• God in the Dock

  • Essays on Theology and Ethics
  • By: C. S. Lewis
  • Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
  • Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,155 ratings)

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God in the Dock

By: C. S. Lewis
Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
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Publisher's summary

C. S. Lewis was a profound thinker with the rare ability to communicate the philosophical and theological rationale of Christianity in simple yet amazingly effective ways. God in the Dock contains 48 essays and 12 letters written by Lewis between 1940 and 1963 for a wide variety of publications. Ranging from popular newspaper pieces to learned defenses of the faith, these essays cover topics as varied as the logic of theism, good and evil, miracles, vivisection, the role of women in church polity, and ethics and politics. Many of these writings represent Lewis' first ventures into themes he would later treat in full-length books.
©1970 C.S. Lewis Pte Ltd. (P)2007 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Both Lewis'] searching mind and [his] poetic spirit are readily evident....Here the reader finds the tough-minded polemicist relishing the debate; here, too, the kindly teacher explaining the cosmic extraction by means of clarifying analogies." ( New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about God in the Dock

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  • JO
  • 01-13-12

A must-have!

Although the title means virtually nothing to American readers not being familiar with English legal terminology, it is still the perfect title. (It means, God on Trial)

If you like C.S. Lewis, or if you have never read him and have an interest in serious philosophical thinking regarding life and meaning and religious and legal issues this book has something for you. An anthology of never printed, or obscure, articles, speeches, letters, and essays ranging from about 5 minutes to perhaps half an hour each, these pieces are a great introduction to critical thought regarding God, criminal justice, existence, miracles, social issues, etc. It is amazing how little has changed in 50+ years since the last of these were presented... but then mankind is always mankind.

If you were thinking about his book Miracles, but had trouble getting through it, two chapters in this give you the simplest summary of much of that book.

I have listened to this book a number of times and will continue to listen to parts of it on occasion as it is timeless and unparalleled in its clarity of thought and expression. I especially like Lewis' assertion that if you cannot explain a theological concept without using theological terms then you probably don't understand the concept. He is a master at presenting complex concepts in simple terms understandable by the masses, hence his being asked to speak to labor organizations and commoners meetings where he was as well received as at the Oxford Society which he led.

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42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

More Hidden Gold

I don't why someone said this was boring.

If anyone knows the works of C.S. Lewis, they know that it is so rich that you have to listen to it again and again to get its full benefit.

The narrator is perfect. Sound like the Mere Christianity narrator. I am pumped that this book has been published.

Music, sweet music

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Astounding

This is the real deal. Excellent. What a beautiful mind.

If you like narrator---I do---try the Divine Comedy.
Beautiful.

This is a superb work. I liked it so much, I ordered the Hard Cover Book---not cheap.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

Listening to this is like I suspect it would have been to listen at the feet of CS Lewis. Excellent and insightful in every respect. If you like Mr. Lewis, you will love this collection of letters, comments, personal talks, etc that he gave. Amazing mind!

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Excellent for the C.S. Lewis fan

Would you listen to God in the Dock again? Why?

Yes, because C.S. Lewis is a great thinker and helps to elucidate different topics so well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. I never do that.

Any additional comments?

I wouldn't choose this as my first C.S. Lewis book, go to Mere Christianity, Chronicles of Narnia, Screwtape Letters and Weight of Glory first. This one is more for the fan who has read most of the other items and wants to continue to read more. Which describes me.

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8 people found this helpful

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These Are Great

Any additional comments?

Get this collection and also the audio of his essay collection called "The Weight of Glory" and you'll be in great shape. I'm so much a fan of Lewis that I don't know how valuable my review can be - indeed, I don't even go to him to find answers anymore so much as for the pleasure of his company - but I can at least say that if you like Lewis in general, these essays are not a step down from his books. They're just... you know ... shorter. Happy listening. Cosham performs well as always.

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Very insightful

Bravo!

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Very interesting book

Any additional comments?

This was my first introduction to Lewis, and I have to say it was enlightening. I have not read/listened to any of his books. This is a collection of essays/newspaper articles/speeches that Lewis gave over the years. It seems to really give a sense of Lewis's religious philosophy (and zealousness!) and his logical defense of Christianity. Not only that, it is written so well -- and with such a conscious intention to be accessible -- even when he was discussing topics that are either uninteresting to me or really dated, it still kept my attention. Let there be no doubt -- Lewis was a "true believer" of the truest believer clan. However, some of his defenses of Christianity have such a logical flavor and are so honest and straightforward in the issues and questions that he addresses, that I have to say that I was very impressed.. Who should read this? Let me go secular first and say writers who want to see someone take what could be complicated/boring material and make it really accessible (my bias: this is me) should just absorb the metaphors and analogies he uses to make points that you may think would otherwise be indefensible. For those interested in a defense of Christian dogma -- you'll find a lot of logical defenses here as well. I am sure they are more completely developed in his book-length treatments, but for me I thought this was well worth the listen.

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    1 out of 5 stars

psyco-babbel

Loved Mere Christianity so I gave this one a whirl. Very painful to get through.

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This was one of the best books I have read all year!

I absolutely loved this book. It covers a broad array of subjects. In short, it makes you think.

It is the perfect book to read during our modern times. CS Lewis work strikes me as being extremely relevant to helping better appreciate the society we live in.

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4 people found this helpful