Francis A. Schaeffer (1912-1984) and C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) are known and beloved around the world for their books about philosophy, apologetics, as well as Lewis’ fiction series The Space Trilogy and The Chronicles of Narnia.
Schaeffer published his first book, The God Who is There, in 1968. He published over 20 books in his lifetime, including Escape From Reason, True Spirituality, Whatever Happened to the Human Race?, The Mark of the Christian, A Christian Manifesto, and The Great Evangelical Disaster. In addition, he established several branches of L’Abri (French for “shelter”) as a place where people seeking answers to life’s toughest questions could find “honest answers to honest questions.” He passed away in 1984 at the age of 72.
Lewis, a don in Oxford and Cambridge, and is probably best known for his monumental work of apologetics Mere Christianity, which was published in 1952. Over the course of his too-short life, Lewis was a prolific writer of novels, works of apologetics, and of the beloved children’s book series The Chronicles of Narnia. He was also known for his epic three-volume science fiction series known as The Space Trilogy, and for his voluminous correspondence with family, friends, and fans. Lewis published over 30 books. He died from a sudden heart attack in 1963 at the age of 64.
The purpose of our group is to meet on a regular basis with others who enjoy (or are interested in discovering) the works of these two legendary men. We’d love to hear your thoughts on their books, movies, articles, and sermons.
Plus, since both men were known for their writings on apologetics, which is the defense of of the Christian faith, we welcome your questions about Christianity. We’re here to provide honest questions to honest questions. If you have a beef with church, or you don’t understand why we believe the Bible is truth and why Christianity makes the most sense of any religion in the world, our group is for you. Let’s discuss it!
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Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D., is Distinguished University Research Professor of Apologetics and Christian Worldview at Cornerstone University and Cornerstone Theological Seminary. He is the author of twenty-three books, including Taking Back Truth, What if Jesus is Right?, Beyond the Wager: The Christian Brilliance of Blaise Pascal (InterVarsity, April, 2024), World Religions in Seven Sentences, Fire in the Streets – about Critical Race Theory or Wokeness (Salem, 2022), and Christian Apologetics, 2nd ed. (InterVarsity Academic, 2022). His web page is: DouglasGroothuis.com. He can also be found on Twitter: @DougGroothuis.
Bill Murphy, MS (Communication – Grand Valley State University), and MA (Apologetics – Luther Rice College & Seminary), wrote his masters thesis at Luther Rice on the Problem of Evil. While spending some 20 years in the field of PR and Direct Marketing for various advertising and marketing agencies in the Midwest, Bill served as adjunct professor in the School of Communication at Grand Valley State University, Director of Global Publicity for an American metal band, and Director of Public Relations for community theatre. He is currently weighing options for a PhD program at several seminaries.
Both Doug and Bill deeply appreciate the contributions Francis A. Schaeffer and C.S. Lewis have made to the world through their thinking, writing, and preaching. They hope their enthusiasm for these brilliant authors rubs off on you, too.
NOTE: We start with the belief that the Bible is true and that God exists, objectively – whether we believe in Him or not. But we welcome you, even if you’re a skeptic, an atheist, or a Christian who’s busy “deconstructing” your faith. As long as you respect the decorum of the meeting and ask respectful questions after (or, especially, during) our meetings, we’re always happy to meet a potential new friend.