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Rating: 
Summary: A Literary 'Wrestling Coach' of Olympic Grade!
Review: I love primary sources. I would much rather read St Paul or Plato, than read about them. But must I apologize for reading and enjoying commmentary on the work of a leading Christian apologist? If dismissed as simply too academic a thing to do, you will miss an edifying and delightful 'read'.
The writings of CS Lewis continue to post major sales, so there is likelihood that many may be interested in this title in spite of its slightly overwrought subtitle. And as for the title itself, Markos explains that it's borrowed from a play written by John Milton, Samson Agonistes, (ie: Samson, the Wrestler). The OED tells us that the agon is 'a gathering or assembly, (f. to lead or bring with one), esp. for the public games; hence 'the contest for the prize at the games,' and by extension, 'any contest or struggle'. He tells us that this volume grew out of an article he wrote for Christianity Today (April 2001). In the book he says he is an evangelical who teaches English literature at Houston Baptist University, but he also states that Christianity is not the only truth. (I can almost hear his fellow pew sitters cobbling together a cross! He does go on to qualify the statement; yet it is evident that he is very broadminded.) I've learned that it is his eighth title, but the first to make it into print. So, clearly our author is tenacious!
Indeed, I find him to be an accomplished grappler, actually carrying forward the conversation advanced by CS Lewis. He attempts to "fashion an aesthetics of incarnation,one that will not only speak to the potential of the arts to bear a heavy weight of meaning but that will champion the arts as a far greater friend than foe to the beleagured apologist living in a postmodern world." This is refreshing in a day when we are weary of narcissism and nihilism in the arts. And I think he makes good on this thesis, which is not the sole goal of the book.
Rarely have I encountered an author who is as well-read and capable of weaving a grand tapestry from the canons of literature and scripture. Those already familiar with CSL's writing may find the first chapter a bit tedious as Markos sets the stage, but it's worth being patient, and this reader was rewarded several times in chapter one.
He adeptly lays a foundation for a new paradigm of the intuition to replace that worn (worn out?) by today's rationalists. This guy doesn't merely wrestle in defence of the faith, he wrestles to win! After capsulizing CSL's many joustings with materialism Markos points us forward with this delightful clip: "If a skeptic has already decided that miracles do not and cannot occur, then even if one should take place right in front of his nose, he would simply dismiss it as a coincidence, a natural anomaly, or, like Scrooge, as the result of 'an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato.'" His commanding ability to integrate what he has read, combined with his passion for reason in pursuit of truth, takes us on a joyride questing to be persuaded of his new paradigm. I'm on board.
Along the way he speaks eloquently about developing a desire to minister to devotees ['neopagans' -- a word he defines kindly] of the new age: "If we are to win back the neopagans, we need to rediscover our awe at the majesty of God and his Creation, an awe that has little to do with the modern warfare over worship styles and everything to do with that breathless sense of the numinous that we first encountered in the nursery when a timeless tale from mythology or folklore or legend ushered us into the world of faerie." And he even ventures to deconstruct heaven and hell: "Americans have the wrong understanding of heaven and hell. We think that life is like college and that if we get an 'A' we go to heaven, and if we get an 'F' we go to hell. Thus, to go to hell is to be a failure, a 'loser,' and no American can stand to be labeled as such. But the fact of the matter is there are two colleges: the College of Heaven and the College of Hell. If we enroll in the former, it means that what we truly desire is God and the things of God. And if that is our desire, Lewis asserts, we shall someday find it: 'No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it.' But if we enroll instead in the latter college, it is because we have chosen our own wills over that of God, because we have agreed to adopt as our motto that most American of phrases, 'looking out for number one.' I have met many pople who say they cannot believe in God because he sends people to hell. Invariably, though, as we speak further, it is soon revealed that this person does not like God and certainly does not wish to spend eternity with him. We can't have it both ways. Our souls are immmortal; they must go somewhere after we die: if not to God, then, by default, they must go to hell. For, as we already said above, hell is the only place in the universe where God is not. And yet, even in hell, God extends some mercy."
I will caution that Markos makes what I deem to be an occasional overstatement. Psalm 139:8 says if I make my bed in hell, God is there. And if I don't like Him, hell may be akin to being sat next to the Teacher's desk. But his concluding epilog had my ears hearing my lips pronounce a resounding 'YES'. Markos may not yet be worthy of wearing Lewis' mantle, but he is a reliable valet capable of carrying it, and the conversation across-the-centuries, onward.
Eric Chaffee, Alden NY
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding and true to the spirit of CSL!
Review: An excellent addition to the wealth of brilliant works by and about C. S. Lewis. I highly recommend this book for any serious student of CSL who is seeking a deeper understanding of the man himself.
Rating: 
Summary: A Thoughtful Summary
Review: I enjoyed the book. The book referenced a large sample of the Lewis corpus. His approach to the Space Trilogy and how we can use Lewis to make bridges to the New Agers was very interesting. I knocked a star off because of his writing style. It was very uneven. At times it seemed forced and at other times it was inspired. The section on the deconstruction of language lost me, but that may be due to my lack of study in that area. His love of the fiction of Lewis came through very strong. I wanted to drop everything and read the Space Trilogy again.
Rating: 
Summary: Try Wrestling With This!
Review: I had earlier written a review about this book being "Of, By, and For White Christians", and have not changed my opinion since then. The book does little to address the _really_ serious problems inflicting Churchianity (not Christianity), and does nothing but polish the problems so that they shine in all their Glory. Only White Christians will be satisfied with the material offered in this book, since it has little to offer anyone else.
This book is written in the same spirit as "If you drive faster than me, you're a maniac, and if you drive slower, you're a moron." The author imagines Liberal Christians to be "maniacs" for not holding onto their conservatism, and Catholics as "morons" for sticking to the Catholic Church.
All books by mortal humans have flaws, and this book is no exception. The book actually deserves 3 stars for its content and style of writing. However, since none of the other reviewers have taken their time to criticize the book, here are some criticisms that I hope are seen as constructive.
(1) The Churchian idea of God seems to be someone who is needy and resentful, as though saying, "I've come this far, and you STILL don't love me? You can go to hell!" How can Churchians pray to someone who is needy and resentful? Is not God self-complete and free from resentment?
(2) Babies who die before the age of one, have no chance of either accepting or rejecting Christ. In fact, they have no chance of even knowing Christ to make such a choice. Does this mean that they are condemned to hell? This makes little sense to anyone who examines the views of Churchianity, but is easily accepted (with absolutely no gospel support to speak of) by all Churchians.
(3) Belief in the resurrection is not necessary for salvation:
The thief on the cross (Luke 23:42-43) did not believe in the resurrection, yet he was saved. As a matter of fact, his salvation occurred on that day itself, and Christ's resurrection happened 3 days later, so the necessity of belief in the resurrection for salvation disappears completely!
Luke 23:42: Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
(4) There are parts of the Bible that unequivocally state that all that is asked for by a believer will be answered (Matt 21:22 and Mark 16:18). Does this mean that all the "Christians" whose prayers are not answered are not believers? Here are the verses:
Matt 21:22 "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
Mark 16:16-19 "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
The verse from Mark 16 is usually dismissed off as a "false" verse. However, Matt 21:22 is accepted as genuine.
Rating:
Summary: A successful "agon"
Review: I'd been looking forward to this book for about six months after having conversed with Lou and I was not disappointed! His intiment knowledge of Lewis and his body of work allows him to reference just the right quote or idea and integrate it seemlessly into his argument. I love the organization of the book and I feel it becomes more challenging to the reader as you progress through it, culminating with great chapters on the arts and heaven/hell. It should be appropriate for both seasoned Lewis readers and the newbie as Markos doesn't assume the reader has read all of Lewis and yet goes deep into his ideas. Very Well done indeed!
Rating:
Summary: Learn to wrestle...and even how to see freshly.
Review: This book has really helped me understand the overarching meanings of C.S. Lewis' books -- even though that's not the main intention of the book, Louis Markos brings most of Lewis' canon to light. The book was written to open the eyes of Christians to the movement our post-enlightenment modern and post-modern world has taken. Louis Markos shows us how C.S. Lewis, or Lewis Agonistes (Latin for wrestler), wrestled with the modernist of his time. Louis Markos then uses Lewis to argue with the postmodernists of our time. How, for example, Lewis argued with the materialists, who believe in only what his senses tell him. How Lewis wrestled with the idea that we as a race aren't perfectible (this mindset gave us Hitler, Stalin, and other tyrants who tried to perfect 'man'), and many other issues covering the sciences, the arts, and even issues that deeply touch our lives. The following is an outline of Louis Markos' book: Preface Chapter 1: The Education of Lewis Agonistes Chapter 2: Wrestling with Science Chapter 3: Wrestling with the New Age Chapter 4: Wrestling with Evil and Suffering Chapter 5: Wrestling with the Arts Chapter 6: Wrestling with Heaven and Hell Conclusion To sum up the effect that this book has had on me, I believe it has opened my eyes to understand the beauty in the medieval worldview, that 'outer space' should really be the heavens because the stars and everything else are vibrant with life. The understanding that the movement of the stars is a kind of cosmic dance perfectly choreographed by our Creator, lifts me up when I gaze at their beauty. This book has opened, or uncovered that part of me that the empirical sciences have tried to hide. I now see where physics, biology, and mathematics fail us; in showing the true beauty of life in the creation that they can't quantify and reduce to impersonal axioms or models. They think empirically where we should look at things holistically, they look at the part, study that part, and since that's all that they've been looking at, they claim that there is only that part, that the whole doesn't exist. Yet they don't realize that what they've been studying is but a mere fraction of God's creation. I strongly recommend this book, even if you are not a Christian and only a C.S. Lewis fan.
Rating:
Summary: Markos Book a "Must Read" for Lewis Fans
Review: This Book was very meaningful to me. Dr. Markos, using the the ideas and methods of C.S. Lewis, helps the reader to understand and grapple with the ideas and attitudes of the modern and post-modern society. This book is a must-read for all fans of C.S. Lewis. Those who have not read Lewis can also enjoy this well-written thought provoking book.
Rating:
Summary: Markos Book a "Must Read" for Lewis Fans
Review: This Book was very meaningful to me. Dr. Markos, using the the ideas and methods of C.S. Lewis, helps the reader to understand and grapple with the ideas and attitudes of the modern and post-modern society. This book is a must-read for all fans of C.S. Lewis. Those who have not read Lewis can also enjoy this well-written thought provoking book.
Rating:
Summary: Even non-Houstonians like this book!
Review: This book will be required reading for any university class on C.S. Lewis. The warm combination by Louis Markos of biographical portrait, intimate analysis of the subject's ideas, and a panoramic sweep of Western Philosophy and Judeo-Christian thought assure this. Destiny holds another rightful place for it outside the classroom as insight into the wisdom of Christianity with deep roots in the Hebrew legacy. It the gift of a brilliant scholar to those with, as he describes in this book, " . . . the heart that yearns for God and the mind that seeks to know him." A small caveat. The author is a friend of mine. I am even mentioned in the credits, a discovery that surprised me when I read the preface just after buying the book. I attribute the honor to discussions I have been privileged to have with Louis Markos, explorations of ideas in which I always find him a warm and wise companion. More to the point, I did not review the manuscript before publication. I knew Markos was working on a book about C.S. Lewis. That is all I knew. We did not discuss it and for this I am thankful. Otherwise, I would have started my reading with some predisposition and less objectivity. Indeed, in our little talks I have always disagreed with Markos on some points. As a consequence, I picked up Lewis Agonistes not knowing what I would find. It is a rare blend of intellect, knowledge and fervor. Before meeting Louis Markos, I never paid much attention to C.S. Lewis. I thought the author of the Chronicles of Narnia and The Screw Tape Letters was just a pioneering science fiction writer who periodically ventured into theology. Then I began those little conversations with Markos. Suddenly I found that C.S. Lewis was a thinker that, much to my loss, I had minimized. Still, he had always been a small part of our conversations ranging from Genesis and Plato to Dante and Nietzsche. This book brings to me the full force of C.S. Lewis genius. As I read Lewis Agonistes I felt like Bilbo Baggins before Gandalf and the Dwarfs dragged him off. Bilbo was so comfortable in his little Hobbit hole. Still, even as he protested against leaving for far off dangers, he heard the call to adventure. Like Bilbo, many of us are comfortable in the ideas to which we are accustomed. Markos is a Gandalf, happily pulling us up to another level of the world, a place that many of us only pretend to know. His enthusiasm draws us to the heights of Christianity with C.S. Lewis as a lively companion. This role of Markos as Gandalf is appropriate. As the book points out, C.S. Lewis and T.R.R. Tolkien were friends, a relationship that enriched the works of both men. Though I have escaped into the sensuousness of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, my mind has long been saturated with scenes of the world drawn from the philosophers of reason and idealism, ancient pagans and modern atheists. This book wrenches me out of my complacency. It opens a vibrant window into a different worldview. With a blend of faith and rigorous analysis, Louis Markos raises C.S. Lewis from the dead. He makes the Christian ideas of Lewis march like soldiers contending against the faithless and the cynic. In the preface Markos cautions us when he writes "There will, therefore, be long passages in this book where Lewis's name is not mentioned." The author points out that in those stretches he will "either be working through an examination of the precise challenges leveled by the modern and post modern reader . . . or constructing an argument of my own that is guided by Lewis's method and approach . . ." Here, though he is my friend, I must disagree with the author. Much of the brilliance in the book he attributes to his hero C.S. Lewis. I am more objective. In the public light of his lectures and the private moments of our conversations, I have found Louis Markos to stand on his own as a great adventurer in ideas. More to the point, in the book I found that the thoughts of a living Markos and a long dead C.S. Lewis blend so intimately that the effort to differentiate one from the other is best traded in by the reader for the experience of bearing witness to soaring visions of God.
Rating:
Summary: An Exciting Study in How to Develop a Christian Worldview
Review: This is a splendid, insightful, and beautifully written book--certainly one of the very best treatments of C. S. Lewis now available. Markos makes the intellectual challenge posed by modernity and postmodernity not simply the organizing principle of his study of Lewis but a focus of serious attention in its own right. Chapter 1 offers an accessible biographical account of Lewis that highlights the key personal and intellectual influences in his life. At less than 30 pages, it is the finest short overview of Lewis's life that I have ever read. Chapter 2 shows how Lewis's thought can assist Christians in critically assessing the worldview of modern philosophy and science, particularly its naturalist assumptions and anti-supernaturalist biases. In the process he gives Darwin, Nietzsche, and Freud a run for their money, effectively unpacking Lewis's conviction that there are at four features of human existence that could not have evolved in a purely naturalist or materialist fashion: "joy," morality, rationality, religion. Chapter 3 does the same thing with respect to new-age paganism, in a bracing analysis of the retrieval of the medieval worldview that Lewis achieved in THE DISCARDED IMAGE. Chapter 4 takes up the problem of evil, in an instructive study of THE PROBLEM OF PAIN that focuses on "God's Free-Will Experiment" and in a sensitive treament of Lewis's deeply personal A GRIEF OBSERVED. Chapter 5 confronts the arts and deconstructionism. In a section titled "The Death of Language" Markos gets around to one of the few truly POSTmodern (as opposed to modern) movements covered in the book: the deconstructionism of Jacques Derrida. He also deals with the metaphysical status of the arts, in a theological meditation titled "The Aesthetics of the Incarnation" and follows it up with a look at Lewis's imaginative fiction as the work of a "sub-creator." Chapter 6 brings the volume to a close, fittingly enough, with a discussion of heaven and hell that explores "the psychology of sin" that Lewis unfolds in THE GREAT DIVORCE. In every chapter, Markos gives readers incisive summaries, generous quotations, and thoughtful analyses of the full range of works in the Lewis canon--his apologetic nonfiction (MERE CHRISTIANITY, THE PROBLEM OF PAIN, and MIRACLES), his overtly religious fiction (THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS and THE GREAT DIVORCE), and his imaginative fiction (the CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, the PERELANDRA space trilogy, and TILL WE HAVE FACES). If there is anything that Markos could do to improve this book, it would be to write a sequel that delves deeper into current developments in science (e.g., recent trends in cosmology and quantum physics; the intelligent design movement; and the theistic evolutionism of scientists who accept and even celebrate evolution from a Christian perspective). In a sequel, Markos might also look more intently at recent developments in philosophy (esp. epistemology), linguistics, and other disciplines. My sense is that even though C. S. Lewis was engaging modernism (Darwin, Nietzsche, and Freud), his work has implications for critiquing more recent developments in postmodernism. What most impresses me about LEWIS AGONISTES is that, although Prof. Markos is obviously a committed evangelical Christian, he writes as a Christian humanist who values science, philosophy, literature, the arts, and other aspects of culture. His ultimate aim is to get believers to engage these disciplines as thinking Christians, on the conviction that all truth is God's truth and that creation (including culture) is fundamentally good but fallen and in need of God's redemption in Jesus Christ. He encourages not a world-denying or other-worldly brand of Christian piety or spirituality but a faith that is committed to God's renewal of THIS world as His creation. Like Lewis, Markos makes Christianity attractive--not only spiritually meaningful but intellectually fulfilling and exciting. This book would lend itself well to classroom use or small-group study. Its relative brevity (174 pages) and approachable style commend it. In fact, I plan on adopting it as THE collateral text in a course on C. S. Lewis. Louis has produced a book that is worthy of Lewis, and he deserves the gratitude of thoughtful Christians everywhere.
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