Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

The Corinthian Twins: The Mystery Behind Naming King Lune’S Sons, Jono Darville

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

Michael Ward’s landmark discovery, as outlined in Planet Narnia, unlocked the hidden structure of C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. Ward persuasively demonstrated that Lewis used the seven planets of medieval cosmology as an organizing principle for the Narnia series. With his discovery firmly in place, Ward has encouraged others to investigate the Narniad for new planetary connections and influences. To that end, in this article, I argue that C.S. Lewis named Cor and Corin after the books of 1 and 2 Corinthians in The Horse and His Boy, as these names are a perfect fit …

Sin, Grace, And Conversion In C. S. Lewis’S The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Christopher Varga

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

Was C. S. Lewis Pelagian? While his apologetic works make skillful use of the concept of free will, some worry that he takes the emphasis on free will too far, allowing no room for God's gracious intervention in works such as The Great Divorce and The Problem of Pain. This essay seeks to challenge a Pelagian characterization of Lewis. It argues that there is in Lewis’s theology a dialectic in which the burden for damnation rests solely with the sinner’s own free choice, and yet where God is solely to praise for actively rescuing the saved, resembling a single …

What Does Nature Mean In The Abolition Of Man? Or, The Participatory Ontology Behind The Sublime Waterfall, Chris R. Armstrong

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

If Lewis’s Abolition of Man is simply an argument for objective moral value, or what we have called “the natural law,” then why begin with waterfalls that demand of us certain kinds of aesthetic judgment,[1] and end by saying that technocrats who take Nature in their own hands to control others with it have stepped outside of something larger than moral law, viz. the Tao, the Real itself, and thereby lost their very humanity?[2]

What, that is, is Nature in the Abolition? Certainly, it is not nature as construed in philosophical naturalism after Jane Austen, after the advent …

Teaching The Abolition Of Man, Joel Heck, Robert Koons, Josiah Peterson

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

The authors also hope that this article will help readers better understand The Abolition of Man and raise the level of interest in teaching this important book in schools, churches, and in many other venues and that many will find here helpful practical ideas for such teaching.

Discovering C. S. Lewis’S Argument From Awe Against Philosophical Naturalism, Piotr Bylica

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

Although Clive Staples Lewis’s (1898–1963) works on the intersection of philosophy and religion were aimed at a broader readership and are indeed well-known among the general public, they are also valued among professional philosophers and theologians alike, especially those focusing on the relations between theism, atheism, and naturalism. His three most popular arguments against naturalism are the Argument from Reason, the Moral Argument, and the Argument from Desire. In that context, the present article aims to show that Lewis actually made use of a fourth type of argument against philosophical naturalism that has so far escaped identification. Since this argument …

C. S. Lewis And The Argument From Reason, Elijah Mcclanahan

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

This essay surveys and demonstrates that the "argument from reason" is a dominant methodological theme in the apologetics of C. S. Lewis.

C. S. Lewis And Artificial Intelligence: An Ai Ethics Problem, Justin E. Edgerly

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

This paper demonstrates that the quest for safe and ethical AI is undermined by much of the philosophy, implicit and explicit, in AI literature and undergirding AI research and development. C. S. Lewis’s writings provide a prescient and penetrating critique of this philosophy and point toward a “regenerate science” that addresses the present need for wisdom in AI development. This paper contributes to the field of AI ethics by presenting several Lewisian concerns about the nature, application, and undergirding philosophy of current and future AI technologies, as well as a Lewisian perspective on the requirements for safe and ethical AI.

Divergent Paths: The Spiritual Friendship Of C. S. Lewis And Dom Bede Griffiths, Martha Abele Mac Iver

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

This essay argues that despite their parallel conversion journeys at Oxford and their lifelong friendship, C. S. Lewis and Dom Bede Griffiths ultimately came to different understandings about the relationship between humans and God and what it means to commune with God in what we commonly call prayer. Despite the frequent mention of prayer in their letters, their views of the way in which God was present within them and what communion with God entailed diverged in significant ways as Griffiths sought to integrate Christian and Hindu conceptions of God. Their own spiritual friendship may have survived this rift, but …

C. S. Lewis’S Lost French Doctorate, Anne-Frédérique Mochel-Caballero

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

Before the American Narnia films, C. S. Lewis was virtually unknown in France. Even today, his fame is nowhere near the level it has reached in the English-speaking world, be it in academia, among Christians, or in popular culture. The number of French doctoral theses or books on Lewis is extremely small. As for the French translations of his books, many of them are now out of print. However, this was not always the case. Lewis has never been as well-known in France as in Britain or America, but during his lifetime he achieved a certain fame in secular universities, …

Re-Dating An Inklings Photograph, Harry Lee Poe

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

Perhaps the most delightful and helpful introductory biography of C. S. Lewis is Walter Hooper’s Through Joy and Beyond: A Pictorial Biography. Published in 1982, it was the first book I reviewed for an academic journal as a freshly minted PhD graduate. The lavish presence of photographs takes the reader into the world of Lewis from his earliest childhood until his death in 1963. Hooper probably knew more about Lewis and his works than any other person, but even Hooper had to make educated guesses from time to time, which very rarely proved wrong.

Dating The Undated Poems In Don King’S Collected Poems Of C. S. Lewis: A Critical Edition, Charlie W. Starr

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

Don W. King made a monumental contribution to Lewis studies when he released his Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis: A Critical Edition. Prior to this volume, Lewis’s poetry was scattered among at least four books and much remained unpublished. King gathered all of Lewis’s poetry, apart from a few poetic fragments, into a single volume. Since the book’s publication in 2015, a handful of additional Lewis poems have been discovered. Nevertheless, the fact that the vast majority of Lewis’s poetry now exists in a single volume remains a huge step forward in Lewis scholarship and our ability to appreciate …

“Frankenstein’S Nursery Rhymes” And Other Unpublished Poems By Joy Davidman, Don W. King

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

In 2015 I edited and published A Naked Tree: Joy Davidman’s Love Sonnets to C. S. Lewis and Other Poems. I avoided referring to this volume as the collected poems of Davidman since I decided to withhold publication of twenty-nine poems, primarily because I wanted the attention of readers to focus upon Davidman’s forty-five sonnets to Lewis as well as the poems comprising Letter to a Comrade, the only collection of her verse published during her lifetime. However, I now think it is time to bring these unpublished poems to print. With a few exceptions, I have arranged the poems …

Frontmatter (Volume 19 Issue 1), Bruce R. Johnson

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

No abstract provided.

Eurasianism As The Ideological Foundation Of Putin's Russia: Protestant Dimensions., Pavlo Pavlenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article explores the ideological foundations of contemporary Putinist Russia, identifying Eurasianism as a primary socio-philosophical and geopolitical doctrine driving the Kremlin's imperial ambitions. The author traces the evolution of Eurasianism from its origins in "White émigré" circles to its current role as a conceptual bedrock for Russian fascism. A comparative analysis is provided between Eurasianism and the "Russian World" (Russkiy Mir) doctrine, highlighting their distinct approaches to ethnocentrism and continental unity. A significant portion of the study is dedicated to the "Eurasianization" of Protestant denominations within the Russian Federation, illustrating how these communities have been instrumentalized by the state …

Socio-Psychological Portrait Of Muslim Women Who Joined Radical Religious Organizations, Akerke Sakbayeva, Nagima Baitenova, Zhuldyz Zhorabek, Assel Alimkhanova, Raimbek Zeinullin

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines the socio-psychological characteristics, motivations for radicalization, and the legal and social status of Muslim women who have joined radical religious organizations from gender and cultural studies perspectives. In recent years, the increasing involvement of women in violent extremist movements has intensified the need to investigate this phenomenon not only as a security issue, but also as a complex social, cultural, psychological, and gender-related phenomenon. The study analyzes both internal and external factors influencing the radicalization of women, including social marginalization, identity crises, emotional dependency, limited religious literacy, and perceptions of social injustice. Particular attention is given to …

An Interdisciplinary Approach To Understanding The Social Ministry Of The Orthodox Church Of Ukraine In The Context Of Christian Theology And Socio-Humanitarian Sciences, Rostyslav Didukh

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article presents a comprehensive interdisciplinary scientific and theological analysis of the social ministry of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in the context of Christian theology and socio-humanitarian disciplines. Modern approaches of Orthodox theology to the social mission of Christianity ensure the integrity of the development of the human and society. The need to ensure the coherence of theological concepts of the Orthodox Church social teaching with the existing church and parish life, church educational mission, theological education, and social work is emphasized. Special attention is paid to the interdisciplinary connections of Orthodox theology, religious studies, psychology, pedagogy and …

The Autonomy Of Bulgarian Theological Scholarship: Institutional Control And Discursive Transformation Under The Communist Regime (1944–1960s), Diana Petrova Tyurkedzhieva

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article examines the autonomy of theological scholarship in Bulgaria under the communist regime as part of the broader problem of academic freedom under authoritarian rule, focusing on 1944 to the 1960s. While existing research has primarily addressed the relationship between the Orthodox Church and the State through institutional restriction and political repression, this study analyses how theological scholarship was transformed institutionally and discursively. It combines historical and institutional analysis with an examination of speeches, public statements, and academic publications in ecclesiastical and theological periodicals. The article argues that the separation of the Faculty of Theology from Sofia University in …

The Crisis Of Theodicy In Wartime Ukraine: From Gottverlassenheit To The Anthropodical Shift, Tetiana Havryliuk, Yuriy Chornomorets, Svitlana Shkil

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Examination of the crisis of classical theodicy in the context of contemporary warfare, with particular attention to the experience of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. The problem of innocent suffering can no longer be approached solely through speculative attempts to justify the world order or reconcile radical evil with divine providence. Methodologically, the study combines hermeneutic, phenomenological, and comparative-conceptual analysis. It reconstructs a selective genealogy of Gottverlassenheit from Martin Luther’s Theologia Crucis through Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Jürgen Moltmann, brings this tradition into dialogue with contemporary moral anti-theodicy, and examines Ukrainian philosophical and religious reflections shaped by wartime experience. The article’s …

Religious And Cultural Dimension Of The "Ringing Cedars Of Russia" Movement In The Context Of Hybrid Warfare, Oleksandr Lukyanenko, Vitaly Dmytrenko, Vita Dmytrenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article is devoted to a comprehensive religious analysis of the neo-religious movement “The Ringing Cedars of Russia,” based on the works of Vladimir Megre and the image of the prophetess Anastasia. The study covers the ideological and doctrinal foundations of the movement, its socio-cultural practices, the functioning of tribal settlements, as well as mechanisms of influence on individual and collective consciousness. Particular attention is paid to the concepts of “Vedrussia”, the sacralization of “Russian space” and the mythologization of Russia’s calling to revive the “primitive civilization of harmony.” The analysis shows that the movement, while declaring ecological and humanistic …

The Religious Landscape Of Ukraine During The War: Consolidation Potential And Destructive Imitations, Vadym Dyiak

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article examines the transformation of religion’s functional role in the context of the russian-Ukrainian war. The author analyzes how the extreme circumstances of armed conflict catalyze the polarization of Ukraine’s religious landscape, clearly distinguishing between authentic religiosity and its ideological imitations. The main focus is on conceptualizing the differences between churches that serve as a resource for spiritual consolidation and social therapy (the OCU, the UGCC) and religious institutions that are used as instruments of hybrid aggression. To describe the latter phenomenon, the author introduces and adapts Oswald Spengler’s concept of “historical pseudomorphosis.” It is argued that the activities …

Disenchantment Of The World In The Context Of The Russian-Ukrainian War,, Olga Dobrodum, Eduard Martyniuk, Olena Nykytchenko, Mykola Palinchak, Ruslana Tkachenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes Max Weber's concept of the "disenchantment of the world" («Entzauberung der Welt») in the context of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, which began with Russia's invasion in February 2022 and continues to the present. The author examines disenchantment as a process of rationalization and desacralization of society, tracing its development from ancient origins (Epicurus) and monotheistic traditions to contemporary interpretations (Adorno and Horkheimer, Barthes, Baudrillard, Habermas, Taylor, Haraway, Latour). The paradoxical nature of the process is emphasized: secularization does not eliminate the sacred but transforms it into new forms—from commodity fetishism to digital eschatology and posthumanist animism.

The …

The Theological Tradition Of The Orthodox Church In The Aspect Of The Formation Of Military Leadership In Ukraine, Olga Dobrodum, Andrii S. Zborchyi, Tetyana Kondratyuk-Antonova, Oleksandr L. Kolomiiets

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Analysis of the Orthodox theological tradition as a moral foundation for military leadership in the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the full-scale war. The study moves beyond pragmatic managerial models, exploring Orthodox categories such as service (diakonia), sacrifice, and spiritual warfare. Drawing on patristic heritage and modern theologians, the authors examine leadership motivation, the role of faith in professional resilience, and the integration of Orthodox anthropology into military training. Special emphasis is placed on the Orthodox Church of Ukraine's chaplaincy as a key mechanism for actualizing these values while addressing challenges like secularism and multiconfessionalism.

Postsecular Coping Mode (Pscm): The Mechanism Of Sacred Meaning Reactivation Under Secular Pressure In Post-Soviet Societies, Aruzhan Akhmetova Aru, Mukhan Issakhan

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article introduces the concept of Postsecular Coping Mode (PSCM) to explain the changing psychological dynamics of religiosity in post-Soviet societies. Classical studies of religious coping typically conceptualize religion as a relatively stable strategy or behavioral response. However, under postsecular conditions, religious experience increasingly appears as a context-sensitive, episodically activated meaning-regulation mode. In response, the notion of coping mode is conceptualized as a distinct psychological category analytically differentiated from conventional coping frameworks. The proposed PSCM model describes the selective reactivation of sacred meaning resources under conditions of perceived secular pressure. Its processual architecture unfolds through four stages: (1) the trigger …

The Orthodox Parish And Community: A Reflection On The Post-Totalitarian Model Of Identity In Bulgaria, Presb. Sava (Shtoni) Kokoudev

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article examines parish multifaceted identities and its function as a Eucharistic community, while also exploring its cultural, and historical influences in post-totalitarian context. The study delineates two identities and ecclesiological models—liturgical and institutional—to facilitate comparative analysis. The confusion and mixture of these models has caused a loss of parish community identity and function, which is evident in contemporary post-totalitarian status quo. Important issue is the restoration of the Orthodox Church’s authentic catholic identity (ɫɴɛɨɪɧɨɫɬ). This predicament gives rise to the second challenge of revitalizing liturgical life in parishes and reestablishing communion between bishops, priests, and laypeople. It also necessitates …

Faith On The Frontlines: Exploring The Religiosity Of Ukrainian Soldiers During War, Alexander Karlsson

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Wartime religiosity among Ukrainian Christian soldiers reveals a spectrum of spiritual responses shaped by personal experience, cultural identity, and institutional dynamics. Interview-based evidence indicates that war influences religious engagement in diverse and often contradictory ways. For many, religiosity intensifies during moments of danger, functioning more as a coping mechanism than a transformation of belief. Institutional realignment may also reflect broader socio-political changes, as soldiers gravitate toward religious communities that resonate with their evolving values. For some, the adoption of Norse mythology illustrates the fluidity and adaptability of religious identity in wartime. Simultaneously, confrontations with theodicy may give rise to both …

The Russian-Ukrainian War In The Discourse Of The Biblical Concept Of A Just War, Vadym Dyiak, Klavdiia Tushko, Vladyslav Volobuiev

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the russian-Ukrainian war through the prism of the biblical concept of a just war. The moral and ethical aspects of the war are explored based on biblical principles, such as the defense of truth, justice, and the innocent. The article compares traditional approaches to the concept of a just war with modern realities, including the russian aggression against Ukraine. Particular attention is paid to the right to self-defense, the role of moral precepts in warfare, and the importance of humanitarian norms. The analysis of biblical texts helps to better understand the ethical justification of war as a …

Old Victims, New Oppressors? Considering Postcolonial Social Conservatism Without Christianity In Central And Eastern Europe, Michal Opatrný

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A significant part of societies in the states of Central and Eastern Europe openly reject the interconnection of Europe with the geopolitical, social and environmental problems of Africa, the Middle East, etc. Social conservativism without Christian belief is characteristic of this situation. Nevertheless, the churches and especially the representatives of the Catholic Church, often openly support these rejecting attitudes, i.e., by rejecting refugees, for example.

In the 20^th century, the Soviet Union and its internal supremacy of Russian nationalism heavily influenced this area. The postcolonial theory, together with the anti-oppressive theory, seems realistic to apply to this situation. In …

Miscellaneous, Bruce R Johnson

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

No abstract provided.

Film Review Of Freud’S Last Session, G. Connor Salter

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

A review of Freud’s Last Session, by Matthew Brown and Mark St. Germain, directed by Matthew Brown, starring Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode. Los Angeles: Sony Picture Classic, 2023. 1 hr., 48 min.

Donald Williams, Answers From Aslan: The Enduring Apologetics Of C. S. Lewis, Josiah Peterson

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

A review of Donald Williams, Answers from Aslan: The Enduring Apologetics of C. S. Lewis, (Tampa, FL: DeWard, 2023), 208 pages, $14.99. ISBN: 9781947929289