Ep 78: Dr. Michael Ward on C.S. Lewis, Paganism, and Christmas

Dr. Michael Ward is a professor at both Oxford University and Houston Baptist University where he teaches on imaginative apologetics. Dr. Ward is perhaps best know as a C.S. Lewis scholar and for his groundbreaking work Planet Narnia. You can read more about his life, his research focus, and find links to many of his articles at his websites:
http://www.michaelward.net/
http://www.planetnarnia.com/

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I interviewed Dr. Ward in research for my book Celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas. I specifically wanted to ask him what C.S. Lewis' approach to "paganism," and mythology was in the hopes of gaining a broader understanding of how that can help us view some of the pagan influences embedded into our Christmas customs and traditions. I also wanted to ask him about Lewis' views on Christmas and what some of his own Christmas traditions were. This episode was released on November 29 to commemorate Lewis' birthday. In my book there is a section on paganism and Christmas that was directly influenced by my interview with Dr. Ward as well as his writing, which can primarily be found in these 3 articles: "God the Father of Lights: C.S. Lewis on Christianity and Paganism
C.S. Lewis, Jupiter, and Christmas
C.S. Lewis and the Star of Bethlehem

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Related Podcast Episodes and Articles:
Ep. 29: Melody Green—Tolkien Scholar
Episode 15: Mike Foster Tolkien Scholar and Author.
Ep 71: Happy Pagan Christmas!
Ep 72: The 12 Days of Christmas, New Years, and Epiphany
Ep28: Dialouges With Brandon: What Makes a Good Novel?

Episode 08: Dr. Jeremiah Gibbs on Postmodern Apologetics

Introducing Classical Education
Why Study LIterature: a concise answer
The Confessions of a Failed Literature Graduate

PCR Podcast Ep29: Dr. Melody Green—Tolkien Scholar

Dr. Melody Green, Dean of Urbana Theological Seminary, is the organizer of the 5th annual Tolkien Conference. She herself is a literature scholar, having published and researched on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and George MacDonald. The 2016 conference is November 5 at Grace Community Church in Champaign, Illinois. Please visit http://tolkienconference.com/ for registration info and topics to be presented. This episode's conversation focuses on the conference, the place of Tolkien's work in today's world, and a side chat about Lewis' enigmatic novel Till We Have Faces. This year's keynote talk is Professor Mike Foster's interview with Colin Havard, the son of one of the Inklings. You can listen to my interview with Professor Foster here: Episode 15: Mike Foster Tolkien Scholar and Author.

Subscribe to the podcast on itunes 
Check out the podcast page to subscribe on Stitcher, Tunein, and PocketCasts.

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Related Podcast Episodes:
Ep. 29: Melody Green—Tolkien Scholar
Episode 15: Mike Foster Tolkien Scholar and Author.
Ep28: Dialouges With Brandon: What Makes a Good Novel?

Episode 08: Dr. Jeremiah Gibbs on Postmodern Apologetics

Episode 09: Caleb J. Kruse on Meeting Rich Mullins

Episode 10: David Leo Schultz Director of Brennan

PCR Podcast Episode 15: Mike Foster—Tolkien scholar, writer, English professor, and journalist

Our fifteenth episode features Mike Foster who is known mostly for his knowledge of J.R.R. Tolkien and Middle Earth (because of a famed Illinois Central College literature class and numerous essays and interviews on the subject), but who has also been a hardworking writer and journalist for over 50 years. While the questions eventually always wind their way back to hobbits and strange elvish (or is it elven?) names, Mike also has lots to share about teaching, music, and writing a good obituary. Shaped by a lifetime of reading and intensive study Mike speaks with a gentle eloquence always tinged with the wonder of faerie. This is our longest episode yet, but stick around to hear some great stories about the people he has met and dialogued with in the Tolkien Universe. You can find more info about Professor Foster here: http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Mike_Foster and here: https://peoriatazewoodfordblog.wordpress.com/about/meet-your-editors-mike-foster/

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