his relentless search for truth.
Your tour guide for this extraordinary journey is Will Vaus, author of Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C. S. Lewis, published by InterVarsity Press in 2004. Will is the founder of three C. S. Lewis Societies; he was the leader of a C. S. Lewis tour to England and he was one of the few people in the world who actually lived in The Narnia Cottage in Ireland along with his family. 
Will stepped through the wardrobe door for the first time when he was 9 years old and he has been studying Lewis’s life and work for over 35 years. Along the way, he has met a number of people who knew C. S. Lewis as family member, friend, teacher and colleague; from them Will has gleaned fascinating insights into what has made Lewis the bestselling Christian author of all time, outside of the Bible. Will has shared those insights with numerous audiences around the United States and in the Republic of Ireland. Now, in this book, Will relates each of the chapters of Lewis’s life to one of the Narnia stories themselves and reveals how Lewis’s life imitated art.
Will and his wife, Becky, have been married since 1988 and they have three sons: James, Jonathan and Joshua. Will’s sons have traveled with him to Narnia on numerous occasions and in many ways; in fact, he read The Professor of Narnia aloud to his boys as it was being written and got their seal of approval. 
Having read the Narnia stories as a child and talked to countless other children who love Lewis’s fairy tales, Will knows how much every young person who reads the Narnia books or has seen the blockbuster movies wants to know more about C.S. Lewis, the author of these delightful stories. This book is perfect for reading aloud, as Will did to his boys or you can read it by yourself in a cozy corner with a hot cup of tea or cocoa. The reading level is ideal for older children and teenagers. Will makes the life of the awesomely intellectual C. S. Lewis accessible to young people without ever talking down to his readers. Every child, teenager, family or class of students who reads this book will enjoy traveling in the footsteps of Jack, with Will as a fatherly friend leading the way. So come along for the ride and you may even get to meet the great lion Aslan himself.

The Professor of Narnia: The C.S. Lewis Story

Arts & Literature

Provides an exposition of the theology of C.S. Lewis, including discussion of his beliefs on God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Creation, free will, masculinity, femininity, and facets of heaven.

Mere theology: A Guide To The Thought Of C. S. Lewis

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

If you ask most people, "What is Advent?" they will probably not be able to give a correct answer. At best, they might tell you that when they were children they opened the doors of an Advent Calendar in the days leading up to Christmas. Similarly, if you asked the average person in the street, "What are the Twelve Days of Christmas?" they might only be able to sing a few lines from the song of the same name. In this book, author Will Vaus seeks to deepen the reader's knowledge of Advent and the Twelve Days of Christmas leading up to Epiphany. However, this book goes even further than that. Readers are provided with devotional thoughts for each day of the Advent and Christmas seasons that help them to experience this part of the Church Year perhaps in a more spiritually enriching way than ever before. "Will Vaus leads our hearts and minds through the story of our Lord's Incarnation with daily readings, seasoned with inspiring, touching, and sometimes humorous illustrations. I found his writing immediately engaging and, the more I read the book, the more I liked it. God has touched my heart by reading OPEN BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and I believe he will touch your heart as well." ~Rev. David Beckmann, Founder of The C. S. Lewis Society of Chattanooga Will Vaus (M.Div., Princeton Seminary) is the author of several books in¬cluding KEYS TO GROWTH: MEDITATIONS ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES and THE HIDDEN STORY OF NARNIA.

Open Before Christmas: Devotional Thoughts For The Holiday Season

Barnabas Books

The life story of Sheldon Vanauken is one of adventure, romance, conversion, grief, and recovery. Much of this was chronicled in the autobiographical bestseller, A Severe Mercy.However, a good deal of Vanauken's fascinating life remained shrouded in secrecy ... until now. Through a process of careful historical research, including interviews with Vanauken's many friends, colleagues, and students, Will Vaus reveals to the reader the numerous facets of a complex character.
 In this biography we discover: Vanauken the struggling student, the bon-vivant lover, the sailor who witnessed the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the seeker who returned to faith through C. S. Lewis, the beloved professor of English literature and history, the feminist and anti-war activist who participated in the March on the Pentagon, the bestselling author, and Vanauken the convert to Catholicism. What emerges is the portrait of a man relentlessly in search of beauty, love, and truth, a man who believed that, in the end, he found all three.
 "A sympathetic, perceptive and well researched study of one of America's most important recent religious writers. Readers of A Severe Mercy are in Will Vaus' debt for such an illuminating and informative study." Alister McGrath, author of C. S. Lewis: A Life
 "Van was a character - a very good one as it happens, and Will Vaus catches the actuality of this intriguing man of many parts. Very illuminating reading." Thomas Howard, author of On Being Catholic
 "This is a charming biography about a doubly charming man who wrote a triply charming book. It is a great way to meet the man behind A Severe Mercy." Peter Kreeft, author of Jacob's Ladder: Ten Steps to Truth
 "Vaus has masterfully captured the spirit of Vanauken, his deep desire for beauty, his mistakes along the way, and eventually his love of God. Reading this biography takes me back to the same deep emotions I have every time I read A Severe Mercy." Jim Belcher, author of Deep Church
 "Sheldon Vanauken's story of C. S. Lewis, Oxford, a passionate love, and a tragic loss captured the imagination of Evangelical Christians thirty years ago. Will Vaus' biography of the author of A Severe Mercy captures the same mixture of a flawed romantic quest driven by a longing for truth, goodness and beauty, that culminates in the fullness of the Catholic faith. Vaus' book is a study in divine providence and a captivating biography of a unique and noble soul." Fr. Dwight Longenecker, author of The Quest for the Creed
 "Very well written, thoroughly researched, hard to put down despite many tears - Will Vaus captures the essence of Van in this book." Marion, Davy Vanauken's daughter
 Will Vaus is a popular speaker and the author of a variety of books including The Hidden Story of Narnia, Speaking of Jack, and Mere Theology.

Sheldon Vanauken: The Man Who Received "A Severe Mercy"

Winged Lion Press, LLC

What made bestselling author C. S. Lewis such a great writer with so many admirers? One answer to that question is Lewis' vast reading across the entire canon of Western literature, from Homer and the Bible to some lesser-known works of the early twentieth century. Before one can become a great writer, one must be a great reader. In 1962, an interviewer asked Lewis: "What books did most to shape your vocational attitude and your philosophy of life?" In response, Lewis offered the following top ten list: 1. Phantastes by George MacDonald 2. The Everlasting Man by G. K. Chesterton 3. The Aeneid by Virgil 4. The Temple by George Herbert 5. The Prelude by William Wordsworth 6. The Idea of the Holy by Rudolf Otto 7. The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius 8. Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell 9. Descent into Hell by Charles Williams 10. Theism and Humanism by A.J. Balfour Based on his books, marginal notes, and personal letters, Lewis' reading of these books is thoroughly documented. Volume One of this series covers the first three books on his list. Will Vaus offers a brief biography of each author with a helpful summary of their book. Lewis' Top Ten goes to the sources of the ideas and ideals reflected in Lewis' own books. With this handy three-volume series, readers can discover new authors and learn what Lewis believed was most important in his own life and writings. "A great help in understanding C.S. Lewis is to understand the books that were most influential in shaping his thought. Will Vaus has undertaken the task of examining those books which Lewis himself said were the top ten. His work is thorough, comprehensive, and illuminating." Rolland Hein, Emeritus Professor of English, Wheaton College Author of George MacDonald: Victorian Mythmaker "Many studies of C.S. Lewis are being published and this book will certainly be among those of real importance to readers of Lewis." Aidan Mackey Senior fellow of the G.K. Chesterton Institute and Library in Oxford Will Vaus is a popular speaker on C.S. Lewis and the author of many books, including Speaking of Jack: A C.S. Lewis Discussion Guide and The Hidden Story of Narnia: A Book-by-Book Guide to C.S. Lewis' Spiritual Themes.

C.S. Lewis' Top Ten: Influential Books and Authors, Volume One

What made bestselling author C. S. Lewis such a great writer with so many admirers? One answer to that question is Lewis' vast reading across the entire canon of Western literature, from Homer and the Bible to some lesser-known works of the early twentieth century. Before one can become a great writer, one must be a great reader. In 1962, an interviewer asked Lewis: "What books did most to shape your vocational attitude and your philosophy of life?" In response, Lewis offered the following top ten list: 1. Phantastes by George MacDonald 2. The Everlasting Man by G. K. Chesterton 3. The Aeneid by Virgil 4. The Temple by George Herbert 5. The Prelude by William Wordsworth 6. The Idea of the Holy by Rudolf Otto 7. The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius 8. Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell 9. Descent into Hell by Charles Williams 10. Theism and Humanism by A.J. Balfour Based on his books, marginal notes, and personal letters, Lewis' reading of these books is thoroughly documented. In addition, Will Vaus offers a brief biography of each author with a helpful summary of their book. Lewis' Top Ten goes to the sources of the ideas and ideals reflected in Lewis' own books. With this handy three-volume series, readers can discover new authors and learn what Lewis believed was most important in his own life and writings. Will Vaus has done us a great service in this clear and comprehensive survey. This book is not just for C.S. Lewis enthusiasts but for anyone who would like to broaden and deepen their reading. Malcolm Guite, Chaplain, Girton College, Cambridge Author of Sounding the Seasons: Seventy SonnetsA penetrating study ... readers will find their appreciation of Lewis deepened and advanced by Vaus' insights and commentary. Don King, Professor of English at Montreat College Author of The Collected Poems of C.S. Lewis: A Critical Edition Will Vaus is a popular speaker on C.S. Lewis and the author of many books, including Speaking of Jack: A C.S. Lewis Discussion Guide and The Hidden Story of Narnia: A Book-by-Book Guide to C.S. Lewis' Spiritual Themes.

C.S. Lewis' Top Ten: Influential Books and Authors, Volume Two

In the Footsteps of C. S. Lewis: A Photographic Pilgrimage to the British Isles

Over the course of thirty years, Will Vaus has journeyed to the British Isles many times to walk in the footsteps of C. S. Lewis. His private photographs of the significant places in Lewis' life have captured the imagination of audiences in the US and UK to whom he has lectured on the Oxford don and his work. This, in turn, prompted the idea of this collection of 76 full-color photographs, interwoven with details about Lewis' life and work. The combination of words and pictures make this book a wonderful addition to the library of all Lewis scholars and readers.  "Vaus' pictorial guide provides a thorough survey of the places Lewis called home - both the usual sites and many seldom seen. His landscape and architecture photographs show how remarkably little things have changed in over fifty years. In the Footsteps of C. S. Lewis is a visual delight and a welcome reference." Larry Fink, photographer for the book GEORGE MACDONALD: IMAGES OF HIS WORLD

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

What made bestselling author C. S. Lewis such a great writer with so many admirers?" One answer to that question is Lewis' vast and deep reading across the entire canon of Western literature, from Homer and the Bible down to some of the most important works of the early twentieth century.Before one can become a great writer, one must be a great reader. What has made Oxford don, Cambridge professor and bestselling author C. S. Lewis such a great writer with so large a following?" One answer to that question which has yet to be fully explored is Lewis' vast and deep reading across the entire canon of Western literature, from Homer and the Bible down to some of the most important works of the early twentieth century. It seems self-evident that before one can become a great writer one must be a great reader. Most certainly, C. S. Lewis was a voracious consumer of books. In 1962, an interviewer asked Lewis: "What books did most to shape your vocational attitude and your philosophy of life?" In response, Lewis offered the following top ten list: 1. Phantastes by George MacDonald 2. The Everlasting Man by G. K. Chesterton 3. The Aeneid by Virgil 4. The Temple by George Herbert 5. The Prelude by William Wordsworth 6. The Idea of the Holy by Rudolf Otto 7. The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius 8. The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell 9. Decent into Hell by Charles Williams 10. Theism and Humanism by Arthur James Balfour Based on his books, marginal notes, and personal letters, Lewis' reading of books is thoroughly documented. In addition, Will Vaus offers a brief biography of each author with a helpful summary of their book. With this handy three-volume series, readers can discover new authors and learn what Lewis believed was most important in his won life and writings Do you like C. S. Lewis? Then it makes sense to read what he wrote. But if you really want to know Lewis and really understand what made him tick, don't neglect to read what he read. Will Vaus has done us all a great service in showing why these books are important and more: he makes them accessible to us all. Diana Pavlac Glyer, author of Bandersnatch and The Company They Keep: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community This third volume of Will Vaus's thorough examination of C.S. Lewis's top ten book list is a superb conclusion to his multi-volume study. Every serious student of Lewis's writing should read this book. Lyle W. Dorsett, PhD, Billy Graham Professor of Evangelism, Beeson Divinity School

C. S. Lewis' Top Ten: Influential Books and Authors, Volume Three

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