C.S. Lewis: ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ Author, Advocate for Animals

The Humane Society of the United States is proud to present an original academic work by preeminent C.S. Lewis scholar, Gerald Root, Ph.D., “C.S. Lewis as Advocate for Animals,” which touches on the many literary genres Lewis uses to make a case for human responsibility for the animals.

The release of Root’s 26-page piece follows the opening weekend of the major motion picture, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third in the Walden Media film series based on Lewis’ Narnia series.

“Dr. Root’s examination of Lewis’ theology of animals shows us just how committed he was to understanding our moral responsibilities towards them,” said Christine Gutleben, director of Faith Outreach for The HSUS.

Root concludes after thorough examination of many types of Lewis’ literary work, from fiction and essays to apologetics, that “the matter of the mystery of animals, the matter of sharing life with them on this planet, the matter of animal pain, and the matter of human responsibility for the animals are all topics that call for serious attention, at least Lewis thought so.”

Root is an associate professor at Wheaton College, as well as associate director for the Billy Graham Institute for Strategic Evangelism and director of the Wheaton Evangelism Initiative. He has written “C. S. Lewis and a Problem of Evil: an Investigation of a Pervasive Theme,” and is the co-author and co-editor of “The Soul of C.S. Lewis: A Meditative Journey through Twenty-six of His Best Loved Writings.” Furthermore, he is co-editor, with Wayne Martindale, of the best-selling and award-winning “The Quotable C.S. Lewis.” He is also the consulting editor of the new Harper Collins’ “C.S. Lewis Bible.” He has lectured about C.S. Lewis at 48 college or university campuses in 11 countries and has taught college and graduate courses about C.S. Lewis for 30 years.

3 Comments

  1. I don’t really like HSUS for reasons I don’t want to get onto. But I found a concerning piece of news that Dawn Treader dropped to fourth place Friday at the box office, and Tron is at the top( no surprise). But I am astonished to find Yogi Bear made even more.
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  2. i like it but the lion the witch and the wardrobe is the best film i have seen in my entire life better than hp.lotr. but this film is good i just cant move on with the characters like minotaur, lion and lucy!

  3. If anyone is interested in finding out more about C.S. Lewis’s views on this subject from his own mouth, check out his essay, “Vivisection,” which can be found in the collection of essays entitled God in the Dock, edited by Lewis’s former secretary, Walter Hooper. Also check out his chapter on animal pain in The Problem of Pain. And, of course, his portrayal of animals in the Chronicles of Narnia says something about his views on animals too I would suppose.

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