C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity: A Biography

As the world was engulfed in the darkness of the Second World War, a voice emerged from the heart of Britain, seeking to illuminate the shadows of fear and uncertainty. Imagine the streets of Oxford, quiet yet vigilant, where men patrolled nightly under dim lamplight, their footsteps echoing in the stillness. These were the Home Guard, ordinary citizens ready to defend their homeland, and among them was a scholar whose words would soon reach millions. The war was not just a backdrop but a crucible shaping the message that would become Mere Christianity.

In the midst of relentless bombings—the Blitz—cities like London endured seventy-one raids, with thousands of lives lost and countless more living in terror. Yet, the BBC, despite damage to its own Broadcasting House, remained a beacon, committed to religious programming that could comfort and challenge. This was no mere pious platitude but an intellectual and spiritual lifeline. The radio waves carried not only news but also the stirring calls of reason and faith, reaching listeners huddled in shelters or going about their daily lives under the shadow of war.

Our speaker, a man who had once walked the trenches of the Great War, was no stranger to the cost of conflict. His lectures to Royal Air Force crews, many facing death after only thirteen missions, brought him face to face with raw human fear and longing. These encounters honed his ability to speak plainly yet profoundly, to translate complex truths into words that could reach the heart of a nation.

The BBC’s religious broadcasting department wrestled with the challenge of maintaining independence and integrity while serving a diverse and often skeptical audience. They sought a voice that was neither clerical nor overly academic, someone who could speak as a fellow traveler on the journey of faith. This scholar, with a voice both learned and approachable, stepped into that role, crafting talks that began not with doctrine but with the shared experience of right and wrong, of guilt and hope.

These broadcasts were not merely sermons but conversations, inviting listeners to explore the moral law they all sensed but often ignored. The war’s existential questions—the presence of evil, the meaning of suffering, the hope for redemption—were woven into every phrase. It was a time when the very survival of civilization was at stake, and the message was urgent and hopeful.

As we move forward, we will delve into the substance of these talks themselves, exploring how they unfolded from the simplest observations of human behavior to the profound claims of Christianity. But first, let us hold in our hearts the image of a nation under siege, listening intently to a voice that sought to guide them through the darkness toward light.