In his acclaimed collection Tales Before Tolkien, Douglas A. Anderson illuminated the sources, inspirations, and influences that fired J.R.R. Tolkien’s genius. Now Anderson turns his attention to Tolkien’s colleague and friend C. S. Lewis, whose influence on modern fantasy, through his beloved Narnia books, is second only to Tolkien’s own. In many ways, Lewis’s influence has been even wider than Tolkien’s. For in addition to the Narnia series, Lewis wrote groundbreaking works of science fiction, urban fantasy, and religious allegory, and he came to be regarded as among the most important Christian writers of the twentieth century. It will come as no surprise, then, that such a wide-ranging talent drew inspiration from a variety of sources. Here are twenty of the tributaries that fed Lewis’s unique talent, among them: “The Wood That Time Forgot: The Enchanted Wood,” taken from a never-before-published fantasy by Lewis’s biographer and friend, Roger Lancelyn Green, that directly inspired The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; E. Nesbit’s charming “The Aunt and Amabel,” in which a young girl enters another world by means of a wardrobe; “The Snow Queen,” by Hans Christian Andersen, featuring the abduction of a young boy by a woman as cruel as she is beautiful; and many more, including works by Charles Dickens, Kenneth Grahame, G. K. Chesterton, and George MacDonald, of whom Lewis would write, “I have never concealed the fact that I regarded him as my master.” Full of fascinating insights into Lewis’s life and fiction, Tales Before Narnia is the kind of book that will be treasured by children and adults alike and passed down lovingly from generation to generation. INCLUDING SEVENTEEN MORE WORKS BY THE PROGENITORS OF MODERN FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION: “Tegnér’s Drapa” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow “The Magic Mirror” by George MacDonald “Undine” by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué “Letters from Hell: Letter III” by Valdemar Thisted “Fastosus and Avaro” by John Macgowan “The Tapestried Chamber; or, The Lady in the Sacque” by Sir Walter Scott “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton” by Charles Dickens “The Child and the Giant” by Owen Barfield “A King’s Lesson” by William Morris “The Waif Woman: A Cue—From a Saga” by Robert Louis Stevenson “First Whisper of The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame “The Wish House” by Rudyard Kipling “Et in Sempiternum Pereant” by Charles Williams “The Dragon’s Visit” by J.R.R. Tolkien “The Coloured Lands” by G. K. Chesterton “The Man Who Lived Backwards” by Charles F. Hall “The Dream Dust Factory” by William Lindsay Gresham

In Light Shining in a Dark Place, Jeff Sellars has drawn together more than a dozen scholars around the theme of discovering theology through the moving medium of film. The varied contributors in this collection explore, through their particular lenses, how theological ideas might be seen in and considered through one of the most popular of modern art forms. From subjects of sin, grace, and forgiveness to violence, science fiction/fantasy, and zombies, Light Shining in a Dark Place assists the theologically interested film viewer in tracing the light that might be found in the filmic arts back to the source of all lights. Contributors include: Bruce L. Edwards, J. Sage Elwell, Michael Leary, Peter Malone, Kevin C. Neece, Simon Oliver, Kim Paffenroth, J. Ryan Parker, Travis Prinzi, Megan J. Robinson, Scott Shiffer, James H. Thrall, and Alissa Wilkinson

A fallen angel reveals Satan's secrets in letters to an agnostic, lapsed Catholic professor at a midwestern college.

The leading MacDonald scholar settles the longstanding debate about the author’s views on hell with an in-depth analysis of his thought on the afterlife. Throughout his extensive and influential writings on Christian theology, George MacDonald only hints at his perspectives on hell, atonement, and everlasting punishment. Nowhere does he clearly state a doctrinal position on the subject. As a result, a controversy has raged for more than a century about whether or not MacDonald was a universalist. Now MacDonald scholar and biographer Michael Phillips tackles the “great hell debate” head on in this authoritative book. With numerous quotes from MacDonald’s writings and his extensive knowledge of MacDonald’s work, Phillips blows the lid off the debate by illuminating the full scope of MacDonald’s afterlife vision. One of the most significant studies of MacDonald’s theological perspectives ever written, this is a must-read for all serious students of George MacDonald.

George MacDonald wrote fairy tales for both children and adults to demonstrate the essential role of the imagination in apprehending spiritual truths. He explained: “. . . undefined, yet vivid visions of something beyond, something which eye has not seen nor ear heard, have far more influence than any logical sequences whereby the same things may be demonstrated to the intellect.” Rolland Hein undertakes to show how MacDonald’s tales contain such visions, helping readers to experience for themselves glimpses of "something beyond” and catch exciting insights into eternal truths.

This book presents more than 1,500 quotes from C. S. Lewis's writings, providing ready access to his thoughts on a variety of topics. An exhaustive index references key words and concepts, allowing readers to easily find quotes on any subject of interest.

Paul is also the author of TRINITARIAN LETTERS (Westbow Press, 2011). Website at: www.trinitarianletters.com HELL LETTERS demonstrates how the doctrine of hell and eternal torment came into the church in the fifth century AD through the efforts of St. Jerome and St. Augustine, with the translation of the Latin Vulgate, when the words hell and eternal torment and eternal damnation replaced the original meaning in various passages. The concept of hell and eternal torment was not preached in the early church for the first five hundred years of its existence. A positive gospel of love and reconciliation for humanity was. It was a positive message of hope, love, and the assurance of ones salvation in Jesus Christ. The effort of this book is to recapture that first love of the gospel, which is good news for everyone. Paul was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi, in 1944, and grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. He participated in music, choir, band, symphony, and many youth sports of baseball, basketball, tennis, and collegiate golf.