The Problem of Pain, C. S. Lewis
The Problem of Pain, C. S. Lewis
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The Problem of Pain

Author: C. S. Lewis

Narrator: Simon Vance

Unabridged: 3 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/22/2005

Synopsis

For centuries, Christians have been tormented by one question above all: “If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow his creatures to suffer pain?” Is there justice or wisdom to be won by suffering, or some reward beyond understanding? And what of the suffering of animals, which neither deserve pain nor can be improved by it? Is the quantity and variety of suffering in the world inconsistent with, or evidence against, an omnipotent and perfectly loving God?The greatest Christian thinker of all time sets out to disentangle this knotty issue. With his signature wealth of compassion and insight, C. S. Lewis offers answers to these crucial questions and shares his hope and wisdom to help heal a world hungering for a true understanding of human nature, free will, and the will of the Divine.

About C. S. Lewis

It is a lofty goal, but many would be pleased if the work they accomplished would last well after their death, and be lauded with posthumous praise. Such is what happened to British author Clive Staples Lewis. He was born on November 29, 1898 and passed on November 22, 1963...... just prior to his 65th birthday. It was 2013 on the 50th Anniversary of Lewis' death, that he was honored by being given a memorial in Poet's Corner in West minister Abbey.

Lewis wore many professional hats......that of novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, broadcaster, lecturer, and Christian apologist. His best known work is The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters, and The Space Trilogy. He is the author of more than 30 books, translated into over 30 languages. As we are all aware, The Chronicles of Narnia had tremendous sales numbers and have been made popular on stage, TV, radio, and cinema.

Lewis married American author, Joy Davidman, in 1956, but sadly, she passed away only four years later from cancer at only 45 years old. Lewis then died in 1963 of renal failure.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Manny on January 28, 2011

Well, it's not like I really disagree with C.S. Lewis's argument here. I just think that the essential points are summed up rather more succinctly in the first few minutes of Monty Python's "Happy Valley" sketch:STORYTELLER: Once upon a time, long, long ago, there lay in a valley far, far away in th......more

Goodreads review by Allison on February 17, 2023

UPDATED REVIEW: Still just as wonderful; though I do disagree with a few points - namely that Lewis seemed to believe in theistic evolution: which is a bunkum. But that just goes to show that no one gets everything right. And, honestly, I believe if Lewis had lived in our time, when science has fina......more

Goodreads review by Jon on February 07, 2024

What is the purpose of pain? C.S. Lewis examines this question and gives his interpretation of what pain tries to teach us. Too often we refuse to see pain; we almost have an attitude that we can 'push' it away into the future. But when it does, eventually, come for us we are not prepared to accept......more

Goodreads review by J. Aleksandr on August 18, 2021

I wasn't much for reading nonfiction voluntarily in my youth. The Problem of Pain was the second installment of Lewis' nonfiction I chose of my own free will (after The Abolition of Man, only because of the preface to That Hideous Strength) and my first propositional apologetics book by any author.......more

Goodreads review by Traveller on January 16, 2015

< -<-<- < -<-<- This or.... This or...this->->-->->- [URL not allowed] Personally, I lean more towards the latter camp. Lewis does at least make a good, solid, and sophisticated effort to address the problem of: "Why does God allow so much pain and suffering, if He is really a......more

Quotes

“This is an incredibly lucid and unprejudiced work…Lewis’ treatise on suffering, read by [Simon Vance], is like listening to a very interesting, yet intellectually revered, friend talk about a thorny subject over a cup of tea.” Paradise (audio review)

“It is really a pleasure to be able to praise a book unreservedly, and that is just what I can do with The Problem of Pain.” Guardian (London)

“The point about reading C. S. Lewis is that he makes you sure, whatever you believe, that religion accepted or rejected means something extremely serious, demanding the entire energy of the mind.” Harper’s

“Lewis succeeds in lifting the reader from his frame of reference by artfully capitulating these topics into a conversational tone, which makes his assertions easy to swallow and even easier to digest…The fortune lies in Lewis’s inclination to set us straight with his charming wit and pious mind.” Amazon.com

Awards

  • Paris Review Selection
  • Amazon.com Bestseller
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