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.