Nearly sixty years after his death, C.S. Lewis’ writings remain in print with increasing sales. Lewis’ low key and lackadaisical presentation almost camouflage his intense pathos and iron-hard logic. He lures readers into inescapable and eventually comfort-bringing conclusions about themselves, the universe, and the God who created it and is redeeming it. His writing has brought vast numbers of people to faith in Christ, has strengthened faltering faith, and rekindled ardent faith from the smoldering embers of a cool Christianity acquired in youth. Some have referred to Lewis as the “the greatest evangelist of the latter part of the twentieth century.”
A Study in Mere Christianity looks at Lewis’ book Mere Christianity. Lewis was not a clergyman but a Medieval and Renaissance English literary critic and Anglican layman, and he wrote as such. Beginning with a biographical sketch of the author and his unlikely conversion, the class will set the work in the context of Lewis’ personal, historical, and epistemological milieu to understand his arguments and methods so as to make them relevant to our situation today.
The class will examine not merely Lewis’ arguments - his logos (logic) - but also his pathos (emotion) and ethos (his establishing himself as someone trustworthy). Many of Lewis’ arguments (logos) were not new, but those arguments combined with the pathos and ethos of his presentation made, and continues to make, Lewis such a successful apologist and evangelist.
The course will be team-taught by Mr. Trey Hammond and Dr. George “Chip” Hammond.
Trey Hammond is currently studying for ordination as a deacon in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and creative writing from George Mason University. As a senior in high school, Trey joined the Vector Speech and Debate club (Stoa) in Lincoln-Douglas and Parliamentary (Parli) debate, earning a spot in the national championships in Parli. He currently works in free-lance strategy boardgame design and teaches English literature at Loudoun Classical School.
George “Chip” Hammond is pastor of Bethel Presbyterian Church (Orthodox Presbyterian) in Leesburg, VA. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Charlotte. In addition to pastoring Bethel Church, Dr. Hammond is a Senior Teaching Fellow for the C.S. Lewis Institute and teaches Greek at Loudoun Classical School.